Changing Careers/Industries and the Dreaded Pay Cut - any advice?

a 66% reduction is pretty tough to swallow. That being said, if you think it will make you happier and you can still live, then do it. You worked hard and saved some money for the ability to do what you want - don't be afraid to use it now that the opportunity has arrived.

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Thanks in advance for any input (except from OleWarSkuleAlum, that guy sucks).

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Upvote

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Now I bring home triple what I used to make

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This is the scenario I hope to be in. At the higher levels of this new field, the money and benefits are fantastic. Sometimes going down a few rungs is the only way to go up, if you know what I mean. However, I'm 30 and have delayed a lot of gratification and life things that others have already experienced: getting married, having kids, buying a home, putting down roots, taking vacations etc. I've essentially spent the last 6 years giving everything I have (and some stuff I don't!) to my company, our clients, and the industry at large. This would be delaying all of that potentially another 5-10 years.

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the only problem is it would mean a rough ~2/3 pay cut.

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That's a nope from me. 1/4 cut or a 1/3? Maybe... 2/3? No thanks. More power to you if you're financially setup for that. I couldn't do it. But, if you're single and debt free, now is the best time to make such a huge jump.

I hired in with one of the top 5 O&G companies in 1990. By the mid 1990’s the industry was tanking. It got so bad that my company quit mowing the grass in front of the buildings to send a message to us on cutting costs. I panicked and went to another industry. Two years later, the O&G industry was soaring. Fortunately I didn’t burn any bridges and went back. My pay is 5 times now what it was when I left in the mid 1990’s. If I had stayed with the industry that I jumped ship to, I’d probably been unemployed in the early 2000’s and making only a fraction of what I do now.

This cycle happens about every 10 years or so. Don’t panic. O&G pays much better than just about every industry (with the exception of professional sports stars and those that hold political offices if you include their under the table income)

15 years ago, I left a 90k a year job for half the income. In addition, my wife also lost her job.

It took me 13 years to work back to previous income but I've always lived simply with little or no debt.

I don't regret my decision (most of the time) because the old job was a really crap job. I do enjoy my job now but the company I work for is constantly laying off and this will not last forever.

The grass isn't always greener. If you like your job, you may want to ride this out rather than take a 2/3 pay cut.

Sounds like you will always be in demand.

NO job is worth 2/3 pay cut bc NO job is ever guaranteed.

Work hard where you are, save, and ride the wave. If they let you go you’ll make less anyway elsewhere. No reason to cut your pay yourself

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Has anyone faced a similar decision? Is this too big of a salary decrease to overcome down the road?

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I had a similar conundrum a few years ago. Was working in oil & gas, had an opportunity to switch industries but faced about a 30% pay cut. My job was pretty safe (at the time, not sure about now) but was extremely stressful and required me to spend quite a bit of time offshore. The offshore part is probably the biggest difference between our situations, as this was an added incentive for me to leave.

I did not make up the salary difference at the company I went to work for after leaving O&G. However, that position added some great experience to my resume. I actually wound up leaving that job after a couple of years and now I have made up the salary difference. I would not have been able to get into the role I have now directly from my O&G job. My biggest long-term concern about my O&G job was that it was a niche field, and I didn’t want to get pigeon-holed into it for the rest of my career.

So I guess my advice would be: if you want to leave your O&G job but are worried about the salary implications, try to make sure that the job you’re taking is going to open more doors for you down the road, whether that’s through relationships or resume boosts.

I would not take that paycut. If you are that nervous I would actively start looking for a new job. I would think a legal role could find something equivalent relatively easy but maybe you are in a niche?

ETA would also have concerns about a state university, those places are bloated and most should be cutting costs like crazy going forward.

I’m thinking about switching to the VA as a physician. I’d take about a 40% pay cut for a much easier job and lots of benefits (which probably make it 30% cut)