During a conversation with my manager this morning, she mentioned that her managerβ the district managerβ had told her thatΒ βWe want people who are passionate about our products. We donβt want people working here if theyβre doing it for the money.β
To which the manager (internally, because she doesnβt want to be fired), went βyouβve got to be fucking shitting me.β
Hereβs the thing: it is totally possible to do a job for the passion and not be obsessively thinking about the money every minute of every day. In fact, there have been economic studies regarding that very thing.
When the employee in question is making $50-75k per year.*
Thatβs the starting point of financial security. Thatβs the point when youβre fairly secure that youβre going to have rent, food, and basic living expenses covered.Β
Iβve worked a lot of jobs over the years. A lot. I saw the same working as a freelancerβ when I charged lower rates, my clients treated me like shit and acted like they were doing me a favor; when I charged more, they respected me as a professional. A newspaper that started out paying me above market wage also treated me very kindly, because they started with the assumption that I was a human being who needs to eat.
In my experience, the employers that insist that your job be your βpassionβ are also the ones that pay you nothing and treat you like garbage. Itβs exactly like abusive people, who tell you that you would put up with their abuse if youΒ βloved them enoughβ. Itβs a way of convincing the victim that theyβre responsible for their own mistreatment, which is absolutely fucked up.
Hereβs my advice to you:
It is absolutely okay to take a job that doesnβt pay you what you deserveβ Β youβve got to eat, after all. But donβt think for a second that you have a responsibility to that job. If you see something available that pays better and treats you better, take it and donβt look back. Donβt waste an ounce of sympathy for employers who try to convince you that passion is an acceptable substitute for survival.Β