Should I take a pay cut for a new career?
Accepting a lower salary to build a new career or escape a bad boss brings the uncertainty of starting over. The main hurdle is figuring out if the reduced income will make your budget too tight to survive.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Staying in a dead-end job for financial security while living with parents.Did this help you?
- 2Relying on a large savings buffer to cushion the transition.Did this help you?
- 3Using accrued PTO payouts and sign-on bonuses to cover immediate moving costs and debts.Did this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“I am torn because I got my bachelors in an unrelated field (Computer Information Systems) and I was upset for not being able to secure a job in that field. This seems like a new opportunity for me to build a career but it also has some uncertainty.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 8Is a massive pay cut for startup equity worth it?
- 2Should I take a higher-paying job if money is going to be tight?
- 19Should I lower my retirement contributions to save for a house?
- 7Should I take a buyout offer after 20 years?
- 2Is flat rate pay better than hourly?
- 12Is a short weekend trip worth the time and money?