<p>I don't want to be wealthy. I don't want to be poor. I want to work to live, not live to work. </p>
<p>Basically, I have wasted so much time reading about jobs and lifestyles. Can you please tell me my ideal career - what a guy who just wants to be happy and live comfortably should do for the rest of his life. </p>
<p>Obviously, no job fits all these specs; nevertheless, I am wondering what career comes the closest.</p>
<p>Criteria:
Hours: 40-55 Hours Per Week. I know ibankers can make a ton working 80 hour weeks. Im not qualified, or interested.</p>
<p>Salary After About 10 years of Work (or grad school) - 100-150k. A little less (and obviously more) is fine. I want to be able to give my family everything they want.</p>
<p>Work Enviorment: Challenging but not incredibly stressful. Nothing that will raise my blood pressure. Something flexible, I want to be able to take a vacation and watch my kids grow up. Please, nothing mindnumbingly boring.</p>
<p>Future of Job: Job security is imperative. I don't want to get fired after 15 years and not be able to put my kids through college. Personally, its important to be able to sleep well at night, knowing you will wake up the next day and still have a job.</p>
<p>5-6 years in public accounting (Longer hours)
Rest of your life work at a fortune 500 company= Good salary(100k+), low stress, very secure job, and great hours.</p>
<p>I would say accounting too except that the work is extremely boring, although the job security and pay (especially for a CPA) are really good.</p>
<p>Corporate finance at a fortune 500 company would be pretty solid...I know people who have worked for major companies like Chevron and GE and they really liked it. The one problem with fortune 500 companies is that it's really hard and takes many years to advance within the company, whereas in fields such as i-banking and consulting, advancement is rapid and almost automatic, provided you do all your work well.</p>
<p>I myself might go the accounting/fortune 500 route. I did an internship with a major i-bank and didn't really like it, and I just finished one in consulting which was a lot better but still very stressful. It's a trade-off you have to make, life vs. money.</p>
<p>Thanks guys. I appreciate the response. However, I'm a little worried accounting would fall under the category of "mindnumbingly boring." Also, I've heard accounting is slowly being outsourced to India. Does anyone else have any other suggestions for such a career. Thanks guys.</p>
<p>There's (almost) no such thing. Job compensation is based on difficulty of finding people both qualified and willing to fill the position. If its "mind numbingly boring," offers no job security, requires 80 hours a week, and/or highly stressful (or dangerous), then it's going to command a high salary. </p>
<p>There's no job out there that is exciting, good job security, only work 40 hours, is stress-free and fun and still pays 100+k/year. At some point or another you're going to have to pay your dues to get a high paying job with all the perks you mentioned. Whether that is many years of medical training and lots of debt, or working 80 hour work weeks, you're not going to find a job that has all of your requirements without paying your dues. You might be able to get a few of those things, but you'll have to sacrifice something. You can be an engineer and work 40 hour work weeks for moderate pay, or you can get a crazy salary and work 80 hours a week.</p>
<p>Also remember that 100k/year will put that job in the top 10% of jobs by income, which is no easy feat. You've gotta work hard for those types of jobs.. they won't just come to you.</p>
<p>Thanks for the response, but I disagree. My dad is a computer programmer. He makes about 125k, works 45 hours a week, and finds his day interesting. Job security was strong about 5 years ago, not as much anymore. I agree that there may be no job which meets 100% of those specs; I'm just wondering what career you guys think comes closest. Thanks.</p>
<p>Well, it's all about what the individual job hunter finds interesting, isn't it? Just because your dad finds computer programming interesting, doesn't mean you will. And he's lucky to have an interest in a field that allows him to work 45 hours a week and make $125k each year. A lot of people probably think accounting is the most boring thing in the world, but I'm sure there is somebody out there who loves it. I personally can't thing of anything that matches all of your qualifications... Why don't you find something in particular that you really like doing, and work out the particulars from there?</p>
<p>Everything gets boring when you do it day in and day out for years. What makes a job enjoyable has less to do with the work you're doing and more to do with who you work with and around IMO. Many jobs are going to be repetitive and usually this leads to boredom(I know it's not 100%, I said usually). </p>
<p>However, if you find a job where you enjoy the people you work with and where you get to go everyday, THEN it's enjoyable.</p>
<p>That's my 2 cents on that. It's the social aspect of a job that makes it fun... as well as sometimes the challenges you might have to tackle (unless there never are any of these things, then the work itself is going to be boring regardless).</p>
<p>'Job Security' is a fairly elusive concept, but I understand you life viewpoint and I think a good one or at least an acceptable one! The best thing to do is IMHO to be a happy warrior, adding skills and exeprience to build a career wall for yourself. Having a little extra money in the bank helps one sleep as well. </p>
<p>As to the boring aspect, try to develop an interest in something makes the bordom go away. </p>
<p>As to specifics, if you have the personality for it --sales -- which is very broad might be of interest. It woudl help to know if you are technically oriented or not....</p>
<p>sorry for the random thoughts this evening ----all the best</p>
<p>But starting your own company would definitely be high stress, and would probably lead to a weekly time commitment of more than 40 hours a week, especially when you're just starting out. And there's a definite risk that it won't work out, or won't be profitable.</p>
<p>How about teaching? You won't make anywhere near 150k, but I know most of the high school teachers at my school make around 80k (in illinois, teachers salaries are posted online). A few teachers (heads of the departments, coaches, etc.) even make over 100k. Granted, how much you make is largely dependent on where you teach. Obviously, you won't make anywhere near 100k teaching in the inner city or something. I go to a fairly large, pretty good public high school in the suburbs.</p>
<p>I would strongly recommend being an actuary. It takes on average 8-10 (some do it in 5 or less) years to be fully credentialed (they have to pass hard math/insurance specialized exams). But after that, they get paid high salaries / work 40 hour weeks and they're job has low stress. WallStreet journal ranks actuarial jobs @ the #2 position.</p>