Salary, how much is enough?
Salary, according to my friend Muhaimin Zulkarnain
"Salary, according to my grandmother.
My grandma once asked me about my salary. I told her. And she was disappointed. Not in a way that most people are disappointed when they hear about low salary, or low CGPA, or low job ranking. She was disappointed, I believe, in how the world works.
My salary was decent, of course. I couldn't complain, really. It was better than nothing, right?
But she said, "Next time when you get a job, you should ask for more."
Now, keep in mind, my grandma never worked in a corporate setting. She never worked under someone else, or represented a company. She never had a salary or a paycheck. Her family had a business way back in the day. So you can say that they were quite entrepreneurial.
"They don't pay fresh graduates a lot," I told her. "It's actually quite standard these days."
"Still, you should ask for more," she said in a very stubborn tone only a lady her age can project.
"Okay, how much more?" I asked.
"RM5000 maybe. RM10,000. Or RM20,000."
I smiled at my grandma, looking at her serious face. So serious as if she really meant for me to ask for THAT much salary.
"But grandma, no employer pays people THAT much."
"Well, they should," she said. "If someone wants to buy my grandson's time away from his family, they might as well pay THAT much. Human life has value."
I didn't know what to say. So I just nodded and told her that I will try better next time.
It made me realize how much time I'm spending trying to build a good career, trying to chase something ephemeral, working hard so that someone else can get rich, getting a few Ringgit in the bank at the end of each month, trying to prove my worth to a world that doesn't even care if I live or die. Damn. At the same time, my grandmother, my mother, my father, my sister, they are all getting older and my days with them are getting lesser and lesser as time keeps moving on and on and on. I mean, money IS important, don't get me wrong. But one day they won't be here anymore and no amount of money can replace that.
I realize maybe we should prioritize something more than others. Especially when that something is our family."
Product Owner @ Designveloper & Lumin
7 年So this whole story can be summarized like this: "Work-Life Balance"? I've heard of a few cases when young people died from working too hard. Some of them have tough working environment, yes, but some others just got carried away. The purpose for me in life is always putting my family on top. A pain, which I guess you can relate, from losing my father so soon that now I fear my time for the rest of the family, and especially my newborn girl, is always not enough. Working for me is basically a mean to make a living, even though what I do might be important to the development of our country or society. Family always come first.
Be here for your digital journey in geoscience
7 年That is why we should not sell our priceless time but our intellectual properties. Thank you for such a thoughtful article!
Global Coordinator at The Dubai Dataroom by GeomodL International / Powering the Future through Superior Visualization / Fast Track Workflows / Accurate Earth Prediction
7 年Nice post and nice subject. "I'm spending trying to build a good career, trying to chase something ephemeral, working hard so that someone else can get rich" you say it! that is why, for young people, the objective at early career stage should NEVER be money. it is about becoming the best, the expert in something valuable so that one day, you end up working hard so that You can get rich and you can set up your own rules, timings, schedule and enjoy your other things in life.