In a day and age when most of the population are very much aware of the economy and how it affects them, it is rare that someone will accept a job that pays less because it is more enjoyable or something they want to do. More and more people are worried about the bottom line; they are worried about whether or not they have insurance coverage or will be able to pay a mortgage on a house in a "good" neighborhood. This is not to say that there are not jobs out there that are wonderful AND pay well, it is just evident among the people I talk to that so many people are afraid of finding a job they like, because they don't want to "rock the boat".
My husband LOVES his job. He is a mailman. A letter carrier, for those modern, PC types. He walks 13 miles a day, so he gets lots of exercise, and he meets lots of great people. He takes care of his customers, and they take care of him. Because of his job we have gotten free wood for our fire place, lots of pallets for building things around the house, discounts on many things we have needed to run our home, and tips about where to get furniture and fixtures for next to nothing. With his personality it seems he was born for a job like this.
Over the years he has talked about finding a job that pays more. He is aware that his lack of education is a hindrance to his ability to pull six-figures a year, but he is willing to learn just about anything. Every time this topic comes up I cringe. It's not that I wouldn't love to be able to take longer or fancier vacations, or be able to remodel our bathrooms and kitchen right now instead of saving up for it, but I just know what a job like that would do to him. A management job would suck the life out of him. He is not made for a life of bureaucracy and red tape. And a high-risk/high-pay job (i.e. fire fighting, oil drilling, machinist) would do me in with worry. I like having my husband come home every night from work; I might be selfish, but I do. I also know that he loves his job and would be miserable to have to leave it. To have a job that you are passionate about is amazing.
As for me, I have been out of the "workforce" for nearly eight years. Our family has been blessed by the fact that Todd earns enough to keep us on a budget and I do not NEED to work. I have considered returning on many occasions, but the idea of returning to Administrative work always makes my gut twist. Now, don't get me wrong, there is nothing wrong with Administrative work. It employed me gainfully for several years, but I couldn't ignore the fact that I was never really happy doing that alone. My favorite jobs (both cut by the crashing economy) were in Marketing. I loved the creative side of business. Getting in on the ground floor of presenting a project to be considered. This was where how you worded things really mattered. This was when I first recognized my total love affair with words.
I used to always joke about finding the perfect job where I was paid to read books. Back then I never believed in a million years that a job like that actually existed. It wasn't until a few years ago that I started to realize that there are people who really DO get paid to read: Book Reviewers.
I started researching how I could break in to that business and saw that it was a lot of free lancing and writing for nothing. At that point my youngest was a baby and I was not ready to devote that much time to it, but I put the idea on a shelf, not ready to let it completely go.
Then, this year, I got a message from an author I follow about getting a free copy of a book if I would be interested in posting an honest review. I immediately agreed, and pretty much fell into group of wonderful ladies who review books for different publishing companies. The group is very supportive of each other and I love being part of this community.
As I became more and more immersed in the world of book reviews I restarted a "sister-blog" of mine, Between You, Me, and the Librarian, that I had started on the off chance that I was going to be a Book Reviewer. I started challenging myself to post reviews on every book I read, not just books sent to me through the group. It was a fun challenge, and great way to flex my writing skills.
I have now been doing this for 10 weeks and I know for a fact that even if it takes me years before I get paid for a review I will just keep plugging away. Why? Because this is my passion. This is a drive that I have had ever since I was a child participating in the PERK program and reading Gone with the Wind, Wuthering Heights, and Treasure Island in the 4th grade. I was one of those twisted kids that liked doing book reports. As I told my son, writing a book review is a lot like a book report, except now I get to pick the types of books I read.
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