# Why do/did you work? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [July 14, 2016, 9:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926 "2016-07-14T21:10:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Aspidistra](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/aspidistra/32/3894_2.png) [@Aspidistra](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Aspidistra)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 4:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/21 "2016-07-15T04:16:45Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > My entire career, including my post-retirement temp jobs and my current full-time job, has been for or in support of the Department of Defense. I could never tie my engineering to a specific person, but there were times when I could point to a specific airplane and say “I was on the project that did _\_ to that plane.” Did you ever get to fly in any of the planes your team did _\_ to? 'Cos that would be pretty cool ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 5:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/22 "2016-07-15T05:06:23Z")
I’ve been lucky to hit upon a line of work (several, actually) which I do enjoy. I love it when my presence there makes a difference, when an idea I had solves a problem or saves us effort. My current job isn’t like that; I want to wrap up some out-of-work projects I have going, and if things aren’t better by then it’s _hasta nunca jamás_, baby. There is also the whole “working pays for my food and my internet” side, but if I had enough money to not need to work I’d just have the freedom to be more picky about only choosing interesting projects. ---
**Author:** ![Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tim_r.mortiss/32/142_2.png) [@Tim\_R.Mortiss](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tim_R.Mortiss)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 5:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/23 "2016-07-15T05:43:08Z")
I once read an interview with Jerry Seinfeld where he said something vastly more interesting than anything he ever said in his sitcom (and I liked his sitcom). He was asked, why do people want money? His answer was: “People don’t want money to buy things. They want money so they don’t have to worry about not having money!” I thought that was brilliant and correct. I don’t want a better life than I currently have. My life is fine. But I would love to win the lottery, just so that I don’t have to worry about LOSING the lifestyle that I currently have. ---
**Author:** ![stui\_magpie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/stui_magpie/32/11010_2.png) [@stui\_magpie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/stui_magpie)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 6:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/24 "2016-07-15T06:03:14Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Hrmm… My brain is not wired to understand people who work for any reason other than, “Because shit costs money.” I’m with @ **cmkeller** : if I could live and not work, I’d be here for all of that. That’s definitely my main reason. If I had enough money that I didn’t have to work (and by enough I don’t mean just surviving but enough to go on holidays, buy shit I want etc) then I’d take it. The real truth would be somewhere in the middle though, when I have enough to retire I may end up still doing some form of volunteer work a day or so a week just to break up the routine of being home. ---
**Author:** ![jabiru](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/bbce88/32.png) [@jabiru](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jabiru)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 8:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/25 "2016-07-15T08:26:32Z")
I really enjoy my work and think that my role (not necessarily me, personally) makes a difference. Besides which, I’d go crazy without work. ---
**Author:** ![Richard\_Pearse](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/richard_pearse/32/13144_2.png) [@Richard\_Pearse](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Richard_Pearse)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 9:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/26 "2016-07-15T09:55:29Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Off the top of my head, I can think of a few reasons: > [ul] > [li]Really like what you’re doing[/li][li]Want to be able to pay for hobbies/toys/vacations/vices[/li][li]Saving for retirement so that you can be comfortable in your golden years[/li][li]Want to achieve a particular lifestyle[/li][/ul] > > How about you? For me it started out being #1, now it’s all about 2 and 4. #3 is important theoretically important but I’m not forward thinking enough for it to be an actual motivation. A while back I had 6 weeks off work with a broken collar bone, I did not miss it. At. All. But I could not live without the pay, so I work. Having said that, there is no other job I would rather have, it’s just that this one has become uninspiring. ---
**Author:** ![FairyChatMom](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/fairychatmom/32/21906_2.png) [@FairyChatMom](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FairyChatMom)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/27 "2016-07-15T11:50:08Z")
> [@Aspidistra](#): > > Did you ever get to fly in any of the planes your team did _\_ to? 'Cos that would be pretty cool Unfortunately, no. When I was a technician in the Navy, women were not yet allowed to fly in “combat” aircraft, therefore not permitted to go thru the ejection seat training required before you were allowed to fly. Then when I was working for the Navy as an engineer, while I could climb on, in, and around the planes (mostly P-3s) by the time my part on a particular plane was done, I was on to the next project, and I generally didn’t even know when the ones I worked on were completed and released back into service. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 11:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/28 "2016-07-15T11:55:57Z")
I work so I have money, because I love spending money. If I won a 25 million dollar jackpot tomorrow, I wouldn’t even go in to clean out my desk, I’d hire someone to do that. I’d sell the business for $1.00 to my employees. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/29 "2016-07-15T12:12:05Z")
I work my day job because I need money. Occasionally there’s a task that’s academically interesting, but most of the time it’s just tedious stuff that I would rather not be doing (I suppose that’s why they dangle money in front of me to do it…). There’s an annual review during which my boss gives me positive feedback, but this seems like a low hurdle, since it’s only one guy. Some would advise “get a new job,” but I can’t really imagine _any_ job that I’d really want to do for 40 hours a week. I also have a side job in which I manufacture physical goods at home and sell them on the internet. I like working with my hands, and there is great satisfaction in seeing my products go out the door and in the knowledge that thousands of my customers have voted for me with their wallets. Some friends and family have encouraged me to expand my little enterprise, start selling my stuff through stores, but I don’t want it to grow; it’s already at about 200 hours per year, and that’s plenty (there have been several occasions where I’ve _raised_ prices to limit sales quantities, and work hours, to a manageable number). If I expand it, it gets more complicated: paperwork, hiring employees, commitments to resellers, and so on. Then it stops being fun and starts being an obligation, i.e. a job. Wife and I are trying to strike a balance between living well at the moment and saving aggressively for retirement (mostly the latter). We’re in our mid-40s right now; if things go well we’ll have enough to retire when we’re in our mid-50s. It will be nice to be free of this job, but at the same time I wonder about what I will really do with an extra 40+ hours per week, and how I will deal with the loss of social interaction that I currently get at work. It’s not like I am really close to my coworkers, but suddenly not being around people at all will be a big change… ---
**Author:** ![Cardigan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cardigan/32/187_2.png) [@Cardigan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cardigan)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 12:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/30 "2016-07-15T12:56:20Z")
> [@cmkeller](#): > > I work to feed/clothe/house/insure my family. If I had the money to live on and not work, I’d do it in a heartbeat. That about sums it up for me. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/31 "2016-07-15T13:11:18Z")
I haven’t had any jobs I really liked, including this one. A lot of times I feel unimportant. However, I get really depressed when I don’t work. I need the purpose in my life. If I won the lottery, I’d quit this place and go do volunteer work in some endeavor that mattered to me. ---
**Author:** ![msmith537](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/d9b06d/32.png) [@msmith537](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/msmith537)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/32 "2016-07-15T13:15:30Z")
> [@KellyCriterion](#): > > Elon Musk doesn’t need the money, he could comfortably retire today, but he won’t. And I can understand why. This kind of gets to the heart of the question. Yes, we all understand that most people go to their bullshit job that they hate because they need to pay for food, clothes and housing. Indeed, the entire economy works because everyone picks whatever stupid job they are willing to do and collectively everything that needs doing eventually gets done. I feel like people like Elon Musk as well as doctors and engineers typically have a better time with this question because presumably there is a large aspect to their job that they enjoy besides collecting a paycheck. People who sit in a call center or clean shit for a living, probably not so much. > [@kayaker](#): > > I work so I have money, because I love spending money. If I won a 25 million dollar jackpot tomorrow, I wouldn’t even go in to clean out my desk, I’d hire someone to do that. I’d sell the business for $1.00 to my employees. What could you possibly have in your desk that you just couldn’t go and buy much better versions of with $25 MM? ---
**Author:** ![gnoitall](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/bb73d2/32.png) [@gnoitall](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gnoitall)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/33 "2016-07-15T13:42:30Z")
> [@Reluctant\_A](#): > > Hrmm… My brain is not wired to understand people who work for any reason other than, “Because shit costs money.” I’m with @ **cmkeller** : if I could live and not work, I’d be here for all of that. Roger that. Beyond simple survival, my wife and kids want stuff. Lots of it. And no one will give me stuff without money. And no one will give me money without work. So I work. Geez. If I had to self-actualized based on my efforts and accomplishments at work, I’d have opened my veins years ago. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 1:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/34 "2016-07-15T13:54:09Z")
> [@Chefguy](#): > > I worked to live, not the other way around. As soon as we had enough to retire on, I quite and never looked back. This^. I work to live, I do not live to work. I will retire as soon as I can comfortably do so, and spend my time volunteering and recreating! [sub]and honey-doing. I’m sure the honey do list will be long.[/sub] ---
**Author:** ![gallows\_fodder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/8c91f0/32.png) [@gallows\_fodder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gallows_fodder)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/35 "2016-07-15T14:05:33Z")
I work in a job I barely tolerate, but in a field I love (library science). My job is pretty much useless and I spend 39 hours of my 40-hour week just doing busy work and surfing the net. If I could transfer to another department, I’d do it in a heartbeat and thrive on knowing I was actively contributing to others’ education. My dream job is real and potentially attainable (I would need more coursework and experience, and the job market would have to be better), and if I had it, I would work because I loved doing the work. Now, I work to pay my bills and feed my cats. ---
**Author:** ![kayaker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kayaker/32/441_2.png) [@kayaker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kayaker)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/36 "2016-07-15T14:30:20Z")
> [@msmith537](#): > > What could you possibly have in your desk that you just couldn’t go and buy much better versions of with $25 MM? Personal stuff, some of it irreplaceable. A drawing my son did when he was two. The clock my daughter made in wood-shop with the name of my business wood-burned on its face. ---
**Author:** ![Machine\_Elf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/82dd89/32.png) [@Machine\_Elf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Machine_Elf)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 2:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/37 "2016-07-15T14:44:53Z")
> [@Richard\_Pearse](#): > > A while back I had 6 weeks off work with a broken collar bone, I did not miss it. At. All. Back in 2013, [the US federal government shut down for a little over two weeks.](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_federal_government_shutdown_of_2013) “Non-essential” federal employees were not allowed to report for duty during this period, and we didn’t receive pay during that time either (though we did get paid later for that time period, despite not working). For people living paycheck-to-paycheck I suppose it was stressful, but for the rest of us who had adequate savings, it was basically a bonus vacation. Nobody knew it was going to happen until it happened, and nobody knew when it was going to end, so we couldn’t really leave town for a road trip; I just spent a lot of time taking care of accumulated chores and projects around the house. It was great. > [@Reluctant A.](#): > > Hrmm… My brain is not wired to understand people who work for any reason other than, “Because shit costs money.” Do you have a hobby that involves producing something that could conceivably be of value to others (i.e. not playing chess, but something like knitting or woodworking or programming)? OK, now imagine you can earn a living doing that hobby. This is one group of people who will happily work even if they don’t particularly need the money. And then of course there are also the people who are in a position to change the world and get their name in the history books. These are the politicians and captains of industry, people who are millionaires and billionaires but enjoy the experience of wielding power and making big things happen, rather than just relaxing on a private beach all day while a man-servant brings them mixed drinks. If you stretch things conceptually just a bit, you could lump these guys into the first category, in that they work because they really enjoy what they do, and the millions of dollars pouring into their bank account is not really a big deal to them. OTOH, it’s pretty rare to find someone who is wealthy enough to live like a king but continues to work a 9-5 grind at a stamping plant. ---
**Author:** ![TriPolar](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/tripolar/32/3008_2.png) [@TriPolar](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TriPolar)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/38 "2016-07-15T15:23:16Z")
> [@Machine\_Elf](#): > > OTOH, it’s pretty rare to find someone who is wealthy enough to live like a king but continues to work a 9-5 grind at a stamping plant. Right. But there is plenty of room between a machine operator and running your own business that provides jobs to people who need to work to pay for stuff, or producing creative works, or inventing things, or volunteering to help people, and all sorts of other things people can do with their time. Now if you want to sit around and watch TV, or travel the world, or just buy junk that you use once and throw away, there’s nothing wrong with that. I’d say you are blessed if you don’t get bored doing that. ---
**Author:** ![XT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/xt/32/456_2.png) [@XT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/XT)\ **Post date:** [July 15, 2016, 3:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/39 "2016-07-15T15:32:51Z")
> [@FairyChatMom](#): > > Assuming you’re not independently wealthy or that you don’t have a Sugar Daddy/Sugar Mama, it’s a given that you work to pay for rent, groceries, and the like. But I expect for most folks, there’s more to it than that. > > Off the top of my head, I can think of a few reasons: > [ul] > [li]Really like what you’re doing[/li][li]Want to be able to pay for hobbies/toys/vacations/vices[/li][li]Saving for retirement so that you can be comfortable in your golden years[/li][li]Want to achieve a particular lifestyle[/li][/ul] > > More often than not, I enjoyed what I was doing, but my prime motivation encompasses the second and third reasons above, heavily weighted towards the third. My husband and I have been able to own boats, support our hobbies (woodworking and pottery) and take some cool vacations. In the last 10 years, we’ve concentrated on bulking up our savings and working with a financial planner, with a view to being fully retired by the end of 2018. I think we’ll do OK. I hope we’ll do OK. > > How about you? I used to really love what I do. Being a network engineer is (or can be) a lot of fun, building networks, troubleshooting problems, getting to play with the new tech toys and integrate them into the system. These days it’s less fun, for me, as I’m just getting tired of doing it (over 30 years now). I work mainly for the retirement. The dot com bust really crushed my assets and it’s been a long, slow climb back up to financial stability. I had planned to retire in my 40’s, maybe invest in some venture capital startups and the like. Now I’ll be lucky to retire in my 50’s, and will need both my social security, investments and the retirement from the state to live the comfortable retirement I planned on. C’est la vie. ---
**Author:** ![Dereknocue67](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6de8d8/32.png) [@Dereknocue67](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dereknocue67)\ **Post date:** [July 16, 2016, 8:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926/40 "2016-07-16T08:19:53Z")
All of the reasons you cite for working are certainly appropriate. Several years ago while driving to work, I asked myself a question I had never consciously considered, “Why am I going to work today?” I thought about it for a moment and realized I didn’t have an answer . . . and smiled. I began the process for an early retirement that day and several weeks later began enjoying the best part of my life. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-do-did-you-work/759926.md?page=3)