Career Decision

[hgjjgkj]

I am 34. NW 1.4M. Married. Work in PE.

Trying to figure out if I should take a new job which is in a great location but a large paycut. Today my total comp is 610k. New job would be 380-530k depending on annual performance bonus. New job would have a great location and better culture.

I try to spend 100k a year living in NYC. New location is also HCOL.

Today I am saving over 200k per year and in the new role my worst case scenario is 100k per year savings. I think my current job will probably cut me lose in the next 24 months and new job could have significant stability.

I evaluated a few scenarios with financial mentor calculator at 7.5% returns.

A) save 100k per year until 55
B) Save 200k per year for 4 more years then 100k to 55
C) save 200k per year to 55.

Outcomes..networth by age:

 
A) 40: $2.9M; 50: $7.4M; 55: $10.9m
B) 40: $3.5M;  50: $8.5M, 55: $12.5M
C)  40: $4.0M; 50: 11.3M; 55: $17M.

 Scenario A reflects the new job and assumes i stay there forever. Scenario C is very hard to make happen in real life jobwise. I'm not sure the difference in reality between the 2.9m vs 3.5m at 40 and what that means for my life.


I am not a big spender but it's comforting knowing today that I'm am very well insulated from any crisis or other event. I used to be extreme MMM counting the cost of homemade PBJ sandwiches and at Ramen for dinner for years straight but I do not live that frugally any more. I'd like for my wife not to have to work and for us to have a nice secure life. 100-125k per year achieves that for sure in NYC or the other job location. I do love investing and run higher risk personal trading and the ability to contribute less to that account gives me pause.  The past 3 years I've grown net worth by about 400k per year and I'm not sure I can keep that pace in any scenario especially scenario A.

Should I take this job for the lifestyle and location?  Is there anything I'm not considering?

[AuspiciousEight]

I would stay with the current job, unless you feel like the new location is worth the significant drop in salary.

I typically don't believe in job security, so this isn't usually a big draw for me to accept a lower paying position. I see experience, education, professional and personal connections, work environment and management all as way more important than job security. Thus I would normally just take the higher paying position (or in this case keep the higher paying position). 

[AMandM]

To me, taking the new job sounds like the obvious choice. You get a better lifestyle, a better location, and better job security--which you don't even need, because you still earn enough that even with a very comfortable life you can retire at age 40.

What does your wife think?

[hgjjgkj]

To me, taking the new job sounds like the obvious choice. You get a better lifestyle, a better location, and better job security--which you don't even need, because you still earn enough that even with a very comfortable life you can retire at age 40.


What does your wife think?

She is open to the move. Strongly supports leaving my current job


Can you elaborate on why I don't need job security?

I would also add that all of my NW is basically in stocks and RE if that matters.

[Log]

You're already rich, you've basically won the money game, the rest is all gravy. Now it's location, location, location. Where will you be happy to stay for the rest of your life? Uprooting your life resets your social capital, the sooner you establish yourself in your preferred place, the more you can reap those compound returns. If you would rather live somewhere else, better to go there sooner and start building your community now, as opposed to putting it off until retirement. But you also have to consider if you've already been in NYC long enough that your existing social capital is worth staying for. NYC is a great place to live.

We're having a good discussion on these ideas over at this thread.

[hgjjgkj]

You're already rich, you've basically won the money game, the rest is all gravy. Now it's location, location, location. Where will you be happy to stay for the rest of your life? Uprooting your life resets your social capital, the sooner you establish yourself in your preferred place, the more you can reap those compound returns. If you would rather live somewhere else, better to go there sooner and start building your community now, as opposed to putting it off until retirement. But you also have to consider if you've already been in NYC long enough that your existing social capital is worth staying for. NYC is a great place to live.

We're having a good discussion on these ideas over at this thread.

I'll check the thread out. For me.social capital is nil in NYC. I work all of the time. So that point is moot to me. I would not expect a ton of friends in the geography either.

I still feel like there's a ways to go for me to get 2 people  to retirement at 100k household spend. Especially given health and housing costs and their outlook in the USA

[AMandM]

To me, taking the new job sounds like the obvious choice. You get a better lifestyle, a better location, and better job security--which you don't even need, because you still earn enough that even with a very comfortable life you can retire at age 40.


What does your wife think?

She is open to the move. Strongly supports leaving my current job


Can you elaborate on why I don't need job security?

I would also add that all of my NW is basically in stocks and RE if that matters.

What I meant is this: if you take the new job, your worst-case savings scenario produces a stash of $2.9M in just six years, which is enough to FIRE on at a $100k spending level. So you don't need a job that will last 10 or 20 years. If you can save more than your worst-case scenario, you can retire even earlier if you want to.

As well as the social capital that Log brought up, making the move now would allow you to build up personal happiness capital. Retiring early to get away from a stressful working life is good, but retiring early after a happy working life is even better.

[use2betrix]

Can you expand more on “better culture”? Is this less hours, more vacation, remote work flexibility, more reasonable workload, better position in the company, etc.?

In Jan, 2023 I took a pay cut from 450k to 275k with a MAJOR work life balance improvement, and I’ve never regretted the decision for a second. I’m a similar age and NW as you. My daughter was born summer 2021 and my wife stays at home, which made the decision much easier to be with them more.

[hgjjgkj]

Can you expand more on “better culture”? Is this less hours, more vacation, remote work flexibility, more reasonable workload, better position in the company, etc.?

In Jan, 2023 I took a pay cut from 450k to 275k with a MAJOR work life balance improvement, and I’ve never regretted the decision for a second. I’m a similar age and NW as you. My daughter was born summer 2021 and my wife stays at home, which made the decision much easier to be with them more.

Current culture:  micromanagement, super rude,  can't take vacation, insane hours,  tons of shit work, huge team of jerks

New culture:  allegedly better on all fronts.