Author Topic: Is there a balance in jobs?  (Read 3598 times)

Bearded Man

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Is there a balance in jobs?
« on: October 30, 2015, 03:54:56 PM »
I remember when I was in my early twenties, I was just getting by. Although I was way ahead of my friends compensation wise, even at that time, I was still not doing much more than getting by, standing on my own two feet. My primary complaint about that job was being on call, nights/weekends, and low pay, poor treatment by senior management due to low respect, etc.

Now I've swung to the other end of the spectrum. High pay at 150K a year, occasional nights/weekends, and technically on call though rare to get called, and I get to work from home, though seems like respect is elusive, and dependent on the opinion of the person in front of you.

As I contemplate changing careers, I reflect back on different types of jobs I've had. All of them had something wrong with them, mostly not enough pay for the BS. But now I wonder, will I leave my high paying career and take a 60+% pay cut (at least initially) to go to something else that has something that sucks? Or did I find a reasonable gem of a job with in house (not agency) corporate recruiting. Good hours, good pay for my low cost living lifestyle, still allows me to save, and I'm not really carrying that much responsibility, just place people, compared to being responsible for all these complex applications and systems 24/7. One of my colleagues told me he almost threw up the other day after he almost couldn't recover from a database issue.

There is no rosy job, but is there a balance? Having worked on both ends of the spectrum, and worked in corporate long enough, observing, researching, I think Corporate Recruiting is as good as it gets for my needs. Not really a ton of responsibility or technical difficulty, not getting called for break/fix situations, just some BS and frustration once in a while when a candidate takes another offer, flakes, pads their resume, etc.

clarkfan1979

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #1 on: October 30, 2015, 10:43:22 PM »
I should make 66K this year as a college prof and love my life. I was being heavily recruited to apply for a job that was offered to me in the past. It is a non-profit low stress job, but its a real job at 12 months a year. I originally turned it down because they were only offering 67.5K. They are now offering 105K-110K. If I didn't have any options, I would take it. However, I wouldn't love it so I turned it down.

If I was to take a soul crushing job that I hate, I think my number is around 230k for a state with no income tax or 275K for a state with income tax. It would be based on a 5 year plan to FIRE. I would probably end up teaching adjunct somewhere because I love it. Then I think, why would I leave in the first place?

bigstack

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #2 on: October 31, 2015, 01:23:50 AM »
I think that no matter what job people have it really boils down to their mindset.

I have a job that many people would call high stress. my co-workers freak out over little things and work 50+ hours a week, 1 has had a stroke and another a heart attack. I often get called in to fix things on their projects and their errors are often cause they are stressed out and instead of making any decision they over think it and either take too long or can't figure out the "perfect" solution. there is no perfect solution.

so what is your mindset? (there is a whole spectrum.)
but generally people that are happy at their jobs will be happy at their next job.
and people that hate their jobs will hate their next job.
yes there are exceptions...

look back at your jobs you have held at different companies....
do you remember hating going into your various jobs or was it fun etc?

if you have negative or had negative feelings for each job when you left  ... welcome to the club....

yep you probably thought hey this guy is preaching cause this guy loves every job.... nope....
I came to the realization that I am most happy not working. that every job i have had i did it for the money.... of course seems simple... i know that no matter what job i go to i would rather be on the beach sipping a pina colada... so i go with the job that will get me to that goal as fast as possible with the least amount of resistance.

if I were you. I would become FI by making that 150 a year and slashing costs(frankly you already know this cause you are here). then evaluate what you want to do.... taking away the need to make money changes a lot of things....
 
In the meantime think about why you are unhappy with this job?
is it long hours? then cut back. you directly control that... trust me no one will care or even notice as long as you are getting the job done. take back your life. I work 10 hours a week, i have a 6 figure income. I get my job done. I don't feel one bit guilty about it. you won't either. no one says "man i wish i spent more time at work and less with friends and family or hobby"

is it idiot recruitees calling at every moment?...then manage this by having two cells/numbers and turn the work one off at 5 pm. or dont take it with you on vacation etc. this also eliminates you being tempted to check emails from work etc. I have 3 phones( work/personal/side business... employer pays for work phone)... sure not very mustachian... but that little bit of waste keeps my worlds separate.

is it idiot co-workers or employees under you? start realizing that the only time that you should actually get upset with them is if they cause you more work(time) or cost you money. if your employees/underlings create more work than they handle then get rid of them.

I guess that in total I think people create their own demise or success, based on who they are. sorry for the long winded post.
« Last Edit: October 31, 2015, 01:26:38 AM by bigstack »

Monkey Uncle

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #3 on: October 31, 2015, 04:16:07 AM »
Bearded Man - my recollection from other posts you've made is that you are just a few years out from FIRE - am I remembering correctly?  In that situation, I'd stick it out with the $150k job to get there as fast as possible.  I'm sort of doing the same thing, though I don't make as much as you.  I took a promotion a couple of years ago that boosted my salary by about 10k a year.  Doesn't sound like much, but it all goes straight into savings, which makes a difference in my time to FIRE.  The new job involves managing a dozen or so professional specialists who all have their own heavy workloads, complex projects, infighting, etc., plus I'm managing a large special project of my own.  So it's a pretty stressful 50 hr week most weeks, and I never seem to be able to keep up with everything.  But the old job (I was one of specialists) had grown pretty frustrating as well, as I felt like I didn't have much influence over anything.  I guess the point of all this rambling is that, in my experience at least, there is always going to be something about every job (at least the reasonably high paying professional ones) that is stressful or bothersome in some way.  If you're close, it makes sense to hunker down and get there as fast as possible, rather than backtracking into a lower paying job that is likely to find some new and different way to annoy you.

StetsTerhune

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #4 on: October 31, 2015, 05:15:29 AM »

but generally people that are happy at their jobs will be happy at their next job.
and people that hate their jobs will hate their next job.
yes there are exceptions...

I finally have close to a perfect job. I still don't like it. I don't hate it like I've hated some of my jobs, but it's still a job. It's still got plenty of little things that annoy me. It still restricts what I can do on a daily basis.

Sometimes I think I'm crazy for planning on quitting a job like this that pays me so much, but I've come to the conclusion that no matter how good the job is, I'll never be that happy while working in a job.

Nancy

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #5 on: October 31, 2015, 06:32:38 AM »
I've been considering making a similar career shift. I'd say you have to know yourself. Are you generally happy? Do you look for the good in jobs? What interests you about the new career? Your high pay and time to FIRE would also be factors.

For me, I'm interested in a new job for aspects that my current office work cannot provide. When I go to volunteer, I'm excited and when I leave, I feel happy and fulfilled. That to me seems worth the risk and the pay cut. If it doesn't work out, I have enough connections and experience in my current field to get back in. Granted, I may not reenter in a position/organization as sweet as my current one (I make nowhere near the amount of money you make), but my time to FIRE is pretty short. I'm excited to be free of work, but if I were FI today, I would still work in some capacity. I'm going for it. If it doesn't work out, I'll learn from it. Good luck!

big_slacker

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #6 on: October 31, 2015, 08:23:14 AM »
I wouldn't take a massive pay cut unless the new gig was something you're really sure you'll love. I'm all in for people that can pursue their passions even if they don't pay much. I'm also very big on people leaving jobs that are crushing their soul, breaking their health, etc. Doesn't sound like that's the case here. It isn't for me either. I also have a high income and while I'm not jumping up and down excited to go to work I'll take my 150k+ and low stress, low bullshit job and ride it into the sunset. :)

Your choice though, I think a job is a job is a job in most cases.

pbkmaine

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #7 on: October 31, 2015, 08:35:32 AM »
I worked most of my career in consulting firms. I have had great jobs and terrible jobs. What made jobs great for me was interesting work, clients who understood how to use consultants, support above and below, and a company policy of not hiring evil people.

Daisy

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #8 on: October 31, 2015, 01:04:08 PM »
so what is your mindset? (there is a whole spectrum.)
but generally people that are happy at their jobs will be happy at their next job.
and people that hate their jobs will hate their next job.
yes there are exceptions...

Yes, attitude is important. I returned to a place I had worked for a long time after briefly working somewhere else. I got to have a 5 month sabbatical between being laid off at company #2 and then coming back to #1. So I was happy to come back to company #1, work with old friends, etc. after a relaxing sabbatical. When I came back, the negative comments about work from others was overwhelming. They were complaining about petty things, I thought. I didn't like company #2 so I would tell people that it could be worse out there.

It's funny because my company was at one time listed in an article as one of the top places to work (many years ago). Also, we work in software which was the top listed field at the time. So some older guys said they looked around at each other after reading this and said "I guess this is as good as it gets" in a sarcastic tone. Pretty much saying they felt their jobs sucked, but everything else was worse. It's all in your attitude.

yep you probably thought hey this guy is preaching cause this guy loves every job.... nope....
I came to the realization that I am most happy not working. that every job i have had i did it for the money.... of course seems simple... i know that no matter what job i go to i would rather be on the beach sipping a pina colada... so i go with the job that will get me to that goal as fast as possible with the least amount of resistance.

Ha ha...I have actually used this phrase at work. When someone asks me what I would like to be doing (at work, they mean), I just laugh and say "well I'd really rather be at the beach." So far this hasn't hurt me at work, but it's a way of telling them "I'm close to FIRE and don't really care either way."

gooki

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Re: Is there a balance in jobs?
« Reply #9 on: November 02, 2015, 03:48:55 AM »
Bigstack's post is great. What's helped me is learning not to give a fuck.

 

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