this post was submitted on 06 Aug 2026
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You make $65,000 (USD 🤢) in a dead end career doing nothing but showing up sometimes. Guaranteed employment without change in intensity or salary until retirement in 15 years at age 62. You receive 3 weeks paid vacation, reasonably priced medical, dental, and vision insurance, 401k matched at 2.5%, and virtually unlimited sick days as long as you don't call out too often (>3x month). You are given 6 college credits per semester to use at the local university. You're currently working on a PhD.

You live comfortably and have 1 year's salary saved. Zero dependents.

Do you ride it out, or do you seek a career change before it's too late.

I know, infinite unknown variables, but what would you do regardless?

UPDATE: I'm slightly taken aback by how many of you actually took the time out of your day/evening to reply to my personal crisis. I've think I've replied to everyone, which, in doing so, made this morning surprisingly sunnier. So thanks for that.

Adding some thing I've shared in replies. I'm a homeowner with zero debt aside from a very affordable mortgage. Purchased my car outright new in 2024, had household concerns addressed over past five years (new roof, HVAC systems, sump pump, water heater, shed, remodeled bathrooms), have three degrees, and a lifetime of piss poor fortune.

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[–] TargaryenTKE@lemmy.world 14 points 8 hours ago* (last edited 7 hours ago) (1 children)

Dude, that job pays THREE TIMES as well as the equally-dead one I currently have (even more if you include benefits). Just accept the good fortune bestowed upon you, get paid to do practically nothing, and find a new hobby to invest all your new free time into. Like, how is this even a question?

Edit: I redid the math and turns out you're making 3x what I do, not the 2x that I originally said

[–] CrabAndBroom@lemmy.ml 4 points 7 hours ago

That was my thought too lol, this is essentially my job but with better pay and benefits.

Holy shit I would realize I no longer have any real problems in life and figure out what makes me happy with all of that free time

[–] BananaLama@lemmy.ml 4 points 8 hours ago

Seems like you already made your decision.

Lets say you change careers and want to come back to your current career at this or another company. Would that be feasible. If yes, you literally have nothing to lose.

If not, you have to be a bit more careful picking your new path but also little to lose

[–] Pyr_Pressure@lemmy.ca 3 points 9 hours ago

Just submitted a resume yesterday. Almost exact situation I'm in.

[–] Fizz@lemmy.nz 3 points 10 hours ago

Career change. Better to try improve than to do the same thing over and over. Not even about the pay just the change.

[–] Avicenna@programming.dev 11 points 14 hours ago

If you are already doing a PhD you are probably lucky to have a job that pays reasonably without requiring much. But even if you decide to change jobs, don't leave till you are guaranteed another job.

[–] corbs132@lemmy.world 34 points 18 hours ago (1 children)

How has nobody suggested the obvious yet? Keep your current job while you interview, test the waters and see what's out there. You might find something you enjoy more with a big enough raise to cover the college credits. You don't have to quit to start looking elsewhere. I know you're talking about career, not just job, but I'd argue the same still applies.

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 2 points 13 hours ago

Thanks for this. Justifies some of what I've recently been doing. I've been at this job for almost 20 years. I've been awarded the top employee honor at work, essentially the "outstanding achievement" award for employees. Not sure why. This was just a few years ago, when I essentially quietly quit.

Recently received notification I had been moved to the final search committee for a major leadership role at a neighboring college. Regardless of the outcome, this was primarily an attempt to see what interest there still is out there. This would be a CIO role, one I'm more than capable of running with considering the size and scope of the school. I just don't know if that is even how I want to end my working life.

Nobody prepared me for any of this. I guess none of are technically.

[–] atomicbocks@sh.itjust.works 27 points 19 hours ago (1 children)

As somebody who is quickly coming up on 2 years of unemployment, my recommendation is not to fuck with the job market right now even with a year’s expenses covered.

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 6 points 13 hours ago

Almost 20 years at my current employer. Stepping away without something else already lined-up sounds like career suicide. Yet another reason I'm hesitant to shake things up.

[–] credo@lemmy.world 83 points 1 day ago (3 children)
[–] alianne@lemmy.world 68 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

Regardless of the answer, I'd follow this up with "Are you unhappy?" If you're happy-ish or at least not unhappy, then the peace of mind that comes with job security is a big motivator.

You can always seek happier happiness outside of work so long as the work itself doesn't promptly steal it all when you go in the next day.

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[–] Tooks@piefed.social 16 points 23 hours ago* (last edited 23 hours ago) (1 children)

I'm a contradiction. I'm no more unhappy than I am happy. Pay isn't the best, but the certainty and creature comforts make it tolerable.

[–] blarghly@lemmy.world 14 points 21 hours ago (1 children)

My take - based on everything you are saying in this thread, it sounds like you aren't happy, but that you are balancing that unhappiness with potential unhappiness you are worried about facing if you were to try for another job.

You talk about pay and creature comforts - but you seem to be avoiding talking about meaning. What is your purpose in life? Because if this job facilitates that purpose, then by all means, keep it. But if it undermines it, then you should ditch it.

Like, imagine you are on your deathbed, and a young highschool boy comes to interview you about your life for a school project. He asks - what did you accomplish? What are you most proud of? What did you learn? What is a story you'd like to tell my class? What are your regrets? If you could do it all over again, what would you do differently?

What do you want your answers to be?

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[–] skisnow@lemmy.ca 15 points 18 hours ago (2 children)

virtually unlimited sick days as long as you don’t call out too often (>3x month)

"virtually unlimited" = 36 days a year

[–] BurntWits@sh.itjust.works 2 points 5 hours ago

I get 2 per year so 36 would feel like unlimited.

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 4 points 12 hours ago

Yeah, I'm cringing a bit at my "virtually unlimited" comment. For this situation, I'm currently sitting on roughly 500 hours of PTO medical leave.

[–] Mr_Wobble@thelemmy.club 52 points 1 day ago (3 children)

The location matters. $65K in Arkansas is not the same as $65K in California.

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 20 points 23 hours ago (1 children)

West Virginia-Lite. About 2 hours outside of DC. Homes around here range from dilapidated trailers to McMansions. A cornucopia of ugh.

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[–] naught101@lemmy.world 14 points 1 day ago

Also income matters less in counties with better social support nets and health systems

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[–] CanadaPlus@lemmy.sdf.org 9 points 18 hours ago* (last edited 18 hours ago) (1 children)

So, what am "I" hoping for, I guess? More money, more possibility for advancement? What other jobs could I get?

Not to be a dick, but the median personal income for a full-time employee in the US is ~$55,000, and half are definitionally below that. If you live in San Fransisco and are working towards your PhD in data science, I guess sure, vomiting face, but that detail wasn't in there.

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 2 points 12 hours ago

Yep, sorry about that. I was trying to make this sound as unrelated to my actual situation as possible when I originally posted. Gave up the ghost on that almost immediately. WV eastern panhandle is where I'm located. Work in VA. On the edge of what they call the DMV (Delaware, Maryland, VA). Yes, they omit the omnipresent WV lurking just alongside big money northern VA in the colloquialism. Our area has just as many people commuting to DC for six figures, as we have folks living in squalor. It's definitely WV up in here, but maybe a little shinier.

[–] DagwoodIII@piefed.social 33 points 1 day ago (16 children)

Ride it out. No question. You have unlimited opportunities to grow outside the job.

No employer is going to hire a 47 year old. Too old to train and not enough experience in the field to be a good manager.

If you aren't getting enough excitement from the job, go out and start dating or find a hobby.

Heck, the the year's salary you have saved there are dozens of businesses you could start.

[–] pHr34kY@lemmy.world 2 points 15 hours ago* (last edited 15 hours ago)

I would totally start a side hustle if I was set up like this. I'd be thinking of a project where immediate ROI didn't matter, and I could take as long as I want before it produces an income.

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[–] ExLisper@lemmy.curiana.net 4 points 17 hours ago

I would spend all the time I can contributing to open source projects.

[–] rekabis@lemmy.ca 9 points 20 hours ago (1 children)

You’re focusing too much on what you are supposed to do and too little on what you could be doing.

I would grab this with both hands. Max out the education, and work on side projects that don’t impact the day job. I mean, that is what the “show up sometimes” means, right? Ya gotta warm the seat but you don’t have much to do? So fill that time with things that improve your skills!

[–] Tooks@piefed.social 4 points 12 hours ago

You’re focusing too much on what you are supposed to do and too little on what you could be doing.

Absolutely, but man is it a hard habit to break. Obviously one I'm struggling to break myself. I literally have a text note stating "Do what you want and do it for fun" on my phone's lock screen and home screen. I'm trying my best to change my way of thinking about all of this, and rather lean into a "fuck it, it's a paycheck, (most) everyone needs one, use all the money for fun and live deliciously because at least in my inevitable end, it will all just go to some charity.

[–] arotrios@lemmy.world 13 points 22 hours ago* (last edited 22 hours ago)

Finish the PhD, then get a new job.

$65k will be worth half of what it is or less in 10 years. You will, at best, get a raise of about 5% per year. You will see a 20% - 30% raise if you jump ship with the PhD provided you go for corporate positions (you'll barely be treading water if you decide to teach).

The stability of the current job is an illusion - they will let you go the moment it becomes profitable for them to do so. The only person who can ensure you stability is you, and the only way you can do that is by maximizing your earning potential so you have enough wealth to survive a jobless period. Do not rely on unemployment benefits - they're a joke and often arrive as much as a year late.

Source: I took the stable route at that same salary number. Was laid off after 10 years during COVID, while I was sick. My next position I jumped from 65k to 90k, and with the next to 110k within three years. It took over 18 months for me to receive my unemployment benefits.

Companies have no loyalty to you. You are a resource to be exploited. Treat them the same way, and you'll be much wealthier and likely happier for it.

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