Have you ever voluntarily taken a large drop in salary?

Triker

Yes I've left my profession and not only did I takes pay cut but have also gone part time.

Financially, we can manage,we have lived on a lot less in the past.

Worth it? Abso-flunkin-lutely, the feeling is indescribable, I'm smiling and laughing again, have loads more energy and just feel 'released'....wish I'd had the guts to do it years ago.

The other side is I now have the time and energy to get my business up and running and when that is where I want it to be intend to give up the part-time job too.

Good luck, life is too short to be unhappy in something that takes up so much of your valuable time, as a friend said to me many years ago....it's only a job!

HeadAboveWater

Triker wrote: »

Worth it? Abso-flunkin-lutely, the feeling is indescribable, I'm smiling and laughing again, have loads more energy and just feel 'released'....wish I'd had the guts to do it years ago

There's your answer - it's never about the money! There are more important things in life

I was on £17k and ended up going off on WRS. Had to see a counsellor. After 4+1/2 months accepted a job at £13k and moved back to mums. Best move ever

Yes money is important, but if you don't have your health, your family, or you're being driven batsy by work, money is no good to you. Remember what your priority is.

Life is too short

jfh7gwa

Yes, I have.

But I did it to re-train into something I already knew was viable, after becoming well established in my previous role. I essentially had to start again from an entry position (almost - clearly, I have communication and customer facing skills at a level which a totally inexperienced candidate could not be expected to match).

I always had an idea of where this cut in wages would take me - I wouldn't have done it if I hadn't. This is because I didn't want to go from doing something that was well paid /miserable to badly paid/burnt my bridges and potentially end up making me miserable too.

I suppose what I'm trying to say is that I didn't do it blindly, and I considered "what if it's just me that's unhappy being employed by someone/working in this area of the country/working crap shift patterns"... basically I needed to make sure that the thing I was really unhappy with was the role itself (rather than something which could crop up in my retrained role, on much less £££s too).

westv

HeadAboveWater wrote: »

I was on £17k and ended up going off on WRS. Had to see a counsellor. After 4+1/2 months accepted a job at £13k and moved back to mums. Best move ever

That first job must have been bad if all you were paid was £17k but you thought it worth while going down to minimum wage. :eek:

HeadAboveWater

Admin jobs and I'm based in Northern Ireland. Neither are gonna get me much money :rotfl:

edinburgher

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.).

Before tax, slightly longer commute (but the bus leaves from the end of my street), very slightly more expensive bus ticket.

I *think* the new job has a defined benefit pension (big plus), which was c. 90% funded the last time I can find a pension scheme report (which is a good sign).

Employer is well established (200 years or so, it's a university)

KiKi

I left a £55K employed job to go £13K self employed. I then took an employed job at £30K, then went part time to £18k, then got a promotion to £45K. I still freelance as well.

As long as I can pay my bills, the most important thing is that I'm happy in my job. I was miserable in that first job, and leaving and doing something I love was the best thing I ever did. It was a hard decision as the job came with excellent benefits. But I wasn't happy.

On your death bed you probably won't be wishing you had earned a bit more; you'll be wondering why you didn't spend a significant part of your life doing something that you actually enjoyed. Not everyone gets to do something they enjoy, so grab it with both hands!

KiKi

Southend1

Yes, I took a cut from £27k to £23k to escape a nightmare boss! My health (and sanity!) is more important than the amount of money I earn.

Triker

I think the main issue for me was I didn't realise just how much my job had affected me in the ways that it did. It's like being crushed by a mountain and feeling trapped because I should be grateful to have a permanent contract, pension, yada, yada, yada.
What that actually cost to me was my time, time I can never get back to be with my children, it cost my health, I was so stressed with a knackered immune system I held the door open for serious illness to take hold...it also took 'me' away! However now I'm getting myself back on track and it feels good.

Read this to get some perspective http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying

barnaby-bear

edinburgher wrote: »

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?

I worked in a toxic environment - I was willing to take a £15k cut - interviewed and constantly knocked back - too much experience, why would you do that questions and then weirdly got offered unrelated industry for a £10k increase and never looked back - perhaps the non-librarian experience might have opened other doors - but yes get out of there - it's not worth it!