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[sourceninja]

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[gorcorps]

Did you do any sort of calculations about how big the salary hit REALLY is with all the other changes? As in... with 40 minutes less drive time, what are you saving in fuel costs?

 

[purbeast0]

depending how significant the salary drop is, i'd definitely go with the new job.

you are saving 5 hours a week in time + saving quite a bit of gas money. time = money, and obviously gas money = money. all of that stuff adds up quick when you start doing the math.

then calculate the 24/7 on call time that you won't have to worry about and won't have to work during those times, that will also be some set amount of time (on average).

it also depends on the percentage drop and where you are. a 10% drop when you are making 75k is a lot more significant than a 10% drop when you are making $150k.

but from just the info in the OP, i'd go with the new job.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

What kind of pay difference are we talking here? Personally, I'm always against pay cuts unless desperation calls (layoffs, going to be fired, etc...)

There is just SOMETHING I have against taking a chute simply because you think there might be a bigger ladder on the other side. Is that possible? Sure, but REGARDLESS of whom you interview with, they will ALWAYS tell you there is growth potential. Is it actually true? That's up for you to figure out.

Personally, if I hit a manager position, the last thing I'm going to do is go back to grunt position.

EDIT: Also important: You need more info on benefits. Pay more for healthcare? Bigger 401k match? Pension? All of those can make-up or hinder your pay-grade further.

 

[OILFIELDTRASH]

I'd go with the new job due to not being on call and the 8 minute drive. I have a 15 minute drive to work and it's glorious. Last job was 40 minutes up to a hour drive. I'm also not that motivated by money like some others are. I'll gladly sacrifice money to up my quality of life. In fact I'm doing that right now. Making a good chunk less than my last job and I'm happier than ever with my job situation.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

depending how significant the salary drop is, i'd definitely go with the new job.

you are saving 5 hours a week in time + saving quite a bit of gas money. time = money, and obviously gas money = money. all of that stuff adds up quick when you start doing the math.

then calculate the 24/7 on call time that you won't have to worry about and won't have to work during those times, that will also be some set amount of time (on average).

it also depends on the percentage drop and where you are. a 10% drop when you are making 75k is a lot more significant than a 10% drop when you are making $150k.

but from just the info in the OP, i'd go with the new job.

Yeah, I think the new job sounds ideal but of course, it depends on the salary drop. As purbeast says above, don't forget to consider factoring in the costs associated with commute time, etc. when you make your decision. You may save enough money there to make the new job worth your while.

 

[z1ggy]

I'm looking for some advice.

I've got a job offer on the table and I'm trying to decide what to do. I like my current job but this new one has some potential. I'll break it down with bullet points.

1) Less money than current job and I've been told this is their final offer money wise. I'm not hurting for money, but it's still drop.
2) No on call and no unscheduled after hours work, current job i'm on call 24/7
3) New job is 40 minutes closer to home (8 minute drive instead of an hour)
4) New job has potential for growth, old job is the top tier.
5) New job is with an old boss I have a great relationship with.
6) Current employer is suffering from a downturn.
7) Going from a mixed manager/IT engineer back to a senior engineer.

Basically it breaks down to worrying about the salary hit. I can afford the hit (this job would still be 20 grand more than my previous job, but less than my current job), but I'm still torn about going backwards in salary. The new employer did say that they have a bonus program, which I don't have now and a scheduled raise program to encourage getting the certifications they want their engineers to have. This means I can mitigate some of the loss of salary over the next 2-3 years. I'm also worried about losing the title manager, although I'm told I will still be the team lead and have a managerial role. Other than that I'm pretty excited to be back working with more/larger technology as my current role is in a small shop (3 servers and a SAN).

I'm thinking about asking them for an extra week vacation as I know they can't offer any more in terms of salary. Any thoughts?

Based purely on what you've said here, I would take the job. Less commuting means less money on gas, less chance you get in an accident and less miles you put on the vehicle.

If you've hit the ceiling inyour current job, there is no reason for them to pay you any more money in the future other than inflation. Even with less money up front, if you have room to grow and you can perform well, I would bet within 5 years you will be where you currently are right now, plus you'll have more career options.

 

[PricklyPete]

I would take the drop if the new job appears to be a better fit (you didn't qualify the drop, so I am assuming it was small).

I took a 5% hit when I left consulting. Within a year and a half I was already back above my consulting salary. With bonus included, I was significantly above. I also work 40 hour weeks now with zero travel. It was a huge upgrade in life.

 

[sourceninja]

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[IndyColtsFan]

It's about a 11% drop in salary. Benefits are basically identical. I would be gaining a week more vacation/sick time at the new job (and maybe a 2nd week if I can negotiate it). That would be great because I lost a week for this current job (went from 3 weeks to 2 weeks)

How are raises at this new company? Any chance of a signing bonus? Definitely try to get another week of vacation.

If the drop isn't too painful and you really like this new opportunity, I'd still take it. In fact, I may be in a similar boat in the next week or two and might have to make the same decision.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

It's about a 11% drop in salary. Benefits are basically identical. I would be gaining a week more vacation/sick time at the new job (and maybe a 2nd week if I can negotiate it). That would be great because I lost a week for this current job (went from 3 weeks to 2 weeks)

Considering you are effectively taking a title "downgrade" and if you're honestly going to go through with it on an 11% pay drop - I would highly negotiate.

Not sure if you can make a clause for promotion within a certain amount of time, personally I think it just looks bad on paper (resume) to be going from manager to senior. But it is closer, and you do get more vacation.

You haven't said other benefits, however, and that could make or break the difference to me at least (Healthcare + Retirement)

 

[PricklyPete]

It's about a 11% drop in salary. Benefits are basically identical. I would be gaining a week more vacation/sick time at the new job (and maybe a 2nd week if I can negotiate it). That would be great because I lost a week for this current job (went from 3 weeks to 2 weeks)

Definitely take the new job...especially if you can get 2 additional weeks.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

Considering you are effectively taking a title "downgrade" and if you're honestly going to go through with it on an 11% pay drop - I would highly negotiate.

Not sure if you can make a clause for promotion within a certain amount of time, personally I think it just looks bad on paper (resume) to be going from manager to senior. But it is closer, and you do get more vacation.

Sometimes you don't have a choice. I dropped from manager to senior many, many years ago due to a corporate reshuffling and my manager job was eliminated. As long as you have a valid explanation, most people are pretty understanding. Besides that, some people try management and decide they hate it - that's also a valid reason to change back to a technical position.

 

[purbeast0]

that is a good point about a signing bonus. when i landed my current job, i told them i had another offer that was like $15k more. they couldn't match it, but they gave me $6k more + a $10k signing bonus.

and now, being here 3 years later, i'm making $15k more than I was when i started, so in the end it worked out great. plus the company owns.

 

[BurnItDwn]

I would gladly take a 10-15K hit to save an hour and a half every damn fucking day of the week in commutes. Thats like 350 hours less stress and wasted commute times every year. Likely 20%-30% of the pay loss will be saved in transportation costs... which partially makes up for it.

 

[IndyColtsFan]

that is a good point about a signing bonus. when i landed my current job, i told them i had another offer that was like $15k more. they couldn't match it, but they gave me $6k more + a $10k signing bonus.

and now, being here 3 years later, i'm making $15k more than I was when i started, so in the end it worked out great. plus the company owns.

Another thing I did one time when the company couldn't budge on salary was to negotiate my first raise. I was hired on in April and the performance reviews and raises were done in September. I negotiated the raise so that my resulting salary would equal the pay at my last job and they agreed AND came through when raises came around.

 

[sourceninja]

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[OverVolt]

You already know the answer is to take the new job you just lament losing the money .

In the long run, what if your current company's financial situtation got even worse? Then EVERYONE would be looking to leave at the same time.

Now is the right time. IF you got laid off you'd be kicking yourself for being so greedy.

 

[clamum]

depending how significant the salary drop is, i'd definitely go with the new job.

you are saving 5 hours a week in time + saving quite a bit of gas money. time = money, and obviously gas money = money. all of that stuff adds up quick when you start doing the math.

then calculate the 24/7 on call time that you won't have to worry about and won't have to work during those times, that will also be some set amount of time (on average).

it also depends on the percentage drop and where you are. a 10% drop when you are making 75k is a lot more significant than a 10% drop when you are making $150k.

but from just the info in the OP, i'd go with the new job.

:thumbsup: Concurred.

 

[jagec]

It's about a 11% drop in salary. Benefits are basically identical. I would be gaining a week more vacation/sick time at the new job (and maybe a 2nd week if I can negotiate it). That would be great because I lost a week for this current job (went from 3 weeks to 2 weeks)

Between the commute time and vacations, it's a MORE than 11% drop in hours worked, so it's actually a raise from what you currently make!

I would take it in a heartbeat.

 

[vi edit]

Between the commute time and vacations, it's a MORE than 11% drop in hours worked, so it's actually a raise from what you currently make!

I would take it in a heartbeat.

Yeah. And when it comes down to it, once taxes and everything come into play it's more like a 6% drop in pay. So if if 10% is say...$10,000, that's more like $6,000 after taxes (probably less actually depending on various factors).

40 hours extra PTO is like a psuedo raise of 5% in itself. Remove the call coverage. Take away the gas use, wear and tear on your car, and overall mental and physical health improvement of not needing to drive that much and sleeping better because you don't have a call phone stuck to you. The new jobs sounds like an absolute winner to me.

 

[sourceninja]

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[sourceninja]

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