well, satisfaction depends upon what are all your prioirities in life. two persons A and B may be doing same job and while A may be happy/satisfied, B does not necessarily have to be. 1) An exciting job that pays you a lot of money. 2) Job is exciting/challenging but the pay is not all that great. 3) Not so exciting but monotonous work that pays you lot of money that you deserve/expect. 4) none :P people who have high motives and desires for money will definitely get satisfaction from 1 and 3. what kind of work satisfies you, regardless of the money you're getting is THE question that is to be answered in my humble opinion. personally speaking, i have always believed that money is NOT what you should be working for, it should always be a secondary treasure, first being the work itself. if you pursuit for work that satiates your hunger, i would say you are lucky and hence happy. publish a paper, or work 8-5 in your small cubicle browsing sajha, doesn't really matter :P chhoti muh badi baat :P LooTe CEO, Texas cleaning(brooming/mopping) agency heaven, TX US