How Much $ Would You Sacrifice To Be Happy In Your Career?!?

Orange_R

Orange_R

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Let me preface this with saying, I love what I do, but HATE where I do it. I've been here nearly 30 years(the only job I've had since getting out of the Marine Corps) and the company just getting shittier every year. I am in design and development for medical and dental small equipment and make a very good living doing it. I have an opportunity to go work for Team Losi/Horizon Hobby in the product development department designing and developing R/C cars and since this has been a passion since I was a young kid it would be awesome to be able to do so. My only issue is it would be roughly $40-50k less per year because I'm coming in at the bottom. Seems like a no-brainer to find something more but I can't get this thought out of my head. So, as the title states, could you? would you? make that kind of sacrifice to be happier in your career or am I just being a dumbass? TIA :cheers:

 
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I'm in a very similar position,  I used to live the job, company, customers,  satisfaction,  etc.  We got bought by a huge corporation, and it's gotten worse every year.  The only goal is EBIT.  

My wife and i have talked about this a bunch .    At this point in my career and the job market, I'm going to ride it out to the end.  I'm behind on my retirement savings goals and don't want to risk having to work until I die.  I want my wife to be able to retire (and enjoy it) in a couple of years.   

So to answer your question, none. 

 
I also think that would be a tough adjustment. While in the beginning you would be ok, I think as time went on it would grate at you, the money loss..

 
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Well if you didn't have any bills but food and utilities you could take a hit like that.  So unless you can make your monthly nut with a $4K loss/ month via some kind of side hustle you have inslaved yourself until you can do that. 

 
Bobalos said:
I'm in a very similar position,  I used to live the job, company, customers,  satisfaction,  etc.  We got bought by a huge corporation, and it's gotten worse every year.  The only goal is EBIT.  

My wife and i have talked about this a bunch .    At this point in my career and the job market, I'm going to ride it out to the end.  I'm behind on my retirement savings goals and don't want to risk having to work until I die.  I want my wife to be able to retire (and enjoy it) in a couple of years.   

So to answer your question, none. 
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I have 12 years to go unless that bitch Nikki Hailey gets her way then it will be 17. We were also bought out by a fortune 200 large cap company 20 years ago and it's been a downhill; slide since. I just can't do another 12-15 here... It would most likely kill me from stress or depression.

 
MWB said:
Well if you didn't have any bills but food and utilities you could take a hit like that.  So unless you can make your monthly nut with a $4K loss/ month via some kind of side hustle you have inslaved yourself until you can do that. 
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besides the mortgage (sub 2k) and her car(almost paid off) we don't have any more bills really(utilities of course)... I've been making sure we haven't stacked anything and I'll probably be moving the Daytona once it comes home this weekend(maybe, possibly, probably :lol:  )

 
Been at the same company for 28 years, was promoted to supervisor position eight years ago with significant raise in pay, but after three years of being nothing but a babysitter, and dealing with internal drama bullshit,  I asked to please put me back out in the field, the money was not worth dealing with all that crap, it was the best move I ever made, but it was a tough decision to come to. Sanity, and what little I have left, was way more worth to me than the extra pay.  But $40,000 to $50,000 is a huge drop.  Tough decision right there. 

 
First thing I'd do is use an income tax calculator to determine the actual POST TAX delta. $40-50k could be $20-25k net.  Every time I get a raise, I'm amazed at how little ends up on my check...

But yeah, I'm in a sorta similar boat.  I get offers as a non-DoD engineer that are the same/more than I make now running multiple teams...  Job market is weird right now.

But those jobs are soul-killers, so here I sit.

 
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It would simply come down to math and objectives for me. If you have been setting yourself up for retirement the last 30 years and have a really solid nest egg postponing the date you retire by switching to a job that is enjoyable to you can have a profound positive impact on your retirement. There are a lot of generic retirement calculators (ie nerd wallet) and is amazing what waiting a couple years to dip into retirement savings does for projections. If you are in need of accruing more money for subsidizing social security in retirement then I would grind it out and max out 401k opportunities. That is a large hit on income and not sure why you would need to start at the bottom when you have such an extensive mfg background, seems as if you bring a lot to the table. All that being said go with your gut but be realistic with calculations / expectations. Good Luck  :cheers:

 
What is the  up side at Losi?  Promotions etc... that 20-50 could only be a couple years... 

We only get one chance at this.  I am 2 yrs away from qualifying for early retirement....I can't do anything until then... I wish people hired older people....I'm pretty damn smart and I show up for work...... My dream was to get out of here while still alive and find a Job I ENJOY..... but it looks like once you quit or retire at 60, nobody will hire you?  Makes no sense. 

 
Yore Sanity is priceless.

Unfortunately we live is a world where everything has a cost.

Of course you could do it, but are you willing to make the lifestyle changes and spending habits your family is currently accustomed to?

That's the only REAL question - change of lifestyle will happen at a 50k drop.

 
I have a gift to do things I hate for the money.  I HATED the Navy, but saw the benefit in retiring early and the benefits.  Would I do it again starting over today?  Nope, but the decision has already been made.

I didn't have to work after I retired from the Navy but I wanted more.  Yeah, I bitched and complained but eventually, a company called me and asked if I wanted a job.  I wouldn't be making what I wanted.  I wouldn't be doing what I wanted.  But...it was remote and had job security and...it's not really hard or time consuming.  I've been there 4 years now and  the money is not bad for what I do and it really only supplements my retirement.  My play money if you will.

So.... @Orange_R what are you giving up other than money if you make the jump?  Pension retirement?  Benefits?  Location?  If you are on a 401K, will the decrease still get you to where you "hope" to be when you retire?  ALWAYS...plan on needing a lot more than you think you do.  Don't think about bills, think about lifestyle.  Think about the oh sh*ts that come up that will need to be paid for.

Lastly, RC is your hobby.  I don't prescribe to the "do something you love, you'll never work a day in your life..."  I've always said...do something you love...you'll learn to hate it.  It's why I never pursued starting my own business, working in a field that is something I consider a hobby.  

 
I took a lower pay job where I am at now to get a virtual position which allowed me to move out of CA to AZ and lower my cost of living so at the end of the day I still have the same $$ left in my pocket.    If your not able to offset the cost of living then taking a pay cut would suck.  At that point find a new company paying same or more.

 
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To get into something that is your passion and get paid for it sounds like a dream.

The fact of getting paid to do it, hopefully won't take the passion away since now it is your job!

There's an old saying though:

"If you Love what you do, you'll never work a day in your life" (Reading what @Mac wrote above is why I wrote that hopefully the passion won't go away)

Sounds like a great opportunity if you can swing the hit on the pay. 

What if....you get into it and it isn't all you seem, can you go back to what you were doing easily?

Don't burn any bridges. Maybe your company would understand this is a once in a lifetime opportunity and no hard feelings but if it doesn't work out, the door is open type deal??

My boss did that to one of our designers who thought she wanted to work in the museum industry...it was her passion (She thought) he was bummed but was totally cool with it for her to give it a shot and if she didn't like it...the door was open! She came back a year later........however, she then left again 6 months later. Torched that bridge let's say!

:lmao:

Whatever happens, discuss everything you can think of with your wife and if she's on board...what the heck, go for it!

We're on this little ball of rock and water for a limited time, make the most of it!

:cheers:

 
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If you can avoid that God forsaken commute you post about, that's worth its weight in gold!

When I was looking at a same job out-of state, it would have been a 25-30% pay cut but cost of living may have offset that.  I was OK with that but them sons of bitches didn't pick me up!

 
Same thought here, would it be worth it to leave and maybe take a smaller pay cut than yours to be happier. I look at the end game but I'm a little closer than. I look at it like I need to make X to retire. Would I rather deal with the BS for 3-4 more years, or go somewhere else and maybe have to work another 5-7 years. My thoughts I just want to be done so I am trying to stick it out.

 
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