Considerations for Choosing a Career
- D. M. Wright
- Feb 21
- 8 min read
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CAN MONEY BUY YOU HAPPINESS?
No. But it sure as hell can get you a house to live in with no need to choose between eating or paying bills.
Money buys comfort while you grind your teeth thinking about what you do for work.
Money helps you to tolerate the intolerable.
Those who do have money have not asked themselves 'What would be a job that would make me happy?'
Instead, they have asked themselves, what do other people not want to do, and then they have enjoyed the financial benefits that come from people willing to pay for their services.
Think about your garbage collectors who can earn $100,000+ per year.
Think about the plumber who fixes your sewerage.
Think about skyscraper window washers.
These people are not thinking about happiness at work.
They're thinking about their next holiday to Spain with their family and their lack of mortgage.
They'll think about their love or hate of their job over a margarita by their new pool in the backyard.
CAREER ADVICE
Career counselling these days is all about asking you the question, 'What do you want to do?', 'What makes you happy?' and 'What would you be proud to tell people that you do when they ask?'
These questions sound lovely, but they encourage people to go to university and come out with huge HECS debts, which plenty of students never get a job from and end up having to start all over again, spending more time studying and gaining larger debts.
The ones who succeed... brilliant! But many are left behind. The reality is: the 'What career would make you happy' question regularly leads to people being more unhappy because of their pursuit, when a job you don't actually care for could lead to better outcomes for them in the long run: job security, larger incomes, less debts, less study, less years in employment limbo. Less working endless hours at a job you love while neglecting your family at home, when a job you hate will have you - no doubt - leaving on time, every time.
JUST ONE EXAMPLE
You want to be a lawyer.
But there aren't many lawyer positions in the country.
If there are, they're rare and of the low-paying kind.
If you study criminal law, there aren't enough murderers to go around, and criminals can rarely afford lawyers anyway, so they take up the free/cheap services from the State.
The money is in civil law disputes and compensation in Australia. Don't expect to pay off your HECS debt with anything else, unless you are the cream of the crop of available lawyers for hire.
But then again, you're also competing with every other civil lawyer that exists. Until they leave, you're also in a difficult position as you need to start from scratch with very little.
TWO THIRDS OF LAWYER GRADUATES IN AUSTRALIA NEVER BECOME LAWYERS.
And how many of the remaining third never ever earn enough to live comfortably while the cream of the crop take all the clients?
You are more than likely not going to be the exception to this rule, no matter how many universities advertise that their graduates do 'well'.
THE IMMEDIATE NEED FOR EMPLOYMENT
From 16 years old - and for those suddenly unemployed - there is an immediate need for employment from whatever comes your way. The future career that you want is secondary to the present job that you need.
Moreover, being employed in anything is more important than being unemployed when applying for the career you want and have studied for.
Take what you can get to bring in funds and get off welfare payments.
Take what you can get to build your resume and increase your chances of successfully entering into the career you wanted.
GO YOUR HARDEST WITH AN OVERSATURATED JOB
"NEED NOW" and "WANT LATER" are two different things.
There genuinely is no point going after a career that will not give you what you need to live. You need to pay your bills, so why aim for a future job that will pay less than a liveable wage? If you plan to start a family, you have mouths to feed, so why study for a career that barely has any vacancies? You'll be competing for those rare positions with the hundred other graduates.
But if you are so desperate for that specific job, then go your hardest.
And by hardest, we mean HARDEST.
You cannot go softly or you'll never get the job.
You must persist.
You must persevere.
If you're in it to win that one position in the entire state, you cannot be that person who just scrapes through their university grades.
If you're getting Passes or even Credits, while others are getting High Distinctions... choose another career now.
You won't be that person who ever gets that one job.
You won't be the exception to the rule.
You are not in a Hollywood movie.
A happy ending to your persistence isn't guaranteed.
The High Distinction graduate is more than likely going to take the position, and you'll be left with a giant HECS debt, no job, no money and years more of study ahead of you to try for another career and, in the meantime, you'll be looking for immediate employment in a low-paying position just to pay your bills.
CONSIDER WHAT THE ECONOMY NEEDS
There are so many jobs available in Australia that our country is intentionally importing people from overseas to fill the skills shortages of the 2020s.
If you had studied for any of the jobs Australia is trying to fill, you would likely be employed by now.
While you keep considering what YOU WANT for a job - or studying a career with little job prospects - jobs that this COUNTRY NEEDS remain vacant.
Instead of studying for an unavailable career in Law... maybe, you should consider studying for a career in any of the industries listed on the skills shortage list.
Click HERE to see what's missing.
WHAT THIS COUNTRY NEEDS... or doesn't
Click HERE for the complete list of Australia's skills shortages and filled careers.
Taken straight from the priority list, Australia currently needs more (or doesn't need more):
CONSIDER MOVING FROM WHERE YOU GREW UP
Skills shortages are more pronounced in regional areas.
Skill shortages are particularly acute in regional areas, especially for the highly skilled. The share of employers reporting location as a reason for recruitment difficulties increased with remoteness.
In Very Remote areas, more than 80% of employers believed the reason they did not receive many applicants was because of the job location, and over 40% of employers had a suitable applicant not take a job offer because of the location.
In the Northern Territory, 55% of employers who had few applicants and 25% of employers with an unfilled vacancy listed location as the reason. In Western Australia, these figures were 36% and 20%, respectively.
Seriously... leave home and you could live well. Your need to be less than an hour from your parents' and friends' houses could be the biggest reason you won't get a job with a liveable wage in your city.
CONSIDER PURSUING A LIVEABLE WAGE
A 'liveable' wage is one that will ensure some comfortability in life.
It's not amazing.
It's comfortable.
It is one that is high enough that you can pay off your mortgage.
It is one that is high enough to pay down your HECS in a reasonable amount of time.
It is one that is high enough that you can pay all of your bills.
It is one that is high enough that you can have children and not require additional welfare to pay for them.
A reasonably liveable wage at 2020 was ~$52,000 after tax, and continues to rise by ~3% every year.
See estimated calculations below of what is a reasonable liveable full-time wage. Anything less - although the position may be paid at or above the minimum wage - is an unreasonable full-time income, guaranteeing employees will struggle to make ends meet.
Yearly After Tax Income | Fortnightly After Tax | Yearly Gross Income | Fortnightly Gross Income | CPI | |
2020 | $ 52,000 | $ 2,000 | $ 67,836 | $ 2,609 | 0.9% |
2021 | $ 53,820 | $ 2,070 | $ 70,211 | $ 2,700 | 3.5% |
2022 | $ 58,018 | $ 2,231 | $ 75,687 | $ 2,911 | 7.8% |
2023 | $ 60,397 | $ 2,323 | $ 78,790 | $ 3,030 | 4.1% |
2024 | $ 62,450 | $ 2,402 | $ 81,469 | $ 3,133 | 3.4% |
2025 | $ 64,823 | $ 2,493 | $ 84,565 | $ 3,252 | ~3.8% |
2026 | $ 66,768 | $ 2,568 | $ 87,102 | $ 3,350 | ~3.0% |
2027 | $ 68,771 | $ 2,645 | $ 89,715 | $ 3,451 | ~3.0% |
2028 | $ 70,834 | $ 2,724 | $ 92,406 | $ 3,554 | ~3.0% |
2029 | $ 72,959 | $ 2,806 | $ 95,178 | $ 3,661 | ~3.0% |
2030 | $ 75,148 | $ 2,890 | $ 98,034 | $ 3,771 | ~3.0% |
2031 | $ 77,402 | $ 2,977 | $ 100,975 | $ 3,884 | ~3.0% |
2032 | $ 79,724 | $ 3,066 | $ 104,004 | $ 4,000 | ~3.0% |
2033 | $ 82,116 | $ 3,158 | $ 107,124 | $ 4,120 | ~3.0% |
2034 | $ 84,580 | $ 3,253 | $ 110,338 | $ 4,244 | ~3.0% |
2035 | $ 87,117 | $ 3,351 | $ 113,648 | $ 4,371 | ~3.0% |
2036 | $ 89,731 | $ 3,451 | $ 117,057 | $ 4,502 | ~3.0% |
2037 | $ 92,423 | $ 3,555 | $ 120,569 | $ 4,637 | ~3.0% |
2038 | $ 95,195 | $ 3,661 | $ 124,186 | $ 4,776 | ~3.0% |
2039 | $ 98,051 | $ 3,771 | $ 127,912 | $ 4,920 | ~3.0% |
2040 | $ 100,993 | $ 3,884 | $ 131,749 | $ 5,067 | ~3.0% |
If you study for a career that isn't going to provide approximately or more than the above liveable wage estimations, you are inevitably ensuring a continuous struggle to pay bills for the rest of your life.
You're superannuation contributions over your entire career will also be too low to live comfortably in retirement.
SO, WHAT OF IT ALL?
There are thousands of jobs which do not pay a liveable wage.
There are thousands of jobs which do not pay a liveable wage but are noble careers.
There are thousands of jobs which do not pay a liveable wage but are required for this country to function properly.
This career advice page is here to help you to make an informed decision.
Is there a specific job that you WANT to do but there aren't any or many jobs?
Go for it!
But go your hardest!
Know that if there is no shortage of workers in that career. You will be competing and competing and competing, and may end up needing to give up, start again and find something else just to pay the bills.
Make you choice now whether you study for a specific job YOU WANT or a specific job the COUNTRY NEEDS.
Is there a specific job that you WANT to do but it will pay under a liveable wage?
Go for it!
But know that you will always struggle to pay bills, pay the mortgage, pay for your kids and fund your retirement.
So, make that decision now rather than in the middle of experiencing those inevitable difficulties later.
WHO SAYS YOU NEED ONE WELL-PAYING JOB?
There is no reason you can't hold two or more jobs that then amount to a liveable wage.
Join the Army Reserves AND be a barber.
Be an actor AND a midwife.
Be a youth worker AND an irrigator.
Be a fast-food customer service worker AND an B'n'B cleaner.
What you'll then need to consider is whether you need to work more than normal full-time hours (38 hours per week) just to earn enough. Working too much is only going to burn you out.
WHAT HOURLY RATE WOULD I NEED TO ENSURE A LIVEABLE WAGE?
Click to download a liveable wage calculator.
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