Thanks to my pay cut I make exactly what I would have if I worked as a philosopher!

Yay!

The important thing about working is being able to save money to do what you plan to do. If you can't meet your goals in the timeframe you need them made (I want to retire early, for example), then you need a better job.

That's my litmus test. Most jobs pay enough to survive another day (they have to or it's pointless to work at those places), so the worse job is still sufficiently good. How sickening is that?