Can a "medium" public sector job achieve £500 DB within 5 years ?

Universidad

NedS said:

Stress is a mindset more related to you than the job, although sometimes it is easier to change jobs than to change mindsets.

I can't agree with this. There are plenty of situations that cause harmful levels of stress, which a mindset change won't fix.

If you're simply very busy all the time, that could be described as a high pressure situation, and it's possible to find that either stressful or satisfying, depending on your outlook.

But if you're constantly being held to a standard or set of objectives which it is out of your control to obtain, that is a stressful situation, and you can't fix that situation, or the psychological effect which it will have on you.

Take a look at the HSE standards, for a look at the main causes of workplace stress.

Workerbee999

There are a few private sector companies still with open DBs, notably the Railway Pension scheme. Depending on the company it’s around 1/60th accrual with NRA 62-65. Train drivers are paid pretty well.

NedS

Universidad said:

NedS said:

Stress is a mindset more related to you than the job, although sometimes it is easier to change jobs than to change mindsets.

I can't agree with this. There are plenty of situations that cause harmful levels of stress, which a mindset change won't fix.

If you're simply very busy all the time, that could be described as a high pressure situation, and it's possible to find that either stressful or satisfying, depending on your outlook.

But if you're constantly being held to a standard or set of objectives which it is out of your control to obtain, that is a stressful situation, and you can't fix that situation, or the psychological effect which it will have on you.

Take a look at the HSE standards, for a look at the main causes of workplace stress.

Believe me, I understand what you are saying. I have suffered with stress at work for a long time so have many year's first hand experience of what you describe.

But I would add that it's only stressful if you care. Recent events at work have caused me to no longer care and sure enough I no longer feel stressed when I'm not able to juggle 12 balls at once. Mindset has changed from 'care' to 'don't care', and stress is largely gone yet workload stressors remain unchanged.

RNV

You nailed it @NedS.

I really did care, however the changes at work including a noticeable switch to personal blame for having not achieved something that (known from day one) was unachievable,   have broke my commitment. 

I'm definitely on the path to "don't care " state, so my target 4.5 years should be much easier to handle.

Universidad

NedS said:

Recent events at work have caused me to no longer care and sure enough I no longer feel stressed when I'm not able to juggle 12 balls at once. Mindset has changed from 'care' to 'don't care', and stress is largely gone yet workload stressors remain unchanged.

Ah, see you're only part way through the cycle. I recognise well that brief freedom associated with realising that you genuinely don't care either way.

Sadly, it is temporary in my experience.

None of us are machines. We can ignore a toxic environment, to a point, but the poison still finds a way under our skin.

Meanwhile training yourself to spend a huge part of your life doing something you can't care about grinds away at you eventually as well.

A day may come when you realise you don't care about the things you want to do as well.

Just remember that it's not an admission of defeat to walk away from something you can't fix. It is, and always will be, a show of strength.