So all around I am a fairly gifted student. I excel in almost all academic areas.
My father is a Mechanical Engineer with an MA. He makes cash hand over fist. I do well in mathematics and physical sciences, so I could go this route and chase money. I could also major in Finance and claw my way up to a top position at whatever firm. I have aptitude in these areas, and could conceivably make good money, but the interest isn’t there. I suppose I could build interest, but I know I’d get bored long term. I almost feel compelled to do it anyway due to the rising wage gap and stagnating middle class wages (still waiting on that wealth to trickle down, any day now). I want to raise a family and give my future kids a good home.
My passion is counseling. I was built for it. I am exceptionally good at it. I am confident doing it. It’s what I was made to do and I love it. I find it incredibly rewarding. It’s as natural to me as breathing. I want to specialize in addictions, but here’s the issue: no money in it. I’ll be lucky to pull in 20/hr by retirement.
Passion or money? What do you gals and guys think?
First of all, $20/hour by retirement is a dismal prediction. Psychologists’ median salary is around $75K per year; school and career counselors average $55K; other kinds of counselors range from $40K to $50K on average.
However, this is really a question only you can answer. For some people, liking what they do is really important, and they’d rather make a small amount of money to get the opportunity to do what they love. For others, making good money is more important and they only need to be mildly content at what they do. There’s a spectrum in between, too - varying levels of happiness and varying levels of compromise. For example, if you like counseling and are good at it, you might find that you like science consulting - depending on what it is you like about counseling.
Many counselors raise families and give their future kids a good home. Counselors generally live solid middle-class lives. They’re not taking annual trips to Europe or sending their kids to fancy private schools, but you can feed and clothe a family! (One of my close friends is a counselor; she and her husband just bought a new house and have a baby on the way.)
The one thing, though, is that you don’t want to be miserable at work, so if working in finance or engineering would make you unhappy rather than just not happy, then I’d reconsider.