Should DH take a pay cut if it’s his dream job?

[Anonymous]

He currently works for government making $155k and has been in the govt agency for 10 years. No pension though. He’s ready for a change and was offered a director level job at a Nonprofit making $100k. With 3 kids, that’s a big haircut but it’s the job he has been looking for. Anyone been there done that and can give guidance? I told him to negotiate as much as he can but he said they were pretty upfront that was the max pay. I also work for govt and make 200k. He thinks if he does this job for 1-2 years, it can open doors.

[Anonymous]

If you make 200k who cares

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you make 200k who cares [/quote

Op here. We have a special needs child and are paying a ton for private school tuition.

[Anonymous]

See if he can negotiate work from home, leave, or other flexibility that would help your family. I’ve taken pay cuts for fewer hours and it was definitely worth it and worked for our family. Depends what your family needs, though.

[Anonymous]

How can it be a dream job if it pays less? Not trying to be snarky, but he should think carefully about taking a job and losing 50k a year while at it. I can imagine his dream included a raise not a cut. Just food for thought.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you make 200k who cares [/quote

Op here. We have a special needs child and are paying a ton for private school tuition.

If your child will have significant long term needs that much of a pay cut should be a hard no. Unfortunately you don’t get to just follow your dreams when you have those kind of parental responsibilities m.

[Anonymous]

I’d be very skeptical of how much a 100,000k non profit job will open future doors. Also, what federal government job doesn’t come with a pension- are you sure there aren’t additional benefits (and job stability?) that he’d also be giving up?

[Anonymous]

Dont do it.

I was making $145k before losing my contract work to covid. I dropped put of consideration for one dream job that eoukd pat just $100k with benefits. A few months later im accepting one at $130. It’s still less than i was making but it’s a great opportunity. My husband makes about the same. We have two kids, but no special needs.

[Anonymous]

A pay cut? Maybe. That big of a pay cut, nope.

[Anonymous]

Almost 20 years ago I took a similar pay cut - 40% of my salary. And my spouse didn’t make that much. We had to do belt tightening for sure with a kid in daycare. Took me years to get back to that level. And we went on to have two more kids. But I never regretted it. I was so much happier at work. I feel like my work has a purpose and a value greater than the work. I’ve been happier at home because I feel good about what I do. Money isn’t everything.

[Anonymous]

It’s probably a local government role as those don’t have pensions. Yeah, 50k seems excessive. I wouldn’t do it, he has stability now and nonprofit seems risky.

[Anonymous]

If he’s going from 500k to 450k that’s one thing. But a 50k pay cut at his salary level is too much unless it’s a part time job.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:He currently works for government making $155k and has been in the govt agency for 10 years. No pension though. He’s ready for a change and was offered a director level job at a Nonprofit making $100k. With 3 kids, that’s a big haircut but it’s the job he has been looking for. Anyone been there done that and can give guidance? I told him to negotiate as much as he can but he said they were pretty upfront that was the max pay. I also work for govt and make 200k. He thinks if he does this job for 1-2 years, it can open doors.

My husband did practically the same thing. He did so week he’s gotten raises and makes more then he did 2 years ago.

I work for the govt.but only a GS-14. Together we are totally fine.

We also have a special needs kid. Not in private school, but lots of private services.

[Anonymous]

No. Too much of a cut.

[Anonymous]

No way