Why do dream jobs pay so little?
Companies in high-demand fields like sports and entertainment deliberately underpay staff because they know high worker interest guarantees a large applicant pool. This exploitation leaves skilled professionals — such as software engineers and senior accountants — earning a fraction of market rate, preventing them from sustaining a living wage in major cities.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Use work to fund your passion rather than turning your passion into your careerDid this help you?
- 2Work in a tangentially related industry that offers better pay and culture while still maintaining personal interestDid this help you?
- 3Begging the current employer for more hoursDid this help you?
- 4Relying on parents to pay for rent, gas, and remaining living expensesDid this help you?
- 5Working a second on-demand retail job flexibly when shifts are availableDid this help you?
- 6Planning to switch companies after meeting a tenure milestone and returning from a tripDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I absolutely love my ABA job and I can confidently say it’s one of those jobs that I was made to do. Target on the other hand... kind of really hate it.”source ↗
“I NEED to be more financially independent. I cant keep 100% relying on my parents so I told my parents I’d start paying some rent.”source ↗
“Is it worth it to quit my ABA job and just go back to target full time even though I’d be miserable?”source ↗
“sports companies deliberately underpay because they know people want to work there. I've seen MLB teams offer $20/hr for a software engineer.”source ↗
“when i first moved to LA, the clippers were hiring an accounting manager to oversee a team of 8 and it was listed at like $60k, i was genuinely shocked at how little they think they can get away with paying”source ↗
“Yep, I saw a posting for a senior accountant at the NFL in NYC at $75k recently”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 2Why do family businesses refuse to pay fair wages?
- 4Why do job listings hide the salary?
- 14Should I take a very low-paying entry-level job out of desperation?
- 5How to compete with clients hiring cheap unverified contractors
- 3Is it too late to switch to a trade at 45?
- 9Why can't you pay rent on an entry-level IT salary?