I recently took a management class to wrap up my BSCS that discussed Maslow's Heirarchy of Needs [0], which I thought articulated some feelings of need I have had throughout my career(s) in facilities management, project management, and general IT. In a nutshell it describes 5 stages of needs: physiological, safety, love and belongingness, esteem, and self-actualization.
For myself, this certainly rings true. I was fortunate to get my salary in a comfortable spot early on in a career (outside of tech), and spent a few years in that comfort zone to begin dialing it back often taking salary cuts to move towards things that were more interesting and/or had better working conditions. The security kept me around, and now that I have the physiological and safety needs "locked in," I can't imagine myself pivoting into anything else - it's a rat race to the finish line from here, and maybe I'll climb up the levels of the next 3 in the hierarchy.
For myself, this certainly rings true. I was fortunate to get my salary in a comfortable spot early on in a career (outside of tech), and spent a few years in that comfort zone to begin dialing it back often taking salary cuts to move towards things that were more interesting and/or had better working conditions. The security kept me around, and now that I have the physiological and safety needs "locked in," I can't imagine myself pivoting into anything else - it's a rat race to the finish line from here, and maybe I'll climb up the levels of the next 3 in the hierarchy.
[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow%27s_hierarchy_of_needs