Would you take a lesser paying job?

[Retro Rob]

I think it really depends on your bills but if you can afford it, I'd do it in a heartbeat. We just re-financed our house down to a 15 year mortgage and my goal is to pay it off even faster so 1) it will be paid off way before I retire and 2) I can take a pay cut later in life and not feel it if I decide to do something else.

At my last job, OT was expected and I was regularly doing 60+ hours per week. At one point, I realized that me working all those extra hours did nothing for myself (I was stressed and gained a ton of weight) and was actually giving the company an excuse not to hire additional resources. It also pissed me off that my boss would make a regular practice of coming to me at 4:00 PM and telling me he needed some ridiculous analysis and report done by 8 AM the next morning (which I later found out he wouldn't use for weeks). That kind of stuff was why I put in all those hours.

Could not agree more with this statement.

Yep, same thing there with my lasy job -- and the killing part was that we were understaffed and when weekends were short, the guys who were complaining about the OT were the first one's taking the weekend days which meant everyone was expected to.

This really overcooked my grits because it trickled down to me (I was then expected to "volunteer" for weekends as well) so they would not have to hire anyone.

I came across some stats that this is the most sleep-deprived generation ever because of the sheer work people are taking on to live their "dream". Even some of the guys that were around for 20-30 years saw massive paycuts several years before I started with my last employer, and they always advised me to "not spin my wheels because you're gonna end up where you started".

With all this information, I decided that working, working, working really isn't worth the sacrifice long-term. So, we cut back spending, and can live without some things, but atleast I'm home and a lot happier.

 

[Ausm]

Nah work sucks balls period,good thing the bar is right down the street.

 

[Kaido]

People don't know how to properly value their time. If you work 80+ hours every week and make $100K per year on salary, guess what? The guy making $60K who is putting in 40 hours per week is making more than you per hour and has a ton more free time. Maybe the guy working 80 hours per week values the extra money regardless of all the extra time he/she is putting in, but what good is it if you can't enjoy it?

I've never bought into the notion of a "career" or "loving" your job so much that you should want to spend every waking moment working. I think people like that need some hobbies and most of all, some perspective. Trying to save all your fun until you retire is a recipe for disaster, because 1) that day may never come and 2) you may not physically be able to enjoy it.

I work with a few very "professional" people who seem to really REALLY love their jobs and work alllll the time. They're all in upper-level, high-paying positions as well. Very motivated, very driven. I sort of equate it to being an Anandtech geek - yes, I do my job during the day, but when I get home, I still play with computers...I think their particular jobs are their sort of "geek out" time, and since it's so fun for them (motivationally), they can do it all day, all night, all week and just work work work work work.

On the flip side, I also think a lot of "high-performing professionals" are also work addicts. And by addicts I do mean addiction. Some people are addicted to drugs, booze, the Internet, gaming...and I think some people are addicted to work. It's a little harder to accuse someone of that because work is perceived as a "good thing", and how can working too hard or too much be bad? But you get your ego stroked at work when you do a good job and climb the ladder, it feels good to be on top of things and get things done, get pay raises and bonuses and other perks, and I think a lot of high-energy people get sucked into that addiction, but no one really realizes that it is, in fact, an addiction - just very well hidden under the mask of "work", which is a Good Thing.

You need a balance.

 

[classy]

Family > Job, every single time.

 

[classy]

I quit my job and took a job that cut my pay to about one third of what I made 3 years ago. Best decision in my life.

I use to work crazy hours, had no time for anything in my life other then work. Now, I work a 4/10 with no overtime, no weekends, no nights. When I leave my work I'm done, never on call, never bring anything home with me.

I made some good investments when I was making all that money, so I have a good rainy day fund if times get hard, and I have a fairly large 401k (which I am still investing in) for when I retire. I'm not living large like I use to, no more new cars, high end restaurants, or theater boxes, but I'm enjoying life more.

:thumbsup:

 

[Schfifty Five]

That was the hard part -- taking the paycut, but I wanted balance.

In today's world, it seems hard to get the best of both -- good pay and good balance. You have to sacrifice pay for balance or balance for pay.

Many give up the balance for the pay, and get burned via layoffs/paycuts/payfreezes or just flatout unappreciation and thanklessness. Long term, it really isn't worth it, IMO.

What you described in the OP is not the same as taking a paycut. Had you went from a $100k job -> $70k job, that would have been a paycut. But passing up on a higher paying job is not the same as a paycut.

Also, you said you were working 7 day on call shifts including weekends, but at the end of your post you said no more weekends? Did something change?

Edit: Reading fail on my part. I see you had a job, left that one, got offered a higher paying one, but instead chose a different job that paid less than job #1.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

With all this information, I decided that working, working, working really isn't worth the sacrifice long-term. So, we cut back spending, and can live without some things, but atleast I'm home and a lot happier.

In my view, you're giving them your time for their money. If they want more of my time, they need to pony up more money. If they "can't" because I'm salaried, then that's their problem and I'll enjoy my 40 hour weeks.

 

[nanette1985]

Nobody ever dies wishing they had worked more. /QUOTE]

It's obvious that you've never spent much time in an old-people's home talking to the residents. For one thing, lots of folks wish they'd worked more and put more money into their retirement - and wish that they'd gotten better health insurance.

Another big group is women who wish they'd had jobs, instead of staying home all their life.

 

[purbeast0]

It's obvious that you've never spent much time in an old-people's home talking to the residents. For one thing, lots of folks wish they'd worked more and put more money into their retirement - and wish that they'd gotten better health insurance.

Another big group is women who wish they'd had jobs, instead of staying home all their life.

a lot of old people were stupid and did not start saving for retirement until they were like in their 50's. its happening with a lot of young people right now too. there is always gonna be people who don't know how to save.

just like you talk about hanging with people in old people homes, go talk to the old people who are on the golf course 5 days a week, and are traveling to the carribean the days they aren't.

 

[SandEagle]

money is the root of all happiness

 

[Retro Rob]

What you described in the OP is not the same as taking a paycut. Had you went from a $100k job -> $70k job, that would have been a paycut. But passing up on a higher paying job is not the same as a paycut.

Also, you said you were working 7 day on call shifts including weekends, but at the end of your post you said no more weekends? Did something change?

Edit: Reading fail on my part. I see you had a job, left that one, got offered a higher paying one, but instead chose a different job that paid less than job #1.

Yeah, your edit is correct.

Also correct, my current gig doesn't require (or operate on) weekends, so I am pleased with that.

No sacrifice, no victory..

Coltsfan -

I've never been salaried, fwiw, so I have a hard time seeing how anyone would accept a salaried position seeing that anything over 40 is basically "free".

 

[Imp]

Not yet, but opportunity might be coming up. I may be able to get a 10% raise that comes with a ton more responsibility and being forced to work in a position I hate (doing it now in a lesser role and paying my dues) again, and being forced to work in another city for at least 6 months. These "other town" postings are always to small towns, and everyone comes back with the same takeaway: "I didn't know anyone, it was boring, and there was nothing to do out there".

 

[purbeast0]

Yeah, your edit is correct.

Also correct, my current gig doesn't require (or operate on) weekends, so I am pleased with that.

No sacrifice, no victory..

Coltsfan -

I've never been salaried, fwiw, so I have a hard time seeing how anyone would accept a salaried position seeing that anything over 40 is basically "free".

it's pretty simple - you don't work more than 40 hours.

i've been salaried since i got out of school. i've only been asked to work more than 40 hours probably 5 times or so in my career, and that was at a position i had for 2.5 years or so. all 5 times i was paid for it.

if i ever had to work more than 40 hours regularly, paid or not, i would look for a new job. i value my time more than money.

i've been in the industry for 8.5 years.

 

[Schfifty Five]

Yeah, your edit is correct.

Also correct, my current gig doesn't require (or operate on) weekends, so I am pleased with that.

No sacrifice, no victory..

Coltsfan -

I've never been salaried, fwiw, so I have a hard time seeing how anyone would accept a salaried position seeing that anything over 40 is basically "free".

I'm salaried and work for a cpa firm. They, however, pay us over time. Well, we can bank over time hours and either use it as personal time off or get it paid out.