Walking away from the money
Discussion
Has anyone made a career decision that saw a negative effect on their pay packet but greater happiness, and what were their reflections on the decisions?
Somehow I've got to a position after chasing the banding/salary where I'm doing a job that I don't get any personal satisfaction or sense of achievement however the financials are great. Friends and family think I'm mad for considering giving it up but I'm confident that I could still earn good money doing something I enjoy more. It will still involve looking at spreadsheets all day, I'm not looking at a massive change. Anyone else been through it?
Somehow I've got to a position after chasing the banding/salary where I'm doing a job that I don't get any personal satisfaction or sense of achievement however the financials are great. Friends and family think I'm mad for considering giving it up but I'm confident that I could still earn good money doing something I enjoy more. It will still involve looking at spreadsheets all day, I'm not looking at a massive change. Anyone else been through it?
Yup,
Several years ago I gave up a fairly well paying IT contracting role to go and live in a caravan in a field in North Wales.
After 12 months I decided I needed to do something and got a job with Openreach climbing telephone poles.
3 years after that I ran out of money and went back into IT. I loved every minute of my career break....apart from the lack of money.
Several years ago I gave up a fairly well paying IT contracting role to go and live in a caravan in a field in North Wales.
After 12 months I decided I needed to do something and got a job with Openreach climbing telephone poles.
3 years after that I ran out of money and went back into IT. I loved every minute of my career break....apart from the lack of money.
In 1998 I walked away from a job paying £50k plus car,share options and bonus scheme to nothing because I was no longer motivated and didn't enjoy the job any more.
Best decision I ever made. Was only self employed from then on and retired early last year, probably not so well off as I could have been but happy and contented.
Best decision I ever made. Was only self employed from then on and retired early last year, probably not so well off as I could have been but happy and contented.
CaptainSlow said:
Somehow I've got to a position after chasing the banding/salary where I'm doing a job that I don't get any personal satisfaction
I think a lot of people take this route. Took me til I was 50 to realise, then I took one step back down, now I just do a job and don't seek any promotion, and I'm the happier for it.I quit a very well paid job just over a year ago after a minor health scare and not being able to face another winter of 4.5 hour commutes per day. Its very easy to say the money isn't important when you have the luxury of a cushion built up but you can become a bit overfocussed on it (some people very much so but I don't get the impression you are one of those from what you said). The big thing for me was when my one of my daughters said "we really like our new Dad" a few weeks after I'd finished. I'm not wealthy enough or tired enough to retire at 49 so I am finding different things to fill my time and hopefully earn in due course what we need to have a reasonable standard of living over the basic stuff that we afford from the invested earnings and my wife's salary.
You usually spend about half your waking hours in work so its important to be happy in that if you have a choice.
You usually spend about half your waking hours in work so its important to be happy in that if you have a choice.
Hi
I have done something similar and started a thread which tracks progress over the last two-ish years....
No massive regrets so far , especially concerning the wage!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Mike
I have done something similar and started a thread which tracks progress over the last two-ish years....
No massive regrets so far , especially concerning the wage!
http://www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&a...
Mike
Thanks for the replies. For me it isn't about long hours, stress or long commute. I can work from home but that drives me mad!
It's about being passionate, being proud on what I'm doing and using my skill sets. It's about seeing a result of my work and having a target to achieve. Also, the environment I'm in is very quiet, there's no buzz, laughter or excitement. I need to be in a more active atmosphere.
It's about being passionate, being proud on what I'm doing and using my skill sets. It's about seeing a result of my work and having a target to achieve. Also, the environment I'm in is very quiet, there's no buzz, laughter or excitement. I need to be in a more active atmosphere.
A little perspective for you.
Whenever life gets you down, Mrs.Brown
And things seem hard or tough
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft
And you feel that you've had quite enough
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned
A sun that is the source of all our power
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour
Of the galaxy we call the 'milky way'
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point
We go 'round every two hundred million years
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, the speed of light, you know
Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth
Whenever life gets you down, Mrs.Brown
And things seem hard or tough
And people are stupid, obnoxious or daft
And you feel that you've had quite enough
Just remember that you're standing on a planet that's evolving
And revolving at nine hundred miles an hour
That's orbiting at nineteen miles a second, so it's reckoned
A sun that is the source of all our power
The sun and you and me and all the stars that we can see
Are moving at a million miles a day
In an outer spiral arm, at forty thousand miles an hour
Of the galaxy we call the 'milky way'
Our galaxy itself contains a hundred billion stars
It's a hundred thousand light years side to side
It bulges in the middle, sixteen thousand light years thick
But out by us, it's just three thousand light years wide
We're thirty thousand light years from galactic central point
We go 'round every two hundred million years
And our galaxy is only one of millions of billions
In this amazing and expanding universe
The universe itself keeps on expanding and expanding
In all of the directions it can whizz
As fast as it can go, the speed of light, you know
Twelve million miles a minute and that's the fastest speed there is
So remember, when you're feeling very small and insecure
How amazingly unlikely is your birth
And pray that there's intelligent life somewhere up in space
'Cause there's bugger all down here on Earth
Edited by SonicHedgeHog on Monday 25th April 23:16
CaptainSlow said:
Has anyone made a career decision that saw a negative effect on their pay packet but greater happiness, and what were their reflections on the decisions?
Somehow I've got to a position after chasing the banding/salary where I'm doing a job that I don't get any personal satisfaction or sense of achievement however the financials are great. Friends and family think I'm mad for considering giving it up but I'm confident that I could still earn good money doing something I enjoy more. It will still involve looking at spreadsheets all day, I'm not looking at a massive change. Anyone else been through it?
I'm (with my fiance) leaving my job that I love, with a great salary / bonuses, and renting our tiny one bed flat in an area I (we) adore, to move 400 miles for a 35-40% cut in pay but a 4 bed detached house in the area we're from originally.Somehow I've got to a position after chasing the banding/salary where I'm doing a job that I don't get any personal satisfaction or sense of achievement however the financials are great. Friends and family think I'm mad for considering giving it up but I'm confident that I could still earn good money doing something I enjoy more. It will still involve looking at spreadsheets all day, I'm not looking at a massive change. Anyone else been through it?
I think I'm mad sometimes. I'll still be looking at spreadsheets all day. I'll report back in a few weeks.
I did too, more forced though, I was laid off from a job in 2011, got all entitled and boistrous about the whole thing, and it was probably something that needed to happen to knock me down a peg or two in hindsight. It helped me realise money and materialistic things werent making me happy, not inside happy anyway. It took a while to accept, but that's mostly because it was forced I think
When you realise that even if you had that money, or more money, it wouldnt make you happy it changes things. It takes a while to get there though, and there's a lot of bumpy roads. In my case I had to have some honest conversations with lenders and show them what money I had, what I needed to live off, and how I was budgetting. Budgetting for me for about 7 or 8 years previous to that was more 'want it, buy it' rather than thinking about whether I could afford it. Within reason of course, I couldnt go out and buy a brand new Lambo, but I fancied a Macbook, bought it. Fancied a new kit car, bought it. New kitchen, carpets and 'stuff - fine, no problem. I didnt have to answer to anyone and I had the money.
Now, I'm balancing whether I want to buy tobacco or steak. Whether I'll have anything left at the end of the month incase I get an expense I'm not expecting. I dont really have savings because any extra money is repaying debts I'd run up, but I have a repayment plan and things are on track.
I also found that with working in a different job, my priorities in life changed. I started becoming a bit more honest, and didnt play up to some kind of wannabe lifestyle or pretend posh. No keeping up with anyone, no competition. I opened up to doing more fulfilling things, like volunteering. I'm happier doing more for less in a way, it's not 'f
k the capitalists' or anything, but figuring out there's more to life than earning money in a soulless job
When you realise that even if you had that money, or more money, it wouldnt make you happy it changes things. It takes a while to get there though, and there's a lot of bumpy roads. In my case I had to have some honest conversations with lenders and show them what money I had, what I needed to live off, and how I was budgetting. Budgetting for me for about 7 or 8 years previous to that was more 'want it, buy it' rather than thinking about whether I could afford it. Within reason of course, I couldnt go out and buy a brand new Lambo, but I fancied a Macbook, bought it. Fancied a new kit car, bought it. New kitchen, carpets and 'stuff - fine, no problem. I didnt have to answer to anyone and I had the money.
Now, I'm balancing whether I want to buy tobacco or steak. Whether I'll have anything left at the end of the month incase I get an expense I'm not expecting. I dont really have savings because any extra money is repaying debts I'd run up, but I have a repayment plan and things are on track.
I also found that with working in a different job, my priorities in life changed. I started becoming a bit more honest, and didnt play up to some kind of wannabe lifestyle or pretend posh. No keeping up with anyone, no competition. I opened up to doing more fulfilling things, like volunteering. I'm happier doing more for less in a way, it's not 'f
k the capitalists' or anything, but figuring out there's more to life than earning money in a soulless job I am too young to do the numbers talked about above but I restarted my career from the beginning in a different field and it's the best decision ever. I lost about 10% in total and moved out of London and haven't been happier, I have a job that I am happy doing and I get to smell fresh air and see green stuff called trees and grass everywhere.
Edited by TommoAE86 on Tuesday 26th April 10:55
CaptainSlow said:
Thanks for the replies. For me it isn't about long hours, stress or long commute. I can work from home but that drives me mad!
It's about being passionate, being proud on what I'm doing and using my skill sets. It's about seeing a result of my work and having a target to achieve. Also, the environment I'm in is very quiet, there's no buzz, laughter or excitement. I need to be in a more active atmosphere.
What do you do currently? It sounds like I'm in a similar situation to you (aged 28), earning very good money for my age but definitely don't want to be doing this for the rest of my life. Changing career now will probably chop my salary in half but at least I have no dependents or mortgage right now - just wish I knew what it was I wanted to do It's about being passionate, being proud on what I'm doing and using my skill sets. It's about seeing a result of my work and having a target to achieve. Also, the environment I'm in is very quiet, there's no buzz, laughter or excitement. I need to be in a more active atmosphere.
I can see myself doing something similar in the future. I was always too hung up on money, especially in my twenties.
I have recently turned 30 and started appreciating time spent with family and friends more.
I have and always will like the 'nicer things' in life but I reckon your view on what the 'nicer things' are changes over time.
I have recently turned 30 and started appreciating time spent with family and friends more.
I have and always will like the 'nicer things' in life but I reckon your view on what the 'nicer things' are changes over time.
Most people will have reached their career peak by their early 40's mainly as a result of ability and opportunity, one of the reasons for the so called male menopause. It is not uncommon for many to look for an alternative role/career usually at a reduced salary, and little or no responsibility, but lot's more job satisfaction and time for non work related hobbies etc.
Your outlook on life switches from being career driven to one where you now have a different set of priorities and objectives. You see the younger, aggressive mid 20's career oriented individuals who take no prisoners, and will stab you in the back if needed to get on and realise that was you 20 years ago.
At this stage it makes sense to walk away and let them get on with it if you want to avoid that looming heart or stress related condition.
The one's that hang on in usually end up dying soon after they retire, those that have wound down gradually live to enjoy a long and happy retirement... hopefully
Your outlook on life switches from being career driven to one where you now have a different set of priorities and objectives. You see the younger, aggressive mid 20's career oriented individuals who take no prisoners, and will stab you in the back if needed to get on and realise that was you 20 years ago.
At this stage it makes sense to walk away and let them get on with it if you want to avoid that looming heart or stress related condition.
The one's that hang on in usually end up dying soon after they retire, those that have wound down gradually live to enjoy a long and happy retirement... hopefully
The stories in here are almost refreshing to hear; I'm clearly not the only one thinking about this very 'issue'.
Spent my years as a graduate and thereafter chasing money without really caring about the job and or the satisfaction. Money seemed to mean happiness at that age. Now approaching 30 having solely chased money, and succeeding, but I'm otherwise miserable at work. You feel almost stuck, adjusted to the lifestyle the salary brings.
Maybe things will improve if the energy market and oil price picks up.
Spent my years as a graduate and thereafter chasing money without really caring about the job and or the satisfaction. Money seemed to mean happiness at that age. Now approaching 30 having solely chased money, and succeeding, but I'm otherwise miserable at work. You feel almost stuck, adjusted to the lifestyle the salary brings.
Maybe things will improve if the energy market and oil price picks up.
Contemplating the same as you OP, hate the money trap I have found myself in, as I can't seem to find a way out with an acceptable drop in pay.
I'm not qualified or experienced in anything other than what I currently do, so a career change is very difficult without going down to a very small wage doing something I would probably enjoy even less. Unable to go back in to education as i have bills to pay.
I feel quite lucky at my age to earn what I do, but the work hasn't been interesting to me since I was a trainee about 5 years ago, and the hours aren't the best either. While money isn't everything, I would bet that a lack of money is even more awful than not enjoying work...
Interesting to read everyone's experiences on the thread.
I'm not qualified or experienced in anything other than what I currently do, so a career change is very difficult without going down to a very small wage doing something I would probably enjoy even less. Unable to go back in to education as i have bills to pay.
I feel quite lucky at my age to earn what I do, but the work hasn't been interesting to me since I was a trainee about 5 years ago, and the hours aren't the best either. While money isn't everything, I would bet that a lack of money is even more awful than not enjoying work...
Interesting to read everyone's experiences on the thread.
Gassing Station | Jobs & Employment Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff