{"id":146287,"date":"2022-11-09T14:38:01","date_gmt":"2022-11-09T13:38:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/?p=146287"},"modified":"2025-12-19T11:26:29","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T10:26:29","slug":"the-non-existent-ethical-fun-and-high-paying-jobs","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.erasmusmagazine.nl\/en\/2022\/11\/09\/the-non-existent-ethical-fun-and-high-paying-jobs\/","title":{"rendered":"The non-existent ethical, fun, and high-paying jobs"},"content":{"rendered":"

If it\u2019s one thing I\u2019ve learned from my business studies, it is that business academia\u2019s biggest struggle is defining what business is. Ask any of your business teachers to give you one single definition of their field and I guarantee you will only get tears in return.<\/p>\n

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\n\t\n\n<\/svg>\n<\/span>\n\tImage by:<\/span>\n\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tLevien Willemse<\/a>, \t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\tPauline Wiersema<\/a>\t\t\t\t\t<\/span>\n\t<\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/figure>

Getting a degree in something no one can define can sometimes feel like the equivalent of spending thousands of euros on a retreat to find yourself, only to find out that there is no self. While I am trying to find a job in this confusing environment, I\u2019ve often played with the thought of having writing as my career instead. However, if writing were to become my job, would it continue to be fun? In fact, is it even possible to do something fun for a living?<\/p>\n\n\t

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\n\t\tIt is fun for a while, until you get sick of identifying yourself as the person who \u2018can never really afford to eat out\u2019\n\t<\/blockquote>\n\n\t<\/figure>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t<\/div>\n

My parent\u2019s generation has a straightforward answer to that question. Want to do something fun? Go ahead and don\u2019t get paid. There are a lot of creative bureaus that will let you work your butt off for them for free. And it is fun for a while, until you get sick of identifying yourself as the person who \u2018can never really afford to eat out\u2019.<\/p>\n

So, you start eyeing them slowly, those creative jobs that pay well. You find out that you can write jokes for a firm that makes money by getting people into debt by stimulating their retail therapy. However, it doesn\u2019t take long until your friends from your old creative job start shaming you for working for a big bad corporation.<\/p>\n

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Figure 1.<\/span><\/p><\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>

So, you\u2019re back at square one. However, this time you got used to eating out and don\u2019t really want to go back to eating canned tuna five days a week. Yet the magnetic buzz from your moral compass (your leftist friends that are still working at your old job) won\u2019t let you sleep at night. You only have one choice left, and that is to work as an internal communicator at a state-owned establishment. You\u2019re making good money, and sure you don\u2019t avoid the reflection of the mirror anymore. But the lightning of inspiration hasn\u2019t struck you in months.<\/p>\n

The reality is that it is impossible to find a fun, high-paying, and ethical job post-graduation. As you can see below in figure 1, there is a clear research gap in defining what those jobs could be. I guess I\u2019ll leave it to business academia to solve that problem.<\/p>\n\n\t

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