You should consider why money is so important to you, and if it should be (assuming, of course, you are not starving and can comfortably provide a roof over you

You should consider why money is so important to you, and if it should be (assuming, of course, you are not starving and can comfortably provide a roof over your head). Plenty of people choose careers that don't pay particularly well but are more fulfilling in some other way (e.g. artists, many social workers, many teachers). If your friends are judging you for not having as much money (not saying you are, but it seems like you might be afraid of this?), it's them that's the problem, not you. (For context, I have an adequate amount of money that is much smaller than many of my friends who are outside of academia, though larger than my friends who are social workers; but if I were to leave academia I probably could become significantly wealthier, so I can say all this from a place of privilege).