Dear Grace:

A cynic is a person who knows the price of everything and the value of nothing! (I wish I had coined that phrase, but Oscar Wilde said it over 100 years ago.) And a thousand years before that, Confucius said, "Choose a job you truly love, and you will never have to work another day in your life."

Don't your friends put a value on enjoying what they do? Being happy to go to work each day? And being able to work hours where you actually have time to have a personal life? These days, too many people are making career choices just for the money. While money is important, it is only one factor to consider in choosing a career.

As for teaching salaries, in a nearby affluent, highly competitive Westchester public school system, the starting pay with a BA is $49,500. With an MA, it's $55,000. Salaries go up every year about 3-4%. Furthermore, teachers have the option of using their free time to earn up to $100 per hour with private tutoring.

It's true that someone who gets a law degree or MBA might earn three times more, but they literally could be working three times more hours too. Is this a trade-off you are willing to make? On the other hand, will you become resentful if you are earning far less than your equally intelligent friends?

Anyone entering the high stress fields of law or finance should be as interested in those fields as you are in teaching. I can't tell you how many young (and old) lawyers have come to my office miserable because they chose the law, not because they love it, but because they wanted to make a lot of money. Many have gotten themselves into lifestyles that are so expensive they feel trapped in jobs they hate.

I always advise clients to do what they love, because that's a key to happiness. A second piece of advice for everyone is to keep your lifestyle down to a level where you can pay off your loans and leave your job or stay depending on your level of happiness.

The Career Doctor