Have you ever voluntarily taken a large drop in salary?

edinburgher

Hi everyone

Looking for some thoughts and anecdotes from anyone who has ever voluntarily taken a large salary drop. What happened? Do you regret the decision?

My wife and I both qualified as librarians a few years back and while she has stayed in libraries, I have had to leverage job opportunities with different employers to move from being a librarian to being a records/information manager.

I did this to allow us to return from London so that we could buy a home in Scotland (wife was very homesick). We now have said home, but I hate my job and worry that it is affecting my mental health. I work for a large, poorly run organisation and the constant round of writing policies that nobody reads to support systems that nobody uses is driving me into the ground. My current employer is obsessed with short term profit and if it doesn't make £ instantly, they don't care. Basically there's nothing that I can bring to their party and hiring me was a box ticking exercise.

I have been told by my employer that there is no career progression route. Which would be fine if I had purposeful employment and work to keep me busy - but I don't and am constantly worried that I'll be 'found out'.

I have recently applied for a job that pays considerably less money (£10k+) but is in a library. We will still be able to pay all of our bills, have money to spare and a little left to invest.

So why do I feel so guilty? My wife is generally supportive, but I worry that it's because she feels she has to be, not because she thinks it's a good idea.

My feeling is that you can't offer much in a job that makes you miserable and I'll never be able to shine here. Is this just pie in the sky thinking?

vicshippers

If you can still cover all the bases, even taking into account the inevitable one off expenses then I don't see any reason why you should continue doing something that is causing you so much pain.

Life isn't about money, it's about being happy. Go for it!

edinburgher

Thanks for that - I've no ambition to take a wage drop - but have to be realistic. Buying a house has very much tied us down, which has good and bad sides.

Looking at a sample jobs website for librarians there are currently 20 jobs advertised in the UK. 2 of those are in Scotland and neither is within 100 miles of where I live!

Ashles

edinburgher wrote: »

I work for a large, poorly run organisation and the constant round of writing policies that nobody reads to support systems that nobody uses is driving me into the ground. My current employer is obsessed with short term profit and if it doesn't make £ instantly, they don't care. ...
I have been told by my employer that there is no career progression route. Which would be fine if I had purposeful employment and work to keep me busy - but I don't and am constantly worried that I'll be 'found out'.

From your description of your job it sounds like it is only a matter of time before that role is made redundant anyway.
If your employer is obsessed with profit and you are in a role that sounds completely pointless and is costing them a decent wage to run, then surely they will soon look at this and merge the role with someone else's or dispense with it completely.
Also if you are in a role you hate that much then it would be easy to lose focus/enthusiasm and make a mistake that gets you in trouble.

Either way it sounds like you should definitely move on as soon as possible.
As vicshippers says above
"Life isn't about money, it's about being happy. Go for it!"

And this other lower-paying role doesn't have to be for ever. Keep an eye on the job market - something better may come along.

aandp_2

I was in a job that was making me ill, I stayed and had a breakdown. I have resigned from the job so losing my £15000.00 per annum wage, now a dog walker, boarding etc and just love it.

Should have done it ages ago but was to scared to leave a paying job, life is to short and your health should be paramount.

Good for it

edinburgher

From your description of your job it sounds like it is only a matter of time before that role is made redundant anyway.
If your employer is obsessed with profit and you are in a role that sounds completely pointless and is costing them a decent wage to run, then surely they will soon look at this and merge the role with someone else's or dispense with it completely.

This is a real worry for me. In theory, the job has lots of potential in an environment where complying with the regulation etc. is the norm. Some of our work is for the local council and to be honest, if I was doing the same job for them I think I'd be busy (if not wildly interested).

Unfortunately for me, for the role to have any future there'd need to be a sea change in attitudes from very senior staff. Those don't happen very often in my experience!

I was in a job that was making me ill, I stayed and had a breakdown.

Sorry to hear that - hope you're enjoying life more now? I was on anti-depressants for 6 months after starting the job last year after the strain of trying to look busy and bullying from my line manager got to me. Stopped taking them now, but every day is a battle.

Ashles

edinburgher wrote: »

Unfortunately for me, for the role to have any future there'd need to be a sea change in attitudes from very senior staff. Those don't happen very often in my experience!

No, that's very true. A company 'ethos' rarely changes unless there is an extremely drastic change (like new ownership).

Are there no other companies recruiting for your skills anywhere near?
Are there any large companies which might require similar skills in writing policy and support documents?

I suppose it depends specifically what you are looking to do.

edinburgher

Are there no other companies recruiting for your skills anywhere near?
Are there any large companies which might require similar skills in writing policy and support documents?

Not really, librarianship jobs are few and far between in Scotland. I know people with 15+ years of experience taking part-time jobs.

I don't want to continue writing policy and miss the bustling day-to-day of customer research, reporting and erm.... actually doing stuff. I realise how daft it may sound, but I hate the lack of connection with anything tangible when all you do is sit and type.

I've recently started a one day a week job working in a shop that sells tropical fish (my hobby) and find it amazing that a job paying £2500 a year leaves me feeling more satisfied than an office job paying more than 10x as much. I could have done that full-time if I'd liked, but it would have been a 50%+ drop in pay. That's just too extreme at this point.

kwmlondon

I had a job working for a nightmare boss. She'd had 3 PA's leave due to stress, which I didn't know until I'd been there a while. Me being me, I thought there must be something wrong with me as an employee for months until I worked out that actually, I'd been able to do other jobs fine it was HER that was the problem. I applied for other jobs and took a cut from about £30k to about £26k and it was the best thing I've ever done. I work in a place I love, for people I respect doing work I believe in and as it's a good match I've progressed over the 5 years I've been here and have something I can actually call a career.

edinburgher

Me being me, I thought there must be something wrong with me as an employee for months until I worked out that actually, I'd been able to do other jobs fine it was HER that was the problem

I know *exactly* how you feel - I remember being made to feel like an idiot when I pointed out concerns that my workload was too light. How many competent bosses try and make you feel like it's your fault when you're asking for more work? There was me trying to be conscientious...

In all fairness, the boss who made me miserable has since left, but her replacement has just as little interest or understanding of what it is I can/should be doing for the company.

I've tried explaining, I've tried asking for suggestions/priorities and I've tried making it up off the top of my head. Nothing seems to be working!

Acc72

edinburgher wrote: »

I have recently applied for a job that pays considerably less money (£10k+) but is in a library.

Is the £10k before or after tax ?

You need to look at how your finances are affected "in your pocket".

Are there any other benefits to the new job that you need to consider ? - eg. would the commute be longer or shorter (how does this affect your costs etc.).