Go for what you want to do, not what pays more. Take the animal industry for example (because it's all I really know about)- working in a pet shop you can earn a decent amount of money, here I could earn up to $22 per hour. A lot of people go for that job because of the money. But then working as a vet nurse I may only earn $16-$18 per hour. There are people who pay thousands of dollars towards study to go for option 2. They are going to get less money and require more knowledge, but it's what they want to do with their life. I'd rather work a fun job that I loved and earn less, than work a crappy job I didn't enjoy and earn 3 times as much.