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[quote=Anonymous]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.

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