Typical salary for local sportswriter/sports editor

No. The web thing was a good job and gave me a lot of independence and flexibility. It wasn't all sports and I had to deal with the advertising people a lot more than I would have liked, but it wasn't worth the switch.

My wife wound up getting an outstanding job offer in another city less than a year later, so we moved. Funny thing is we made both of those decisions more or less for financial reasons, but she told me if I had been the football beat writer she wouldn't have even considered this new job, even though our income would be half to two-thirds what it is right now.

 

It may be what you want to do, but $20Gs is wayyy too much to sacrifice for doing something you think you'll love.

Even if you stay in the same job another two years, that's an extra $40Gs in your pocket, which you'll be more than happy to have down the road.

 

$11/hour is more than you can make in prison.

 

I almost took a $20,000 paycut to get out of the business a couple of months ago. But the city hired another city employee's wife instead.

 

[/quote]
It may be what you want to do, but $20Gs is wayyy too much to sacrifice for doing something you think you'll love.

Even if you stay in the same job another two years, that's an extra $40Gs in your pocket, which you'll be more than happy to have down the road.
[/quote]

You are dead wrong my fellow scribe. Money cannot buy you happiness. It can distract you and make you believe you are happy. But satisfaction comes from what drives and leads us and comes from within. It may just be a different type of personality that thinks the way I do, but money will never rule my decisions.

My advice is to do what's best for you. Don't let money dictate what you decide.

 

my pay is probably around $10 per hour when you factor in the 60 hours plus I am now working each week.

 

The notion that money can't buy happiness is BS. If you're not making enough live on, you're not going to be happy. There is a point that making more money won't make you any happier, but the other end of the scale is far away from $11/hr.

 

I just did, Doc.

My dad once told me your job is what you do so you can do what you really like when you're off. Lifestyle matters.

 

Interesting.

When I first started, back in 2000, I made $9.50/hr at a 15K daily in my hometown. Mileage and overtime were plentiful, thankfully. Either way, I was THRILLED to make nearly $10/hour.

 

Your Dad is right in some respects, wrong in others. Many people are what they do. Look at some of the greats who make millions and billions. Donald Trump, Steve Jobs (deceased), Mark Zuckerberg, Steven Speilberg ... these people have tons of money but they work their ass off or they continued to work their ass off until they passed away.

My point is, it wasn't the money that made them happy. The money and the lifestyle that went along with it were a nice benefit. But it was the drive inside, the passion for what they do and what they create, that they found satisfcations with.

Money DOES NOT buy happiness. It helps you live comfortably but happiness is defined from within. I've known many, many people who make four, five and six times what I make say they'd trade jobs with me. I can't stand the thought of going to an office and working 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. for IBM or Microsoft and being inundated by crap I'm not interested in.

Now, as a lawyer, I could be happy and the extra money would be nice but I'd much rather write than lie to judges and jurys (sp?) for a living. Law has always intrigued me but not enough for me to leave my job.

One other example, four years ago, I had a chance to leave my job for what would have essentially been a $45,000 job with incentives up to $55,000. I thought about it, went through the interview process and had it offered. Then turned it down. The bottom line was I knew I could not be happy doing something that I didn't find self-fulfilling.

Do what makes you happy. If money makes you happy, so be it. But money will never steer my heart.

 

... before it gets better? Your optimism is adorable.

 

It's one thing if it's a couple thousand dollars. But 20Gs is quite a bit of money to turn your back on, especially if you have a family. You always can keep working at the higher-paid job, and keep looking and try to find a job that'll be fulfilling, but won't be as big a financial sacrifice.