Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I know a few people who have transitioned from upper management to individual contributor roles as they were winding down their career. Less money but also less stress and still decent money and good benefits, waiting until they were ready to retire
It's all about rate. As a long time consultant, I've taken full-time jobs and only to go back because more and more companies are expecting more and not raising salaries. A full-time job could require 50-60hrs work a week and often some weekend or nightly work. That could easily reduce my salary by 25-40% with those hours instead of a 9-5 job. Many companies today have very little coverage so they don't allow their workers to schedule more than 2 weeks of vacation. Which is why so many Americans don't take PTO, they employers make it difficult to be away from work.
In Europe, it's required by law for workers to take their vacation. And companies always use Americans to substitute European workers when they take time off. Which is one big problem here in America is that our labor laws are equivalent to other 1st world countries.
Being a consultant, I can command a higher rate and I don't want to work unpaid overtime.
I took a stepdown in 2005 in order to be closer to family and lessen my daily commuting time. I was spending 2 hours EACH WAY getting to and from work. Got a job closer to home, for a bit less money, and cut my commute in half. Since my children were both under 2 years old, that was a major win for me.
I've never stepped down from a good job. I've stepped down from a higher paying job.
I took a $16k pay cut to come to the company I'm at now. The old place was a terrible job. It was high stress, low reward, taking less pay for a better job was the best decision I made in years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Marie Joseph
I would never leave a GOOD job However, I have stepped down from stressful, higher paying jobs.
^ pretty much the same. And yes - as much as a 45% pay cut. Of course, the job I took quickly led to a promotion that resulted in a higher salary than the job I left it for. Then realized me and my manager simply did not see eye to eye. So I left after a few years and took another job that paid a bit more in salary... but I'd say it was less when you compare total compensation (factoring in health insurance, perks, etc.).
Personally - today, salary isn't even in the top 3 for me with regards to factors for job consideration. Been around enough to know that the amount of money needed to offset the other stuff isn't realistic/practical.
To have a job that is stress free and just a job where whatever happens that day is history?
Opposite of a job that a mistake you make today could come back to get you 3 weeks later.
I'm happy with my job now but I sometimes think about 10 years from now. I'm good at budgeting & I could see myself just quitting a job and taking a pay cut just to live stress free.
I know not everybody can do this because of family or debt but I could be in a great situation to do so with other benefiting factors.
Anybody done this?
What is it with this reoccurring theme of taking unnecessary pay cuts? OP, I hope you realize job duties and stress have nothing to do with salary level. There are a ton of stressful low paying jobs. There are a ton of high paying, low stress jobs.
Last edited by charlygal; 06-18-2019 at 05:13 PM..
What is it with this reoccurring theme of taking unnecessary pay cuts? OP, I hope you realize job duties and stress have nothing to do with salary level. There are a ton of stressful low paying jobs. There are a ton of high paying, low stress jobs.
I would never have a low paying job that was stressful if I could help it.
And I disagree with your statement. Maybe it's just from personal experience but I think the amount of a stress that a job can create should equal more $. You will always have exceptions. But in a lot of careers there is a reason why people make more & that's because of greater responsibility that equals some degree of more stress.
I would never have a low paying job that was stressful if I could help it.
And I disagree with your statement. Maybe it's just from personal experience but I think the amount of a stress that a job can create should equal more $. You will always have exceptions. But in a lot of careers there is a reason why people make more & that's because of greater responsibility that equals some degree of more stress.
No, not really. PLUS, the truth is stress is just a chosen reaction. That means people are choosing to be stressed out. Crappy things will happen, but we get to chose how we react. It's possible to remain relatively calm in troubling circumstances.
A better course of action would be to learn some stress management techniques vs giving up salary. Check YouTube for some videos.
No, not really. PLUS, the truth is stress is just a chosen reaction. That means people are choosing to be stressed out. Crappy things will happen, but we get to chose how we react. It's possible to remain relatively calm in troubling circumstances.
A better course of action would be to learn some stress management techniques vs giving up salary. Check YouTube for some videos.
You're correct in that stress is a chosen reaction - or more specifically, the agents that cause stress are subjective. What's stressful to me may be a motivator to you (or vice versa).
As for management techniques - avoidance is a perfectly acceptable option. Just because someone is choosing to simply not deal with it in other ways doesn't necessarily mean failure or an inability to cope. Every situation is different. What one perceives as a "better" way to deal with it doesn't mean it would be for another. They key is one has to own up or take responsibility for their actions.
If I quit a good paying job because I chose not to deal with the challenges involved - I have little justification to blame others for that decision (not that blaming anyone is gonna help regardless).
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
However, I have stepped down from stressful, higher paying jobs. 
