Would you take a job for less pay?

[vhoffman]

Dh has been job hunting for the last three months (extreme stress!) His current employer is downsizing and he's being laid off the end of this month.

Well, dh has 2 job offers!

Job1 is for 10k more a year. Job 2 is 10k less a year than his current salary. Both have comprable benefits.

Sounds like he should go for job1. However, job1 is in another state, Maryland. We currently live in Texas. Although Maryland sounds like a very nice place to live, it is expensive. The 10k increase in salary wouldn't cover the cost of living difference. Housing there is simply off the roof! I can't begin to find a decent house in a good area for under 400k, and that's just a house, nothing special. Our current house here in Texas is our "dream" home. Well, its a dream in progress, we're still putting some touches on it. But its just the right size for us, 5 bdr, 3 bath, one story (important because I have bad knees), good neighborhood, etc. We paid 175k for it--try to find such a deal now!

Job 1 would involve moving. Although the company will pay the relocation costs, I've been down that road before. Even with very generous relocation packages, we always end up spending around $5000 out of our own pocket for misc expenses, like eating out, hotels, etc., while in transition, buying clothes that fit the new climate, etc.

Meanwhile, job2 is right here in good ol' Texas. No moving. No giving up our dream home. No packing, moving vans, etc. However, its a cut in pay. Dh wants to go for job1. He feels its a better overall career move. I feel that careerwise they're both comprable. Actually, I feel it would be a net loss if we moved to Maryland due to the high cost of living. Dh feels that by accepting a decrease in salary it would forever impair his earnings, because, of course, subsequent raises are a percentage of your current salary. So be it! I really feel we would lose either way, but by staying here we would have a lower cost of living and we're already established. I've moved enough in my life, I want to put down roots somewhere and let them grow.

Well, just rambling here, but some opinions? Would you go for the higher paid job involving moving, higher cost of living, and, I didn't mention, a much more stressful job? Or suck up the salary reduction, stay put where our cost of living is lower and the job itself seems much less stressful? I'm not a "trophy wife" who has to have the best of everything. I'm much happier living within my means and being able to sleep at night rather than having the best of everything and owe out the wazoo!

Oh, another benefit, job 2 is for a university. In Texas, employees of any institution of higher learning get a substantial disocunt on college tuition for their family. With two kids going into college in the next 8 years that could be a gold mine right there. If we moved to Maryland there's simply no way we could put aside the amount of savings we'd need for a college education for both kids. Its just a major blow to dh's ego. Like most men, he defines himself by his job. A cut in pay is a cut in his self-image. Well, opinions, please!

 

[SplshMtnLvr28]

I'd take job 2. I think what the 10k takes away, the benefits for college makes it up.

My dad is going through a similar situation... Although he refuses to take a job that paid even slightly less then his old job.

 

[KirstenB]

IMHO, $10k is not a ton of money all things considered. Please don't think I'm a snot who can just look the other way about money, quite the contrary.

What I mean is, moving is very stressful for the entire family. Sometimes you have NO choice. In that case, you suck it up and make the best of it. DH sometimes gets cold calls from headhunters about moving to take a job. One was in Maine, and the salary was $50k more than he was making. At the time, DH made 65k, so that was almost double his salary. We both voted no. His family is from Maine, and he hates the cold, plus he knows how much of your monthly budget goes toward heat bills.

We are fairly frugal. Our needs/wants are simple and taken care of. It sounds like you and we are similar in that regard. Maryland is not Maine. It doesn't get so cold there that you pay a fortune to heat your home. I'd guess that with Texas summers, and Maryland summers/winters, your electric bill wouldn't jump. DH also got an offer in Charlotte. We loved Charlotte, but it was for the same pay (and he was not in a layoff sitch), so again, we said no. We visited Charlotte and loved it, but we love our current home and community. If he had gotten a 50k raise to go to Charlotte, we might have chosen to go.

I know I'm being long-winded, but I have a true appreciation for the costs of moving, both financial and emotional. To me, 10k is not worth it. I'd argue he's basically taking a pay cut to move to Maryland.

P.S. I was always of the same mentality as your DH: your future salary is based on your current. This is only true in the same company. When my DH got laid off, he and his group were hired by a new firm. DH and his whole group got offers that were 25% more than their current salaries, because they'd been SO underpaid. They knew they were somewhat underpaid, but didn't realize how much.

This is a tough decision. Your DH is the breadwinner, so his feelings are a big part of the decision. At a minimum, you both need to visit Maryland and see what you think if you haven't already. Best of luck!! I think most of us have been through at least one layoff, and it's stressful, I know.

 

[OctDisney]

You have to look at the long term implications.

I once took a pay cut with a position that gave me the opportunity not to travel. Did it set us back financially, you bet, but the rewards were as follows:

I got to coach my sons for 5 years and when I look back at my life, a little less money and more time with the boys instead of airports, Priceless.

 

[vhoffman]

Actually, I was off in my figures--job2 is only 8k less a year than he's making now. Ok, I don't mean to sound glib about such sums, it would be hard to slice 8k out of our budget, but all things considered it might be worth it. And you really have to look at the bottom line, not gross pay. Paycheck deductions such as medical insurance premiums, etc., all need to be considered. His actual take home pay might not be a whole lot less. We've been facing the possibility of a layoff for 3 months now and I've been cutting back in preparation. It's amazing how much money was going out the door. Simple changes resulted in big savings.Changes that really didn't even affect our lifestyle!

DH is getting older (he's 53). I'd like to see him spend the remainder of his working life in a less stressful position. He's vested in his pension plan and we have quite a large sum stashed aside for retirement, so I think our future will be secure without him working himself to death for a few extra bucks. Also, I'm from Ohio, and I really don't relish the idea of moving back to snow and ice. Just think of the money we'd spend just buying winter gear!

 

[LaraK]

As you know, I am living in Maryland. I would say that a 10K increase would be a 20-30K decrease in money in your pocket for your family. It is VERY expensive here. It's not just the house. To buy a 5 bedroom 3 bath single story around here may be a minimum of 400K, but that's in a neighborhood where you couldn't use the local schools, so add another 10K per child per year to the equation to put them in private religious schools (20K a year for a straight prep school). If you want a 5 bedroom in an area with good schools, count on at least another 100K in your housing cost.

The other aspect to consider is the lifestyle. My DH has been to Texas and talks about how much he loved the people because they were so nice. Here? Forget about it! We are east coast rude. (I lived in Pittsburgh for 10 years and when I came back I really noticed how big of a difference it is). Once you get into a good neighborhood, the people will be friendly, but drive on either the DC or Baltimore beltways, or I95 connecting them and you'd better be prepared for a hostile, aggressive experience.

Anyway, I love where I live, but wanted to be sure you really tested out the waters first.

 

[nuttylawprofessor]

Something you didn't mention that strikes me is the stress that moving would put on your kids. It sounds like they're established in their school routines. I can't help but think of the culture shock they would go through in moving from Texas to Maryland.

Working for a university is wonderful. The benefits just can't be beat. I took a substantial cut in pay to rather than practice, and I haven't looked back.

Stay put.

 

[minkydog]

Actually, I was off in my figures--job2 is only 8k less a year than he's making now. Ok, I don't mean to sound glib about such sums, it would be hard to slice 8k out of our budget, but all things considered it might be worth it. And you really have to look at the bottom line, not gross pay. Paycheck deductions such as medical insurance premiums, etc., all need to be considered. His actual take home pay might not be a whole lot less. We've been facing the possibility of a layoff for 3 months now and I've been cutting back in preparation. It's amazing how much money was going out the door. Simple changes resulted in big savings.Changes that really didn't even affect our lifestyle!

DH is getting older (he's 53). I'd like to see him spend the remainder of his working life in a less stressful position. He's vested in his pension plan and we have quite a large sum stashed aside for retirement, so I think our future will be secure without him working himself to death for a few extra bucks. Also, I'm from Ohio, and I really don't relish the idea of moving back to snow and ice. Just think of the money we'd spend just buying winter gear!

I thinkyou've given a lot of good reasons not to move. A $1000 raise is an extra $833 per month. An $8000 cut in pay is only $666 less a month. Is it worth moving to a very high-cost-of-living area, uprooting the fmly, leaving yoru dream home, forgoing paid college tuition for $833 amonth? Only you and your husband can answer that.

 

[prestonsmomma]

My DH just took a job paying about 1/2 of what he was making. It isn't as hard as it seems. We simply paid off my van (didn't owe too much and the payments were HIGH) and are actually doing better right now financially than we were (we are also much more careful with our spending though). He traveled 4 nights a week and now he is home every night. It's been the best move we have made in a LONG time too. He is happy and loves his new job.

 

[PlutoPony]

You don't talk much about the nature of the 2 jobs... which would be a better career move irrespective of money? That would be the deciding factor for us at that age. Which job is a better fit for what your DH wants to do, would one give him new skills (a real plus at his age), is one company better managed with good future potential, how state of the art is the equipment at the two places, etc. IMHO in this salary range, a < 10% salary difference isn't a huge issue. What about future earnings potential?? Would the university job make him a state employee? If so, you can pretty much be assured of minimal salary increases in the future (get your money up front) but probably OK bene's. Private sector would have much better upside potential in the salary area.

 

[vhoffman]

I think we're going to forget about Maryland! The pay seems sooooo impressive. I think it really stroked dh's ego just to think he could command that much. But he needed a reality check. It really wouldn't go that far in Maryland. I used to work for a university as a librarian and loved it. The whole atmosphere is just different than coperate America. Plus, you can't ignore the tuition benefits. We're staying here in the great state of Texas!

 

[solgent]

Six years ago I took a $15K pay cut to live where it's cheaper and a part of the country we like better. No regrets. Except that now we are farther from Disney World!

 

[llp479]

What about tax implications? The state of Maryland has a 2 - 4.75% state income tax while Texas has none. Also, what about property taxes? I know for us, that also came into play when contemplating relocating for a job.

If you take into account the discount on tuition, does this then actually become the same as his current salary, or even an increase? Sometimes you need to look at the benefit package as part of total compensation to see what the true salary is.

 

[princesspwrhr]

Have you been to homefair.com? They have a great cost of living calculator there.

We move a LOT - more often than I care to admit and with 3 kids it's a bit tiresome. You didn't mention kids but since you posted on the family board, I'm going to assume there are kids. And given the age of your husband I'm going to hazard a guess that the kids are at least jr high, possibly HS age. That's a hard age to have to move them, especially if they are already started in HS - transferring credits for graduation is not always easy.

The state we live in now has a much higher cost of living than the one we most recently moved from. It's comparable to your Texas v. Maryland in housing prices. We moved here from a university job that paid 'decent' for the area to a contracting job that paid excellent, but it was just enough to afford to live here. The contract ended and was not picked back up as was promised so we had to scramble for a job. The job we ended up with pays half of what the contracting job paid and we have no hope of purchasing a house here. It's miserable. After moving and renting for so long I was beyond ready to purchase a house, paint the walls and have a home.

All things considered, university jobs aren't that bad. The pay raises are small, but they're there. The stress level (even in the IT dept) generally isn't high constantly. We noticed that certain times of the year were more stressful than others. Generally it was the start of new term and summers were an absolute breeze!

Like you said - there's more to a new job than just the dollar figures. And when you factor in moving there's lots more to consider.

I'd take the lower paying job where you are.

 

[clb22]

The 10k more in Maryland is not really 10K. Your montly mortgage for a nice house will be really high and there goes the $10K.....

I live in Maryland it is very expensive to live here.

I have also had to face a layoff (actually 3 of them) and yes, I also made less money when I found a new job. But I did not move and eventually I found other jobs making more.

Stay where you are - you will not regret it and your family will be happier for it!!

Good luck!

 

[vhoffman]

We have two kids, both in elementary school, 9 & 10. However, time has a way of passing and college will be upon us before you know it. Tuition benefits are a major benefit for us.

Moving would be hard for the kids. It would be hard for everyone. I finally found a hairdresser I like

My main concern, after the cost of living difference, is being stuck up there. We couldn't keep our Texas home, even rented, and qualify for any type of mortgage up there. So we'd burn our bridges. Then, well, there's no guarantee that job won't lay dh off in a few years. Then we're stuck up there with a $3000 month mortgage and very little job prospects (the older dh gets, the less desirable he is in the job market ). The university job is better suited for everyone. Universities do lay off, but not to the same tune as corporations (they aren't tied to quarterly earnings). I want dh to take job2. We stay here, keep our nice house, have better job security, and the job itself is less stressful. Now I just need to convince dh to take job2!

 

[lee]

I haven't responded to too many posts, but this one I can't pass up. I live in Maryland and commute to DC for work. I pay $230 a month to park in my office garage; there is also the cost of gas to get to that garage. Our average gasoline bill is $400-$500 a month for my husband and I to commute. It took me two hours to get into work today because of the traffic - a little longer than usual, but it happens more and more frequently. $10,000 will get eaten up quickly. I'm not certain, but the cost of living and everyday expenses are probably more here than in Texa. Life is so short as it is. The idea of putting down roots as you said in an area you are familiar with and comfortable in, plus the University benefits seems to speak for itself. Also consider what you will do if your husband doesn't like the new Maryland job or if something happens to it. Then what will you do? I'd be happy to talk to you more about Maryland.

 

[disneydancer1969]

hard choice. i live in va so you'd be close to me but i will say texas is nice. maryland is expensive! i say try job 1 and if you can not handle the moving, housing, etc. you can move back. when you sell your house put it up for rent so if you don't like it you can move back into it.

 

[disneydancer1969]

on second thought do job 2. stay in your comfort zone.

 

[shelly3girls]

I would go for job #2. DH was offered a position making 20k more than he does now but it would have required a long commute and a significant change in lifestyle for us. We knew it just wasn't worth it. It sounds like you are better off staying where you are. Also, just b/c he takes this job doesn't mean he is tied in forever. He could keep his eye out for the perfect job in the future.