And it's easy when you're young to underestimate your lifetime potential to generate wealth. Some time spent on very long-term financial planning (like, 30-40 years out) can help reduce the feeling that one needs to earn as much as possible in the next 3 years or whatever. Compound growth is amazing over the span of decades!
It's also easy to overestimate how much happiness you'll get from buying expensive things. Quite a lot of people who buy boats or mountain/lake/beach houses (typical objects of wealthy lifestyle fantasy) go on to sell them later with gratitude that they're gone.
I would say that "good" compensation is an important component of a long-term job, but it does not necessarily have to be "amazingly great" to have a very comfortable, fun life. This is on top of the potential benefits of having good work-life balance when you're young.
It's also easy to overestimate how much happiness you'll get from buying expensive things. Quite a lot of people who buy boats or mountain/lake/beach houses (typical objects of wealthy lifestyle fantasy) go on to sell them later with gratitude that they're gone.
I would say that "good" compensation is an important component of a long-term job, but it does not necessarily have to be "amazingly great" to have a very comfortable, fun life. This is on top of the potential benefits of having good work-life balance when you're young.