Career Advice Required - taking a paycut for new role
Discussion
So I'm mid 30's currently earning 26k in a role I've been in for a few years. There is little chance of progression where I am now and I'm a little bored of it all now. However the job is easy, no pressure, no overtime, close to home and I like the people who work there. However it's not a career I see myself in for much longer despite doing a degree in it.
I've been offered an apprenticeship role for a biggish company to do 6 months in Data learning SQL, Tableau, Python, R, etc, then moving onto Software Development for the next 6 months. At the end of the 12 months there should be a job available. Its definitely not dodgy, and like I said it's to work for a big company in Manchester.
The negative is the wage is only £18k. I have a mortgage and bills to pay. Also I'm mid 30's so people are saying I'm to old to take a paycut and do an apprenticeship. My argument is they are great skills I'll be learning with lots of chance for career advancement in the future.
Is it worth taking the paycut? Are the skills I'll be learning likely to earn me more.moneu then now in the future? Am I too old to do an apprenticeship? Thoughts and advice welcome :-)
I've been offered an apprenticeship role for a biggish company to do 6 months in Data learning SQL, Tableau, Python, R, etc, then moving onto Software Development for the next 6 months. At the end of the 12 months there should be a job available. Its definitely not dodgy, and like I said it's to work for a big company in Manchester.
The negative is the wage is only £18k. I have a mortgage and bills to pay. Also I'm mid 30's so people are saying I'm to old to take a paycut and do an apprenticeship. My argument is they are great skills I'll be learning with lots of chance for career advancement in the future.
Is it worth taking the paycut? Are the skills I'll be learning likely to earn me more.moneu then now in the future? Am I too old to do an apprenticeship? Thoughts and advice welcome :-)
It is almost a 1/3 pay cut, so on the face of it that's a big drop. However, what will the likely salary be after 12 months? Then what will the salary be 24 months down the line? Could be 12 months sacrifice for career-long gains, so depending on the numbers in the equation this sounds like a worthy risk as long as you can still live on £18k a year, for a year.
As you say, little opportunity for progression in your current role. You'll be earning similar salary for the foreseeable future, and you will possibly get bored.
As you say, little opportunity for progression in your current role. You'll be earning similar salary for the foreseeable future, and you will possibly get bored.
Tricky one... I am about to take a pay cut for a career change albeit only 15% of current salary.
It can be a tough pill to swallow having a drop in take home, but in my scenario it’s a role I’ve always wanted to do, and will open the door to many possibilities in the future as it looks brilliant on the cv. That said, There is still the nagging feeling that taking a cut is a step backwards....
It can be a tough pill to swallow having a drop in take home, but in my scenario it’s a role I’ve always wanted to do, and will open the door to many possibilities in the future as it looks brilliant on the cv. That said, There is still the nagging feeling that taking a cut is a step backwards....
Are you any good at the computer tasks that you've mentioned you'll learn? It is very easy to try and get into Python, SQL and virtually any computer related topic and home to see if it is 'your thing'.
If it is, then a short term drop for a more rewarding future (and programming / data analyst etc.. will earn more) is worth it.
If it is, then a short term drop for a more rewarding future (and programming / data analyst etc.. will earn more) is worth it.
donnie85 said:
I've been offered an apprenticeship role for a biggish company to do 6 months in Data learning SQL, Tableau, Python, R, etc, then moving onto Software Development for the next 6 months. At the end of the 12 months there should be a job available. Its definitely not dodgy, and like I said it's to work for a big company in Manchester.
The negative is the wage is only £18k.
Yes, doesn't sound dodgy at all...The negative is the wage is only £18k.
So how will it work exactly: Will you have a day job to do or being genuinely treated as a full time student? Will you be going on paid external courses, how many? Who will be training you internally, and what percentage of their day job will you be allowed to take up?
You say 6 months in more than 4 skills which doesn't sound realistic- if you were a self starter than you would have taught yourself these skills already suggesting you will need support.
But could be a good move, as otherwise you may feel frustrated at not at least trying.
Currently I work in supply chain. Feels like I haven't learned any new skills in a long time and my role is mainly admin based.
I am good at excel and can do very basic SQL.
The apprenticeship will a mixture of learning on the job and a provider offering the course.
At first I was dead set i wanted it, however more i think of it the more I think the pay drop is going to be an absolute killer even if it is just for a year-18 month's. Currently I earn £1700 a month, a drop to £1200 is quite alot given I have a mortgage. Still will be enough to cover all my bills but doesn't leave me with a lot.
However the skills I feel I could learn is significant. Such a tough decision to make....
I am good at excel and can do very basic SQL.
The apprenticeship will a mixture of learning on the job and a provider offering the course.
At first I was dead set i wanted it, however more i think of it the more I think the pay drop is going to be an absolute killer even if it is just for a year-18 month's. Currently I earn £1700 a month, a drop to £1200 is quite alot given I have a mortgage. Still will be enough to cover all my bills but doesn't leave me with a lot.
However the skills I feel I could learn is significant. Such a tough decision to make....
We need to inderstand what you do currently.
You give the impresssion there is no upward movement where you are - that doesn’t mean change career it could simply mean change company, have you investigated this?
Does £26k= the top tier in salary for the job you are doing? IF so can I ask why did you study that area of interest at Uni specifically? None the less you have a degree and can switch careers.
You do realise in April next year the salary you are suggesting is full time @ min wage.
What is it your intending on studying/what is the end goal of this change? Is it to earn more money better work life more enjoyment closer to home ?
You give the impresssion there is no upward movement where you are - that doesn’t mean change career it could simply mean change company, have you investigated this?
Does £26k= the top tier in salary for the job you are doing? IF so can I ask why did you study that area of interest at Uni specifically? None the less you have a degree and can switch careers.
You do realise in April next year the salary you are suggesting is full time @ min wage.
What is it your intending on studying/what is the end goal of this change? Is it to earn more money better work life more enjoyment closer to home ?
Just an observation, however there's more than 26k pa to be made in Supply Chain, if you're motivated enough.
£100k plus for Supply Chain Directors, currently advertised on job sites.
Of course, which part of the country you are in has an impact too.
That said, if you don't enjoy it its probably not the right role.
Be aware, progression in computer based stuff may be equally challenging.
£100k plus for Supply Chain Directors, currently advertised on job sites.
Of course, which part of the country you are in has an impact too.
That said, if you don't enjoy it its probably not the right role.
Be aware, progression in computer based stuff may be equally challenging.
Edited by Previous on Monday 4th March 07:26
Edited by Previous on Monday 4th March 07:45
Welshbeef said:
We need to inderstand what you do currently.
You give the impresssion there is no upward movement where you are - that doesn’t mean change career it could simply mean change company, have you investigated this?
Does £26k= the top tier in salary for the job you are doing? IF so can I ask why did you study that area of interest at Uni specifically? None the less you have a degree and can switch careers.
You do realise in April next year the salary you are suggesting is full time @ min wage.
What is it your intending on studying/what is the end goal of this change? Is it to earn more money better work life more enjoyment closer to home ?
Currently work in supply chain. I have a degree in supply chain and also have an open degree. I graduated several years ago however so I'd imagine it's too late to use my degree now?!You give the impresssion there is no upward movement where you are - that doesn’t mean change career it could simply mean change company, have you investigated this?
Does £26k= the top tier in salary for the job you are doing? IF so can I ask why did you study that area of interest at Uni specifically? None the less you have a degree and can switch careers.
You do realise in April next year the salary you are suggesting is full time @ min wage.
What is it your intending on studying/what is the end goal of this change? Is it to earn more money better work life more enjoyment closer to home ?
To increase my salary in supply chain I would need to get into sales and I don't think sales is for me. Could continue on the op's route but just find the work very dull as it's mainly admin.
My reason for going down the data route is because it's the most in demand Job for 2019 so my thinking was that's where the big bucks will be in the years to come.
Not sure what else to do tbh?!
£18k minimum wage? I thought it was £15k?
hyphen said:
Yes, doesn't sound dodgy at all...
So how will it work exactly: Will you have a day job to do or being genuinely treated as a full time student? Will you be going on paid external courses, how many? Who will be training you internally, and what percentage of their day job will you be allowed to take up?
You say 6 months in more than 4 skills which doesn't sound realistic- if you were a self starter than you would have taught yourself these skills already suggesting you will need support.
But could be a good move, as otherwise you may feel frustrated at not at least trying.
It's a good point. Learning SQL, python, etc is alot to learn in 6 months I agree. So how will it work exactly: Will you have a day job to do or being genuinely treated as a full time student? Will you be going on paid external courses, how many? Who will be training you internally, and what percentage of their day job will you be allowed to take up?
You say 6 months in more than 4 skills which doesn't sound realistic- if you were a self starter than you would have taught yourself these skills already suggesting you will need support.
But could be a good move, as otherwise you may feel frustrated at not at least trying.
Previous said:
Just an observation, however there's more than 26k pa to be made in Supply Chain, if you're motivated enough.
£100k plus for Supply Chain Directors, currently advertised on job sites.
Of course, which part of the country you are in has an impact too.
That said, if you don't enjoy it its probably not the right role.
Be aware, progression in computer based stuff may be equally challenging.
For one reason or another I just haven't progressed in this industry. A mixture of bad luck and my heart not being fully in it. Company I work for now is one of the biggest in the industry. However there is such limited progression unless you are already at a certain level.£100k plus for Supply Chain Directors, currently advertised on job sites.
Of course, which part of the country you are in has an impact too.
That said, if you don't enjoy it its probably not the right role.
Be aware, progression in computer based stuff may be equally challenging.
Edited by Previous on Monday 4th March 07:26
Edited by Previous on Monday 4th March 07:45
donnie85 said:
I've been offered an apprenticeship role for a biggish company to do 6 months in Data learning SQL, Tableau, Python, R, etc, then moving onto Software Development for the next 6 months.
Seeing as this is the line of work I'm in I reckon I'm fairly qualified to comment on this one, within 6 months you might be OK at one of these topics but to cover them all you will generally be hopeless.Working with data is most certainly a boom in the tech industry at the moment, but so are many other roles. Focusing on the data side learning one of these to a strong level in 6 months will be a challenge, take SQL for example that has different implementations depending on the RDBMS, while most relational databases share common syntax there are significant differences between the big players like SQL server, Oracle, MySQL, PostgreSQL etc.
Then comes understanding how to work with data in sets efficiently, writing efficient code, understanding the usage of indexes and statistics etc, There are some excellent books form an Author called Itzik Ben Gan for learning T-SQL but understanding and covering all the content in the 2 books on programming in SQL and SQL querying alone could take 6 months.
The others like Tableau, R, etc take a similar time investment to learn well.
On the plus side if you are wiling to put the work in the money can be decent, I've been working in various data roles for the last 20 years and currently in a bit of a hybrid role as a DBA \ Cloud Data Specialist for a global company on a very healthy salary a few multiples of your current salary. But it took a hell of a lot of effort to get to this point.
OP, the big red flag is:
At the end of the 12 months there should be a job available. Its definitely not dodgy, and like I said it's to work for a big company in Manchester.
Is there or isn't there a job available at the end? How many previous apprentices have them employed at the end of their training? Or are they just turfed out to be replaced with more apprentices on minimum wage, rinse and repeat?
When I graduated 25yrs ago in the mid-90's recession it was very tough to get a job in IT. Certainly none in the Midlands where I was located. I had to take a move to the South on a two year fixed contract but there was (contractually) a bonus at the end of those two years of three months' salary if me and my buddies I was recruited alongside saw it out. This was with a large utility co, so I figured they had the money to stand by this, and it would give me a cushion if there was nothing forthcoming at the end.
As luck would have it, 18 months in they got allocated more headcount so offered me and my buddies permie jobs on good salaries and paid us 75% of that bonus on the basis that we'd seen out 75% of the fixed contract.
I don't personally know Python, but I'm told it's quite easy to pick up (some of my friends' kids are learning it). Another mate was a data analyst in financial services for many years, he has self-taught it and is now contracting in it, earning a decent whack, but has to live away from home in the week. I work with several Northerners who are down south Mon-Fri, returning home at the weekend. This tells me that the IT job scene in the North West isn't overflowing with highly paid jobs, although I could be wrong.
Good luck, IT can be a very rewarding career but choose carefully. Are there no opportunities for someone wiht a degree in your industry field to move into IT there? Have you networked with your IT people?
At the end of the 12 months there should be a job available. Its definitely not dodgy, and like I said it's to work for a big company in Manchester.
Is there or isn't there a job available at the end? How many previous apprentices have them employed at the end of their training? Or are they just turfed out to be replaced with more apprentices on minimum wage, rinse and repeat?
When I graduated 25yrs ago in the mid-90's recession it was very tough to get a job in IT. Certainly none in the Midlands where I was located. I had to take a move to the South on a two year fixed contract but there was (contractually) a bonus at the end of those two years of three months' salary if me and my buddies I was recruited alongside saw it out. This was with a large utility co, so I figured they had the money to stand by this, and it would give me a cushion if there was nothing forthcoming at the end.
As luck would have it, 18 months in they got allocated more headcount so offered me and my buddies permie jobs on good salaries and paid us 75% of that bonus on the basis that we'd seen out 75% of the fixed contract.
I don't personally know Python, but I'm told it's quite easy to pick up (some of my friends' kids are learning it). Another mate was a data analyst in financial services for many years, he has self-taught it and is now contracting in it, earning a decent whack, but has to live away from home in the week. I work with several Northerners who are down south Mon-Fri, returning home at the weekend. This tells me that the IT job scene in the North West isn't overflowing with highly paid jobs, although I could be wrong.
Good luck, IT can be a very rewarding career but choose carefully. Are there no opportunities for someone wiht a degree in your industry field to move into IT there? Have you networked with your IT people?
Taking a pay cut for a better future is 110% a no-brainer, but
Are you sure its a dead cert ?
I took a pay cut to move from a craftsman to a low grade engineers post. So many colleagues said I was daft, but now I earn ~3x as much.
Go for it, but make sure you know you are coming out with something.
So many 'apprenticeships' these days are 12 months, tax friendly ways of getting someone to do the grunge work. However one of our kids did one, with a qualification at the end, so when they didnt offer a job, and just employed another apprentice, he wasnt bothered. He's now gone to Uni later than normal using that quali and loving it.
Are you sure its a dead cert ?
I took a pay cut to move from a craftsman to a low grade engineers post. So many colleagues said I was daft, but now I earn ~3x as much.
Go for it, but make sure you know you are coming out with something.
So many 'apprenticeships' these days are 12 months, tax friendly ways of getting someone to do the grunge work. However one of our kids did one, with a qualification at the end, so when they didnt offer a job, and just employed another apprentice, he wasnt bothered. He's now gone to Uni later than normal using that quali and loving it.
They told me that 99% of the apprentices get a job after the apprenticeship is up in 12-18 months. I was also told that I can apply for jobs during the apprenticeship with the company if any come up?!
I really want to get into Data and it sounds like a great opportunity but the drop is quite big considering it's a further 15 minute commute as well. I might call them and see if they would offer any more money perhaps £21k? Even that is a £5k drop but I offer experience in the work place, with reporting on excel and also the fact I've graduated in the past.
I have had a look on the job sites for data graduate jobs and.most require degrees in Maths or Science which I don't have. There are some decent general IT grad jobs but I graduated several years ago so not sure I'd be considered
I really want to get into Data and it sounds like a great opportunity but the drop is quite big considering it's a further 15 minute commute as well. I might call them and see if they would offer any more money perhaps £21k? Even that is a £5k drop but I offer experience in the work place, with reporting on excel and also the fact I've graduated in the past.
I have had a look on the job sites for data graduate jobs and.most require degrees in Maths or Science which I don't have. There are some decent general IT grad jobs but I graduated several years ago so not sure I'd be considered
donnie85 said:
Currently work in supply chain. I have a degree in supply chain and also have an open degree. I graduated several years ago however so I'd imagine it's too late to use my degree now?!
To increase my salary in supply chain I would need to get into sales and I don't think sales is for me. Could continue on the op's route but just find the work very dull as it's mainly admin.
My reason for going down the data route is because it's the most in demand Job for 2019 so my thinking was that's where the big bucks will be in the years to come.
Not sure what else to do tbh?!
£18k minimum wage? I thought it was £15k?
Min wage Apr 2020 (as promised) will be £9.20/hour let’s say they only give £9.00/hour. To increase my salary in supply chain I would need to get into sales and I don't think sales is for me. Could continue on the op's route but just find the work very dull as it's mainly admin.
My reason for going down the data route is because it's the most in demand Job for 2019 so my thinking was that's where the big bucks will be in the years to come.
Not sure what else to do tbh?!
£18k minimum wage? I thought it was £15k?
Full time hours is 2080 hours a year
2080*£9.20=£18,720
2080*£9.20=£19,136.
So full time toilet cleaner would earn the same as you for a year +.
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