Job Satisfaction vs Pay Cut: How Much Would You Take?

[Fudge102]

As a decision on the topic is coming closer in my life, I thought I'd ask you all just how much of a pay cut you'd take to improve job satisfaction.  How much does it matter to you?  Seems especially pertinent since higher pay, if saved, means less time working.  But while lower pay might mean longer work, if it's work you don't mind, is that a bad trade off?

My background and why I'm thinking about it...  I'm a transitioning military pilot and aerospace engineer headed to the northeast.  While there are some jobs in the area specific to that, they are harder to come by so variety leaves slim pickings.  What I've found there is there, but it's nothing that really says, "let's do this everyday!" kinda thing.

Meanwhile, I can move into a different field and start out basic.  I'm talking sales here and a 50% pay cut.  But it's in an industry (renewable energy) that I love, and with a company that's growing (doubled in the last year).  So while it might hurt at first, there's room for growth over time.  My background fits, I just need to wait for opportunities to open, or use the time to find out what's missing and help make the opportunities happen.

I'm leaning towards jumping ship, taking the pay cut, and trying something new.

But what would you do?  Would you take a pay cut for a job that you value more?  If so, do you have a limit?  Or do you feel it's better to take on a higher paying job even if it means you like it less.  I've been in the military for 11 years so I'm curious what people on the outside think about careers and "loyalty" or "job hopping."

[TheAnonOne]

50% paycut would be beyond what I would take... this is likely a decade of extra work or more.

Sent from my SM-G935T using Tapatalk

[Valhalla]

Think risk reward.  The greater the risk, the greater the potential reward.  If you take no risk, no reward (and also no penalty).

How long is the pay cut for?  1 year?  10 years?  That would factor into it also.  If you're passionate about the work, and can grow your income, that's a huge factor.

Also, how close are you to FIRE?  The closer you are to FIRE the more risk you can take without stress.

In terms of "loyalty", that notion is dead in the private sector.  I get more rewarded the more I job hop. The biggest raise I ever got in my life was when I went to resign. Sad but true. It's just business.

Personal decision.  No right answer, no wrong answer, best of luck.

[gatorNic]

Happiness is an important thing, but 50% is probably too much for me personally.  That 50% is likely the difference for you in being able to FIRE and not. 

That being said regret can eat away at people.  Certainly a very personal decision.  You have to ask yourself...Will you regret not taking it even if you console yourself with the fact you can probably retire much earlier?   

[Johnez]

50% sounds steep-how is the cost of living versus where you're at now? That, your commute (or lack of, maybe you can bike or use public transit?), your (new) perks might help cushion the blow and really translate to a 30% pay cut.

[Civex]

I don't think you can totally look at this as a percentage; quality of life likely wouldn't change drastically from $200k->100k/pa, but from $75k->35k is  completely different.

I will say I did apply and tried to get a position that would have resulted in my taking a 35% pay cut, but as a household the human benefit would have outweighed the money lost. Fortunately, unfortunately?...I didn't get the position and a few months later took a job with similar pay and much better life balance.

So, if you can afford it and are very confident that you would be happier in the position, go for it. If it was me, I'd be tempted to look for something more halftime in your current field and try to break into the new field on the side.

[big_slacker]

Depends on the life situation. If you're single it's super easy to justify doing even 50% to do something you love. I mean, I've quit a job so I could have a strong snowboard season. :D

Now with a family and me being the single income it's a different story. But I'd still take 10-20% to do great engaging work instead of average numbing work.

[Fudge102]

I talked to a friend earlier who thought I was insane or even entertaining the notion of a satisfying career.  To her, it was all about the money.  But then again she chose a career path where you had to chase education to get a better paying job which would never pay for the price of education to begin with. 

It's me, myself, and I at this point.  So 50% cut is doable based upon what they tell me the average person makes with the commission part of the pay.  Add in the GI Bill for a master's degree on the side and it's not that bad.  Satisfaction while learning a new area and expanding education on the back end.  All while living in an area that's closer and more manageable.  The better paying jobs are further away.  An hour guaranteed unless I move closer and lose the niceties of the area all to reduce commute time.  The less paying job, I'd be able to live closer to work and play. 

Pros and cons to be sure.  But in this day and age, everyone talks about moving up.  That can make the idea of moving down to achieve success a harder pill to swallow.

[sparkytheop]

I recently took a job with a paycut of about 8%, and I have absolutely no regrets.  My life/work balance is great now, I get lots of time for vacation because of the way my schedule is set up, and I now only work a few minutes from home instead of a longer commute.  The crew I work with is great, the boss is so much better, and the job itself is much better.  It's like a light switch was flipped.  The paycut worried me more at first, but now, I know it was the best move and completely worth it.

In your situation, are you considering everything?  It's not likely just a pay difference, but possibly housing too (depending on if you get a housing allowance or not).  And maybe more, I don't know.

A 50% cut is pretty steep, and I was not in the position to take that big of a hit.  However, if I wasn't helping my son with college (he's living at home and going to a community college the first two years), I could have sold my house, bought a much smaller house, would not be saving to help with the college, could have sold my land, etc, if I thought it was worth it.  And I could have been happy.  I might have to push back retirement, but maybe not.  Maybe downsizing so much early would work out well.  I have a good base in my retirement account (compound interest!), so I could have relaxed on contributions, although I would not have stopped them.

I've seen people leave my current position in the chase for money.  Two are actively trying to come back (they went to new locations).  The ones who have been promoted to the next level up from mine often say they only did it for the money, and they really pretty much hate the job/responsibility now, and wish they could drop back down (but are "addicted" to the money).  I have no plans to chase the money, even though I know I could make about 20% more if I went for the promotion.  Nope, perfectly happy to stay where I am.

[Spork]

I took a 40% cut with fewer benefits. For me it was the right thing to do. It cut into my time to fire... But it gave me time with family I would never have gotten otherwise.

[Dances With Fire]

Think risk reward.  The greater the risk, the greater the potential reward.  If you take no risk, no reward (and also no penalty).

How long is the pay cut for?  1 year?  10 years?  That would factor into it also.  If you're passionate about the work, and can grow your income, that's a huge factor.

Also, how close are you to FIRE?  The closer you are to FIRE the more risk you can take without stress.

In terms of "loyalty", that notion is dead in the private sector.  I get more rewarded the more I job hop. The biggest raise I ever got in my life was when I went to resign. Sad but true. It's just business.

Personal decision.  No right answer, no wrong answer, best of luck.

+1 "Loyalty" is long gone IMO. Many years ago it might have meant something, not so much anymore. It's (just) a J-O-B, something high achievers and MMM types have to remind themselves from time to time.

[ZiziPB]

I took a huge paycut (around 40%) almost 7 years ago for a job with infinitely better hours and better benefits.  No regrets whatsoever!

[Fudge102]

I recently took a job with a paycut of about 8%, and I have absolutely no regrets.  My life/work balance is great now, I get lots of time for vacation because of the way my schedule is set up, and I now only work a few minutes from home instead of a longer commute.  The crew I work with is great, the boss is so much better, and the job itself is much better.  It's like a light switch was flipped.  The paycut worried me more at first, but now, I know it was the best move and completely worth it.

In your situation, are you considering everything?  It's not likely just a pay difference, but possibly housing too (depending on if you get a housing allowance or not).  And maybe more, I don't know.

A 50% cut is pretty steep, and I was not in the position to take that big of a hit.  However, if I wasn't helping my son with college (he's living at home and going to a community college the first two years), I could have sold my house, bought a much smaller house, would not be saving to help with the college, could have sold my land, etc, if I thought it was worth it.  And I could have been happy.  I might have to push back retirement, but maybe not.  Maybe downsizing so much early would work out well.  I have a good base in my retirement account (compound interest!), so I could have relaxed on contributions, although I would not have stopped them.

I've seen people leave my current position in the chase for money.  Two are actively trying to come back (they went to new locations).  The ones who have been promoted to the next level up from mine often say they only did it for the money, and they really pretty much hate the job/responsibility now, and wish they could drop back down (but are "addicted" to the money).  I have no plans to chase the money, even though I know I could make about 20% more if I went for the promotion.  Nope, perfectly happy to stay where I am.

That's a great question and honestly I don't know if I am accounting for everything.  I have the same basic budget template I've used for years, modified over time.  I mean the pay cut basically goes back to when I started off years ago so it's not like it's out of ordinary or anything.  The only downside at the moment is a car payment at 0% that's just eating some change for another year.  Otherwise I can still make ends meet with a roth IRA filling up or even a 401k.  Smaller payout to play with every month sure, so less extra savings and spendings but it's otherwise livable.  While I'm not rich, I've got more than your average American saved up right now.  But I'd wager that's true of most Mustachians...

[Saskatchewstachian]

I picked >40% as I am actively trying right now to make that happen. I guess mine would be more of a life satisfaction vs job satisfaction though. Currently I work away Mon-Fri so am only home on weekends. I get base salary plus various uplifts for being away which significantly increase my wage. If/when I go back to a normal office and getting to be home every night then all of the uplifts will be gone and I will revert to just my normal salary.

This equates to a ~40.1% pay cut from where I am right now. Although I know this seems massive it will be well worth it to me. Savings rate will take quite this hit as income will go down and expenses will go up due to having to pay for my own food, increased utilities costs, gas costs, etc.

[Gray Matter]

I left the financial services three years ago to move into the non-profit world and ended up with a 50% pay cut.  Best decision I ever made.  I don't think I would have taken that big of a pay cut to only do work that was more rewarding and in a better environment, but I also went to 80% and cut my commute, so I got back an extra 3 hours a day between those two things.  I have never been happier--the fog of exhaustion lifted and I've been able to improve my mental and physical health substantially.  And now I've gone back to school to train to continue to do this work in a slightly different way, and I'm happy as a clam. 

I was obsessed with FIRE before, but a big part of that was because i wasn't happy in my job and just wanted out.  Now I am doing what I want to be doing and would do this very thing even if someone came along and offered me $10 million and I never had to work another day in my life.  I would still choose to do this.  YMMV.

[2Birds1Stone]

Way too much ambiguity around this question.

If I found a job working 10 hours a week making 50% less than I do now, I wouldn't even bat an eye before saying yes ;)

Realistically, if I had to put in 40 hours a week, but love what I do, I could see myself taking 20-40% pay cut, BUT I am also ~ 11X living expenses saved.

[mm1970]

I said 0 because my salary right now is already 77% of the median.

[LostGirl]

For me job satisfaction is about working less. I would take a pay cut commensurate with the reduced hours but my profession isn't really one where pt is an option.  I'm going to try though!

[itchyfeet]

If asked this a few years ago I might have said yes, I'll take a pay cut for any number of things that I felt might improve my life. In fact I was all set to do so once about 10 years ago. I was about to take a job with a 20% pay cut. But then a better offer came along at just the right time and I ended up getting 20% more rather than 20% less.

Asked today, with FIRE not so far away I am willing to suffer a lot to get to the finish line ASAP. No voluntary pay cuts for me.

[Fudge102]

For me job satisfaction is about working less. I would take a pay cut commensurate with the reduced hours but my profession isn't really one where pt is an option.  I'm going to try though!

You know, this really gets to a point that I missed...  How does one define job satisfaction matters.  For you it's working less, for other's it's getting paid more so you don't have to work as long.  For me, it's being a part of something that makes a difference, that just doesn't make to make.  But that's a really hard poll to make!

[sparkytheop]

For me job satisfaction is about working less. I would take a pay cut commensurate with the reduced hours but my profession isn't really one where pt is an option.  I'm going to try though!

You know, this really gets to a point that I missed...  How does one define job satisfaction matters.  For you it's working less, for other's it's getting paid more so you don't have to work as long.  For me, it's being a part of something that makes a difference, that just doesn't make to make.  But that's a really hard poll to make!

You piqued my curiosity, so I made a poll...

[Bateaux]

I took about a 10% paycut two years ago.  I switched positions in my company for less responsibility and stress.  No regrets.  My investments now make more than my annual salary so it isn't really noticeable.

[HenryDavid]

Picked 30% because I've already cut back that much. Close enough to retirement and finances on track, so why not.
So it's more like "life satisfaction."
Anyway it totally works.

[VoteCthulu]

I'm close enough to fire that I'd be happy to take a 60% pay cut for a job I really enjoyed, which would only set me back a couple of years. I haven't found any jobs I think I'd really like so far, though.

[Beef Rindly]

Doesn't this depend on how much you dislike your current job?

I got to answer this question in real life recently.  I have a very entrepreneurial friend who found out I was looking to leave my high paying oil and gas job last year.  My last job was paying me around $150k/yr.  At the time I left my wife and I were 12 months away from being FIRED.  I was working as an engineer and trading time for money while suppressing my creativity, interests and geographical preferences.

I left to join my friends company for $60k/yr.  Yes it extends our true FIRED finish line, but now I spend my days as a machinist/designer/coding programmer/maker/mechanic/electrician/vibrations analyst and whatever the job requires.  I get to take unpaid leave whenever I want and I'm also allowed to work remotely when I have a lot of CAD design work to keep me busy.

I'm learning new skills and having fun.  I'm sure that it will make crossing that adjusted FIRE finish line a little easier even though it might take a little bit longer.

[BoonDogle]

Was wrestling with this question about 6 months ago.  Since I was within 5 years at the time, I was only willing to postpone FIRE 1 year.  Couldn't get the numbers to work out so I stayed.

The other thing that I kept wrestling with was that I would hate to make that leap and then realize that I don't like the new position any better than I like my current one.  AND I have to stay one extra year.

I voted 0-10%.

[Chaplin]

The other thing that I kept wrestling with was that I would hate to make that leap and then realize that I don't like the new position any better than I like my current one.  AND I have to stay one extra year.

I took a 25% pay cut and ended up not happy with the new job. The shorter commute, fewer toxic people, and learning new things have been redeeming feature though. Fortunately, the change prompted a big enough cut in our expenses that it doesn't affect our FIRE date. Of course, if I had kept the old pay rate and cut the expenses it would have been better, but I really don't think we could have cut the expenses without the change.

[Slow&Steady]

For the last several years I have really wanted to become a HS or MS teacher, to the point that I have applied and been accepted for a Master's program.  However, the pay cut from my current position to a 1st year teacher in my state is right around 50%.  If I could figure out a way for my current exp to count the cut would still be roughly 40%.  Either way we can't afford that kind of cut at this time and I really can't justify spending the money on a degree in order to make less money.  So I will not be making that change, at least anytime soon. 

I have in the past taken small(ish) pay cuts, 10% on the high side, to relocate to an area we wanted to be in, or for a better commute, etc. 

On the flip side, my company is currently paying for me to get a Master's (not in education), in a subject area that I do not really have any interest in being my primary job function but it makes me very qualified to take my manager's job (or many other jobs directly related to my general career field). 

[Fudge102]

Well, I took the pay cut.  It's also a learning experience.  I can't say what I'd be feeling at the other job, but I feel like it'd be more of the same.  I'm learning something new doing the sales gig, and it's a product I can get behind.  The pay might suck but it's relaxing doing something different for now.  And since it's sales, I don't mind looking for something that satisfies both pay and desire at the same time.  But at least I'm learning, enjoying, and getting paid again.