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This is a big hypothetical but I thought I’d throw the question out there and open it up to the wise readers of Wisebread. Let’s forget the other alternatives, there are amazing jobs with stellar pay, and way too many of the opposite. But if you had to choose between the two in the headline, which would it be?

Let’s look at each on the pros and cons. First, the great job.

Cheshire Cat

What would this be? Well, that depends on you and your individual goals. Not everyone wants to be a beer tester, Pixar animator or Google programmer. But this is a job that has everything you’ve always wanted, whether you’re an accountant or a landscaper. It’s the one you jump out of bed for, excited at the prospect of the day ahead. You love going to work, you love the people, the environment and even better, the people love you back. There’s a great camaraderie, management cares about you and your family and you get plenty of time off and great benefits. It’s an inspiring, challenging, wonderful job that you love telling people all about.  But, there’s a snag. The pay isn’t all that good. It’s not minimum wage by any means, but you know you could do better in a different place.

very sad dog

Which brings us to that different place; the yang to the first job’s yin. This is that crappy job you’re more familiar with, certainly if you’ve seen Office Space . You hit the alarm clock with a passion as it bleeps in your ear for the third time (ah, the snooze button). You shower with the dread of a convicted felon on his or her way to the chair. The drive to work can’t last long enough. And then you arrive, sit in your grief-hole of a workspace and watch the clock for the nine hours you’re at work (if you're lucky that day). People around you have the same tired eyes and drawn, pale faces. They would love to take more vacation but they’re all just way too busy, like you. And besides, the vacation policy of the company would make Scrooge look generous. There’s no atmosphere, people talk only about how bad the place is (in huddled groups) and when Friday comes you can’t see the slaves, sorry employees, leave quickly enough. On the drive home, the only thing that helps you crack a smile is the knowledge that your paycheck is more monstrous than the asteroid that was ready to wipe out the planet in the movie Armageddon.

Two scenarios; one choice. This was a big point of discussion between my friends and I over lunch a few weeks back and surprisingly, the outcome was split almost fifty-fifty. I was sure everyone would take the great job, I know that’s what I went for. I figured that you spend at least 40 hours per week on the job, and if you’re happy for those 40 hours you’re doing really well. Other comments were that if you’re happier at work, you’re happier in life. And happy people tend to spend less money on ‘crap’ to fill the void.

On the other side of the aisle, the people who voted for the sucky job did so with a time limit in mind. Do that job for as long as you can to squirrel away the kind of money you need to then take the first job, or retire. And as most people hate working anyway (that’s why it’s called work) at least you’re getting a massive paycheck for your troubles.

So what do you think? Would you go for happiness at work with a small financial reward, or the big bad job with the big fat paycheck?