bb, I don't know what a fulfilling life would look like. Is it fulfilling to be able to pay the bills and afford to do what you want to do in your spare time? Is it fulfilling to be a starving artist? Would committing to my job, or even throwing myself into it, in the pursuit of success (becoming good at my job) be fulfilling? Because it is nice to be good at things.

I'm not the sort to cash out my savings and ride into the sunset on a grand life-changing adventure, or to start a business out of nowhere in an attempt to change my life. I very much like to have plans, a little safety net, triple-checked bolts and all that. While I certainly have passions I have a lot of difficulty seeing how they apply in terms of employment in The Real World. Which means that basically I'm looking at a life of employment in fields that aren't my first/immediate/primary passions, unless I am highly interested in earning something somewhat below the poverty level. Which I ain't.

I don't think that I'm going to find personal fulfillment in any typical job I could picture myself pursuing, unless I go back for grad school anyway, and the two jobs I'm thinking of - education or psychology - would involve getting into more debt to probably earn less money. Which, to me, seems stupid. The math doesn't work. Or I could go into academia after even more graduate school and earn even less money. Or I could get an MFA in poetry and live on the street.

I am interested in business and finance because they are my job and I have to be interested in my job at least somewhat; it's fun to compare banks and I do lurk in r/personalfinance and occasionally speak up when financial regulations start coming up in the discussion. The interest would probably remain but fade if I went to a totally different field. What I do isn't bad, and frankly in comparison to most people I know I've got it tits. I really do.

As for what happens with the average, well there are problems there you know. I have 4 years of work experience that are going to influence my salary. I'd like to know the stats on the average age of a UD MBA graduate, maybe their experience, so I could put that contextually with the average income a year after graduation that I found.

I don't think I will be able to use the average statistics about my college in order to justify the MBA, just based on where I am today without an MBA. Because I refuse to believe I'd get an MBA and not see that recognized from work somehow, and even if they didn't, I'm sure I could leverage the degree and my current position into a sweet advancement somewhere else.

My job is my job. It's something I do and I'm good enough at it and the benefits are such that leaving becomes a ludicrous thought. (Which sucks, but are you going to say no to working from home once a week and flexible functionality during poor weather, personal illness, or just one of those days when you need to be at home? Are you going to say no to being able to Hubski at work? Can I deny the benefit of being able to scrawl out poetry in my spare time, or read it, if I wish? Would you say no to a job that foots your cell phone bill and never ever calls you during non-work time anyway? I could relocate across the country and keep this job (theoretically). They'll pay for half of grad school. I get unlimited sick days. If I need to leave early one day I can leave early, nbd. I have a really sweet gig and I know that. Just because I don't love it doesn't mean I should be blind to everything great about it. You know? I think that's what I struggle with. No, I don't love this job, but most other jobs (at least in this industry) would be way worse. And most other jobs I'd be interested in can't provide the benefits I enjoy, and most of them don't pay enough to make rent either honestly.

(with sarcasm) Life is so tough :P