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[quote=Anonymous]I keep going back and forth on this on my own, with my spouse, and with other people I know, and just can't decide. Hoping the various opinions on this website might help me figure it out. Feel free to be as blunt and honest as you want! Here's the scenario:

I currently have an ultra-flexible part time job. I'm technically an independent contractor which means I set my own hours, can work where and when I want, and can even turn down offered work if I need to. The downside is that my income and hours fluctuate. Some months I barely have any work and I might make just 1-2k. Other months I'm very busy and can make as much as 6-7k, while still only working part-time (usually less than 20 hours, I only have a handful of 20+ hour weeks a year).

I took this job when my kids were really young, around the time Covid started, and it was a godsend. It enabled me to work in my industry, bring in money (usually between 25-35k per year) while also not having to pay for full time childcare at a time when childcare was really annoying and hard to find. Obviously we are well beyond Covid now and my kids are in school, but the flexibility continues to come in handy, especially in the summer but really all year. We have no nearby family and my spouse travels a lot for work. So I've continued to take the tradeoff of pretty low overall pay (though my hourly rate is actually pretty high, so I'm really getting bang for my buck in terms the work I put in) for maximum flexibility and a ton of independence.

However, I'd love to make more money. I've turned down a few full time jobs (making between 180-200k) after much discussion with my spouse, because of the stress it would put on my family. Some of the jobs involve travel and we just have no idea how we would handle that even with all the extra income because my spouse also travels -- it just sounds very stressful. One of the jobs I've been offered was no travel but is similar to what I did before having kids and it's incredibly stressful, involves managing a global team which means checking email 18-20 hours a day and having to stay in touch during vacations. So I've turned these offers down. But I still fantasize about having a more regular job and making more money.

I was recently semi-offered (not a firm offer but if I went through the application process my odds of getting it are close to 100%) a job at a prior employer. It would pay somewhere between 90 and 120k and it is a very chill job. No travel at all except maybe one conference a year that we could plan well in advance for. I could work from home 2-3 days a week. And not super stressful. Lots of deadlines but short turn arounds on small projects. And like now, I'd be a solo contributor so I wouldn't manage anyone or need to be on call during off hours.

I cannot decide whether this would be a good move or not. In terms of title and the work I would do, it is actually kind of a step down from my current job, and it locks me into a standard work schedule and will force me to change how my family operates as a result. However it's 3-4x what I currently make, without having to take a super stressful job. It's just a regular 9-5 and it has a lot of WFH at a time when that can be harder to find.

I see the pluses. I see the minuses. I can't decide. My spouse and I have gone round in circles on it -- one day he's all for it and the next day he's got reservations, and I'm the same.

WWYD??[/quote]

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