> It's more like--great I make a ton of money. now that you're here, try to keep it going.
Why? Like-so--in the long run, we're all dead. But, unlike many, many working folks in this country and in the world, we are pretty privileged to be able to enjoy a very comfortable life in this industry without worrying that we defer The Good Stuff so far that if we get hit by a bus tomorrow we'll never have had it.
Like, I've been there, I've asked myself if twice my total compensation in a pressure cooker would make me happier, and I realized it wouldn't. Maybe you're different. But you also sound pretty unhappy about it, and I just came in from playing fetch with my dog and I'm neither worried about retirement nor about what sort of a shitshow tomorrow will be.
YMMV.
> There are some success stories, but do we hear of people who left their high paying jobs only to be just as stressed in their new positions?
I'm sure that happens. But the whole point is preparation, isn't it? I've picked most of my jobs pretty carefully and after pretty long interview processes (my current one was a quick process because I've never vibed with a place like I do here, but that's an outlier). It means you're interviewing companies as much as you're being interviewed, but that's just fine.
I keep a little more in the e-fund than maybe my coworkers do, because there's always the chance that it takes a little longer to find that job. But it's never been a problem for me.