Greed

"How much can a Medill grad earn?'' a colleague asked today.

I told him that an US suburb paper would pay about 20k. We would be waving our hands in the air and shouting "yooohoooo" if we get 35k. I also told him that in the same college just one block away are our Kellogg mates who would be earning 150k to 200k upon graduation even though we pay a tuition fee that is equivalant to theirs.

An education in journalism gives you the smallest ever ROI. I sighed.

He laughed.

This morning, Phantom asked me why I let go half of my pay to be a journalist. I told him I was too young, too idealistic to realize that there is no such thing as the right job. Now, I am not sure whether I would make the same decision. Maybe I would not have done that, I don't know. Maybe I should be a fundie who has an earning power of as much as $500 mil. I sighed.

''My cousin is in your previous line and he is earning a few millions per year,'' he added. I sighed.

I looked at the share price of a stock that I bought and sold at a 10 percent a few weeks back. If I had kept them for a few more weeks, I would have gained 60 percent. I sighed. Maybe I have to add a few more years to my retirement age.

I wonder why I am punished for not making decisions out of greed.