Low pay low stress jobs/lifestyle

You could try building out an online lifestyle-type business, like selling apps or some affiliate marketing stuff.

That would give you enough passive income for you do whatever you wanted with your time.

I think you should try it. I have always thought that Albert Einstein was able to focus a lot more on his research thanks to his low pay/low stress job.

I have also been thinking on trying, it is a bit difficult to try that with family, but I guess it could work.

Do try it, it would be nice if you share your results after.

Do your parents have "impressive jobs"? Beware of those who want you to fulfil their thwarted aspirations. And even if they do, you don't have to follow in their footsteps.

In my experience when in high pay/high stress jobs, I spent far more and could never save. The low pay/low stress jobs were the ones where I had fun and managed to save heaps.

I have a friend who worked at Arthur Andersen before it imploded. Before all of that went down, he quit, stopped working on the CA designation, and worked at Starbucks. After a while, he became store manager, then took a corporate job as a location scout/developer. He did that for a few years, and then pulled the plug again and is now a letter carrier for Canada Post.

AFAIK, he's enjoyed life more while in the two "easy" jobs - less money, but more freedom and energy to enjoy life.

I'm trapped on the hamster wheel myself.

You might want to check out Mike Rowe's Ted talk, he touches on some of this. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRVdiHu1VCc

I'm in the process of changing careers now. I tried doing the IT thing for several years and ended up hating it. There was a lot of poor work/life balance, stress with meeting deadlines, poor job security (I'm not a developer), etc. This was with several different companies so I don't think it was just poor luck. My passion is working with computers & technology but I realized one day that it just wasn't worth it for me to be so stressed out.

So I spent some time researching careers and I'm now going back community college for something health related. The job security is outstanding, the stress is fairly low, and I actually get to directly help improve the lives of others every day. The pay isn't anything crazy but it's definitely enough to live comfortably on if you just want a modest lifestyle.

I started a little catering business on the side. Italian and French cooking is a passion of mine, and I had this plan of starting a catering business. While it is a fun side project, I came to the conclusion that I wouldn't want to do it fulltime. I can live with the pay cut if you're doing something that you love, but after a while you kind of miss using your brain instead of your hands. The upside is that you're directly in contact with your customers, which is refreshing after building web apps for people you never meet in person. Very rewarding to see and hear that they are happy with something you've made.

Occasionally I do a catering gig, so it's more like a nice, paid hobby.

On a side note, if you're looking for a stress-free job, don't do anything that has to do with restaurants or catering. It's like juggling six flaming torches in one hand while being yelled at.

I cut grass for a while immediately after college, and enjoyed it thoroughly at the time. I was always in shape, had a great tan and could do the job on virtually no sleep. I read a lot of books during that time and did a lot of thinking while I was behind the lawnmower, and the best part was that my mental energy was mine to spend. If all jobs paid the same, I'd have a hard time not going back to something like that.

While it's a novel thing to try, I don't know how low stress those jobs can be when you have financial pressures to pay the bills. I think it's a matter of what stress you will face in today's society.