I‘m thinking of ditching my very safe and very well paid office job with the option to work from home for a job in the field where I drive around and inspect buildings. Taxes included I’d get a 300€ paycut but would gain the ability to get paid for overtime, which I do not have at the moment. Also, due to austerity measures I have no chance of ever getting into a higher position at my current job.
I don’t know maybe I just want the validation of something I’ll do anyway, maybe I want to get shown what makes my current job better than the might-be one.
Overtime can easily make up for lower base pay, as long as you like working more. Idk how it is in your country but good pay increases are also way easier to get in corporate jobs than government ones in the US. Another thing to consider- non salary benefits. In the US these are a big deal, not sure about your country. This would include retirement fund contributions, health insurance (probably not as big of a deal outside the US), dental/vision insurance, and any other perks of being an employee of the government. In the US these are usually a lot better for government jobs than most corporate jobs, but salary is lower. If you’re not nearing retirement age, I’d recommend it but with the caveat that my experience is only in the US which has a really messed up system.
Now that you mention non-salary benefits… I would get a company car for myself in the new job, effectively eliminating all car-related costs. Healthcare wise it‘s the same. This company car would reduce my cost immensely, evening out the salary gap.
So this will obviously be personal, as you said maybe you just want validation for something you’d do anyway, but on the face of it without having access to the emotional and self fulfilment aspects of each proposition, leaving sounds like a really bad idea.
Leaving for higher pay, leaving for a new lifestyle and adventure in a new location, leaving for work you’d never have considered but will be really unusual and interesting or leaving for lower lay and insecurity but in a field you’ve always wanted to be involved and is worth more to you than the money and security; sure that all makes sense but unless I’m mistaken this sounds as though the other job is just a different job not one that holds a special appeal to you.
So unless there’s some extra psychological component to this, I can’t really see the advantage.
Well the new job would make use of various licenses I acquired in my free time. On paper it sounds amazing but I would really want to know what I’m getting into before actually quitting my current job.
If I was in my 20s, I’d be off like a shot.
At 30, I’d think for about 5 minutes before doing it.
At 40 I’d try to have a backup plan in place.
Now I’m in my 50s, I’d cling onto that safe and boring job like a limpet.
Thats because you dont have savings. If you did, you would feel like you could actually work less and choose more fulfilling work instead of sucking the corporate tit until you retire.
If you are young reading this, start saving money so you can get the hell out while you still have some life left in you.
Thats because you dont have savings.
I’m sorry, why did you assume that?
I guess you never considered that someone older might like a safe and boring job because they’ve finally worked out how to compartmentalise work and life, or maybe it lets them work from home or is conveniently close, or that they have friends there and are accepted as who they are, or that they believe in the work they’re doing, or their health isn’t so great and they don’t want upheaval, or they’ve already had an exciting job and it demanded too much of them, or any one of a lot of other possible reasons.
Maybe they even have enough to retire today, but that they like that boring job you’re so dismissive of and don’t fancy facing the void that retirement can bring, having seen friends retire and just… stop, because they had nothing else to fill their days with, dying soon after.
Maybe, just maybe, your bleak experience of a working life isn’t the same for everyone.
I hope you figure things out a little better as you get older and not jump to conclusions.
My backup plan is that I have an assessment in the near future that, if passed, states me as someone who’s good with taxes and that certificate is valued higher than a bachelor‘s degree
I’d never leave public sector/government work for lower pay.
If you want job security, flexible working, decent conditions, good pension then (in the UK at least) you work for the government.
If you want good pay then you leave.
Leaving that job security for less money is, imho, absolutely insane.
Lots of elements to this.
On the one hand a safe well paid job is very valuable to a lot of people. Even if it’s dull, job security is a huge thing and not to be taken lightly.
Having said that, if there is no progression then it may end up being a trap and not worth it. You say its well.paid but is it well paid overall - as in keep going until retirement in decades, or is it well.paid compared to other jobs at your current level of career?
If its just well paid for your level then it might make sense to take a pay cut to get into something new, interesting and with better progression and opportunities long term. If it’s well paid overall then you need to be thinking not just about now, but about how you’d feel in 10 or 20 years.
Going out into the field might be attractive now, but would it be attractive in 20 years? Have you got a job you might not value fully yet but may come to value as you get older?
Ultimately only you can decide what is more important to you about work. It’s natural to worry about doing something irreversible and regretting it. But it’s also important not to let fear get in the way of career progress. Sometimes you do need to move jobs to keep motivated or pursue better opportunities or even just because a well paid may just not be interesting enough or tolerable.
People talk a lot about work life balance now, which is great. But it’s not just about hours and working from home. It’s also about having a job you like and adds to your life, rather than one you hate or is drudgery. We spend about 1/3 of the week at work and it impacts everything else about our lives - money but also happiness and mental well being. So while it maybe a €300 pay cut, it may be worth it if you really enjoy it and it makes your work life better.
How much is the paycut at the government job?
Retirements aren’t replaced. Only chance of getting a raise is if someone higher up quits
No, I mean the current paycut
No paycut, only if I switch jobs
What? You aren’t paid in your current job? Get out of there ASAP
Please correct me if I’m wrong since I’m not native in English. In my understanding a paycut is the reduction of one’s income.
You’re 100% correct. That other person is making zero sense asking about a pay cut. Maybe they’re thinking payout, which is an actual compound word.
What do you mean by retirements aren’t replaced. How do they fill those positions? If your manager or the head finance guy or chief of compliance or the person who does payroll retires, they have to be replaced.
Well that’s the point, there’s so many managers that they load the work of the retirees off to the other managers. The positions just vanish.
I’m seeing it in my current job as well. The quality of the job is slowly going down the drain because we get more and more tasks each time someone leaves or retires. We have been under replacement levels for 5-7 years now :/ lost at least 10% of the work force with no decrease on the expected production output. Just a directive of being more efficient. Obviously, shit is hitting the fan. I’ll have to see if this new wave of shit is enough to change the course, but I am serious considering if it’s worth staying in the long run. Shame because i really love the job (when I’m not drowning)
