What's better than pay?
Tags: career
Published: 2019-04-17 12:20:08

---
title: What's better than pay?
published: true
description: The pay check is important, but it isn't everything
tags: career
---

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>Lately I've been seeing a lot of questions about salary on Twitter.  One user asked:</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:quote -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><strong>"Do you prioritize salary over culture/environment of a company or does culture/environment take precedent over salary? I wish I could have both, but so far, no luck. What’s your preference if you can’t have both?"</strong></p><cite>https://twitter.com/ParissAthena/status/1113855296357662725</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This is a great question, which my answer was:</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:quote -->
<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><strong>"I found salary was more important early in my career.  Now culture is way more important."</strong></p><cite>https://twitter.com/webdad3/status/1114001651889627136</cite></blockquote>
<!-- /wp:quote -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>My statement is 100% true.  When I was younger first starting out, I chased the dollar.  I took advantage of the fact that programming was a growing field.  I've now had 14 jobs in approximately 20 years.  Each one of those jobs usually was an increase in pay (except during the dot com bust).  </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>I could look for a new job and get a salary bump here and there, but now that I'm older I look at how much vacation time I get &amp; how much my 401k match is.  My greatest concern now with starting a new job is starting over with the people and having to prove myself all over again...  I guess I'm finally adulting!</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>I realize that no job is perfect, as there will always be struggles with management &amp; people.  For me knowing the struggles (people) at my current job is better than learning the struggles at a new one.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>This topic got me thinking that, I have had some TERRIBLE jobs, some MEDIOCRE jobs &amp; a few GREAT jobs!  The great jobs all had one thing in common &amp; that was chemistry with the people that I worked with.  I have 3 such companies where the people made the job feel easy.  They are American Specialty Health, Forrest Oil &amp; Rev Gen.  Each and every one of those companies that I worked for are a part of me &amp; my story.  They are also the bar I hold when comparing to my current job.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>My current job &amp; team is pretty good.  It might turn into a very good one (possibly the 4th GREAT job), only time will tell.  When I was at American Specialty Health it wasn't great until a manager was fired than it became Great Job #1.  That was about 6ish months into my tenure there.  Forrest Oil &amp; Rev Gen were 6 month contracts, but the chemistry was equally as good (as ASH), but it happened very quickly. </p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph -->
<p>So what's better than pay?  Well, pay is pretty damned important, but having fun where your job doesn't feel like a job is more important than pay for me now.</p>
<!-- /wp:paragraph -->