Take a chance, or stay comfortable?

[Slothead56]

I spent 32 years in the private sector with one company, advancing nicely over time that allowed me to feel a certain amount of achievement, worked for me and my family and provided a good income and benefits.

Guess what? At 55 they felt my time there was up. They made my life miserable for a period until I put my big boy pants on and negotiated my way out.

I found a new job with better pay in my industry and, after 4 years there, have moved onto another company in a different segment, again, more money, etc. (Though I have not recovered the enormous amount of paid time off that I once had.)

My point? I’m happier now and, though the risk was kind of forced upon me, the change did me a world of good. If you are talented, hardworking and want to advance you’ll do fine with most company’s. Government jobs have their benefits but what I’d ask is this—if you feel safe there-I thing you mentioned job security and the inability to be let go-are you also being rewarded for good work? The motivation for reward and achievement is solely up to you.

[rokdog49]

No one can do anything but tell you their experiences, preferences, and so on.
Read your own post. Your heart is telling you something. We all fear change, some of us more than others. At your age it isn't unusual to ask "is this all there is?" This life offers no guarantees. Some things are more important than security, to some people. As I said, read your post again. There are some things in there that are very telling. Good luck with your decision.

[The Growler]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

I just picked out the part that stood out to me. Best of luck!

Agreed. If you're not happy, what good is the security that you are stuck there?

[Mr. Jelly]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

What would you guys do? Stick to the secure but stale job, or go for that risk that can be highly rewarding?

They both have rewards and they both have issues.
This is a life changing event no matter which you choose.
Which ever way you go own it.
Just make sure you don't get yourself someplace you don't want to be.

[Mandobart]

There's a reason we call it "work" and not "fun." When I want fun I go cycling, or hiking, or camping, or skiing, or play music. I don't expect to get paid for pursuing fun or entertainment. The plus side for me is I believe in what I do for a career (make electricity for schools, factories, hospitals, homes to use). I also get paid well, have all the bennies plus a defined benefit state retirement. I've been in the private sector and did not find it fulfilling or rewarding. I could make a lot more doing what I do in a different (less desirable for me) part of the country. Not worth it to me.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Never forget......it’s just a job. Don’t try and make it more than that, because it isn’t.
Find your fulfillment somewhere else. A job is to provide you with money. Private sector can and will treat you like a number, not a person.

[Earl49]

Life is short.... and a 10-15 year sentence doesn't sound very appealing to me. A gilded cage is still a cage. But I am an entrepreneurial type who has been self employed for 29 years now. I would find working a politically constrained government job uncomfortable, no matter how "stable" it is or what the benefits were.

Lots of good points raised here. It's a matter of accepting what you can tolerate and changing what you can about the current situation - or taking a chance.

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by Mr. Paul

I just picked out the part that stood out to me. Best of luck!

Thank you. It’s a huge decision for sure.

Originally Posted by AmericanEagle

The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence.

I’ve been laid-off 3 times in my career.

Each time was very difficult for me.

If I were you, I would stay where you are.

Job stability is very important, at least in my opinion.

Yes I understand the grass always seems to be greener. That’s my main predicament right now. The other side could very much be just a tad lighter shade of brown grass.

Originally Posted by v32 finish

This is definitely a predicament.. but truth be told, more info needed to truly answer.. but at the end of the day, my dad used to say

"no matter *what*, go with your gut. Your gut feeling and that instinct will rarely lead you astray".

Biggest factor, as I see it, is similar to what someone else pointed out: where you're at on your journey. If you're 60 yrs old and only 6 or 7 yrs away from retiring to a Gov. Pension my answer would likely be different than if you're my age (35) and still looking at working at your current place for 30+ years.im guessing the answer is somewhere in the middle. Also, exactly *how* volatile is the sector you're going into and if you get some experience there, even if you do get laid off, how hard would it be to flip that experience into a whole new career in the new industry..

Food for thought.. everything happens for a reason. Good luck!!

At 15 years in my current job, I’m halfway there to be fully vested in their retirement system. I’m already vested in partial retirement which includes medical coverage. Not a bad deal. My gut is telling me go for it, but the reasonable me is telling to stay.

Originally Posted by fitness1

Forget about the money for a minute - are you confident the new job would be something you would be more passionate about?



Do you have a family to consider in the process?

Very good question. Here’s a background for what I do. I’m a diesel mechanic, and I work on a variety of heavy trucks from regular dump trucks and tractors, to refuse trucks, sewer trucks, and aerial trucks. Refuse trucks break the most often, and are top priority. People will write to the mayor if their rubbish is not picked up. Hard to be passionate about that stuff lol. The possible opportunity is working mostly on light-medium duty pickup trucks, some generators and some construction equipment.

I’m married and have a 19 year old son from a previous marriage. Have many obligations including a mortgage and everything that comes with it. The extra money will help, and I don’t have to work 20+ hours overtime a week to keep up.

[ManyMartinMan]

While I understand the 7-year-itch and the occasional desire to do something different, a guitar forum is not the place to seek advice or even suggestions on life-altering decisions. You have all the information you require to make your decision - along with your wife. You are not in this alone and her advice, support and council is the most important input you will ever get. I feel for anyone that has to work 60 hours a week to make it so a new job where you make considerably more might be a God-send or a curse if it ends up not having the job-security you need for the next 15-20 years. I wish you success in whatever decision you and your wife come to and decide to go with.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by 1neeto

I’m a diesel mechanic, and I work on a variety of heavy trucks from regular dump trucks and tractors, to refuse trucks, sewer trucks, and aerial trucks. Refuse trucks break the most often, and are top priority. People will write to the mayor if their rubbish is not picked up. Hard to be passionate about that stuff lol.

Try living in a big city during a garbage strike some nice hot summer. You'll learn about passion!

[1neeto]

Originally Posted by buddyhu

You say you have been unhappy with work for a number of years....very unhappy. Given that, and that you are 43 years of age, I'm thinking you will likely need to make a change before you "retire" (whatever "retire" might mean to you). So it sounds like the question is whether this is the right time for you to make a change, and whether this opportunity is the one you want to take a chance on.

If I were you, I'd look carefully at the details of what financial benefits you will take with you if you leave your government job, and what you will leave behind. For example, I imagine you will get a partial vestiture in a pension. Will you get 1/4 of your salary, or 1/2, or some other amount? Are you close to the next tier?

I guess I should acknowledge that I left my "safe" job when I was in my mid-40's, and it turned out well for me. No regrets whatsoever. But I did lots of research about my monthly cash flow, the benefits package that I was leaving behind, and weighing the risks. I didn't have kids in college, I had a "medium sized" mortgage payment, and my wife had a good job with reliable income. So the risk I was taking was mostly regarding my lifestyle and the particular form of my retirement, not whether I was going to keep a roof over my head.

I also have a bias, which is, "you can always make more money, but you can never make more time." That overstates it a bit, because I have seen that illness and/or disability can make it impossible to make money. But the last part is absolutely true: time is one of the most precious features of our lives. We know that even a "long and healthy life" will not last all that long.

If you are unhappy, you have a responsibility to yourself to do SOMETHING!! If you are uncertain about what to do, start keeping a journal, go for long walks in the woods, talk with friends, read some self-help books, hire a coach, see a therapist...do things that will help you develop clarity and definitiveness. If you are certain about what to do, then you just need to decide about timing, and the exact form of the change you will undertake.

Good luck!!

Wow thank you so much for all those words. Many good questions. Ok, starting from how vested I am, I’m still not 100% clear, but I know I’m good for medical, and I believe 1/4 of my pay when I turn 62. My next tier is at 25 years in service, which seems quite far away right now.

You hit a nail in the head when it comes to time vs money. Time never stops, so that makes time THE most valuable thing we have, yet we take it for granted so much. Right now, I’m spending more time at work than I’d like to. With this new job I’ll be making more money without the extra hours. It’s not about the money, it’s about the time!

Originally Posted by Slothead56

I spent 32 years in the private sector with one company, advancing nicely over time that allowed me to feel a certain amount of achievement, worked for me and my family and provided a good income and benefits.



Guess what? At 55 they felt my time there was up. They made my life miserable for a period until I put my big boy pants on and negotiated my way out.



I found a new job with better pay in my industry and, after 4 years there, have moved onto another company in a different segment, again, more money, etc. (Though I have not recovered the enormous amount of paid time off that I once had.)



My point? I’m happier now and, though the risk was kind of forced upon me, the change did me a world of good. If you are talented, hardworking and want to advance you’ll do fine with most company’s. Government jobs have their benefits but what I’d ask is this—if you feel safe there-I thing you mentioned job security and the inability to be let go-are you also being rewarded for good work? The motivation for reward and achievement is solely up to you.

This right here is one of the reasons why I’m unhappy where I’m at right now. There’s just about zero incentive for good work. Not even an attaboy, you’re just a cog in the mighty city and county machine. And it’s not like I expect an award each time I fix a truck, but when you’re only told about what’s not being done, and they don’t see the amount of work that’s actually being done is a true downer. It’s a lot deeper than that with upper (micro) management, and a lot of that stress does come home with me.

Originally Posted by ManyMartinMan

While I understand the 7-year-itch and the occasional desire to do something different, a guitar forum is not the place to seek advice or even suggestions on life-altering decisions. You have all the information you require to make your decision - along with your wife. You are not in this alone and her advice, support and council is the most important input you will ever get. I feel for anyone that has to work 60 hours a week to make it so a new job where you make considerably more might be a God-send or a curse if it ends up not having the job-security you need for the next 15-20 years. I wish you success in whatever decision you and your wife come to and decide to go with.

Oh good point, the ball and chain. Here’s another detail about that position. It’s at the company my wife currently works for. She brought it up to me and has been encouraging me, because she knows how unhappy I am there. So yeah this was actually her idea!

As for my choice of forum to ask such question, I disagree. This forum is a guitar forum, but it’s also chock full of people from all ages, walks of life, and even other countries. I’m getting very valuable advice with this thread so I can’t be thankful enough.

Originally Posted by MrDB

"Ships are safe in the harbor. But that's not what ships are for."

True!

Originally Posted by ahorsewithnonam

Never forget......it’s just a job. Don’t try and make it more than that, because it isn’t.

Find your fulfillment somewhere else. A job is to provide you with money. Private sector can and will treat you like a number, not a person.

It’s no different from where I work right now.

Originally Posted by Earl49

Life is short.... and a 10-15 year sentence doesn't sound very appealing to me. A gilded cage is still a cage. But I am an entrepreneurial type who has been self employed for 29 years now. I would find working a politically constrained government job uncomfortable, no matter how "stable" it is or what the benefits were.



Lots of good points raised here. It's a matter of accepting what you can tolerate and changing what you can about the current situation - or taking a chance.

I am also entrepreneurial at heart, and always been trying to break off the W2 world. Gotta take your chances for that!

Originally Posted by AmericanEagle

Were you happy when you first started your job?

If so, what is causing you to be quite unhappy?

Can you perhaps change departments within the same company?

Are you sure you will be very happy in your new job?

I actually was, I thought I landed THE job. But the wrong people were promoted to high management, and it’s has been downhill since then. I’d say about 5 years ago is when I started to dread waking up in the morning. I’d be dreading Monday morning by Saturday evening. That’s quite sad. There was an opportunity to change departments, and I even had a week long stint in that department, and really liked it. But that was a temporary assignment, that’s not gonna happen consistently enough so can’t really count on that.

Will I be happy in my new job? No way to know that, I can only hope I’ll find what I’m looking for.

[KenL]

If there is a pension at the end of your gov't career, I would recommend that you do whatever you need to do to stay long enough to collect it. My guess is that you are at least halfway there?

I retired at age 55 from a county job and moved to the private sector- and hated it. But I didn't have to stay because I had my pension. So I worked PT jobs, which I enjoyed, until my wife (a teacher) retired. We now have a nice life with 2 pensions, and both work as substitute teachers if and when we want to. We can do this because we stuck it out until we could retire w/pension.

A pension is a very valuable thing, and becoming a rare thing; you don't see them as much anymore. Too bad. We are both lucky, and don't take our situation for granted.

I should mention that I went through some bad times at my gov't job when I really hated it there. But I just laid low and things eventually got better. I was quite happy there when I retired, but it was time to go.

[Mr. Jelly]

As an old man now the pension thing is huge. And I mean monstrous. If a person believes in working hard and that they deserve to benefit from it then you are in the right place. As you describe your job you point out it's easy etc. But the hard part is staying and maintaining the position. That's exactly why the benefits are there. To keep you there with your experience and knowledge. Many people in their sixties are becoming poor as they have no retirement. The self employed almost always end up working until they die as they have no retirement money arranged for. I worked for 32 years and retired with a 401k. What that means is my retirement is all in a lump sum of money they handed me. If I spend it, infest it incorrectly and lose it, the economy goes south or you name it, it's all on me. Then I got a part time government job with a pension with old contract language that said if you are over 55 you're vested. I looked at the amount I would receive if I stayed X amount of years and compared that with other job offers in my field that would've paid me a huge amount of money. Then I looked at how much money it would take to invest to equal the amount I would get from the small pension I would get. The other job offers pay would have to be unrealistic to match it. Let's say your current job will pay you $2,400 when you retire. Now figure out how much money you would have to have, in cash, to invest to pay you $2,400 a month for 25 years. If you take the time and effort to do this you will have a completely different perspective I guarantee it.

[RP]

Originally Posted by Mr. Jelly

As an old man now the pension thing is huge. And I mean monstrous...

I rarely thought about retirement when I was working, but now fully realize the importance of some form of retirement planning while still in the workforce. As Mr. Jelly said above, "the pension thing is huge." This can't be overstated...

[AX17609]

Nothing done for the money is a good idea.