Is it worth it to leave a stable low stress job chasing high TC?
I'm an non technical manager at Amazon. I have been on the same team for 3 years, I live in a LCOL area and I like my job (I'm good at it). I see a path for advancement but it will take years to get to the compensation level I really want. I work 8a to 5p with an hour lunch m-f, no on call, no OT, job is very very stable and very low stress. I also get along great with my coworkers. I get 20 days of PTO, 6 personal days, 6 days sick leave, 8 days paid holiday and 12 bonus days for a total of 52 paid days off per year (yes, 52 days, not a typo) I realistically take 40-45 days off. I see tons of posts from people talking about crazy high TC offers. It makes me jealous, If my TC was higher I'd have less money stress. For context I am the sole breadwinner for my household. We pay $2450/mo for 2200sqft 4b3b house, utilities run around $350/mo. My wife also pays 1k/mo to her ex as spousal support and will continue to do so for the next 2 years. Student loan payments are $600/mo, also have the rest of normal living cost (food, car insurance, gas, cell phone, internet, etc) Should I keep my decent (but not amazing) job or should I try and move to something where I can make much more $$? TC 145k. (I will get a promo next April and my TC will go up to 155k) YOE 6 NW 200k (not liquid) We are both 37yo
I see this advice a lot. To be honest nothing matters when you are in your deathbed, even surrounded by 100s of your friends, you still go alone. Try to do whatever makes you happy. Relationship gives more happiness is BS. A lot of people I know are content, happy being workaholics. Nothing wrong in I. There is no absolute truth in life
This is so true. Some people find more joy in working and creating things. It allows you to be judged objectively by your actions and productivity. Over investing in relationships that can end for any reason out of your control, despite your best effort could be seen as a risky pursuit for some people. Anyways, I’m not here to tell anyone how to live their life. I personally would take the TC, so that you can invest it and use that money to buy more time back. People like to present compensation and family time as mutually exclusive. The irony of it all is that the higher you earn, the better your work life balance.
I'd focus on my family and friends. TC means nothing if you don't have mental health or someone to spend it on. I recommend uninstalling blind and exiting the rat race all together. Talk with your wife about her educating and bringing in some income with a hobby/arts/crafts since you are already financially secure.
Wife is mentally disabled and cannot work
No reason not to be creative and productive. There are tons of sites catering to small artspeople. Perhaps even specialized for mentally disabled. Might be a good activity and some people really hit it off in terms of income. Also gives them more significance and recognitions which mentally disabled people usually dont receive from society.
Interviewing around does you no harm. Once you have those numbers, then come back to us…. Bc if you’re market offers are like on 20-30% increase, might not be worth it. But a 200% increase would….get the numbers first.
Interviewing around without the associated grind will produce little results. I don't think it's worth it.
How are you 37 and only have 6 YOE?
career switch?
That can easily happen if you have a PhD for example. I started working at 31.
Like you said it's decent pay. 8-5 is fine especially because it's low stress and you have good time off. But you've got the name brand of Amazon. You don't have to settle. Why not find great WLB and great pay? And think about it. If you want a promo at Amazon your work/scope/team will change anyway, so risk is unavoidable. And IMO if you have to roll the dice anyway, you'll have the best shot at happiness elsewhere. How engaged with your work are you? Are you excited about your product area? Would you rate your team and direct leadership as 9-10/10? These are good reasons to stay given a stable situation, but if you can't easily say that these things are AWESOME then you owe it to yourself to look around. Put some feelers out there but be highly selective.
Calculate how much you need: retirement, kids, a bit of extra security … if you’re going to hit that, and you don’t see great reasons to want more money, why push? If you’re not getting that, best to get the goods while you can.
There are companies that have good/decent WLB with good (not sky high) TC. The job market is crazy hot right now, lots of remote/hybrid work, huge TC increases (I’ve been hiring since beginning 2021 and TC offers are 20-30% higher now compared to beginning of year, and still getting “outbid” by other companies). Shop around, and then decide.
I would see how big TC I could get and make the decision based on more data. Tbh I woulnt settle into an easy job at this age without having high NW.