> Yet if, as you both acknowledge, money isn't the key to contentment, why would that tip the scales?

I would like to offer some perspective here: getting paid a lot for work you don't like is not as bad as everyone makes it out to be.

I'm not going to argue that money makes you happy, but it helps. A lot. Last year, I switched jobs (and career fields). I had a job doing fairly dull work for a big company. I was paid above-market rates -- this while I was still in school -- and it was a company for which people, even today, work at for 40 years. Great benefits, room for advancement, etc.

I left because the work (just so happens that unlike the rest of you I found I really don't like IT work) didn't float my boat. So now I have a job that pays less but is more satisfying. On the whole, I'm still happy I switched jobs, but coping with my income dropping by about 50 percent has been tougher than I thought.

The added stress of not easily being able to pay my bills easily is a factor in my overall contenment. So is not being able to do some things I'd like to. And since I care about the work in my current job, it means I take it home with me mentally, which can be stressful. I used to be able to go in, do my eight hours, and then spend my paycheck without thinking about what I had to do at work.

Also consider the fact that at any job there are parts you don't like. At my old my job, when I got stuck in an all-day meeting talking about stategic initiatives and vision documents, I could take comfort in the fact that I was getting an obscene amount of money for my time. These days when I have to do something I don't like -- well, it sucks.

Stephen