Career Advice Wanted - Pay Cut

tomdakota

Hi All,

I do not know if this is the right place to post but I need some advice, its probably a situation that many have been in before..

Anyway, I am currently employed in an office about 5 minutes from my house - pretty sweet huh - but they hours are so long, I am treated terribly and after 3 years I feel that I am at my wits end. I have applied for something completely different which I have been interested in a while as I have wanted to change careers and work in the health service- its a Health Care Assistant job in the local hospital which I have an interview for next week.

Trouble is I would be taking a minimum of a 5K pay cut per year which is the only thing which I think is holding me back from throwing everything into this. I'm pretty sure I can afford this pay cut but it is just making me anxious as I am getting married next year which isn't cheap and I'm worried that taking a pay cut will mean it will take a lifetime to pay off!!

Any advice would be gratefully received.

Thanks

agrinnall

Have a cheaper wedding seems the obvious solution.

tomdakota

The Wedding is already paid for - its a case of paying ourselves back into savings

missbiggles1

Being a health care assistant isn't for everybody - I'd recommend doing a few shifts evenings and weekends to see whether you're suited before giving up your office job.

LKRDN_Morgan

Your HCA wages can be topped up by doing bank shifts. They pay slightly more. Not for everyone though as you can be placed anywhere in the hospital and it can be a struggle not knowing anyone, where things are kept etc.

Good luck! I started out as a HCA before doing nurse training. It can be backbreaking and soul destroying at times! But if you're with a good team its a great job

paddyrg

£5k difference is probably on the gross pay, so after tax/NI it's more like £3-4k, and you may find that once you divide that by the number of extra unpaid hours you're doing that you actually come out about even (or ahead!).

But ignoring that, then still do it anyway - you work to make money to live, not live to work to make money. A better lifestyle is worth a huge amount.