Considering a career change and probable paycut, looking for advice on things to be aware of

[hang]

@goatsandroses To put a different slant on your query. I'm currently "in contract" until Nov 2025.

I work abroad. I've a trade. I've 30+yrs experience. I've never allowed work to impact my family, mental health or calculated decision making.

Don't ever get lost in the mind set of where you think you should be in life.
The position you've told yourself you should have achieved by X amount of years.
The "salary" you think you should be on.

Take the risk and "jump" if you're not happy

HR brings skills to other areas of the work pool. Research and don't pigeon hole your skill set to your skill experience.

Admin here earn on average, €2.5K P/W, NET.

 

[resjudicata]

@hang I'm struggling to discern what point you're trying to put across in this comment.

 

[hang]

@resjudicata My point is. OP has pigeon holed themselves within what their qualifications should have delivered (allegedly)?

That ties in to unrealistic expectations.

OP is, imo. A young Man. With a young family with what's acceptable as comfortable "savings" to be even thinking about a change of career.

I've mentioned that his skill-set can be utilised outside of a HR environment and encouraged him to look beyond HR.

I've mentioned that 2.5K was a norm NET. P/W.

What are you struggling with here?

 

[resjudicata]

@hang OP doesn't mention qualifications once.

2.5k is a norm net per week for who?

Also no idea what you working abroad, having a trade and having 30 years experience is in any way relevant to OP or this thread.

And no idea why you being "in contract" until 2025 has any relevance to OP either.

 

[hang]

@goatsandroses To put a different slant on your query. I'm currently "in contract" until Nov 2025.

I work abroad. I've a trade. I've 30+yrs experience. I've never allowed work to impact my family, mental health or calculated decision making.

Don't ever get lost in the mind set of where you think you should be in life.
The position you've told yourself you should have achieved by X amount of years.
The "salary" you think you should be on.

Take the risk and "jump" if you're not happy

HR brings skills to other areas of the work pool. Research and don't pigeon hole your skill set to your skill experience.

Admin here earn on average, €2.5K P/W, NET.

 

[squigglyduck]

@goatsandroses AP in Civil Service starts in at 74k. Could be a place to look.

 

[keepwalkingon]

@goatsandroses A career change can put a financial burden on your family and cause marital issues talk to her about it

 

[leedixon]

@keepwalkingon While remaining in the current may avoid a financial, it will impact OP's health and possibly marital issues too.

 

[ness128]

@goatsandroses I did something similar.

I was in a high enough paying job (~80k) and my wife was on slightly more (~90k). We had three kids under 6, and with my work I barely saw them other than at weekends.

I had a crap, lazy boss who pretty much loaded all his work onto me as well as my own and was getting no credit for it. The hours were long (often 5am starts or 1am finishes) and I found it very hard to switch off when out of work, so I decided to take a career break- the idea being that the loss in earnings would be somewhat offset by the savings in childcare.

The change couldn't have come at a better time- COVID hit soon after I finished up and it allowed me to homeschool the kids while my wife was able to work uninterrupted.

After 18 months I decided to re-enter the workforce (as much for the social isolation of being a stay at home dad- not a huge amount of us out there!) but decided rather than going back into my sector (which I knew would be long hours/intense pressure) I looked into 3rd level positions relevant to my sector. After a few attempts, I got my foot in the door and am now teaching other professionals about management in my sector and really enjoying it. The hours are a lot more flexible to allow me to do school pick ups/drop offs and although I've taken a hit in terms of salary (on ~55k) I'm actually enjoying what I do.

So I would very much say don't be afraid. Life is short and if you're in a job you're not enjoying, find one where you are happy.

As my dad said to me when I told him I was quitting my job "when you're on your death bed, you'll never say that you wished you'd spent more time at work".

 

[hope42moro]

@goatsandroses Get another job. Don’t worry about taking a pay cut. I’ve seen a number of my friends or their partners go through burnout and it’s very hard on the family. Don’t forget that you likely have around 35 more years of work ahead of you so try to think in a longitudinal and sustainable way about your work.

 

[flipflops82]

@goatsandroses Can't speak to the rest, but if you're working that much, it sounds like you're criminally understaffed. Can you talk to your leadership about being overloaded and finding a way to ease the workload on you?

 

[sunnybee]

@goatsandroses Having been through this myself I would strongly suggest finding another job first and getting a clear offer letter before quitting. Makes you a better candidate with a stronger leveraging than when you have already resigned and are looking for a job. mental health and wellbeing is definitely important, but the stress of financial instability is far more horrible, especially when you have kids as well.

 

[andrewe]

@goatsandroses You work in a very specialised sector, so the ball is in your court I imagine. My advice to you would be to work less, travel less, instead make your current job work for you. It might seem hard to imagine at present, but you seem to be in a position of power, so use that to negotiate a better work-life balance for yourself.
I was in a similar position this time last year, possibly a worse position, as I had gotten so stressed that I was getting sick most mornings before work... I ended up seeing a therapist, and that process helped me no end. I'm now doing less than half the work I was doing this time last year, and I'm on 10% more. Changing a career might not be the answer. If you're the type of person who finds it hard to say no to extra work, extra pressure etc, the sector you're in won't matter.

 

[timmay_95]

@goatsandroses I'd look within your sector rather than look for a career change first. A career change may happen but you may be going to very low salary and have to work your way up. Before that try look for roles within your sector that would be less stressful.

I've two friends in similar position to you. One went for 4 days a week at their current job and 80% of the salary and the other went for a similar role in a competitor with similar salaries but less travel. Both were glad not to start at the beginning.