well paid job or college

SmartGirl_2

What about your hubby doing a college course part time or distance learning through Open University? That way he does not have to give up a well paid job and the future would be a bit more certain, i.e. he does not have to give up his current job unless he gets a job in IT.

However, as few people mentioned here, IT is not that rosy. It really depends where one works and on remuneration, i.e. more money, more stress. Some places I have worked in where horrendous - at least 60 hours a week, working late and starting early, being called at night and even having to work some weekends. It paid well, but it certainly wasn't a doddle, life and work balance was very bad and the stress levels were very high – the traders would call shouting about how much money they were lossing and they would drive home in their Ferraris at 5pm while you were left behind to sort out the mess... So if you are in IT for money or easy life, I don't think you are choosing the right profession...

rainbowrisin

It's only a thought, but would there be a possibility initially of your husband reducing the hours in his current job on a temporary basis, or getting a new job (perhaps a lateral move) where he could work part time, but still be making more money than would be coming in if he went to college now.
My reasoning behind this is that, if he could reduce hours (and therefore income) in his current job for say six months, that would give you a flavour of living on a reduced income and you could see how you manage - if he then went to college next year rather than this, you would already have taken a fairly significant drop, and had time to adjust, so the subsequent income drop wouldn't be such a big blow.
Alternatively, if he applied for a new job - a lateral move, would he be able to apply for one which incorporated some aspects of IT work - this would give him more of a flavour for the IT industry, protect your income, and hopefully give him a more positive work experience than the one he's currently having.
Is it crucial to him that he changes his career to IT - what would be the options around some part time / distance learning then having a "sideline" in IT which he could gradually build up, but maybe keep as a profitable hobby?
I hope some of that helps and is relevant. Good luck with whatever you decide.

cheepskate_2

hi

thanks for all the reply's, really helpfull.

It is not possible to stay in same company and reduce hours or move round the company. We looked at the option of evening study but he is barely keeping his head up above water with the workload, which they know about and do nothing about. and to add extra pressure he just wouldnt cope.

Since i last posted here we had decided to go for the college option, what a difference in his attitude, its as if the weight of the world has been lifted off his shoulders, He was playing with our youngest last night , something he has not done for ages due to stressed out. ( he is a fantastic dad and put so much into our other children but so little into youngest , since job has got too much)

Since seeing yesterday / last night have decided to go for college option , we had little money at one point and were so much happier than now with lots money but no good times cos of the stress/ time demanded from work


Many thanks for all the replys

nej

Best of luck to him! Money isn't everything, happiness is far more important. Be sure to let us know of his progress.

hobo28

Good luck. I agree that its important to find a job you enjoy.

All the best for the future.

dora37

troll35 wrote:

On a different tack to most of the replies I think you need to consider as a couple whether to help your husband follow his dreams. We only get one shot at life and it's very easy to take the route of less hassle/more money, but it can leave people feeling very unfulfilled with their lives.

How important is the change in career to your husband? Consider the Old Style board for ideas on how you can decrease your household expenditure without affecting your standard of living. It's amazing! I personally have saved several thousand pounds this year alone by becoming more old style and I think our standard of living has gone up.

What ever your decision....... make it together and it will be the right one
Good luck

We are in a similar position. OH works full time for a global IT company and also runs an online business that is quite successful.

He HATES the red tape and 'jobs worth' of his salaried employment and has therefore accepted voluntary redundancy, this will mean the stable salary will be no more and though the online business has been quite successful, it is not guaranteed.

By the end of the year we will have had 4 holidays abroad and 3 breaks in this country.....we have been able to do this due to having the double income (Salary + Self employment). Next year we will be happy with whatever we can afford to do.

What is the point of all these holidays etc if he hates what he does everyday? We have accepted that things will not come as easily as before, but at 38, he will be doing what he wants to do and hopefully earning 'enough' as opposed to 'more than enough', but more importantly he'll be HAPPY!

The reaction from family members is that we are mad to even consider doing this.....but if it goes belly up (which it won't!), its our problem not theirs.

.......Off to the OS board!

princess

My husband was made redundant from well paid IT jobs twice between the ages of 35 - 40. Back then he was easily earning 30 k + He has pretty well all the qualifications mentioned above too! But sadly (or so it seemed at that time) he really struggled to find anything suitable after the second redundancy and ended up applying for the 'help desk' type jobs 16 -20 K. This just wasnt enough for us (me!) to live on and not really challenging enough for him either so he changed tack altogether two years ago and is soon to qualify as a paramedic and enjoying it much more.
I thing a lot too depends on where you live.. he may be ok in London, but in the provinces he may find very little....and I am sorry to say that based on our experiences his age will count against him.

PabloNeruda

I gave up £60k p.a. to become a full-time mature student in something I really love.

Much worse off, but still the best thing I ever done. :beer: