What's it like having and earning loads of money??

AskAsk

Gavin83 said:

Mr_Maths said:

In my line of work (data) very few people are attractive. It is true to say some industries do have a disproportionately high number of attractive people in them. Whilst it would be naive to think nobody uses looks as their criteria I think it's also partly to do with what people studied. 

I had friends at uni who studied Drama and I met lots of people from their course and there was definitely a lot of attractive people on there. On my Maths course though I only remember one female I found attractive and she dropped out in the first year. 

I work in data (more from the IT side) and I'm gorgeous. 

In all seriousness it'll depend on what industry you're in. If you work with data looks are entirely irrelevant. However if you're in a role that involves charming people or winning them over (think customer facing roles, sales roles, acting as mentioned above) looks become an extremely important part of your overall package. Some might consider this wrong but regardless this type of looks discrimination definitely exists.

research has shown that people who are attracttive tend to do better in life as they are chosen over their peers when it comes to competing.  people naturally like the look of attractive people.

however, in most profession, good looks on their own are not enough.  it has to be coupled with skills.

the research i read also said that for men, height is also important. that there is a direct correlation with height of a man and success.  that the boss is often taller than his employees.  i am not sure about this to be honest.

SingleSue

I've been at both ends of the spectrum, in my early twenties I was a higher rate tax payer, as part of a married couple we had an extremely comfortable joint income but now at 50 (and divorced), I earn less than 7k a year and scrimp every penny.

The extra money as an early 20's, childless person meant lots of gigs, lots of trips and no need to stress about anything. My mortgage at the time was more than what the average person was earning a month (it was more than what my husband earned a month) but it was a drop in the ocean compared to my monthly salary. I worked blooming hard for that money though, took on any extra hours going, bumped up my overtime payment as much as I could and worked my way quickly up the corporate tree. To be fair, I loved my job, really thrived on the pressure but the main attraction for me was the earning capacity...I got a huge thrill seeing the money going into the bank at the end of each month and it became the driver to push on and earn more and more.

When we had children (and after a period of eek times where we lost the house, my health and all our savings and had to work our way back up), the comfortable joint income meant we could 'do' Disneyland in style, the boys could go to any out of school activities they wished but we still kept them grounded. If an appliance broke, there wasn't the stress as we lived within our means and made sure we had savings.

I'm now in a job I really enjoy doing, I would love to earn more, be able to do more but unfortunately I am also disabled and a wheelchair user that has a carer that accompanies me to work. This in turns puts the vast majority of employers off (I'm not blaming them, it would probably put me off too - choice between two people, one disabled, one not and who wouldn't think about the potential for excess time off or adaptations needed for the disabled one). So I am working in a minimum wage job with restricted hours, and aside from PIP, I don't avail myself of the income top ups offered by the government (personal choice for health reasons) and although there is always a bit of an eek moment when an appliance makes an unusual noise, I'm actually doing ok. Yes, the finances are tight and there is no wiggle room at all in the budget for anything other than essential bills but it's actually turned out to be easier to manage than I expected.

I'm not settling though, I still look at job sites, still apply for jobs that are within my physical capabilities, in the hope that I can secure employment that pays better than NMW or provides the ability to work from home which in turn, would allow me to increase the hours that I am able to work.

Sandtree

Mr_Maths said:
Not sure about the height one, I think I've come across enough successful people who are short for that not to be true. Bernie Ecclestone for example. I think its more likely that being tall is more likely to give someone confidence and confidence is what leads to success. 

I dont think anyone was implying you have to be tall to be a successful man but a disproportionate of successful men are tall.

Separating cause and effect is also difficult; I would argue that highly obese (BMI over 35) are under represented in the “successful people” lists but is that because they are obese, are they obese and unsuccessful because they are lazy (for example) or is their obesity causing them to be unattractive and its their lack of attraction thats the issue... or are the two totally unrelated to each other? Stats easily show correlations but that doesnt explain why the correlation exists.

Exodi

oh_really said:

It gets swallowed up in the costs of living, just as it does with everyone else. Same debts, just proportional.

I think this is the pertinent point. I think peoples perception of income is also very similar to bodybuilding.

People who start off are not muscly and idolize the people that are. "If I was as muscly as those guys, I'd be so happy/confident and get all the ladies". Some time later they're get muscly, but instead of being content, they then idolize those that are even bigger than them and this cycle repeats indefintely. It is strange that body dysmorphia is highest amongst those that have better than average bodies.

This is similar to income. I think we should always try to appreciate what we have rather than what others have.

AskAsk

Mr_Maths said:

@AskAsk I once worked somewhere that had 2 very stroppy but very attractive receptionists. They would never say hello and always seemed reluctant to anything that was part of their job. A colleague left and I met up with him a few weeks later and he was comparing his new workplace to the one he'd left. He said we had better receptionists than his new place. I asked what was so bad about his new receptionists and he said nothing, they say hello in the morning and seem helpful enough but they're not very attractive.

Not sure about the height one, I think I've come across enough successful people who are short for that not to be true. Bernie Ecclestone for example. I think its more likely that being tall is more likely to give someone confidence and confidence is what leads to success. 

the research said that good looks helped women in particular to get jobs and do well.  i personally think this may be due to a large proportion of recruiters being men, but also women tend to be in jobs that are public facing and so being attractive is more important as it is part of the 'welcome' effect.

i can't say i agree about the height of men, but height obviously is a large factor for a man being attractive as short men are generally not considered attractive, and research has shown that being attractive is important.  being tall also command respect.  no one will try to bully a tall man, i guess.  but lots of male boss that i have worked for were just average height, so i am not sure about the claim with respect to height.

i have no idea who bernie ecclestone is, lol.  he sounds like a racing car driver 

Flatulentoldgoat

i have no idea who bernie ecclestone is, lol.  he sounds like a racing car driver 

Marcon

AskAsk said:

Mr_Maths said:

@AskAsk I once worked somewhere that had 2 very stroppy but very attractive receptionists. They would never say hello and always seemed reluctant to anything that was part of their job. A colleague left and I met up with him a few weeks later and he was comparing his new workplace to the one he'd left. He said we had better receptionists than his new place. I asked what was so bad about his new receptionists and he said nothing, they say hello in the morning and seem helpful enough but they're not very attractive.

Not sure about the height one, I think I've come across enough successful people who are short for that not to be true. Bernie Ecclestone for example. I think its more likely that being tall is more likely to give someone confidence and confidence is what leads to success. 

the research said that good looks helped women in particular to get jobs and do well.  i personally think this may be due to a large proportion of recruiters being men, but also women tend to be in jobs that are public facing and so being attractive is more important as it is part of the 'welcome' effect.

i can't say i agree about the height of men, but height obviously is a large factor for a man being attractive as short men are generally not considered attractive, and research has shown that being attractive is important.  being tall also command respect.  no one will try to bully a tall man, i guess.  but lots of male boss that i have worked for were just average height, so i am not sure about the claim with respect to height.

i have no idea who bernie ecclestone is, lol.  he sounds like a racing car driver 

You could always try google and find out who he is...

AskAsk

Marcon said:

AskAsk said:

Mr_Maths said:

@AskAsk I once worked somewhere that had 2 very stroppy but very attractive receptionists. They would never say hello and always seemed reluctant to anything that was part of their job. A colleague left and I met up with him a few weeks later and he was comparing his new workplace to the one he'd left. He said we had better receptionists than his new place. I asked what was so bad about his new receptionists and he said nothing, they say hello in the morning and seem helpful enough but they're not very attractive.

Not sure about the height one, I think I've come across enough successful people who are short for that not to be true. Bernie Ecclestone for example. I think its more likely that being tall is more likely to give someone confidence and confidence is what leads to success. 

the research said that good looks helped women in particular to get jobs and do well.  i personally think this may be due to a large proportion of recruiters being men, but also women tend to be in jobs that are public facing and so being attractive is more important as it is part of the 'welcome' effect.

i can't say i agree about the height of men, but height obviously is a large factor for a man being attractive as short men are generally not considered attractive, and research has shown that being attractive is important.  being tall also command respect.  no one will try to bully a tall man, i guess.  but lots of male boss that i have worked for were just average height, so i am not sure about the claim with respect to height.

i have no idea who bernie ecclestone is, lol.  he sounds like a racing car driver 

You could always try google and find out who he is...

na, that would spoil the theme.

Ray_Singh-Blue

Interesting thread title containing 2 questions with different answers.

My view is that having loads of money is empowering and liberating. Your choices open up.

Earning loads of money on the other hand, is largely difficult and stressful. You have to do stuff you may not want to, at times you may not want to.

Top prize is to have one without the other. A very few people get lucky. But most people who aspire to have loads of money, must a) first earn it, and b) not spend all of it.

ratechaser

Ray_Singh-Blue said:

Interesting thread title containing 2 questions with different answers.

My view is that having loads of money is empowering and liberating. Your choices open up.

Earning loads of money on the other hand, is largely difficult and stressful. You have to do stuff you may not want to, at times you may not want to.

Top prize is to have one without the other. A very few people get lucky. But most people who aspire to have loads of money, must a) first earn it, and b) not spend all of it.

And c) have an exit plan to fully enjoy it at some point.

That's the really tough one, as I am finding out!