Re: Salary Poll (hotcams)
I've been all over most of the board dollar-wise in my life. I will agree with those comments about low paying (dollar-wise) military jobs. I was stationed in Germany (still divided back then) and it was great.
I came home and made slightly more money but then had to pay real live bills. I went to school and paid more bills. Still living a good life though.
Then I started racing (wrenching) and began travelling the US. I had a cool/rewarding job made more money and got to see new places. Very cool.
13 years later, I was making $60K+, had travelled the world but saw very little. Australia, Brazil, Japan, and all over Canada but no time to stop and smell the roses (not even in Portland!). I saw very little of my wife and to top it all off I missed a full 6 months of our son's first year of life in the process. Very, very low time.
I managed to get a shop-based job (making the same moeny) with the team and that was great. I still got to contribute to our success and got to sleep in my own bed with my wife every night and play with my son every day. Near perfection. Then we lost some sponsors and the shop jobs (mechanics anyway) went away. I was not going to go back on the road after two short years of bliss.
So now, we are back closer to our families, I have less rewarding job (lots) and less than half the money. But, we are home everyday, can see nearly all family members within 1.5 hours (versus 5), and haven't had give up much, if anything.
So, although one always wishes for more, I will say that we are lucky. Nice house, home with family and old friends, time to ride a little more, and still have all the toys.