Would you take a job you hated for a paycheck you loved?

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Nov 25 2009 | 9 Comments

Let’s say you have a job you love. You find this job to be extremely rewarding and everything about it is great. When you get up in the morning, you are happy to go and sometimes you even stay late because everything about the job is great. However, there is a catch…your “awesome” job doesn’t come with an “awesome” paycheck. You are being paid way under what you are worth either per hour or on a salaried basis.

As a contrast, let’s say you find another job. This job isn’t rewarding to you. You go to sleep dreading waking up just because you hate the job. You don’t have great coworkers and your boss isn’t someone you would send a Christmas card to. There is nothing particularly rewarding about your job and at the end of the day you don’t feel as though you have contributed anything to society. However, this job has an amazing paycheck. So, when you do come home, you come home to a nice house with all the things that you want.

So, which situation sounds better to you?

In my opinion, there has to be some middle ground here. There can’t be just an awful job that makes amazing pay and a great job that has me stuck below the poverty line. The truth is, most people have aspects of their job that they dislike; maybe it is a coworker that may or may not fly off the handle at any time of the day, maybe it’s a boss, who would rather you quit than to reprimand the coworker for his outlandish behavior. Perhaps it is something even smaller than either of those factors such as there is never enough coffee in the break room, even when you made it yourself.

Then again, there are plenty of jobs out there that pay very little and offer nothing in the way of job satisfaction. These jobs often find their employees stuck at the bottom of the job pool and never given the chance to climb up the ladder. Worse yet, they are stuck there being paid just about minimum wage. I’ve had too many jobs like this one.

At the end of the day, however, if I had to pick one of the extremes, I believe I would feel better and more accomplished if I enjoyed my work even if it was for a smaller paycheck. I would likely hold a job like this for awhile then move into a job that I wasn’t as happy with for a bigger salary.

So, which scenario do you think works out better for you?

Related posts:
Rules to follow when buying a new home

Tags: poverty line, salaried basis, break room

Finding auto insurance for risky drivers can be considered a nuisance.

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Tue, Sep 29 2009 | 4 Comments

Not everyone can have a perfect, clean driving record. For those who don’t have clean records and/ or are considered high risk drivers, there are options available for them.

You have to remember, even if car insurance is expensive, if you are going to be behind the wheel of a car, car insurance is the law. There are some companies that specialize in auto insurance for high risk drivers.

Drivers who have multiple tickets, have had accidents that were considered their fault, or young and/or inexperienced drivers are considered high risk drivers. If you fall into one of these categories, then it is important that you shop around for car insurance. Quotes can vary from company to company. Risky factors for young insureds leads to higher premiums and when you’re working for minimum wage like teens do, then it is important to make sure that you’re getting the most for your money. I remember when I was first driving and it cost almost $100 per month for liability and uninsured motorist coverage on my 2000 Cavalier.

Comparison shopping for car insurance isn’t only for teenagers, anyone can find affordable coverage for high-risk motorists if they know where to look or if they can do a search around the internet. There are so many companies out there that tend to focus on insuring people with squeaky clean records that sometimes those with a blemished record get left out.

Once when I tried to get an auto insurance quote online when I was younger, I had a really hard time finding a company that would offer insurance to me, let alone give me a real quote. I would always have to call the company during their business hours, which I’ve always found to be a bit inconvenient. Finding auto insurance doesn’t have to be as much of a hassle for risky drivers anymore.

Related posts:
Everyone should look into life insurance because the future is uncertain
The 27 Cars in 2010 that are considered the safest.

Tags: car insurance, uninsured motorist coverage, Money

Seven places a college graduate can find work…what a joke.

Jennifer McClelland | RSS | Wed, Sep 02 2009 | 2 Comments

SmartMoney has an article on its front page today talking about seven career fields that college graduates can work. The list is pretty good if you have an accounting, engineering, or computer science (IT) degree, but if you are anyone else things are not looking too good for you.

From the article:

That liberal arts degree isn’t a total waste. Various companies are looking for business or liberal arts students to fill their management training programs.

Rental car agency Enterprise?Rent-A-Car says it plans to hire 8,000 college grads by July, many of whom will start out at a rental branch in a customer service position and, within a year, move up to assistant manager, according to spokesperson Lisa Martini. L’Oreal and Macy’s are also seeking graduates to join their training programs, says Trudy Steinfeld, executive director New York University’s Wasserman Center for Career Development.

Wow. So, if you’re a liberal arts major you can start your life by working at a car rental place? I think that the “promise” of being able to be an assistant manager within a year is a complete joke.

Recently, I found a job that promised the same thing, but when I started talking to other employees about wanting to move into corporate to work in marketing all I got was a laugh. During my interview with this company, I was told that after about a year and a half I would be able to get a promotion (from a retail sales position at a department store) to area sales manager, it just moved up from there depending on if you wanted to have a higher store position or a corporate position.

Well, that all went out the window when I spoke to a girl who graduated with a marketing degree two years before I did. She was working the exact same position I was and was actually making $9 an hour, $1 less than I was.

I’m sure that there are companies out there that want to hire graduates to promote them, but I know at least one that is taking advantage of graduates on a regular basis. Besides, Enterprise wants to hire 8,000 new grads to move them into assistant manager positions? Does it have that many stores? Some of those graduates will be making minimum wage for a bit longer than a year.

SmartMoney: 7 Places Where College Grads can Find Work

Related posts:
College graduates are finding work in some fields
The Five College Degrees you will see a good ROI on
How college can negatively impact your retirement

Tags: retail sales, liberal arts students, customer service