Earning really good money at the energy company RWE: Mahdi (27) earns his money with coal - more precisely from mining coal as a shift supervisor in the Hambach lignite opencast mine. His daily workplace: a lunar landscape as far as the eye can see - with 45.7 km² of operating area, the Hambach opencast mine is one of the largest lignite mining areas in Europe. But here in the Rhenish lignite mining area between Jülich in the Düren district and Kerpen (Rhein-Erft district), people with green thumbs are also needed: shift supervisor Mahdi has the important task of returning the opencast mine to as natural a state as possible. In doing so, he is responsible for the occupational safety of many of his colleagues. We accompanied him on a day that was particularly challenging for him: he and his team were supposed to build a ramp on which vehicles could get from A to B. They were also tasked with building a slope on which trees could later grow. But the heavy rain had softened the earth and clogged the machines. This has made the work not only more strenuous, but also much more dangerous than usual. If the mission fails, there can be a traffic jam at the open-cast mine, holding up the miners for a long time. But stress and carelessness can quickly become life-threatening in this job. At 27, Mahdi is already responsible for many employees who have more work experience than he is old. He also works a lot of late shifts, which are exempt from income tax, which means he has more net pay left over from his gross salary. But this also has a personal price: Because of his shift work, he has to forego many family celebrations and meetings with his circle of friends. Is it worth it? The topic of brown coal mining and climate protection is very topical right now, we have collected more videos from ARD on the topic for you here: “Home game” - A long documentary about Lützerath's neighboring villages and the open-cast mine. Exciting because the residents also talk about how much money they get for selling their houses. https://1.ard.de/heimspiel-doku?B A detailed documentation of the protests in Lützerath: In which police officers and protesters have their say: https://1.ard.de/story-doku-Luetzerath?B The News-WG explains briefly and succinctly in an Instagram story what Lützerath is actually about: / 17965248506015748 @STRG_F is following the protests in more detail: “Lützerath cleared - what did the protest achieve?”: • Lützerath cleared: What did the protest achieve... Climate neutral: What does Lützerath contribute to the 1.5 degree target? A post on Instagram that asks how the 1.5 degree target is related to open-cast mining in Germany: / cno9ofxslk5 Detailed information in the WDR's Lützerath theme week: https://www1.wdr.de/nachrichten/lande... This is how expensive the consequences of climate change will be - Quarks has done the math: https://www.quarks.de/umwelt/klimawan... This is "Is it worth it?": One person, one job, one life. And at the end the question: Is it worth it? We accompany people in their jobs and show their lives. Is it worth it to work for the salary and use it to finance your own life? What makes me happy about work? We don't just compare salaries, we show how people live from their work. We are always looking for protagonists: If you also want to show how you live with your job, feel free to write to [email protected]! On a personal note: We are not infallible either - and although we make every effort to present every individual financial situation clearly, correctly and understandably, we sometimes need help. The Bavarian State Association of Tax Advisors and Auditors always provides us with competent support - thank you very much for that! Author & Camera: Johannes Lenz Editing: Moritz Mayer CvD: Anna Ellmann, Christian Orth Editors: Eva Limmer, Katrin Nachbar, Anna Siefert