Wow, don't castigate me! Let me clarify what I said before all sell me down the river! I was simply giving my humble opinion, as all do on this forum.
I said: "As with any job, the pleasure principle factors in. How much do you delight in it? How passionate are you about your job? If you are in it for the money, you will never be happy. That principle applies for any job. You can tell on people's faces who truly like/dislike their jobs. Look around you at other people in their employment."
Meaning: Corporate, Professional, Blue-Collar, Self-Proprietor, IC. If you truly love your profession, you really aren't in it for the money. You do your job because you enjoy it, and it shows. Everyone works for the money, that's a given. But you choose your profession for the love of the job, don't you? Or do you choose your job for the hate of it?
I said: "The question asked is it worth it? I think the answer is within each person. Can everyone in all areas of the country have the opportunities of $50+ shops regularly and constantly? I wonder about that. I'm not saying to stoop to $4 shops at all. That's a slap in the face."
Meaning: Of course we work for the money. No one works for free. And any of us will work for the best-earned dollar that we can get from the schedulers/companies in our respective areas.
I said: "But we shop because we simply like it. Each of us has learned a system that has become successful for us to bring in some type of income that supports us in a way that is fruitful individually to us. So ultimately, yes, it's worth it if we're still smiling at the end of the day and booking jobs."
Meaning: I didn't mean we "shop till we drop" as in hanging out at the mall. If we did that, we'd never make our timelines, would we? That's a ridiculous assumption on anyone's part. That statement meant we mystery-shop because we like to mystery shop. It is the job each of us has chosen to do. Each of us could have chosen other jobs, but we did not.
I said: "We are Mystery Shoppers. That's who we are. It all comes together in a circle to make it "worth it"."
Meaning: This forum was created for the betterment of all of us. All of us have come here to support each other and create a happy haven at the end of the day. Somehow, people have become known to each other online, they've joked with each other, they created "personas", this is their social network for Mystery Shoppers. It is who they are, in other words, it is who "we" are.
Geez. I like mystery shopping. I always did. I'm not a mall rat. I never was. Of course I'm in it for the money. But I chose this job because I like it over other jobs. That is my decision. Of course I do spread sheets and try to figure the best routes, etc. Just didn't think my post would be taken in another way, so I do hope this explanation helps.
-Yeah We all shine on, like the moon, and the stars, and the sun. -John Lennon.