Job/Career Advice, or, How Much is My Happiness Worth

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K

kaykordeath

I've recently applied, and been called in to interview for a job that I would love to have. It's more in line with my long term career goals, working full time with people I typically only get to work with 2 months out of the year, and is an all around fun and exciting sounding position. Would take me out of the office more often than not, and put me on the front lines co-coordinating some large scale projects.

However, it's a 6-10K pay CUT from where I currently am. Granted, the other position has the potential to earn extra weekend/overtime hours, but it's still to going to come close to my current income.

Where I am now, is a job. It's not (yet, though it could be) a career. There's nothing particularly wrong here, but we do have a new department head administrator, and, while early, it seems clear that many of the longer term managers here (that I report directly to) are less than pleased with their new boss.

My wife is currently unemployed, going on over a year now...she's basically put job hunting on the back burner to spend the summer with our daughter (saving on camp/baby sitting costs, etc) and will hopefully be fully employed within the next 2 or 3 months...but at FSM knows what salary.

Do I pursue this other opportunity? HR rep that I spoke to made it clear that the position has been budgeted at where it is. Or do I stay where i am, and not rock the boat...holding onto secure steady better-than-decent income these days....
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
I've been in this exact boat. I chose to keep the job I had and make the best of it. With a family you have to make these kinds of sacrifices. Just don't hold it against the family and realize fully that it is the circumstances and not a person who is to blame for this.

I know it doesn't make you happy to hear this as you seem to be a bit dissatisfied with your job, but I'd stay where I was at for the family's sake.
 
Dirona

Dirona

I've been in the same situation, and I still regret not taking the other position (that was a 7K pay cut). Career-wise, not taking that job and moving to the other side of the country was the worst career decision I have ever made. My existing position was well-paid, acceptably managed (I'd lived though a few upper management changes), and was not yet, though it could be (it never was), a career w/advancement and all those goodies. I was offered a position w/a significant pay cut, and more responsibility, and a lot more interesting sounding activities across the country. I didn't take it (after having them call me back in 3 months time after some other information came back for me - I was thinking of going to grad school). I should have. So I have more than a bit of bias. That said...

At this point, I would suggest (for what it's worth coming from a random stanger on the internet) pursuing it. Having an interview and asking questions doesn't have a price tag, and if they offer you the position you can always say no. Give yourself time to think it over, gather as much information as you can - both from the interview(s) and every other source you can find. And figure out if your family can live comfortably on the reduced income should you take the other position and your other half does not end up finding a position in the fall.

Good luck!
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
6-10K is a lot to give up on with a family. How much of what you have now is expendable income? If you think you can get by then do so. But it's a risk. Ultimately you know what you can get by with.
 
K

kaykordeath

I definitely see more long term growth in the "other" job, but I don't yet know (sent an email trying to get details) just how long it would take to "grow" to the point of where I currently am. If annual bonuses/increases are large enough and constant each year, that's helpful...

I could POTENTIALLY grow where I currently am, but I don't see any thing above me as all that thrilling. Or really in line with my strengths. I kinda fell into this roll as is, with no real relation to my previous career history.

I wouldn't say I'm dissatisfied with my current job, but I'm certainly not thrilled or passionate about it. Not like I have been in other places or like I feel I would be if I made this change.

However, I am very much prepared to NOT hold it against my family. The situation is what it is.

There is some expendable income there, but maybe in the 1-3K range....certainly not enough to make up for the for the full amount.

I've sent an email to the HR manager I spoke to inquiring about general policies for increases, as well as the departmental hiring manager expressing my concerns about the current budget for the position. At this point, I'm trying to give them every chance to be somewhat flexible before telling them "thanks but no thanks."
 
Dave

Dave

Staff member
One day when my son was still in the Boy Scouts we were getting ready for a campout where they would learn things like wilderness first aid and things like that. My son rolled his eyes at having to go and told me he didn't have any fun at scouts. I told him that was because he did nothing. He went to the meetings because I made him, sat in the corner not interacting, not participating in any of the events and generally not doing anything to make himself a part of the troop.

"Son," I said, "if you put nothing into it you'll get nothing back but pain and frustration. The only thing holding you back is you."

The next week I came home from work and was talking to my wife about how I hated my job and it hit me - the feelings I had for my job were exactly like my son's about scouts. And the solution was the same.

From that moment on I looked at my job in a different light. Yes, it still had its challenges, but at the same time I looked at what I did in the bigger picture. Where before I felt like an insignificant cog in the machinery I now saw myself as something integral to the whole organization. Yes, I was still a cog, but when one co stops in a machine it can cause a lot of issues.

So what happened? My work changed. it got markedly better, making my bosses happy and me happier in my work. I'd thought I was doing a good job before that but I hadn't been doing what I could do, only as much as I could get away with.

Suddenly I loved my job. And it had nothing to do with the job but everything to do with my attitude.

(By the way, one of the things I want to do in my life is to be a motivational speaker. This is the beginning of one of my speeches I titled "Unleash Your Inner CEO".)
 
K

kaykordeath

Yeah. I used to feel that way.

I find, more often than not, I feel a little bit less and less that way lately.

Mostly because of the way I see my colleagues seeming to feel less and less that way to with the new administration.

I think I'm mostly afraid I've decided I'm more unhappy here than I really am, and need to make the decision to follow your advice....but I really don't wanna!!! /whine
 
Seraphyn

Seraphyn

A bit late and just echoing what's been said:

If you really can't take the pay cut, don't do it. Family comes first, always. And who knows, your job might change in a better direction, you might be able to switch jobs within the company or in a few months/years your wife may hold a steady job allowing you to switch then.

I don't have a family myself, but I've managed to go through 3 different jobs within the company I work for already and next week we're discussing moving up again. Work gets more fun, pay gets better and I feel like I'm using my abilities more and more.
The way I started moving up was by just pulling work that was closely related to my own towards me, discuss the inner workings of the company with the higher ups to get a better picture of the whole situation and try and slip in a few suggestions (after understanding the bigger picture of course) to make the whole work a bit better. When I started to feel more like a part of the whole, my own outlook on my little piece of it became much brighter. So I worked better because of it and that got me noticed.

In a decent company, you can really make your own career path. Though it's not all short term thinking of course.
 
Necronic

Necronic

Staff member
What does that cut come down to in real dollars, after taxes? Also, what is the financial stability of the two companies?
 
W

Wasabi Poptart

$200+/week pay cut is a lot. However, my feeling is that sometimes you need to sacrifice now so that you and your family have something better in the future. Of course if it means you can't buy groceries or pay your bills, then it makes no sense to do it. But if it's just a matter of revamping your budget so you aren't going out as often or not buying as many "extra" items (books, video games, movies, etc.), then I say go for it.
 
C

Chibibar

If you were single, I say go for it. But you have a wife and kid and thus, it makes the decision much much harder. My wife and I talk all the time of possible job changing, but several factor come into play.

1. expendable income. how much is it a month? can we sacrifice that?
2. family - I am no longer alone in this. I have a family (even if it just two of us) we have to look into the future. We may not like the job, but it DOES may the mortgage, bills, and we live comfortably.

Consider what you have told us that your wife is NOT working at this time and no ETA on when she might work, taking a 6-10k hit is a BIG hit with a family. Especially with kids. (don't raz on me Chaz) Your income is currently support 3 people. That is a lot of mouth to feed, clothes, house, and transportation :) Kids grow and constantly need new things (varies) so... 6-10k cut would REALLY put the hurt on that.

I have to agree with Dave that you might just have to stay with this current job for now and maybe hope for something comparable in the future. When your wife start working, then you have to rebudget for daycare (my sister is paying around 1000$ a month in Portland and they are REALLY good with my nephew) and other expenses that comes along. Then you may switch to a new job (hopefully as stable)

Yea, when you have a family all decision is no longer one person to make, it is a team effort now and sometimes you just have to do what is best for the team and not just you.
 
phil

phil

I'd ask how sure are you that your wife will land a job soon, and will it be her own career, or just another job to keep busy?

If she's the type that will certainly get hired soon for a decent job, I'd say go for it. 2 or 3 months of tighter living won't hurt anything. A year or more on 10k less on the other hand...
 
K

kaykordeath

Update time:

Some real back and forth with scheduling the interview. HR was scheduling, but the meeting was with the hiring manager. I was just about to say screw it all, when i sent the hiring manager's boss (who originally had alerted me to the position, as we had been in contact previously) a note checking in. She said time would be made available to me, so i went for it. Interview went very well, but salary was not touched upon other than the hiring manager being aware of my concerns.

Jump forward to today...manager calls me, indicating they the whole panel really liked me but were all very concerned I was over qualified. They view the position as a lot more entry level than I had expected. However, he made a point of letting me know that while HR was contacting other candidates who didn't get the job, he wanted to let me know personally. And that they will keep me in mind for the future, blah blah blah...
 
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