What Do You Do When Your Dream Job Can't Pay the Bills?

When you land your first job, you are ecstatic. It’s usually the love for the job that keeps you in the profession. Despite the “passion wages” you love every moment you spend at work. But is living off passion sustainable in the long run?  Is your love for your job enough to put food on your table and that of your family? 

What do you do when your dream job can’t pay your bills anymore? Here are five things you could consider. 

Read Also: Should You Take That Job You Love or One that Pays?

1. Diversify Your Income

You have seen it from millionaires and businesses. We can’t emphasise enough on the importance of having multiple sources of income. Having additional income streams helps you become better financially prepared for future crises. You would be drawing income from two or more sources rather than just one job.

There are lots of ways you can diversify your income. You could freelance. Some of the most popular freelance options are:

• Graphic/web design
• Social media marketing 
• Translation services
• Tutoring
• Photography
• Digital Marketing
• Virtual assistance
• copywriting/editing

How you sell your services is perhaps the trickiest part of freelancing. You could sell yourself in person, via referrals, or use your network or you could use sites like Upwork to sell your services. 

You could diversify your income by renting out any spare rooms you might have or you could start a side hustle. You could start making investments in things that give you passive income like dividend-paying stocks.

Read Also: 7 Ideas to Diversify Your Sources of Income

2. Live Below Your Means

When you have worked your back off, put your blood, sweat, and tears into your work, it’s tempting to want to spend your entire paycheck month after month. So living below your means might not be something you would want to consider, however living below your means has several benefits. 

One major benefit of living below your means is you gain financial freedom. When you are not living paycheck to paycheck, you are likely to feel little to no financial stress. You won’t watch your loan debt continue to climb upward. Living below your means can help you become a responsible spender and saver. Achieving this financial discipline will give you a feeling of control and confidence. It also helps you save for a rainy day.

Read Also: 10 Warning Signs You are Living Beyond Your Means

3. Explore Alternative Dream Job Paths

Examining available career opportunities is the first step in finding or establishing alternative employment. Once you have made a list of areas you are interested in, think of what would be a great fit for you.

When making this decision, keep your goals and time frame in mind to make sure this move eliminates the possibility of not loving what you do in the long run. Take your time to ensure you are setting yourself up for a career you will enjoy for many years.

The possibilities for seeking or developing alternative career options are virtually endless. Some fields with many job options also offer higher earning potential due to the demand for specialised skills

Read Also: How to Change You Career When You Don’t Know What to Do Next

4. Seek Financial Assistance 

Most people find talking about money very difficult or asking for assistance from friends and family extremely uncomfortable. 

Opening up about your current financial situation to a loved one might be just what you need. Borrowing money from loved ones can be a huge help in certain situations. Your friends and family might be happy to help you if your request demonstrates a repayment plan. 

Before you ask your loved ones for assistance, you should first determine your needs. Determining your needs will help you avoid asking for too much or too little than you need. Write down what you need and the exact amount you need. If you can trim your budget or put any of your income towards your cause, then show how you plan to do that. Then determine the amount of assistance you’ll be asking for. 

Read Also: Money and Me: Ups and Downs of Lending to my Family Members

5. Negotiate Your Dream Job Compensation 

This might seem intimidating but you will be surprised how open managers are to negotiation. According to Forbes, 75% of managers expect you to negotiate when making a job offer. However, employees often don’t take up the opportunity. Usually, companies start with a lower salary hence giving room for negotiation. Therefore, if you don't negotiate, you could be losing out on money.

To try and negotiate your pay, consider scheduling a meeting with your boss. Before having the meeting with your boss, research average salaries earned in your role to use as examples to support your claims about your present income and the reasons you believe it should be higher. Highlight the amount of effort you put into your job based on your level of expertise and skills.

Apart from the love you have for your job, there are other reasons individuals might accept low pay. Some of the reasons are;

Lack of Skills or Education 

One of the common challenges many professionals face in their careers is limited qualifications for a role. If you are not getting paid enough for what you do, one of the reasons could be you don’t have enough training. Without proper training, it becomes difficult for you to take on more complex work without being a risk to your employer. However, don’t take this as a personal blow.

Investing in whatever knowledge you need to succeed and get better pay is not a bad idea. You could share your plans with your employer. This could help you find out if any programs could assist in paying for the costs of additional job-related training.

Job Hunt Difficulty 

In some instances, you might be willing to be underpaid if you haven't found employment for a while. If savings are running out, working for less money might be necessary and preferable to other alternatives.

Economic Necessity

When you are caught in financial hardships like debt, medical bills or you have family obligations, you might accept low wages out of economic necessity. You might feel you have no choice but to take whatever job is available to meet your immediate financial needs.

You are Not Adding Any Value

More often than not, you get paid to solve problems. The more problems you solve for a business the more you add value to it. Adding value to a business or product helps attract more customers which in turn boosts profits and revenue.  

For example. let's say you are given a Ksh50,000 budget for marketing and you bring in Ksh500,000 worth of sales. You are bringing in Ksh450,000 in value in this scenario. You may be compensated accordingly.

It’s never too late to start adding value so you can earn more. If you are currently underpaid, it's time to start looking for more opportunities to create value for your clients or employer. 

With permission, take the initiative and look for additional ways you could add value to your clients or the business you are working for. Find out what are some of the big problems that need to be solved and get to work.

Wrapping Up

There are numerous factors that could lead to being paid less than you deserve. Whether it's the specific industry you work in or the result of challenging economic conditions, the solutions above can help you address these issues.