Changing jobs with less pay

[Nana2Callie]

Anyone ever take a job with less pay to have more family time? I'm considering an opportunity to take a different job (teaching Christian school)that would be completely different to what I'm doing now (accounting). There are a lot of factors involved, but primarily it would give me more time with dh who is retired (past 4 years) and the opportunity to be hands on at my granddaughter's school. But, the pay difference is significant... though we certainly will not starve.

 

[MomToOne]

I once took a job that paid 25% less than my current job. In my case, I wanted to refocus my career in a different area than what I was currently doing.

It was the right move, but it was painful. Making the budget work the first few years was difficult and involved a lot of sacrifices. I even ran in the red for the first year or two. But over time, as I proved myself in the new area, raises and such came and I recovered. It's now 8 years later, and I am back to where I was - just much, much happier

 

[*pixie*dust*]

If you wont sacrifice your healthcare or home, I would say it sounds like a great opportunity to have more time with family. However, if it will downgrade your healthcare coverage or make the budget so tight you can barely scrape by, then I would pass.

 

[mommymeg]

I made the tough choice to walk away from a stressful full time job 3 years ago. It was a decision that took a while for me to come to, but in the end I am so glad I followed my gut. I now have the most perfect part time job making just a little less than what I had been and my entire family has benefitted from a happy mom/wife. I say if it's something you are contemplating and it wouldn't harm your family too much financially, then you already know the answer. Good luck in your decision!

 

[Pigeon]

I did this once, but I knew that the job I was taking had better long term career potential than the one I had, even though the initial salary was lower.

I would make sure you know what you are getting into. I have a sister, a sister-in-law and a close friend who have worked as teachers in religious schools. In all cases, they are or were paid poorly, but were expected to put in endless hours of additional non-paid time. My SIL is a music teacher at two different religious schools and the amount of money she makes for the hours she puts in is laughable.

 

[tvguy]

Done it twice in 25 years, both times for family reasons. I'm probably making $10,000 a year less today than if I had stuck with previous jobs.

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

Depends on what makes you happy. Is it the money or spending time with DH?

 

[nugov2]

Anyone ever take a job with less pay to have more family time? I'm considering an opportunity to take a different job (teaching Christian school)that would be completely different to what I'm doing now (accounting). There are a lot of factors involved, but primarily it would give me more time with dh who is retired (past 4 years) and the opportunity to be hands on at my granddaughter's school. But, the pay difference is significant... though we certainly will not starve.

I would and did!!! I took a job as a SAHM....much less pay than what I had

I would try living off the new pay for a while and see how you do, unless you have to decide immediately. If that is the case just really crunch the numbers. I don't think you will ever regret more family time. I know I don't.

 

[lvillotta1]

I would in a heartbeat. You can never get that time back. I would rather go without and have time at home with my girls.

 

[LJSquishy]

If the lower salary would not jeopardize your retirement plan in terms of your nest egg, healthcare, etc then it's certainly worth considering.

My husband and I are young (I'm 30, he is 34) but shortly after we married I quit my job to be a housewife. It's been about 8 years now since I've been jobless and it's AMAZING. Probably a little better for me than him , but overall we are both happy with that decision. What I'm getting at is that we chose to give up a second salary in order to have more time together. It's been great. Our original plan was to have kids while we were still young, but things haven't gone our way yet...we're saving for adoption now after 4 miscarriages and years worth of reproductive endocrinologist appointments, procedures, etc with no diagnosis. So I was supposed to be a SAHM but I've just been a housewife this whole time instead.

My mother's former well-paying position was eliminated and she ended up taking a job for far less money but it had a couple of great perks that added "value" to a smaller salary. First, it was only a 10 minute drive each way vs her previous 40 minute drive each way. Second, it was a financial institution so she had bank holidays off (which as a wife of someone who works at a financial institution it is a LOT of holidays! ). Her salary has increased a fair amount since being there, but it's still been a pretty big cut. Their discretionary income is enough to do some fun things like small weekend getaways and shopping, but they do have to be mindful. They do like spending the extra time together.

 

[puffkin]

I haven't....but I have changed jobs a few times to improve my work/life balance and luckily my pay either stayed mostly the same or increased. What I will say is that if the reason you are making the move is to have more time to spend with family, then you absolutely have to stick to your guns about that. That is the hardest thing I have learned as my career has progressed...how to do what I need to be a good employee but not let the company take advantage of me and to maintain that balance. Especially with a teaching position, I would look very closely at what time commitment you are expected to make outside of the normal school day, especially for community involvement and extra events with the school.

 

[barkley]

kind of-LONG before the economy tanked my government employer saw the writing on the wall and wanted to cut costs. they offered a voluntary furlough program where you could cut your hours, and while you lost pay you still earned full accruals/retirement/were considered a full time employee. I went from 8/40 to 5/30. I ended up financialy ahead b/c (1) our taxable rate dropped, and (2) at 6 hours I could opt not take a lunch break so I was eating meals at home vs. packing/purchasing (and lets be honest-with bday lunches every other week it was more purchasing than packing).

i'll echo though what pigeon posted-REALY RESEARCH the potential new job. I worked as a teacher at a Christian school, have family and friends that continue to. in my experience (b/c religious entities are exempt from some 'we take them for granted' employment laws) the pay is horrendously low, extra mandatory shifts/overtime are the norm (so many more fund raising events, class performances, parent/teacher meets-even home visits for some schools...than public schools). there's also (in my experience) little or no funds for extras so many supplies come from your income. one last thing to check (for your safety) is if in your state things like unemployment, workman's comp. or state disability insurance are required by Christian schools-they aren't everywhere, and I had one co-worker who badly fractured her leg in several places while on playground duty one day only to find herself (1) off work for close to a year recovering, (2) no workman's compensation required to be/carried by our employer, (3) no state disability insurance required to be/carried by our employer, and (4) the 1st of the month following the date of her injury-with no health insurance b/c our employer's plan only covered WORKING full time employees.

do what's best for you/your dh but protect yourselves (and if you just want to be hands on at your dgd's school there are always volunteer opportunities-and if you don't care for how they treat the volunteers it can be a reflection on what working and HAVING to be there can be like).

 

[missbrooke06]

If you have an HR department, check in about your current job. I'm making an assumption that you're near retirement age. Make sure that by leaving your job, you aren't forfeiting money (or that you're weighing the options properly). I've advocated for people to stay for an extra six months and then "retire" without taking the benefits yet and go to a more low key job.

Also, consider your lifestyle. Vacation can be restrictive as a teacher so if you like taking a January getaway, make sure you think about that adjustment.

All in all, it can be a good trade off. Just go in eyes wide open.

 

[tnd]

I took a 30% pay cut at my job to reduce my schedule. I still make very good money, as does my husband, but I love having the extra time at home. I generally don't work Fridays and leave the office at a reasonable time each evening. For our family, it was very helpful because my husband and I both work high stress jobs and the breathing room is really important for my sanity and for doing all the things that need to be done around the house.

 

[nene0182]

I did this once, but I knew that the job I was taking had better long term career potential than the one I had, even though the initial salary was lower.

My husband did this a few years ago. In his case, he went from an hourly Union job to a salaried management position in his company. While it was technically a promotion, he took an almost $15,000/year pay cut. But, he was at the point where he was as high as he could go being hourly. While we definitely didn't starve, it was rough at the beginning since we had just gotten married a year before and bought our house about 2 months before that. Thankfully our patience was rewarded and last month he was promoted and now makes about $10,000 more then he did before taking the pay cut. But the most important thing is that he is happier and is home more.

 

[Colleen27]

We both have - me from a 45 hr/week office job with a long commute to being a SAHM, DH from a string of "flexible" (or so they say when you're interviewing) positions that ended up demanding 70+ hour weeks with mandatory Saturdays to going into business for himself. He traded one set of demands for another, to be sure, but it has been well worth it.

As others have mentioned, I would make sure you're thinking through how much time the new job will involve outside of school hours. My girls go to Catholic school and our teachers don't have a lot of extra-hours obligations but I know at some other private schools teachers are expected to do a lot of what parent-volunteers do at ours. And keep in mind the lack of vacation flexibility if that matters to you. I ruled out teaching as a second career based on that - we do most of our traveling in the winter when DH's business is slow and the weather at home is miserable, and teaching isn't compatible with that habit.

 

[Sunnywho]

If you stay at the accounting job, would you be able to retire sooner? If it's two years at the accounting job vs four years at the teacher job, the two years at the accounting job would get you to retirement faster and family time then, for example.

 

[Pigeon]

Also, think about the impact years of reduced earnings could have on your Social Security, since they may be averaged in.

 

[stsomewhere]

I would and did!!! I took a job as a SAHM....much less pay than what I had

I would try living off the new pay for a while and see how you do, unless you have to decide immediately. If that is the case just really crunch the numbers. I don't think you will ever regret more family time. I know I don't.

ME, Too! Best decision for our family

 

[Earstou]

Teaching can take a lot of time outside of school. How much time at home will you need for grading papers and planning lessons. Some time is built in at work, but it's never enough. You may need time to reply to parents or field questions from students at home, too.
Then there are the extra things you have to do after school. Parent-teacher conferences, this or that committee, extra duties you may not be aware of that teachers perform.
Also you will start school before the kids do, and end school after the kids leave, so you won't have as much vacation time as the kids do.

A lot of people think teaching is an easy job with lots of vacation time, but the reality is far from that.

Make sure you really know what you are getting into before making the leap.