Money can't buy happiness

Most students attend college with the intention of pursuing a career afterward. The process of finding which career is right for each student is discovered in academic endeavors, as well as through extracurriculars. An internship, for example, is a unique way of working directly in a professional environment, especially for college students who still have some leeway in deciding what they want to do.

As the moment approaches when that decision must be made or steps toward that decision must be taken, a student has to weigh the many factors involved in choosing a career—one of which is the potential salary, and another is the level of interest in that career. Both are weighed differently, and much of the time they are both considered. Yet for some students, a high salary or lack thereof is the only criterion for selection. The degree of interest is disregarded for the most part. I believe, however, that when students cannot find the balance between the two, they should opt for the career they know they will enjoy.

Columbia students are geared toward earning a high salary. There’s no denying that many successful people who attended Columbia have gone on to become billionaires. This intimidates many students—they fear that if they do not find a high-paying job upon graduation or shortly thereafter, they will be looked upon as failures, incapable of returning the thousands of dollars spent on their education. The current economic crisis is readily ignored, and people continue to expect Columbia’s graduates to earn six figures or more.

Given the unpredictability of life, the prospect of six figures or more is never guaranteed. So when students consider their career options, they will most likely want to select the job that both appeals to them and promises a good salary. But in some cases, the appealing aspect of a career is superior to the salary. As a pre-law student, I interned with the New York City Supreme Court. I started not really knowing what type of law I was interested in, but I had a faint, initial interest in criminal law. As it turned out, I began to favor criminal law more as time progressed. Civil law, an area that I was also able to explore, did not entice me as much. After a lot of thought, I decided that criminal law was what I wanted to pursue.

One day in criminal court, I spoke to a bailiff who inquired as to what type of law I was interested in. I told him that I was interested in criminal law, and he stated, “Well, you won’t make a lot of money, but at least you will be happy.”

I gave serious thought to this statement, although it wasn’t the first time I had heard it. But I had never heard it worded this way, with the inclusion of the word “happy.” Other sources had confirmed that a criminal lawyer, unless employed by a private firm, does not stand to make as much money as a corporate or civil lawyer. At this point, I had to decide what was more important to me: money or happiness.

This is a simplification of the decision, which I may change in the future. But the question is valid for all career-driven students. And I answer that the quest for a career should begin with how much it interests someone. The sole or most important basis should not be money, because no amount of money overshadows dissatisfaction and unhappiness with a career choice. A sincere interest and joy in a career is what makes work not seem like work at all.

The author is a Columbia College junior majoring in English.