Flex job or higher-paying job?

[Anonymous]

I have two offers right now - one pays 70k and I can setup the hours to suit my family time. I can change them as I want and I can do it all from home. The second is a regular office job and pays 115k. I do not know anything about this workplace's culture, don't know if people work more than 40hrs a week & what other expectations are. The office job would involve a total of 45 min (to and fro) commute. But going to office also means I will have to be better dressed and other incidentals.

As for my family, I have a 2 yr old in daycare and we are trying for another one. If it matters, we will have to use ART for the second baby. We have decent savings and when we combine DH and my incomes (even the 70k), we can dook. Nothing spectacular but we can pay all bills, max the 401ks and be happy.

Can you tell me what you would pick and why? Thank you!

[Anonymous]

I would take the office job, because past experience has taught me that when I work from home, my productivity goes to hell. I need the accountability of an on-site supervisor, and enjoy being able to bounce ideas off of colleagues.

However, if I weren't concerned about my productivity, I'd imagine the office job as a 45 or 50 hour/week job, to account for commuting time and possible overtime. I'd subtract commuting costs and clothing/lunch costsfrom the 115K, subtract 70K from that, and ask myself if the remaining difference ($30k? More?) is worth 10 hours a week.

(I would NOT assume lower childcare costs in a work-from-home situation. Yes, you could do 4 10-hour days and one day off, but situations will regularly come up where you will need childcareon that day.)

[Anonymous]

I would take the $115k instantly. Wothout batting an eye. Do that for a few years, get to $200k then consider a slower role.

[Anonymous]

I would take the flex schedule. I have a super flexible schedule. Can get my kids on the school bus and meet them at pick-up. Can chaperone on field trips and volunteer in their classroom. I make $85k instead of $120k+ but value the flexibility.

[Anonymous]

Which job do you prefer aside from logistics and money?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I would take the flex schedule. I have a super flexible schedule. Can get my kids on the school bus and meet them at pick-up. Can chaperone on field trips and volunteer in their classroom. I make $85k instead of $120k+ but value the flexibility.

+ 1

I have great flexibility and make 75K - money doesn't appeal to me. I'm not that stressed out, getting home at 6:30pm, parent - it's just not me.

[Anonymous]

I would def go with the flexible job. I already have a flexible 40 hours/wk job but when no. 2 arrives, plan to reduce my hours. You should do some more research tho, find out more about the office culture before choosing.

[Anonymous]

Flex! 1.5 hrs per day in commute (which can presumably get worse with weather, accidents, etc) is tough. If the pay differential were larger, or if one advanced your career in a dramatically better way, or if the office job had a lot of flexibility, then my answer might be different. I basically have made this choice, altho my base pay is a bit higher, and it literally is a life saver now that my kids are in elementary school. I feel like I have the best of all possible worlds!

[Anonymous]

Single mom here says flex. But that's just my personal situation. If I knew I could make the higher paying job work with my life, I'd take it in a heartbeat.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have two offers right now - one pays 70k and I can setup the hours to suit my family time. I can change them as I want and I can do it all from home. The second is a regular office job and pays 115k. I do not know anything about this workplace's culture, don't know if people work more than 40hrs a week & what other expectations are. The office job would involve a total of 45 min (to and fro) commute. But going to office also means I will have to be better dressed and other incidentals.

As for my family, I have a 2 yr old in daycare and we are trying for another one. If it matters, we will have to use ART for the second baby. We have decent savings and when we combine DH and my incomes (even the 70k), we can dook. Nothing spectacular but we can pay all bills, max the 401ks and be happy.

Can you tell me what you would pick and why? Thank you!

Need to know more about the 115K job before you decide.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would take the flex schedule. I have a super flexible schedule. Can get my kids on the school bus and meet them at pick-up. Can chaperone on field trips and volunteer in their classroom. I make $85k instead of $120k+ but value the flexibility.

+ 1

I have great flexibility and make 75K - money doesn't appeal to me. I'm not that stressed out, getting home at 6:30pm, parent - it's just not me.

Why work if money doesn't appeal to you? Do you also turn down raises?

[Anonymous]

I would take the more flexible job. I teach and my job is not flexible at all, except that I am finished working in time to pick up my kids from school. I would love to be able to volunteer in their classrooms, go on field trips, schedule doctor's appointments during the day rather than rushing to go after work, etc. Working from home would be great, too!

[Anonymous]

Another vote for flexible job. I'd love to be you! I can't find a flexible job, and so I have not been able to go back to work after SAH. $45k is meaningful, yet if you can manage without it, the flexibility is a real lifesaver. As your kids get older, you'll appreciate it more and more.

[Anonymous]

Tough decision. I think it depends in part what kind of combined income you make and the type of flexibility in DH's job. I'm a cautious person and I would think if the company goes under ( which happened to me at my WFH job) or you get the supervisor that isn't flexible ,would you regret not taking the 115k? Do you think you would be less likely to go back to work after the 2nd child if you had to commute or is it possible you could decide to SAH and it would be better to make more money now? Which opportunity is less likely to come around again. To me, I would take the 70K job hands down if my DH did not have flexibility and I knew it would all fall on me or if the extra 45K was a drop in the bucket because DH made 200K. I think 45K is enough a difference for me to pause unless I felt fairly confident that 115K salary could come my way again if things didn't work out with the 70K job.

[Anonymous]

This is a tough one. I would advocate for flexibility if the jobs in terms of level of interest and possible promotion to more interesting or better paying positions later (or getting you a better job later) are there. If the 70k is a dead end, no. But if not, flexibility and not having a long commute is worth a lot.

Having 2 kids is more work than one in terms of schedules--when one is at home/daycare, and the other goes to school. If you have flexibility you may end up saving money on drivers/nannies, etc. Same with school vacations, etc. Plus its less stressful.

But here are the other considerations for me.

DH's salary--if you can pay your mortgage in a house you can live in with another kid and have decent schools, and can pay daycare for 2 and still save a bit with the 70k, then that is good. More importantly--Job stability--is DH"s job stable? For me, if DH were making around 130-150k, then I'd do 70k in a heartbeat. 200k HHI in this area, if you're not paying for private school, means middle class. But everyone has different standards (fwiw, we have 3 kids, and a HHI of 230K, 2 kids with nanny).

Also, I would find out a lot more about the 115k job--what is the culture like? how much do people work? are expected to work ?(my boss sent something sunday night at 9 m and wanted my response by monday afternoon--even though I am a fed and am home sick!). how long do people in your position stay there?

lastly, you could negotiate the 70k. Tell them you've received a higher offer, but you're interested in them (don't say its because its flexible, but make it about the job itself, more interesting, etc). Tell them the other offer is 115k --you don't necessarily expect them to match it (unless you think they might) but give them an opportunity to bump it up.