If you were magically given a 5 million dollar salary per year, how long would you work?

[Steven]

5 years.

The thing about it is that not only are you making a shitton of money, you know that there's legitimately a very close end to being a corporate america drone. People would be so motivated to work their asses off for 5 years if they knew at the end they have 20+million sitting there and a retirement if they're not stupid with their spending.

 

[Deleted member 9241]

I would go into work everyday just to annoy the fuck out of everyone else for at least 2-3 weeks.

 

[m_shortpants]

Maybe 5-10 years. Enough for me to accumulate more than enough for all my family members

 

[bluexy]

If I could work my passion, I'd work until I couldn't anymore.

 

[kirby_fox]

If I could do whatever I wanted? I'd be writing stories until I died.

It's a passion. I'm doing it without the money just not full time.

 

[bionic77]

There are a lot of jobs I would love to try and it would be really easy if I was paid 5 million a year to do so.

I could easily do that for another 20 years (I am 43).

Not sure what the fuck I would do with all that money though. After spending a few million I am not sure what I would do with it.

 

[Fox318]

I'd probably work for 15 years. That's generation changing wealth.

 

[Nexus2049]

2 years, and then use the money for school and then start up my own firm.

 

[tiebreaker]

Probably for 4 years. Need to figure out what I want to do next.

 

[zswordsman]

20 years at 5 mil in the military and then get 50% of that a year as my pension for the rest of my life? Let alone the 15% I put in TSP throughout my career. Aight let's do this.

 

[TheBryanJZX90]

I would be a door dasher or some kind of gig driver where I don't have to transport people. Just drive around all day and listen to podcasts. Plus this is pretty much cheating but as an independent contractor I could work as little as I want without getting fired!

 

[Ferrio]

I was going to say one year because that would easily be enough just for the rest of my life. Then I thought about all the good I could do with the excess. So I'd probably work 15 years or so, then take early retirement.

 

[Raysoul]

Minimum 3 months, but I can continue up to 2 years.

 

[Kasai]

I turn 25 this year, so I'd keep my job as a barista till I was 30 and then go to school for whatever I wanted. Put my money into high interest account and live off the interest while I'm in school and then do whatever I want.

Yeah I forfeit the deal after 5 years, but that's fine. 25 million is way more than I'd ever need.

 

[hephaestus]

I would just keep working as normal, just the fact that everybody I work with knows I`m getting 5 million a year and their just getting their normal salary would be worth it.

 

[John Rabbit]

I like my job so at least a few years.

 

[FaceHugger]

One year. Even after taxes, my earnings combined with current savings and retirement would be enough to exit the rat race with.

Buy a decent house outside of Seattle and get lifted all day in early retirement and do old people retirement stuff. Like go to the bingo hall and play bingo with short shorts and knee high wool socks.

 

[Flygon]

My listed career becomes "Expert Circadian Rhythm Masseuses".

 

[entremet]

I would just keep working as normal, just the fact that everybody I work with knows I`m getting 5 million a year and their just getting their normal salary would be worth it.

Click to shrink...

You would actually tell them? Damn, you're a brave soul.

Stealth wealth is where it is at.

 

[Hippopuncher12]

I enjoy working so I would probably go 10 years or even more. If at some point I decided I didn't want to do it anymore then that's fine I probably have more than enough money at that point.

 

[hephaestus]

You would actually tell them? Damn, you're a brave soul.

Stealth wealth is where it is at.

Click to shrink...

Thats very true in real life, but in this fantasy I want managers to know I made their year salary while I was in the bathroom.

 

[Heynongman!]

Fuck working till retirement, y'all need some hobbies to keep you busy.

I'd work 5 years, dole out a few mil to friends and family so they can retire, then live off of interest. I'd build a nice big shop to build things in, hang out with my other retired friends/family, and just enjoy life. Finally have time to travel, and not worry about any responsibilities other than personal.

 

[Fulminator]

5 years probably.

 

[Stranger Things]

I'd work for a couple years and then quit. I'd give my close family a few grand here and there, but they would have to properly invest it for profit. I can imagine 10 million dollars would last me a lifetime, even I were to occasionally spend luxuriously on things I don't need, like an expensive house, car, or traveling the world. I'd mostly spend the rest of my time investing that cash in my hobbies, relax, make music, do outdoor activities, play video games, go to concerts, etc, etc. It would be pretty chill. Assuming I don't do anything drastic like getting married or having kids or even getting seriously injured in a Lamborghini accident ... I think my investment would be pretty safe lol.

 

[TheWooniestWoona]

I get bored when I go too long without work, so I'd probably work for a while.

Honestly, work would be way more tolerable knowing that I could quit whenever I felt like it and still be fine.
Oh, you want to give me this stupid project that involves a lot of stress and not much reward? Yeah, no. I'm not going to do that. What are you going to do, fire me?

 

[VariantX]

Work for 4-5 years, then make my exit. Id then start a buisness doing something not necessarily for profit but for my personal enjoyment and satisfaction.

 

[lusca_bueno]

Would definitely work for that single year and then switch to do voluntary work 4h~6h a day. If I had that much money that means I'm not held hostage by the capital any further, I can do whatever I want being sure I have a ton of money to fall back on anytime, cause those numbers on a bank can make for huge comfort for the rest of your life.

 

[squall23]

With my current job? I'd work for maybe 5-10 more years because I love it.

 

[Hero_of_the_Day]

I enjoy my job and the people I work with.

That said, about three months. I'd pay off my house and our student loans at which point it would take very little money to live.

 

[angelgrievous]

Fuck working till retirement, y'all need some hobbies to keep you busy.

I'd work 5 years, dole out a few mil to friends and family so they can retire, then live off of interest. I'd build a nice big shop to build things in, hang out with my other retired friends/family, and just enjoy life. Finally have time to travel, and not worry about any responsibilities other than personal.

Click to shrink...

Yup^ this right here. I'd go on every adventure ever. I'd make a YouTube channel out of it and keep working getting that 5 mil a year. Boom Shaka!

 

[EggmaniMN]

Instead of finding some loophole to keep getting paid forever by doing a "job" where I sit and stretch things out infinitely I'll keep this to my current job, in which case it'd be like 3 years and at that point I'd have enough to give my entire family houses and cars and just coast with my knees and back intact. I've learned to be comfortable with like 35k/year take home, I can't even imagine what having 166x my yearly salary would be like.

 

[EternalDarko]

Working my passion for 5m a year, I'd keep working for as long as I enjoyed that passion. Probs 10-15yrs.

 

[CreepingFear]

I'd try for 5 years, but I could do 1 year and be okay for the rest of my life living my current life style.

 

[mAcOdIn]

I may just work until I get too old to work then.

It's all about the money, if I could be banking some 4+ million dollars before taxes every year I could start and run a fantastic non-profit. Sure I wouldn't get to be the face of it and travel around and stroke my own ego by indulging myself in its work and seeing first hand the effects instead of whatever mundane nonsense job I'd be doing full time, but, I'd be serving the mission better that way than I ever could any other way. And while 4 million a year isn't exactly world changing that'd be a safe 4 million a year. With 4 million a year I could wipe out homelessness in my city before I die, if other people joined me in the cause we might be able to wipe out poverty in my city. My city's not too big, I think with smart investing in the beginning a single person with such a "measly" rich income could make such a huge impact. If I tried to go national 4 million a year would probably just vanish into the ether barely making a dent.

 

[DigitalT]

Working that job for one year would be the equivalent of working a $100,000 salary job for 50 years. That's more than enough money to live off of.

 

[Deleted member 7130]

I'd work for 1/5 of a year and then retire

 

[Deleted member 4212]

I'd work for a long time, but it would be as a gardener or something chill like that. Basically any job that isn't too physically demanding and that I don't have to think about when not at work.

Actually the more interesting part of this offer to me is that I could work any job I wanted and not have to worry about money. There are a lot of cool jobs that I'd take, and being guaranteed a massive salary would make them pretty nice. Like, being a photographer or something like that. Even if I'm a terrible photographer I get $5m a year, sweet!

 

[J_ToSaveTheDay]

I have no clue.

That's more money than I'd ever imagined having and even after just 1 year I feel like that would open a fuckton of possibilities I haven't even thought about or imagined myself in.

I have just felt fortunate to start making enough money to not really have to worry about my short-term needs, which has been a somewhat recent gain in my life.

I'd just be immediately appreciative of that pay rate for the first year and then ?????? -- I'd clearly have a shit ton of things to figure out from then on.

 

[Vish]

I would quit my job and work in sales

 

[Lobster Roll]

I'd just go work at an independent coffee shop with a low rotation of customers. Or I'd just choose something that's basically no effort at all. Like coaching a JV soccer team at a school that has no sports pedigree and kids just wanting something to do. Or maybe I'd just game the system completely and write travel reviews or become an "influencer" or some shit.

 

[onpoint]

I'd continue developing games.

This is such an easy one haha sign me up.

 

[Zhengi]

I'd probably work 30 years like I'm planning on doing right now. The money I get will help my family and I for generations to come.

 

[Schwarzbier]

I already run a business so I'd just keep running my business...

 

[Tanerian]

I'd pick up some min/wage type job at a very dead/slow location and put in 10 years or so before Retirement.

 

[Polioliolio]

1 year, and if I felt I needed more I'd work another. I mean that's a shit ton of money... If you work one year you could start the business of your dreams...

 

[Delicious Waffles]

10 years. 50 million would be a solid amount.

 

[Neo C.]

On my current job? 1 year. I don't dislike it, but full time is too stressful (I work part time).

If I could do an easier job, like teaching languages to small groups of adults, probably 5 years before switching to something else.

 

[CosmicGP]

I'd keep working as long as the rewards outweigh what the job takes out of me. Probably as long as the job doesn't impact my health.

 

[ray_caster]

I would work for as long as I find the work fulfilling, which is likely the better chunk of my life.

 

[Deleted member 49482]

No less than 2 years. No more than 4 years.

I even think if I transitioned into a passion project type of job after a few years, I'd get annoyed with any mundane job requirements knowing that I could be experiencing true freedom whenever I wanted.

As an aside, this thread is also making me wonder how well people understand the passive income you could draw off a couple year's salary under this hypothetical.

In my city and state, two years salary at $5M/year would net me over $5M total even after taking into account taxes and expenses during those two years. Using reasonable assumptions, I should be able to draw $200K/year from that without ever touching the $5M balance. If you played it right, you could be drawing that money with minimal expenses (you could work a little longer, pay off all debts, and buy a new car and house with cash).

I'm single, so maybe I'd want to work a little longer if I wanted to cover another income from a spouse that would want to retire with me. But if it's just myself, working a little over two years in this hypothetical gives me a decent pay bump over my current annual salary with less expenses. As it is right now, about 45% of my gross salary goes toward rent and retirement account contributions, both expenses which would disappear under this hypothetical.