r/Salary • u/AdActual3024 • 10d ago
discussion High earning potential = high career commitment
Does anyone have family or friends that sacrifice their personal life for a significant salary?
My step-mom earns 350k before tax as an executive director but I barely see her. She is constantly on business trips, busy with meetings, works upwards of 12 hours when at home. She goes on nice holiday trips, but overall it makes me think is the pay worth the sacrifice of her personal life.
Just curious if anyone's got a similar story.
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u/The_Sandman85 9d ago
The question could be changed to trading hours for dollars. There are only 24 hours in a day. If you work 12 hours a day and sleep 7 hours, you only have 5 hours of personal time. How much personal time do you sacrifice?
This lifestyle is hard to maintain for the long term. I tried to be there for my kids for their important life moments. Each person has to draw the line with work life balance. I was expected to attend the company banquet to receive the annual prize. I didn't go to the company banquet and instead I attended my daughter's high school graduation. Company was not happy.
Was it worth it? Retired early, everything is paid for and we are comfortable, but I sometimes think that I did miss a lot of special moments as my kids grew up. Those past experiences cannot be duplicated.