is it crazy to consider halving my salary to do something more interesting?
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Anonymous
| no way. I value financial stability too much. |
Anonymous
OP, I'm wondering why you manage to have a "ton of savings" but still student loan debt? Pay that sh*t off already. |
Anonymous
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OP, I could have written you post two years agos. I had the opportunity to take a pretty awesome job that required a 50% pay cut. However, I would have access to top people in my field and job prospects on the other end would be good. Also, this job was only guaranteed for a short time (3 years).
I took the job. It has been an experience of a lifetime, but our finances are suffering. My spouse and I fight more over money and we are really far behind on goals (I.e owning a house). Also, it’s going to be really hard to leave. My time is almost up and I am on the job hunt. However when you work at the place you have always wanted to, then have to leave due to funding, it stings a little. |
Anonymous
No way. 150k to 75k -- not a chance. Now if it was like 350k to 175k, I may consider it. Marginal utility of money being what it is, you are not in a range where going from a 230k HHI to 155k HHI won't matter (unless you live someplace really LCOL). And besides is it just me or does it sound like this job looks all new and shiny and maybe possibly could open doors for you but you don't know if it will? And BTW there is a some middle ground between going below a six figure salary and staying in your gov't job for the next 30 yrs doing the same thing over and over; if you're bored, look for new opportunities -- in the 140k+ range. |
Anonymous
| OP, I wouldn't. I recently turned down an offer of equal pay to my current salary, and a great job description (much like you describe), because it had two weeks less vacation (I have four now). But it depends on how much you hate your job. I really like 60% of mine, 20% is just boring, and only 20% is infuriating... |
Anonymous
| I guess I have what you called a "do gooder" job: public interest lawyer earning low to mid $80s. I've always had a do gooder job, and I couldn't imagine doing anything else since my career is a big part of my identity. I realize most people must take salary into consideration---and I certainly did when I began my career---but I think most do gooders are driven by passion for the cause/the work, and we live frugally and/or make sacrifices because of the low salaries. If that will bother you, then stay where you are. |
Anonymous
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Yes I think it is crazy to halve your salary if you are the primary earner and have kids.
It will take your forever to catch up and you will become bitter about it. |
Anonymous
| No!!!!!!!!! |
Anonymous
| Life is too short to spent 10 hours a day doing something you dont love. |
Anonymous
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You'll have set your new salary for the jobs you take AFTER the new one. You'll make $75k there, then $80-90k at the next job, etc.
The new job sounds interesting to you and the people "fabulous." In the end, it's just a job: you'll have a wacky boss, you'll be doing more admin work than you'd like, your colleague will be gossipy .... there's just no way to know. |
Anonymous
| Do not do this. It is not worth the pay cut. You may not even like the job. You could really regret it (in fact, I think you would likely regret it). |
Anonymous
| What is a ton of savings? If more than 2m, yes I might take the chance. But otherwise no, hold out for a more stable or higher paying job.plis, lots of things look yfrom the outside. I left my govt job for a shiny new opportunity. The place is a nightmare but you would never know it from the impressive outside. But I'm not on contract and it was a 20%raise... |
Anonymous
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I think it's crazy. I tend to look at these kind of questions from the persective of if I take the new job, whats the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario? If I stay in my current job, what's the best case scenario? What's the worst case scenario?
It's hard to evaluate all of these questions as an outsider, but when I look at the worst case scenario of accepting the job, this is what I envision: - the new job/office environment isn't as great as you thought it would be. Maybe there's a toxic co-worker/boss that just ruins everything. - being a supervisor is a totally different beast than expected in a bad way - everyone doesn't like doing if - the job is more time intensive than anticipated, especially given the learning curve of a new job, and perhaps feeling pressure to perform well in the hopes of being converted to a permanent employee. (Because you'll surely have that hope, at least privately.) You actually wind up being less available than you thought you'd be. - the significant pay cut is a harder adjustment than you expected. You and your partner fight more about money, have more tension at home - not really adjusting to your new lower income. you on your substantial savings to smooth over financial stress, and by the end of the contract, you find that you're worse off than you started. You're not in a position to buy your next house. - depending on your field, job options might be bad in the window of time where you need to find a job. Maybe you'll have to take an even greater pay cut just to have another job lined up when your contact is up. It's not like you'll have the upper hand to be selective about the type of work you'll take. (How likely are you to keep job searching during the 2-year contract? Would you feel comfortable leaving early if you found an attractive permanent position 14 months in? I kinda think you have to be prepared to do that if you keep in mind what's best for you and your family long term.) The temporary nature of the job is what gives me heartburn. It adds unnecessary uncertainty on top of the very substantial pay cut, which on it's own would make me pause. Of course the lower HHi is totally liveable, but there will be definite tradeoffs - most likely in your ability to save for important long term goals like college and retirement. A few poorly timed emergencies could deplete your savings significantly. For me personally, I wouldn't take a job that didn't allow me to save robustly, but I recognize that's the baggage I carry from my financially insecure childhood. Like someone else stated previously, I would hold out for a new, theoretically permanent job that paid more. |
Anonymous
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OP, I really, really, really wanted to make a shift in my field—think teapot operations to teapot theory—and took a 50% cut to move to a job that was in teapot theory, with some of the top teapot theorists. It was only guaranteed to be funded for 2 years.
But guess what? One year later, and I’ve been hand-picked to lead a teapot theory initiative at a major teapot thinktank, with even more money and flexibility. Think 100k to 50k to 110k. Downsides, we went into debt and had some minor money stress. But upsides, I was happier than I had been in a long time, had flexibility to spend more time with my kid, and met some amazing people that helped grow my career in the direction I’d always wanted to go. YMMV. |
Anonymous
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OP here. I really do appreciate all of your thoughts! I'm still struggling a bit with this one but DH is about to talk me around to "this is crazy". That seems to be the general consensus here as well. Although a few people have done similar things and had it work out fine.
I suspect . . . that my willingness to consider it has much to do with not seeing other good options. I've been looking around and seeing either (1) well paid jobs I don't want because of intense hours and boring work; or (2) interesting jobs that I'm not qualified for. I realize boredom isn't the worst thing in the world, and I really do like my job most of the time. It's just getting hard to imagine doing it for another 20 years. |