I have been at my current company for 7 years now, started right out of college. I am doing very well there and generally enjoy what I am doing. The people I work with are great, the office atmosphere is casual and they are very supportive of work/life balance. I currently work about 45 hours a week.
The issue comes in that I have the opportunity to join another firm in an associate type position, so most of an entry level role on a value team that I have known for a bit of time. When I first started my career, I always wanted to move to the buy side and eventually move into an analyst/pm position, but then things took a turn for the worse in the markets and making the move was not available. This new position would most likely be about a 30% pay cut, although that percent may be less with a bonus. Hours would no doubt increase by probably about 10 -15 hours per week.
I have an 18 month at home, so work life balance is really the most important thing right now, but I am struggling with whether I should pursue something that I really want to get into. The longer I wait to make the switch, the harder it will be to eventually do it.
What would everyone else do in my position? Do you make less and work longer to do something you really want where the potential down the line is much greater, or do you stay in the comfortable job knowing the opportunity is out there for doing what you really want to do?
I think you don’t really provide enough information for us to weigh in – a key factor here is trajectory of future advancement, but you don’t really provide any details.
I’ll tell you that if I was in a place where I was going to have to take a 30% pay cut to work 25-30% more, I probably wouldn’t even consider it – especially if I had a young child at home.
Especially since you don’t totally hate your current job. What is the incremental extra pleasure you will get by joining the new value team vs pain from loss of pay, longer hours and guilt of spending less time with the baby?
Also, new is always exciting, but after a couple of months your “new job” will turn into “a job” and at least some excitement will wear off.
I would try to get a better understanding of the career progression in the job you are considering. What is the typical promotion schedule, and what is the corresponding expected increase in compensation? If you are going to make more money in 5 years, then maybe it is worth a short term pay cut.
Also, make sure you are ok with the increase in work hours, and try to understand how that will change over time. That is, do more senior people work the same hours as associates, or does that taper off?
I would avoid pursuing jobs for the sole reason that “it is what I want to do”. Any job becomes boring after a while if there is no progression in responsibilities or compensation.