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I suppose I've done it twice now. The first time I left a high-powered consulting position at a Big Six firm having tired of the continuous travel. The second time I left a product owner position at the most hated company in America due to self-respect.
I moved into a new role last month. Technically it is a lateral move so I did not get a raise, but there is more opportunity for advancement in my new area and an opportunity to make six figures in a few years.
In my old role, I was responsible for supervising over 20 employees located throughout the country and was doing my job and my Manager's job too. I work in insurance. My Manager has ZERO industry experience and is not respected at all by the staff. Can't answer questions, solve problems and has zero sense of urgency.
Leaving the department was the BEST decision I have made. I feel less stress and am only responsible for myself now! I have a fantastic new Manager who is knowledgeable and respected.
I moved from Tennessee to Iowa and was making about $22/hr in Iowa. I didn't like it and moved back to TN, taking a temp job for $13/hr and planned on getting to Nashville, Raleigh, or Charlotte within six months or so. That didn't happen and I had three jobs that year, each paying less than the last.
That was the worst year of my life for personal and financial reasons.
I've done it a couple of times over the last 30 years. The last time, I left a failing company and took a pay cut to go to a new job. After 8 years, my hourly rate was still not what it was at my previous job. I did get yearly raises but I still left that job making $2 an hour less than my previous job.
However, I loved the job, the office, the people. The great benefits made up for the difference in salary. This made the move worth it to me. I'd rather be happy and stress-free than chasing the money.
I left a position where I was happy with the work and we (as a group) were doing good work, getting a new initiative off the ground in an industry where many of our peers were already established in this newer area of the industry.
But we faced a ton of resistance from people within our organization. The management immediately above us was supportive. The tier above them was the top of the organization and pretty unaware of much, dragged their heels on decisions, often reversed decisions and as a result were not trusted by pretty much everyone. They were just a dysfunctional trio, but in control.
Slowly, the middle tier began leaving (in large numbers). We were kind of rudderless once that happened (the real leaders were in that middle tier). My boss approached me one day as told me I am moving up into the middle tier, no choice, and he was making a lateral move. I did not want to be dealing with any of that - getting little if any leadership from above and having to deal with the resisters among the ranks who stonewalled most anything involving change.
So, when I had an offer a few days later, I took it. Same pay, less interesting work, but a very good boss (I knew from before) and mostly a good group of co-workers in our unit. Since, I have become a parent and the sanity and work-life balance this place affords me is more than worth it.
to quote Blondebaerde:
"...ditto today's hired gun thing I'm enjoying quite a bit for next year or so."
that is what i was. hired gun. usually left after the job was finished.
made a mistake and stayed too long at one place. lesson learned.
Lesson:
Every job Can Be toxic depending upon the poison you prefer.
Tangential to OP's point:
Hired gun can be okay, if you ignore the little jibes and snipes about "not being a ____" whatever Elk's Club, Masonic Lodge, other secret handshake BS they have as "FTEs" at the firm you're providing services for.
I'm a SME, subject matter expert, in all immodesty fairly high-end. Hey, lawyers bill out at $350 hr, they bill me at $325, should I be proud of that? (chuckle). Guess it's a function of who provides more value-add to a particular situation. Both deal with stress and deadlines.
FTEs at-current are grumbling, and take it out on the 'guns' as I call us, so I keep low and do my job consummate to what they're paying me. It's a step "up" from last full time thing, in terms of level of service I'm providing, but as a "contractor" there is a finite shot clock on it, and it will almost always be individual contributor (IC) unless leading a team in a managed service. That is another story...
Going up, down, sideways: hard to say anymore. I just take it ALL to the bank, thank yah very much.
Yes, I was on a fast track of a fairly prestigious position, but I was working too much, was constantly stressed, had a very unhealthy lifestyle, and was essentially working myself into an early grave. The only positive from it was the ego boost that came with the money and title.
I took a step down to a job I'm overqualified for, I'm happier, have more free time, a more balanced personal life. The only downside is the ambitious/ego driven side of me says I could do more, but experience has showed me that the bigger title and pay isn't worth the stress and longer hours that come with higher level management/executive type jobs.
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