Money or Happiness?

Money or Happiness?

Joel Hermosillo

University of Arkansas at Little Rock

11/3/22
Money or Happiness?

Introduction

Do I want to do these jobs because of the salary, or because this is something I would be

happy with doing for the rest of my life? That's a question that’s been on my mind since I chose

what career path I wanted to take. With the amount of money some jobs are earning annually, it’s

very tempting for people to go into whatever career where they can earn around $500,000 dollars

a year, even if they dislike the career. However, it does make one wonder if it is worth it to go

through years of struggling to study for a career, just to earn a high paycheck.

Student’s perspective

I remember when I was little that I was told that when I grew up I should be a doctor.

Reasons for becoming a doctor? They work in a better working environment, they are well

respected and depending on the type of doctors like a neurosurgeon or a doctor that specializes in

Thoracic surgery, they also gain a lot of money. When I got to high school, I realized that

becoming a doctor wasn't the right choice for me. It takes 6-8 years of studying chemistry,

human anatomy, and biology classes that I wasn’t very fond of in high school. Then I got

interested in engineering. Some engineering careers like robotics or electronics engineering

careers involve building products, which is something that I find enjoyable. It only takes around

4 years of studying, and engineering is very broad with many job opportunities. It is also in high

demand right now and it is theorized that the need for engineers will increase as time moves on.

Engineers also tend to gain as much if not more money than some doctors. However, one thing I

noticed from making my career decisions, was that there was one common factor in those

decisions. And that was money.

I always thought that money was everything. If someone has a lot of money, they can buy

all the things that make them happy. Affording fast cars and big houses, as well as buying all the
Money or Happiness?

video game consoles. Or, by making responsible decisions, and affording health insurance, home

security, wifi, as well as other essential needs like food, clothing, supplies, etc., shouldn't be a

problem. However, as I get older, I see many people talk about money isn’t everything. After

doing some research, I saw that many people believe that even if someone has all the money in

the world, there are some things that even money can afford. They talk about how money can’t

buy happiness, or things that would make someone happy like love or friendship.

Money

Those who say that money is more important than happiness, make the argument that

money can buy happiness, just not in the way people usually think of it. When it comes to money

vs happiness, people will usually think about buying expensive things that would make

someone’s life more entertaining, versus the happiness that you get from real friends, loved ones,

etc., that money can’t buy. Of course, there’s the argument that money is needed to buy a house,

food, and clothing which will make someone who doesn’t have those things happy. In business

professor Michael Norton's Ted Talk, he discusses the topic of how money can buy happiness. In

the beginning, mentions how the statement “money can’t buy happiness” is false and instead

says that “If you think money can’t buy happiness, you're not spending it right” (Norton, 2012).

He claims that someone will be happier if they were to spend on someone who’s less fortunate

than them. To prove this, he conducted an experiment where he would give people random

amounts of money and tell them to spend it however they want. After getting the results, he

notices how the people who spent money on themselves didn’t have any change of mood or

anything, while people who spent money on others less fortunate, reported being at least slightly

happier than before (Norton, 2012).

Happiness

On the side of happiness, people claim that being happy is more important than gaining a

lot of money. In Psychology Professor Sarah Gervais’ article, she states to gain a high paycheck,

it would require to “work at long and stressful jobs (even if it is not a fun job) just to keep that

income” (Gervais, 2015). Another issue with having a lot of money is that it can have a negative

impact on your social life. For example, if someone were to win the lottery, they would either

“spend all the money and go into debt” or “their friends and family will bug them for money”

which in turn can ruin their social relationships (Norton, 2012).

The Balance

Of course, there isn’t just one side to pick. There is a way to work for money while at the

same time still being able to have an enjoyable life. It's possible for one to get a job that they

don’t like but make a lot of money, while at the same time focusing on hobbies and activities to

help their lives from being completely miserable. In designs engineer Jordan Duhe's video

interview, she says that it takes “conscious effort” to manage time for work and hobbies, which

includes “setting goals and milestones” that give her something to “work for and improve

towards”(Duhe, 2022).

In conclusion

The answer between money or happiness depends on what one believes to be more

valuable. Some will choose money because it is needed to buy essentials and it can be used to

buy happiness by giving to those who need it more. Some will say that money can’t buy the

things that make one truly happy like love or friendships. Some will even settle somewhere in

the middle where they can earn a high paycheck, while at the same time still enjoying their lives

regardless if they work at a job they dislike.

References

Duhe, J. (2022). Work-life balance. ASME Video Gallery. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from

http://videos.asme.org/detail/videos/career-education/video/5825021013001/

Gervais, S. (2015, November 11). Can money buy happiness? Can Money Buy Happiness? |

Department of Psychology. Retrieved November 15, 2022, from

https://psychology.unl.edu/can-money-buy-happiness

Norton, M. (2012, January 28). Money can buy happiness: Michael Norton at tedxcambridge

2011. YouTube. Retrieved November 16, 2022, from

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZwGEQcFo9RE