I’ve been in a particular job role for 6 months now. I’m earning great money but I really, really hate my job.
I’m not challenged. Im not busy. I’m so bored every single day that I have taken to doing crosswords just to keep my brain active. I have asked for more work/responsibilities and whilst my Manager agrees, nothing changes. I have to drag myself out of bed every morning and I’m finding for the first time ever I’m starting to struggle mentally.
An opportunity for a new job in a completely different field has presented itself. I’d be dropping 30k in income initially by taking this role but the job itself offers everything I’m interested in and has potential to earn similar to what I am now after a few years.
Has anybody made a similar move in their careers and regretted their decision?
10 Replies
I've been in the same job for 1.5 decades . I dont like it very much at all . But it pays absolutely great money. I can get a job in two other fields that I'd really love , but the pay is shit . So I weighed up great pay, crap job versus crap pay great job . I stayed in the one that pays the highest as I consider living comfortably meant more to me if my family was happy and comfortable. I was albeit okay staying on in the job , if it meant myself and my family were well off financially, versus my true happiness in a lower paying job ( which to me , in turn would have caused other stressors anyway such as financially struggling ) .
Only you can make this decision so weigh up a few pros and cons and go with whatever you choose in the end.
Maybe it's just not a priority for her right now, does she seem to have a lot on her plate right now? I know when I first got promoted my role was quite simple once I got my head around it, so I started doing extra stuff that my direct manager would normally do, learning more about the software I was using, talking to others about what they were doing, what I could change to make their job easier etc. Within 3 months I could do both my job and my bosses job alone (only for short stints as obviously there's 2 roles for a reason). In less than a year he left the business and I'd already been doing all of the tasks so I walked straight into a management position. Even now, I'm still there but studying online as well. I think sometimes it's easy to forget how to challenge ourselves.
Money trumps for me. I love seeing the reward and benefit that I get to provide to my family.. our day trips out, all the co-curricular activities, regular dates, drinking expensive wines etc. - obviously very materialistic things but I couldn't change my lifestyle by will :)
If the new job has the same earning potential in the near future then I would take it. Stay where you are and you will make yourself unemployable in the future.
If you're not working too hard, I'd keep the money and use it to have great holidays, weekends, enjoy life.
Money makes the world go round.
If there is no progression or opportunity for more money the role will start out rewarding but you do run the risk of missing the extra money. ESP if your putting in the same workload and hours for much less money.
Even jobs people love can become tiresome.
30k is a lot, it would depend, do you have a partner who earns heaps so the money wouldn’t be missed?
I’m a single mum, I wouldn’t move.
Good money, low pressure job, sounds like a dream to me.
Aside from crosswords, maybe you can do something else to keep your brain ticking, like study?
I’m the same, I get bored when I’m not learning, once I’ve mastered the job, I’m ready to move on, but as a parent, I now stay in the job because I need stability.
I lost my job of 20 years by being made redundant, so it wasn't my decision to leave. It paid extremely well for the work I did. I can't say I loved my job but it was tolerable. When looking for more work, nothing measured up as I could not get the wage I was accustomed to. In the end, I accepted a job that is 10 mins away from home (I used to drive 45 mins in peak hour traffic every day) and I scored big time with my new boss. He's like family. I now LOVE where I work and I'm still on $15K less than I had been, but the money doesn't matter.
What I'm trying to get at is do what will make you happen. You only live once :)
Money isn’t everything.. happiness above money.! Leave the job, it will make you sick and nothing is worth that. Don’t think of the money. Think of your health and happiness first!
Do it.
I left a high paying job I hated to do something I loved- I was broke and eventually had to sell my house and downsize- but I never looked back. I was much happier-