Leave job for lower pay/hours?

[livetogive]

I'm facing a choice right now and would really appreciate the mustachian view. 

1.)  Stay with current job.  Good pay, OK to good hours (50-60), FIRE in 16 years?  Saving about 50-60% of income.  Culture and environment are terrible.  Promotion opportunities are slim.

2.)  Change jobs to one with the same hours, lower pay (drops savings rate to about 35%), better environment with some room to potentially grow.

3.)  Change jobs to one with brutal hours (80+), same pay, better environment with room to grow.

thoughts?

[lifejoy]

Option 1 sounds sucky...

[newleaf]

Honestly, those aren't good options.  I can relate to your working misery, but you probably would do well to hold out for a better option.  Jumping for the options that sound no better than your current situation is just change for the sake of Change.  There's no optimizing there, and you might goof up your resume and your working history.

I would suggest that you find a side gig.  It'll give you some satisfaction and validation, something you're obviously not getting from the regular job.  But, it'll also give you a welcome distraction, as well as a source for extra pay--which will, in time, give you better options.  AND/OR, if all goes well, another job will present itself that will legitimately offer you a better future (ie, more money, fewer hours, AS WELL AS better coworkers/environment).

Best of luck.  I've been there....

[Tyler]

1 & 3 are out.  Neither are sustainable for your time frame.

If 2 is your best option, I see no problem with it.  You're building a career, not marrying a job.  But make sure you've truly explored your options first so that you'll be comfortable that the new place is the "right" job and more than simply "not where I am now."

[livetogive]

I really appreciate the feedback so far!  Ultimately I know 1 isn't sustainable but it's not quite miserable enough to make me quit outright when we're still working to pay back my SO's student loans. 

Although people LOVE the two or three firms i'm looking at in category 3, I'm not sure if they'd be characterized as mustachian.  I love the fact that 3 pays for my meals but don't love an 80 hour workweek for the same take home.  That would probably have to be a 2-3 year gig at most but would offer a new jumping off point.  It also involves a commute with a car or motorcycle though (blech).

I also like the idea of a side gig.  I've been thinking about that for a while and am going to keep working on it.  I have one now which gives me ultra cheap healthcare and the posisbility for a pension when i'm older but likely can't be turned into full time.  I think I have time to pursue a third option.

[chasesfish]

What type of lawyer?  Most profitable ones I see have a small low overhead firm and big $ clients

[livetogive]

What type of lawyer?  Most profitable ones I see have a small low overhead firm and big $ clients

HA!  Very close - I work in financial services.  The only people more miserable than us are the transaction lawyers we hire to do the stuff we don't want to do...

Another alternative would be to start recording my days and make a log for a book or something...

[ZiziPB]

TurboLT, about 3 years ago I quit a high paying super stressful job with crazy hours (80+ hour weeks happened more often than I care to remember) for a job with normal hours. I took a significant paycut and have absolutely no regrets.  I still do challenging work that keeps my mind sufficiently occupied but I get to go home at 5 pm.  The improvement in my quality of life and mental well being were well worth it.  Also, the lower paying job has much better benefits (generous 401(k) match, significantly less expensive health plan, free parking, more time off) that offset the cut in the salary to a certain extent. 

I would strongly consider option 2 if I were you.

[Dulcimina]

Those are all terrible choices. 

I'd pick #1 if I could get to financial independence faster than 15 years or reduce hours/telework so I'm spending less time in a toxic environment. 

#2 if the pay was the same/higher or hours were fewer, or as Iseve mentioned, if the job had better benefits to go with the lower pay.

#3 - the pay would have to be a lot higher - short term pain (80 hr weeks) for much quicker financial independence

[livetogive]

Thanks everyone for the input!  I'm going to interview with firm #2 just to see what the office is like but probably hold off on pursuing #3.

It sounds like my best option might be #4 - keep looking

[TS]

Hi Turbo. I agree with that - Options 2 and 3 don't bring you closer to your goal any quicker. I'd stick with option 1 while actively looking for another solution.