Making a job change possibly...what would you do?

[Nick87]

Here's a question, how long until you are eligible to retire?

 

[SAJ-99]

*And you don’t have to apologize to anyone for becoming a teacher. Or for wanting a change to improve your life. Those are both things to be proud of in my opinion.

I'm not asking him too. Teaching is a hard job, and I almost always vote in favor of paying more in taxes for higher salaries, for teachers and police. But no parent wants to hear "I did it for the pension and summers off". Most teachers in his position will at least lie and say they "did it for the kids". Messaging here is confusion. In post 1 he wants time off in the fall to hunt, but then says it is about potential school shootings, training to administer narcan, and kids that are struggling with bad home situations.

 

[44hunter45]

Hard to fathom a need to settle for 30k per year with a college degree and 20+ years of work experience..

Don’t set such a low bar and settle. Find a BETTER new job that pays a lot more than 30k.

Settling for such a low new salary will hamstring your finances and opportunities for life if you stick with it for the long term.

What if I said I do it for summers off and a pension. Unless you grow up taking over your parents business because you started working for them as a teen, you have no idea what a job entails until your first day of work. My training as a teacher never prepared me for an active shooter, giving Narcan to an opioid overdose victim, what to do when a student tells you that their parents are using them for sexual entertainment at dinner parties, and that another set of brothers are living in a tent in the middle of a camp ground illegally during a Wisconsin winter...all of which I have had training for or experienced first hand. I didn't chose this. Believe me, had I known what I was getting into, this is the last thing I would be doing.

Sadly, there is not a district you could go to in the west that doesn't have the same problems. I have heard of these things happening in our tiny district, and other things.

What jobs are there in WI that work better for you and protect your public pension? 22 years is a lot of life invested in a pension to walk away. The jump from district to the State Department of Public Instruction could be what you are looking for.

It is not easy. I changed jobs within my corporation 4 years ago. I was "too important" to be released from my prior position. (In spite of HR rules that you cannot be held more than 90 days if you have an offer. There are lists of "critical jobs" exempted from the policy. ) I was 13-0 for 8 years of job apps and interviews. I was THIS CLOSE to quitting a few times. I finally scored a job that I love. All the corporate BS is still there, but I am doing something I like and my retirement is intact.

 

[Ben Lamb]

My mother & father worked their butts off so save enough money to really enjoy retirement. Mom died before they sold the business, and Dad was sick pretty much from 08-14 when he passed.

No amount of money can make up for lost time. But your happiness isn't more important than your partners, either.

Check out cost of living in the states you are looking at. Western states are way more expensive than elsewhere. The Midwest still has a lot to offer and the cost of living is pretty good.

For what it's worth, choosing happiness of hustle is a solid choice for a lot of folks.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

Here's a question, how long until you are eligible to retire?

8 years, however I would most likely still have to work because my wife's insurance won't pay my insurance premium. I hold the insurance in our family.

 

[Dave N]

I quit my job because I HAD to. I was pretty nervous about the financial side of it but things went better than I thought. Our house was paid off as well as the vehicles, so we were ahead of the game there. If you're serious about this crunch the numbers. Add up your expenses and see what you need to live. Be generous on everything like food and utilities because prices never go down. If your wife's job plus the new one for you will cover that plus extra for retirement savings you have a good shot of making it work. Sounds like a good sit-down session with your wife to discuss options is needed. An AFFORDABLE cut in pay can outweigh unhappiness in a job if you truly will be happier overall. I don't envy your position at all. Good luck.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

I'm not asking him too. Teaching is a hard job, and I almost always vote in favor of paying more in taxes for higher salaries, for teachers and police. But no parent wants to hear "I did it for the pension and summers off". Most teachers in his position will at least lie and say they "did it for the kids". Messaging here is confusion. In post 1 he wants time off in the fall to hunt, but then says it is about potential school shootings, training to administer narcan, and kids that are struggling with bad home situations.

No, what I said was I didn't choose this path like you insinuate. I knew very little of what this job would be like until I got into it. Very similar to most post high school graduates who have to pick a major based on a short description of a career.

 

[Nick87]

8 years, however I would most likely still have to work because my wife's insurance won't pay my insurance premium. I hold the insurance in our family.

8 more years I'd stick it out then go do soemthing else. That's just me.

 

[Forkyfinder]

I cant believe no one said influencing!

Hear you are a billionare if you do that

 

[PRO MO]

i'd just caution that less income would seem to lead more financial stressors so be sure you and your family can afford to make the financial change. if you can afford it, and it would make you happier then it seems like an easy decision.

 

[TN2shot07]

I’m an accountant, so I would never ignore the financial impact but you can do the math on that part.

My wife has been a teacher for about 12 years, the shift in her job in that time period has been pretty significant. If she came to me and said I have a job that I’ll enjoy lined up but it’s a pay cut I’d be up there packing that classroom today. I don’t know why anybody in their right mind would sign up to be a teacher in our current society…

 

[SAJ-99]

No, what I said was I didn't choose this path like you insinuate. I knew very little of what this job would be like until I got into it. Very similar to most post high school graduates who have to pick a major based on a short description of a career.

I disagree, unless WI just randomly hires people with degrees as teachers, but I get your conflict with your current situation. Only you know what you can do from a financial perspective. Don't let responses here influence you, because they will be skewed by people who did something similar and it worked. You probably aren't going to hear from those where the decision turning out badly. Only you know how bad it is. If it is affecting your mental, or even physical health, then your wife will probably be behind it and you will be better for it. The same advice goes to anyone else in that situation, with the understanding that anything they pay you for is probably going to suck in some respects (Grass is always greener and such). And almost every job has the risk of an active shooter running their day. That and everything else you described are unfortunate realities of America today.

Like I said, teaching is hard (I couldn't do it) and I support higher pay. But I may start rethinking that support if the reason a teacher is doing it is "for the pension and summers off".

 

[rjthehunter]

You can work at McDonald's and make $40k a year.

Find something that pays more. There's endless options out there.

 

[SAJ-99]

There are two things in general here I notice
1) your 40's (which I'm guessing @Keep'er Movin is) are your prime earning years. Taking a 40% pay cut is a kick in the nuts from that perspective. And many teachers are exempt from Social Security, so the pension and length of career are doubly important.

2) The mid 40's is also prime age for a mid-life crisis, when people start to question previous life decisions. I have never heard of anyone finding the answers to this on the internet, but there may be an example someone can share.

 

[noharleyyet]

Do the 8, get healthy/healthier, get the full pension, bank dough as if you were making less. Do something you enjoy when you hang em up in your early fifties for less jingle.

 

[Steiny77]

Just because you started your career in education doesn't mean you need to spend the rest of your working days in education. However, I would not take a $30k pay cut. Find something in the private sector closer to your salary needs, $70k Is not to difficult to find in todays market. Look for something in the private sector that rewards $$ for top performance.

 

[Keep'er Movin]

Guys, it's not the money...it's the schedule of the new job that is what I'm interested in. I don't want to necessarily switch jobs just to have the same limiting schedule...it's my time that is my priority.

 

[cgasner1]

Guys, it's not the money...it's the schedule of the new job that is what I'm interested in. I don't want to necessarily switch jobs just to have the same limiting schedule...it's my time that is my priority.

So fix it. Kinda a you problem

 

[atlas]

You’re looking at this as if it’s a binary decision. It isn’t.

Option 3, which seems to me to be the obvious winner: find another job that pays more than $40k AND provides reasonable time off.

I think you are undervaluing yourself.

This one

 

[brymoore]

Guys, it's not the money...it's the schedule of the new job that is what I'm interested in. I don't want to necessarily switch jobs just to have the same limiting schedule...it's my time that is my priority.

It’s not the money until you don’t have the money.

Do a job search to see if you can get a better paying job. Starting jobs for basic college grads around me make $55k+ a year. You do have 22 years of work experience even if it’s not the same field. You’re not a 22 year old college kid trying to figure out life.