What should you do if you’re lucky enough to love your job, but earn a measly salary? A cash-poor reader asks Forbes’ Liz Ryan; “My problem is simple. I love my job, my boss, and my co-workers. I just can’t live on my salary.”
Ryan believes there are only two reasons why someone would continue to work for a barely livable wage: it’s either part of your life’s mission, or you haven’t yet found a better option. She advises the reader to do some self-reflection:
“If you are not so passionate about your organization’s mission and its intersection with your personal mission that you are willing to live on almost no money, there are alternatives. You can start a job search this week and get a better job within a few months.
You are not stuck in place. You can love your organization and your co-workers but also realize as a rational person that you deserve to earn more money than you are earning now. You can still support your organization from a distance, working somewhere else and earning a decent paycheck.”
Ryan also mentions a pretty important idea to remember while working for a non-profit organization: you shouldn’t sacrifice your own means to work for a better cause. “I do not subscribe to the view that working for a not-for-profit organization should sentence anyone to a life of poverty. I have seen the data on what Executive Directors in not-for-profits earn, and some of them are living pretty large!”
I Love My Job — But I Can’t Live On My Salary | Forbes Magazine
