I won't add to the financial side of things which has been well covered by the other posters. But on the personal side, I can tell you my own experience. Until 2007, my entire career was at the senior executive level, making more than decent wages with all the financial and non-financial perks associated with this kind of position. But I was completely unhappy and I couldn't stand the thought of spending another year, let alone the next 15 years until retirement, in the corporate world, so I decided to leave the field entirely at 49. Not knowing what to do for about 1 year, I unexpectedly came across an ad for flight attendants for an airline, I applied out of curiosity, and got hired. While the salary was very low ($25-30K/year), I had my financial house in order, house and car were paid, kids almost out of the house, so I could afford to make much less...This decision to do something so completely different, was probably the best I ever made: the lifestyle, the free time (lots of it), the perks, the schedule, the layovers in different cities, the social aspects with both crews and passengers, and most importantly the lack of stress and the fun factor, made this job the most enjoyable I ever had. Sadly, for a reason that I still do not comprehend, I quit three weeks ago to take an offer in my field I could not refuse. This is my third week on the job, my butt and my back hurt from sitting all day in front of a computer or in endless boring meetings, and I find myself staring blankly out the window hours on end, thinking this is probably the worst mistake of my life...So my advice is, if the numbers work and you can live with less but be happier, go for it. And do not go back under any circumstances.