How much of a paycut would you take?

[Deleted]

I have started looking for a new job and realize I will likely be taking a pay cut for whatever new position I take.  How much of a paycut would you be comfortable taking?  I am thinking we could easily handle a 20% reduction in my salary as long as other benefits such as PTO, 401K, health insurance etc are comparable.   Would you ever consider taking a paycut and if so how much?

[Deleted]

The jobs I am looking at are in the same field. I am hopeful that the stress will be less which is the main reason for looking. The positions I am looking at give me experience in the B2C space while to date everything I have done is B2B.

[wanderlustmom]

If you know it will be less stress, less hours and a job you want more, consider it, but in the same field, I'd still want more information about why that means less pay.

[Deleted]

I was honestly very surprised when I started researching average salaries for the role and found that my company is at the high end of the spectrum. We pay well but also work people very hard. There are some places where my salary would be comparable but in many instances I would be looking at a pay cut.

[2boys2danes]

13 years ago I took a paycut from mid 70Ks to high 50Ks but I went from a HCOL to LCOL city. Also, I wanted to move home and they relo'd me and I got a signing bonus and one year bonus. I'm still there and have doubled my salary by now so it all worked out ok

[atarianna]

Jan 29, 2013 22:42:34 GMT -5 @songforyou said:

I'd take a pay cut for several reasons--shorter commute, more flexibility, less responsibility. I'd take a significant hit to get everything I want, easily 30%, probably more for the perfect scenario.

This! I took a 15% cut and have more expensive healthcare benefits at my new position but went from 90% travel to 0%, and a large commute to under 10minutes. Also their 401k match is unheard of, they are family friendly/flexible. and their company vision is much more aligned with my morals. I would do it again in a heartbeat and knowing what I know now, would take even less money.

[aspentosh]

There are so many factors. Commute, stress, hours, flexibility, benefits, etc. Then of course there is can you afford a pay cut?

I wouldn't want to take a pay cut unless it was my perfect position. That being said, I am somewhat underpaid already.

[bostonmichelle]

I took a small paycut when I moved to this job, probably around 5%, maybe 10%. I made up for it for getting paid for overtime and now I am part-owner of the company where I have much more flexibility and a higher quality of life. I also cut my commute down from an hour to 20 mins. I think it depends on the position and the reasons, if its a lateral move I wouldn't take 20-30% of a paycut.

[kershnic]

At this point I'd probably only voluntarily take a pay cut if I was somehow reducing my cost of living comparably (like moving to a lower COL area, or working from home so no commute costs). But it all depends on whether you're getting something you want out of the new job and how much that is worth to you. Make a new budget up for x% less of your salary and make sure you can cover what you need. Maybe it seems worth it to have a new experience and shorter commute (or whatever draw there is to the new job) and have to pay for it by reducing savings, but it will probably feel a lot less worth it when you have to stop going to restaurants or having a smartphone because you can't pay your bills.

[Deleted]

Ditto kirkette. It depends on the totality of the circumstances.

I took a small paycut to take this job (and when adjusted for COL, it's the equivalent of a 1/3 paycut), but I'm SO much happier. I'd honestly rather live in a shoebox doing this job than a mansion doing my former job.

[Deleted]

There's not enough info here.

I would definitely take a paycut to work in house. Not a huge one, but I'd take one.

[chessie]

If its for the same sorta job, same stress I would not take any cut. There has to be something more to offer me, is there better hours, work from home more, flex time.. Only thing that makes my current job tolerable is they are very flexible if I have to leave for something, hence a lower pay.

[CallingAllAngels]

I took a 20% pay cut to move to another school, in a less stressful, more flexible department. I'm in higher ed and don't make much to being with so it didn't impact us much. I have no regrets.

[julygal]

I took a 15% pay cut when I moved from a HCOL to LCOL area. There was no choice in the relocation (DH was attending grad school) and that was the pay in the new location and it covered our lifestyle. Then after being in the new position for a year and being miserable, I took a 10% pay cut to get a less stressful job that was more flexible in regards to family/work balance and had better health care. There are many factors to decide when taking a pay cut. At this time, I am a SAHM and DH is our income. He would not take a pay cut. For him to change positions voluntarily it would have to be feel like a raise-either it would have to actually be a larger number or it would be that we moved to where the same amount of pay felt like an increase due to COL differences.

[vegas]

I took at 20% pay cut for less hours (and no billable hours), shorter commute and better experience in my field. Best decision I ever made. I wouldn't have done it if there was any chance at all that I'd be working as hard or would have as much stress as the old position.

[Deleted]

I have run the budget numbers and we can definitely afford a cut. Right now all our household budget is covered by 50% of our salaries, so there will not be a change to our quality of life if I take a paycut. I know I need to,look at the total overall package in terms of benefits when I get an offer as that will make a difference. At this point I think the only way I would make more is to relocate.

[phunluvin82]

A few years ago I took a paycut to get out of a job that I was really burnt out on. It was a significant cut, however, I was back to making about the same inside of a year...and loved the new job.

At this point, our household budget can really not afford a paycut of any size, so I wouldn't take one voluntarily. It all depends on your specific situation and a variety of factors.

[beachdweller]

I took a 27% pay cut when I went from a private law firm to an in-house position. It was a great move for my quality of life. Although I work about 45 hours per week or so now, I feel like I am "part time" compared to my prior 60+ hour weeks. Totally worth it. Plus, for me, after I factored in taxes, the ability to down scale some of the services I needed help with at home (i.e., kept the cleaning service, but able get rid of some other extra help) we did not feel it all that much. I will say though, I think it is easier to take a significant paycut if you already have a pretty health salary. My cut had me still making well over six figures; cutting from 50k to 30k or something would be hard to stomach.

[h]

It depends on the details. I took a 25% paycut in order to work 25% less at my current job. I would probably be willing to take up to a 50% paycut for a low-stress job with lots of flexibility that I was certain I would love.