I have switched careers 2 years ago. Went from a sales managers position in the industrial distribution industry to the General Manager of a medium sized manufacturing company. Money is about the same. I left the other job after 21 years thinking I have never ried anything else, what am I missing. I don't enjoy my present job as much due to the slower pace and being in an office all day. I have several opportunites to get back into the industry I left but at lower salaries. My dilema is; do I take a pay cut and get back to what I think I would enjoy or do I stick with my present job and hope it will become more enjoyable.

-- Al (tkw@southwind.net), November 27, 2000

Answers

Al, whenever we leave any place, time has a way of changing the dynamics and environment. These days even 2 years can produce a significant change within company cultures. So if say you left that company in 1998, it may not be the company you remember working at if you return in 2001. So sometimes in trying to step back to what we had, we often don't realize how much the climate can change. We can become just as unhappy going back as staying where we are because we thought we were returning back to 1998, not realizing that what now awaits us is an environment that has changed with the times.

At the end of this day the question I look at is whether my job is a hourly disease. If it is a hourly disease then I need to find a cure and taking that step back is a measure of sanity. If it is a job and isn't a threat to our personal wellbeing then taking the pay cut is a drastic action if your present position is fairly a secure one.

If I was in your shoes it has to be an incredibly wonderful opportunity to make me switch gears. I would rather work at a higher rate and push on in the search for a new and better position, then take a step down. The big question is cost of living, your personal budget and how much you need to be saving in terms of preparing for the future i.e. pension plans etc. If the pay cut can support all your basic financial objectives then enjoying what you are does make sense. It won't make sense if you take a pay cut to enjoy a job you like doing but by doing so you have bankrolled your personal life into financial doldrums.

Those are some of the considerations I would think of Al, again, take my advice with a pinch of salt, because in reality my feet are not the one's walking in your shoes.

M.

"To be or not to be that is the question" A quote by Willy Shakes. M Profile at: http://www.fastcompany.com/fasttalk/replypost.html? p=9738 Mantra of M. "Life is about Private Relations not Public Relations"

-- Mark Zorro (zorromark@consultant.com), November 27, 2000.