Weighing earnings vs. work-life balance vs. net worth

[u/DeepSea_JazzClub]

I’ll preface this by saying I’ve been following several of the FIRE subs for about a year now and I’m learning a lot. This in particular is a super helpful community, and I thank you all for that.

What I’m trying to do is build a framework for assessing if my current job (or even working in general) is “worth it”.

For example: If I’m currently earning roughly $150k/yr at my job, but working 80 hours a week, is it “worth it”?

I think the anyone’s answer to this question would depend on two key factors: 1. The degree to which you like your job 2. The degree to which your job (and it’s earnings) contribute to growing your net worth

Let’s assume for factor 1 that you don’t like working this many hours & view the job is a means to an end (and the end is earning money to FIRE).

For factor 2, your answer would depend on how large your net worth currently is. If I only have $50k in the bank, my $150k job is contributing massively, and it’s “worth it” . But if I have $10M in the bank, obviously my savings from the 150k have a tiny impact on my net worth and the job is not “worth it”

Essentially, I’m pointing out that there is a net worth tipping point that makes the 150k job not worth the struggle. I’m curious if anyone has run into this puzzle (especially from the perspective of someone earlier in their career) and has come up with a clean way of thinking about the tradeoff.

Thanks all

[u/codextreme07]

Very fair assessment. I just interviewed at a few Silicon Valley companies, and there was a strong homeless vibe from a lot of the engineers. An Apple Watch is still cheaper than a fancy designer watch, and Allbirds are on par with a pair of nikes.

It’s neat that we live in a world where it pays better for what you know instead of who you know, and has better opportunities for those who didn’t do everything right to get into medical or law school.