How Much Is a Fun Job Worth?(ask.slashdot.org)
ask.slashdot.org
How Much Is a Fun Job Worth?
http://ask.slashdot.org/story/12/09/12/2120229/ask-slashdot-how-much-is-a-fun-job-worth
14 comments
I wrote a long and convincing reply about how you have to also know what you want in the future, and whether you want to have a happy and stable life or whether you want to seek some other kind of fulfillment...
...and then as I was about to post it, I realized that the people it would be intended for would already know everything in it, because it's part of their nature, and that it wouldn't do anybody else any good.
So maybe there's an even simpler rule here: if you have a fun job, and you're not sure whether or not you should trade up to a less fun job, then you probably shouldn't let anyone talk you into leaving it.
If it's right for you to give up a good job, you'll know it.
...and then as I was about to post it, I realized that the people it would be intended for would already know everything in it, because it's part of their nature, and that it wouldn't do anybody else any good.
So maybe there's an even simpler rule here: if you have a fun job, and you're not sure whether or not you should trade up to a less fun job, then you probably shouldn't let anyone talk you into leaving it.
If it's right for you to give up a good job, you'll know it.
"If it's right for you to give up a good job, you'll know it."
I thought I knew, but it turns out the flexibility (hours, teleworking) I had in $previous_gig was something I took for granted.
I enjoy the work I do now, but it can be stressful trying to code in an open plan office which also hosts other business concerns (communications, NOC...)
edit People I work with read HN. Hello there. You know my feelings already ;)
I thought I knew, but it turns out the flexibility (hours, teleworking) I had in $previous_gig was something I took for granted.
I enjoy the work I do now, but it can be stressful trying to code in an open plan office which also hosts other business concerns (communications, NOC...)
edit People I work with read HN. Hello there. You know my feelings already ;)
Well, you don't leave a fun job because the next job is better in every way. :-)
There are always tradeoffs. You just want to make sure they're trade-ups, too.
It occurs to me that there's a perfect analogy for this: the one red paperclip dude (http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/). He wanted a house, and was willing to keep trading up for it -- even when he had to trade on some pretty great opportunities, things that other people would be willing to trade for and be happy with. And, in the end, he got his house, and he stopped -- that was what he wanted, and he didn't need to trade any further.
Your current job might not be an afternoon with Alice Cooper, but maybe it's one KISS snow globe away from getting you that house you want.
There are always tradeoffs. You just want to make sure they're trade-ups, too.
It occurs to me that there's a perfect analogy for this: the one red paperclip dude (http://oneredpaperclip.blogspot.com/). He wanted a house, and was willing to keep trading up for it -- even when he had to trade on some pretty great opportunities, things that other people would be willing to trade for and be happy with. And, in the end, he got his house, and he stopped -- that was what he wanted, and he didn't need to trade any further.
Your current job might not be an afternoon with Alice Cooper, but maybe it's one KISS snow globe away from getting you that house you want.
"I enjoy the work I do now, but it can be stressful trying to code in an open plan office which also hosts other business concerns (communications, NOC...)"
Intra-Ear headphones. Especially with noise cancelling. They do wonders.
Intra-Ear headphones. Especially with noise cancelling. They do wonders.
Longer commute time is highly correlated with unhappiness. I think scientists even determined a number for how much more you would have to earn to compensate for extra commute hours.
Goodness is this true. Early in my career I worked some positions that were great career-wise, but terrible commute-wise. I simply didn't know what a difference a short commute made in quality of life. Over the years I went from a 2 hour commute down to a 20-30 minute commute and I couldn't really see going back. It really restricts that places I can look for work as I love where I live, but the tradeoff is worth not spending 2-5 hours a day stuck in my car doing really a bunch of nothing. There really is a limit to how much music and audiobooks you can tolerate day after day.
Autonomous cars can't come soon enough!
That will be nice, but it's still not a sufficient trade-off for duration in your day, unless your time spent in the autonomous car counts as part of your work day. I liked the idea of taking the train into the city instead of driving to my current job, partially because I had this fantasy about how I would be able to use my time on the train productively, as opposed to just driving.
But, the thing is, the train trip into the city is 1 hour, and the drive is 30 minutes. And the train schedule is dictated by people who work 8 hours in the office; taking an off-schedule train is a much worse proposition. So even though I gain the time on the train (which is probably not as valuable as I think it is) I still lose out on the rest of my life for having 1 hour less per day to spend completely electively.
So, yeah, I'd like it if my car drove me into work so I was free to do other things. But I would still value a 30 minute autonomous drive much more highly than a 1 hour autonomous drive.
But, the thing is, the train trip into the city is 1 hour, and the drive is 30 minutes. And the train schedule is dictated by people who work 8 hours in the office; taking an off-schedule train is a much worse proposition. So even though I gain the time on the train (which is probably not as valuable as I think it is) I still lose out on the rest of my life for having 1 hour less per day to spend completely electively.
So, yeah, I'd like it if my car drove me into work so I was free to do other things. But I would still value a 30 minute autonomous drive much more highly than a 1 hour autonomous drive.
I thought this, too, when I started a job in a city centre for the first time - great, I'll take the train, and get so much work done on my commute instead of driving!
No - it's impossible to work on a rattly, wobbly old train, standing up, or crushed into a seat with some guy's elbow digging into you. You can barely read a book or Kindle on there, let alone whip out a netbook and work. So it's just wasted time every day.
No - it's impossible to work on a rattly, wobbly old train, standing up, or crushed into a seat with some guy's elbow digging into you. You can barely read a book or Kindle on there, let alone whip out a netbook and work. So it's just wasted time every day.
Pretty much. I've been experimenting with taking Amtrak from where I live in the east bay to the office in San Jose. The train is 2 hours each way, but it's like commuting on a cloud. I catch up on news or sleep in the morning, and finish my workday on the evening commute. it works because I can do 6 hours at the office and 2 productive hours on the train.
It does make for a very long day though. Between driving to my home station, taking the shuttle from the station to the office, the actual commute, etc, I'm up at 5:30am and get home at 6:45pm.
Connectivity is an issue too. Amtraks spotty wifi is fine for browsing -- queue up a bunch of tabs when the signal is good -- but it's terrible for anything else. Forget about ssh sessions or transferring large files or anything like that.
It does make for a very long day though. Between driving to my home station, taking the shuttle from the station to the office, the actual commute, etc, I'm up at 5:30am and get home at 6:45pm.
Connectivity is an issue too. Amtraks spotty wifi is fine for browsing -- queue up a bunch of tabs when the signal is good -- but it's terrible for anything else. Forget about ssh sessions or transferring large files or anything like that.
Over the last few years I've had jobs that had a 1 hour drive each way (which I hated), a 5 minute walk (which was too close) or a very pleasant 25 minute walk - which seems to be a sweet spot for me - allows me to listen to podcasts/audiobooks and have a gentle context switch to/from work.
I also like it if it is 20 to 30 minutes by bicycle. That way I already get some exercise in for the day.
I know, in my case, there isn't a direct 1:1 correlation between hourly rate and hour of commute. The calculation for determining that calculation (at least in the context of the study) would be interesting.
Do you happen to have a link? I would be interested in reading that paper.
This article summarizes some of the research, unfortunately no direct links to papers (should be google-able via researcher names):
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your...
Found link to the commute-divorce paper, Erika Sandow Umeå University "On the road. Social aspects of commuting long distances to work.": http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:415050/FULLTEXT01
http://www.slate.com/articles/business/moneybox/2011/05/your...
Found link to the commute-divorce paper, Erika Sandow Umeå University "On the road. Social aspects of commuting long distances to work.": http://umu.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:415050/FULLTEXT01
I can't seem to find it now, but I seem to recall that dropping from 1 hour to 20 minutes was worth a 30-40 pct reduction in pay. http://www.quora.com/What-studies-have-been-done-on-the-effe...
An interesting article from the BBC:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/blogs/thereporters/markeaston/2011/02/h...
[deleted]
This article seems to have some links to papers: http://lesswrong.com/lw/7am/rational_home_buying/
Jim?
> Opportunities need to be weighed against what you want.
Yep. Sometimes the negatives can be outweighed by some strong positives -- a 30% increase might be worth more than 6 hours/week on the road to you (the general "you") or it might not. Sometimes, corny as it sounds, sitting down and writing out the ol' positives/negatives list helps.
It's also really about what you want for your life. Do you want to build a startup? Do you want to work at a huge company? Do you like time for your own projects, or is a great day at the office all you need?
> My wife came to the point -- are you willing to give up your own projects and 6+ hours of commuting a week for the $ difference?
That calculation ignored the quality difference of the new job, which circles back to the /. post. How do you quantify that? What value and weight does it have in your calculation? If the quality of work + environment + coworkers was sufficiently better, what difference would that make on your calculation different values of "sufficiently"?
> Opportunities need to be weighed against what you want.
Yep. Sometimes the negatives can be outweighed by some strong positives -- a 30% increase might be worth more than 6 hours/week on the road to you (the general "you") or it might not. Sometimes, corny as it sounds, sitting down and writing out the ol' positives/negatives list helps.
It's also really about what you want for your life. Do you want to build a startup? Do you want to work at a huge company? Do you like time for your own projects, or is a great day at the office all you need?
> My wife came to the point -- are you willing to give up your own projects and 6+ hours of commuting a week for the $ difference?
That calculation ignored the quality difference of the new job, which circles back to the /. post. How do you quantify that? What value and weight does it have in your calculation? If the quality of work + environment + coworkers was sufficiently better, what difference would that make on your calculation different values of "sufficiently"?
Dom - you and I know one another :)
In my case, I think the quality of the jobs was probably equal -- I know people at the other location.
In general, there is a risk in trying to assess quality of life at the possible opportunity. Unless one knows someone working in the group, you are going off of impressions formed off information through interviewing, possible external contacts, and the like. I do think you need to factor in what you are used to into the equation. I've been guilty of seeing a shiny technical challenge and running towards it only to realize a few months later, um..how'd I get here?
Quality of work is probably easiest to evaluate Coworkers - you need to do the homework, find connections, references, etc. Environment is probably the hardest to evaluate -- asking questions will get you some answers - but has the company/group been through any challenges? If not, how can you gauge that? How will management react? This is a risk.
You raise some great questions.
In my case, quality was probably a slight plus, environment (counting commute) a wash to slight negative, coworkers (a wash to some unknowns). So not enough of a net positive to give up the time working on my own projects.
In my case, I think the quality of the jobs was probably equal -- I know people at the other location.
In general, there is a risk in trying to assess quality of life at the possible opportunity. Unless one knows someone working in the group, you are going off of impressions formed off information through interviewing, possible external contacts, and the like. I do think you need to factor in what you are used to into the equation. I've been guilty of seeing a shiny technical challenge and running towards it only to realize a few months later, um..how'd I get here?
Quality of work is probably easiest to evaluate Coworkers - you need to do the homework, find connections, references, etc. Environment is probably the hardest to evaluate -- asking questions will get you some answers - but has the company/group been through any challenges? If not, how can you gauge that? How will management react? This is a risk.
You raise some great questions.
In my case, quality was probably a slight plus, environment (counting commute) a wash to slight negative, coworkers (a wash to some unknowns). So not enough of a net positive to give up the time working on my own projects.
You did the right calculations. Often the XX% increase is barely sufficient to cover the mortgage / rent differential for a hypothetic move close to the new workplace.
I may be in the minority here, and obviously no-one should continue to work in a job that makes them unhappy or is abusive, but work is work and fun is fun.
Work is what you do to pay the morgage, feed your kids and put them through school etc. It may suck, but (speaking as a husband and father) I have responsibilities that trump whether I am enjoying every hour of my work day.
Fun is the stuff that you do voluntarily because you enjoy it.
If you can get the two to overlap, great, but I would say that is the vast minority of people and for most probably unachievable. But, that's OK.
If work was that much fun, then they wouldn't need to pay you to do it.
Work is what you do to pay the morgage, feed your kids and put them through school etc. It may suck, but (speaking as a husband and father) I have responsibilities that trump whether I am enjoying every hour of my work day.
Fun is the stuff that you do voluntarily because you enjoy it.
If you can get the two to overlap, great, but I would say that is the vast minority of people and for most probably unachievable. But, that's OK.
If work was that much fun, then they wouldn't need to pay you to do it.
"But, that's OK."
What makes you say that? I don't think it is OK. I am also a father and soon will be a husband. I'd say being a father makes work even worse, because it prevents me from spending time with my child.
I suspect you think it is OK because most people have to work to sustain their lives. Not all of them, though.
Would you still think it is OK having to work if you were the only one doing it?
What makes you say that? I don't think it is OK. I am also a father and soon will be a husband. I'd say being a father makes work even worse, because it prevents me from spending time with my child.
I suspect you think it is OK because most people have to work to sustain their lives. Not all of them, though.
Would you still think it is OK having to work if you were the only one doing it?
I think if you are only responsible for yourself, then you can absolutely please yourself where you work and for how much.
I take the point that I think you are making though - I wouldn't take an extra £X,000 if it meant I never got to see my daughter during the week because I was working 20 hour days. I would say that is different to generally just not enjoying your job though.
I take the point that I think you are making though - I wouldn't take an extra £X,000 if it meant I never got to see my daughter during the week because I was working 20 hour days. I would say that is different to generally just not enjoying your job though.
Employees that enjoy their job are more productive.
Made me really think about what I'm doing. As a freelancer, I get lot of work. Plus I'm pretty good at marketing the practice and just shipped out 3 MVPs last month. Its an insane amount of work, but an insane amount of financial gain too. Its fun, in a way. I get to meet new people every day, get to manage my own business (I find that sort of fun), set my own hours and work from my home. But I miss focusing on one thing, and making it fun for me. In every past job Ive always found a way to make it fun. But in freelancing, the conditions change every day, and its complex to do that. During the last few days Ive been thinking (and talking to other developers) about looking for a job that I can really enjoy and excel at. Sure, making MVPs is fun, and its challenging because there is always some catch, but the enjoyment level is not as a good as a job. I don't know. Maybe its the long hours ( I work for about 14 hours a day). But if someone came up to me and gave me a fair job offer, I would really consider it. Not about money, but about quality of life. And for me quality of life > money. Thats the reason I havent really stepped into the whole startup thing.
It's worth a lot. However, you don't necessarily have to give up a lot to get one. The thing is, jobs like that tend to also offer good pay and benefits, etc etc. The jobs that are horrors also tend to try to cheap out on pay and benefits are hard to come by.
At least, this has been my experience. The culture on HN is a little different, and startups certainly play by different rules.
I get a lot of job offers lately (even calls) and I tell them all the same thing when they ask if I'm looking: "It'll have to be really compelling, because my current job is really great." I've got good pay, I pick my hours, they rarely bother me after work hours, and overtime is extremely rare. My only complaint is that I don't find the work challenging enough, and that's an important thing. Still, it leaves me free to enjoy my freetime more because I'm not constantly burnt out from challenging myself 8 hours a day. So it's a tradeoff. (Previously I was challenged, but I'd come home and do nothing productive at all. I'd already satisfied that itch at work.)
At least, this has been my experience. The culture on HN is a little different, and startups certainly play by different rules.
I get a lot of job offers lately (even calls) and I tell them all the same thing when they ask if I'm looking: "It'll have to be really compelling, because my current job is really great." I've got good pay, I pick my hours, they rarely bother me after work hours, and overtime is extremely rare. My only complaint is that I don't find the work challenging enough, and that's an important thing. Still, it leaves me free to enjoy my freetime more because I'm not constantly burnt out from challenging myself 8 hours a day. So it's a tradeoff. (Previously I was challenged, but I'd come home and do nothing productive at all. I'd already satisfied that itch at work.)
10% increase versus just the risk of taking a new job is probably not worth it.
I've upvoted in agreement but it does depend on whether you are ready to leave (I seem to get itchy feet after about 5 years even with some internal variation), are really happy where you are and what you see as the risk profile of the existing job (cuts/relocation/new boss expected). So the absolute figure needs to be flexible for non-financial considerations and may go negative in some circumstances.
If the only reason to move is the money then for me it would take more like 30% to take the risk.
If the only reason to move is the money then for me it would take more like 30% to take the risk.
Agreed. I had an old manager that said that 10% is the bare minimum, just to cover the change of job risk.
To me it's worth $30-40k per annum. That's approximately the pay cut I took to run my own business. I get to spend more time with my wife, and work on things I enjoy.
Sounds like alot, but then again its totally different when you take a 40k cut from 150k then it is from 70k ;)
But sharing the percentage now after the absolute number wouldnt make much sense if you want to keep it secret ;)
$100k -> $60-70k
It's a lot. I live very differently now.
It's a lot. I live very differently now.
after taxes I think both those numbers turn out to feel not all that different!
Yes, yes they do. After you get to deduct your 401(k) contributions, your FSA, your mortgage interest, get deductions for having kids, you don't pay nearly 20-30% of your gross salary in taxes. It's probably closer to 10% when you're at the 100K level, which means you're only nibbling off $3-4,000 of that difference. That leaves about $25K difference per year, or $2K/mo. That's certainly noticeable.
Ummm... many people don't have those things to deduct. This is actually a fairly good example of how crooked the tax code can be. When I rent, I don't get to deduct any of it.
You can say that owning a house is more socially desirable and thus subsidized, but that's still not really fair to those of us simply too young to have saved a down-payment.
You can say that owning a house is more socially desirable and thus subsidized, but that's still not really fair to those of us simply too young to have saved a down-payment.
I live in Australia. I get taxed 22% - 30% plus 9% for superannuation contributions. Not a huge difference in tax for both those tax brackets.
agree
I agree I just put in notice at microsoft to do the same. I'll be making around 30-40k less from my current low six figure base salary. 40-55k if you take into account bonuses & stock.
There isn't an easy way to assess unless you put values on it. What's it worth?
What's the difference in job satisfaction worth?
What is the value of the extra time from not commuting worth? This can be broken down into the likely activities you would be doing e.g working on own projects, spending time with famlly, leisure activities such as cinema or bar)
What are the values of any other work differences? (flexi-time, provided lunch, health insurance cover, pension, time off etc.)
Sometimes attaching a monetary value to these things are difficult, but it's a good exercise to do so that you understand what you value more and what you are and willing to sacrifice for more $$$ (or less $$$ depending on the opportunity).
Sometimes attaching a monetary value to these things are difficult, but it's a good exercise to do so that you understand what you value more and what you are and willing to sacrifice for more $$$ (or less $$$ depending on the opportunity).
I'm 40 as well, and have learned the hard way by making the wrong decisions: always focus on the 'fun'. You'll never regret fun and it takes orders of magnitude more money (not 10% but at least 2x) to make up for fun.
There's the potential to try and "grow the new group" into a fun and happy place to work. As long as the regulatory guidelines don't turn out to be actually restrictive.
People who enjoy the rewards (tangible and intangible) of leadership can find building that up to be very rewarding. But you need to have a good feel on the senior management to ensure they won't try and micromanage or make changes that destroy what you're trying to build up.
People who enjoy the rewards (tangible and intangible) of leadership can find building that up to be very rewarding. But you need to have a good feel on the senior management to ensure they won't try and micromanage or make changes that destroy what you're trying to build up.
If you are making enough, and you are happy, then why did you look in the first place? Often times just the act of dipping your toes in the water will send you swimming.
Evaluate why you are even looking. If you are happy and the new thing is about pay, tell your current employer. Chances are they will fight to keep you.
People move around in jobs a lot. What makes it fun right now might change.
Evaluate why you are even looking. If you are happy and the new thing is about pay, tell your current employer. Chances are they will fight to keep you.
People move around in jobs a lot. What makes it fun right now might change.
a few points that come to mind. 1. 10% pay raise could probably be negotiated in your current job so that shouldn't be a big factor. 2. is there a longer term upside to the new position? that should be a bigger deciding factor than initial pay bump 3. by leaving doesn't mean you can't return to the original place. I've made the jump a few times, and almost always ended up working again with people i left behind. I stil seem to have a open invitation to come back to some of the places. 4. i like that i've developed new friends in each place, and do best i can to keep the relationships i've developed over the years. Some good people to be found in every place!
in the end, you're taking a risk by leaving a good thing.. I have overstayed my welcome in one place once because of this reason as well :)
in the end, you're taking a risk by leaving a good thing.. I have overstayed my welcome in one place once because of this reason as well :)
It depends on where the margin is. A fun job is worth spending a good chunk of your discretionary income on, but you have to meet basic needs - particularly if you have responsibilities to family/etc.
With caveats, however, I'd say "A bit more than you expect, but not as much as a short commute".
With caveats, however, I'd say "A bit more than you expect, but not as much as a short commute".
Wow, this is incredibly timely. I'm in the middle of series of interviews with a number of companies and this has already come up. Just two days ago I turned down a senior position that was about a 30% pay bump from where I am now because I felt like the job would not only be not fun+, but so restrictive and stressful that I left the interview sweating just thinking about it! I called them back that afternoon and let them know that regardless of what they decide, I simply didn't want to work in that position.
Yesterday I had a really positive interview with a company that I think would be fun, but would represent a 20-30% pay reduction. You know what? I've pretty much settled on the fact that if they like me, I'll probably say yes to it.
I've spent the last 15 years bouncing around between large and small companies, large meaning 30,000, 40,000 and 125,000 employees, and small meaning 15, 6, 4, 30, 16 and 2 employees. I was always moving up in salary and building a career and so never really gave much thought to if I was having fun or not. But looking back, and particularly after that last 3 very stressful years trying to turn around a distressed startup, I would much rather go back to working at the companies I had more fun with, even taking my original salary to do so.
The stress, overwork, aggravation and frustration and sleepless nights is just simply not worth it. I've spent significant portions over the last 3 years ill from problems that are probably stress related. I've gained weight, lost fitness and my work-life balance has gotten terribly out of whack. I just realized earlier in the week that my license expires next week and I literally have so many meetings scheduled that I simply won't be able to make it to the DMV in time. I've even had to cancel my vacation for the later part of this year.
I realized this year that of the three major parts of my day, with 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 working, I'm so miserable that the 1/3 I should have as free time is simply wasted either over working, or coping with stress. And realistically I'm not even getting my 1/3 sleeping time either.
My advice is, if you are happy with where you are at with your career, and can reasonably afford to take a pay hit, there's no amount of pay that can make up for poor health, constant stress, loss of weekends and time with friends and family. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I can conceive of a 50-60% delta from my current earning potential to consider a position where I think I might enjoy my time there. I recognize that not everybody is in the same position. But try and be more judicious in what positions you end up in than I've been. And when you work for a place and the fun stops, start to look for the next gig.
+fun defined as a rewarding and challenging job where I'm free to work on interesting problems and focus on the customer. Something I look forward to coming back to day after day and not something I have to will my way through.
Yesterday I had a really positive interview with a company that I think would be fun, but would represent a 20-30% pay reduction. You know what? I've pretty much settled on the fact that if they like me, I'll probably say yes to it.
I've spent the last 15 years bouncing around between large and small companies, large meaning 30,000, 40,000 and 125,000 employees, and small meaning 15, 6, 4, 30, 16 and 2 employees. I was always moving up in salary and building a career and so never really gave much thought to if I was having fun or not. But looking back, and particularly after that last 3 very stressful years trying to turn around a distressed startup, I would much rather go back to working at the companies I had more fun with, even taking my original salary to do so.
The stress, overwork, aggravation and frustration and sleepless nights is just simply not worth it. I've spent significant portions over the last 3 years ill from problems that are probably stress related. I've gained weight, lost fitness and my work-life balance has gotten terribly out of whack. I just realized earlier in the week that my license expires next week and I literally have so many meetings scheduled that I simply won't be able to make it to the DMV in time. I've even had to cancel my vacation for the later part of this year.
I realized this year that of the three major parts of my day, with 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 working, I'm so miserable that the 1/3 I should have as free time is simply wasted either over working, or coping with stress. And realistically I'm not even getting my 1/3 sleeping time either.
My advice is, if you are happy with where you are at with your career, and can reasonably afford to take a pay hit, there's no amount of pay that can make up for poor health, constant stress, loss of weekends and time with friends and family. I'm fortunate enough to be in a position where I can conceive of a 50-60% delta from my current earning potential to consider a position where I think I might enjoy my time there. I recognize that not everybody is in the same position. But try and be more judicious in what positions you end up in than I've been. And when you work for a place and the fun stops, start to look for the next gig.
+fun defined as a rewarding and challenging job where I'm free to work on interesting problems and focus on the customer. Something I look forward to coming back to day after day and not something I have to will my way through.
The stress, overwork, aggravation and frustration and sleepless nights is just simply not worth it. I've spent significant portions over the last 3 years ill from problems that are probably stress related. I've gained weight, lost fitness and my work-life balance has gotten terribly out of whack. I just realized earlier in the week that my license expires next week and I literally have so many meetings scheduled that I simply won't be able to make it to the DMV in time. I've even had to cancel my vacation for the later part of this year.
I realized this year that of the three major parts of my day, with 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 working, I'm so miserable that the 1/3 I should have as free time is simply wasted either over working, or coping with stress. And realistically I'm not even getting my 1/3 sleeping time either.
That was my situation up until 5 months ago, and the pay cut I took to get out of it (about 10%) was worth every penny. People have told me since then that I now seem like a completely different person.
In my situation, the mental load got so bad that it actually started hampering my ability to find another position[1]. I started approaching every nibble with desperation and likely underperformed on multiple interviews due to the self-imposed pressure to get them right so I could get out of my miserable situation. I worried about actually having time for interviews with the schedule I was working. My failure to find something else then fed back and made the problems related to the job worse by injecting hopelessness. I finally managed to break that cycle long enough to find a position at a very small local company.
[1] As a bit of background to put this and the following statements in context, I live in Dallas and spent almost 10 years at a major defense contractor here. I also have some issues with explaining my experience in detail, particularly confusion over my "systems engineer" title[2] and not being able to talk about the good stuff I did.
[2] Aerospace/defense systems engineers are not what most of you probably think of when you hear that title: http://www.incose.org/practice/whatissystemseng.aspx
I realized this year that of the three major parts of my day, with 1/3 sleeping and 1/3 working, I'm so miserable that the 1/3 I should have as free time is simply wasted either over working, or coping with stress. And realistically I'm not even getting my 1/3 sleeping time either.
That was my situation up until 5 months ago, and the pay cut I took to get out of it (about 10%) was worth every penny. People have told me since then that I now seem like a completely different person.
In my situation, the mental load got so bad that it actually started hampering my ability to find another position[1]. I started approaching every nibble with desperation and likely underperformed on multiple interviews due to the self-imposed pressure to get them right so I could get out of my miserable situation. I worried about actually having time for interviews with the schedule I was working. My failure to find something else then fed back and made the problems related to the job worse by injecting hopelessness. I finally managed to break that cycle long enough to find a position at a very small local company.
[1] As a bit of background to put this and the following statements in context, I live in Dallas and spent almost 10 years at a major defense contractor here. I also have some issues with explaining my experience in detail, particularly confusion over my "systems engineer" title[2] and not being able to talk about the good stuff I did.
[2] Aerospace/defense systems engineers are not what most of you probably think of when you hear that title: http://www.incose.org/practice/whatissystemseng.aspx
I have a full time gig that allows me an insane amount of flexibility (60% at home, flexible hours when in the office to avoid traffic). The time not commuting and lack of stress allows me to work on personal projects. I like the group I work with, the fact that we are a mix of product and research, and that we all collaborate well through a mix of communication -- in person, email, Skype, etc.
Recently, a company I previously interviewed with, liked, but turned down, made a very generous offer -- probably 20-30% over my current situation at the cost of flexibility and working at home. It was technically more interesting and challenging than my current job. I thought about it and was going back and forth.
My wife came to the point -- are you willing to give up your own projects and 6+ hours of commuting a week for the $ difference? Calculate the hourly rate just based on how much more you are commuting.
She was right. Opportunities need to be weighed against what you want. Sometimes having a third party for a bit of reason helps.