Post by noodleskooze on Apr 25, 2015 9:56:03 GMT -5
Just musing since I have 4 more days until my interview!
How much money would make up for multiplying your commute by a lot? For either of these jobs, I'd be going from a 10 minute commute to an hour (at least) commute, depending on the time of day. I'm guessing the salary increase would be somewhere in the 25% range.
I might not have a choice, but the commute is scaring me. We can't afford the areas closer to the potential new jobs.
If I had other options available it would take a ton of money. I used to have a commute that long and it was fine in the morning but at 5pm it just all around sucked and my night was all over by the time I got home and I didn't even have kids.
If you don't have a choice, I'd take it, put up with it and then keep exploring. It wasn't the end of the world by any means, just not the best.
A 25% increase is nothing IMO. I wouldn't take the new job for like $40K to $50K. Maybe if I were impoverished and $20K to $25K would make that much of a difference.
I would only increase my commute by that much due to some combination of a better job, shorter hours (to balance the commute), and/or growth potential.
Any WFH possibility? Even 1-2 days a week would make a huge difference.
I think it will be a possibility. It's all database/computer-based work. Not much, if any, face-to-face work.
To others: I am not sure if I have other options. I've been looking and interviewing since January but haven't gotten any offers (well, one, but it was too much of a salary decrease). My other option is getting my teaching certificate, which will cost us about $5000 but will bring a small salary increase from where I am now. Even then, though, I'm not guaranteed a job.
A 25% increase is nothing IMO. I wouldn't take the new job for like $40K to $50K. Maybe if I were impoverished and $20K to $25K would make that much of a difference.
I would only increase my commute by that much due to some combination of a better job, shorter hours (to balance the commute), and/or growth potential.
Regarding "better job" and "growth potential": if I take one of these jobs, it would be a career change. Something I've been wanting to try. The job I am hoping to get is one that I would LOVE to be doing. I am okay if I end up staying in education, but I'm afraid I'll always wonder, "What if?". Part of me thinks I should take the job if offered, and if I end up hating the commute, I could always go back to teaching for the 2016-17 school year.
Post by chickens987 on Apr 25, 2015 10:10:16 GMT -5
It depends on flexibility too. H commutes about an hour each way - it was a significant raise for us at the time (about 27%), bringing him over $100K. But he arrives around 8:30 and leaves promptly at 4, with lots of flexibility to WFH, take time for appointments, etc. If he left any later than 4, a hour would become 1.5-2, so he's committed to getting out the door.
We also live in a place where nasty commutes are pretty standard.
An hour each way is manageable. Not pleasant, but manageable. I'd do it for a 25% raise, although my normal commute now is 45 each way, so perhaps that plays a role.
1.5 hours... I would only do if it was super awesome $$$$, I was desperate, or there was reasonable WFH opportunity so I could get commute time to <10 hours a week.
Post by curbsideprophet on Apr 25, 2015 10:25:44 GMT -5
It would need to be a great offer for me to consider an hour commute at this time. DH had an hour commute for a bit and it basically meant all daycare emergencies were on me since he was so far away. Would this be an issue for your spouse?
I would need to like double my salary to lose that much time with my kids. I mean if I couldn't find anything else, obviously I would have to take it and do what I gotta do. But I would trade a lot of money for a shorter commute than I have now (45 minutes).
For a job you love that lets you make a career change, I would do it temporarily even if the monetary increase was only enough to cover gas. But I'd start looking for something closer in 18 months or I'd move closer, even if it meant downgrading the house/apartment I was used to. We did that recently to bring my commute from an hour to 10 minutes.
Could you modify your hours to avoid rush hour, like 7 or 7:30-3:30?
Post by bananapancakes on Apr 25, 2015 10:35:56 GMT -5
I've done that kind of commute before and I hated it. It would have to be a pretty hefty increase and a job I absolutely loved to make me agree to doing it again. That being said, my commute wasn't through traffic and I enjoyed listening to audiobooks so it was bearable. I did it until I was 39 weeks pregnant though and it was rough toward the end.
Let me just say commutes suck, especially when you're not used to them. In my area (NoVA) it's a way of life for most people so you can't get by it but it seems you sort of can.
I used to get up at 5am so I could cut my commute to 35-40min (start work at 6am, left at 2pm) and it was manageable but I was exhausted all the time. If I'd left at 7am it would have easily taken me 1.5hrs each way. So there is something to be said for flexibility of start time. And WFH would be huge.
I'd need at least a 30-40% increase I think, but obviously that number is dependent on what you're currently earning.
Post by InBetweenDays on Apr 25, 2015 10:42:13 GMT -5
I did this about a year ago - went from a 15 minute commute to 60 minute. I went to a much more stable job (I had been in consulting and most were hourly, plus had to be on-call every third weekend and many nights) with MUCH better benefits. Not a lot of room for growth, but definitely made me more known in my field and opened up opportunities if I were to leave.
I negotiated an 80% contract, with 2ish days per week at home. It's also very flexible in start/stop times so I pretty much make my own schedule. Honestly the commute doesn't bother me as much as I thought it would and it is sort of some "me time". I listen to books on tape, catch up on news, etc.
But honestly if it were a strict 9-5 position with no work from home opportunities I don't think I would have done it. Our kids are school aged which in some ways makes it easier (easier to ask friends to help with pick up/carpooling) but also way more difficult because of so many sports and after school activities.
In your situation, I'd do it. You just need to break into the corporate world and get it on your resume.
Is either job downtown? You could take TW express or metro bus or look into those van pools through metro. Will either job pay for parking? If so, they may be willing to pay your bus fare instead. DT parking is insane.
Try the trip planner. I'm not sure which P&R you'll use or what time you'd have to be at work but there is a a bus that leaves Kuykendahl P&R at 7:58 and arrives downtown at 8:30 or so.
DH does this commute every day. It's not fun but it's manageable. In Houston there is just no choice. Not enough roads to keep up with the growth. I mean, it takes me 25 minutes just to get to DD's preschool 5 miles away. He does work from home one day a week which helps.
Post by noodleskooze on Apr 25, 2015 12:16:07 GMT -5
redheadk based on the trip planner, If I could arrange working from 7:30-4, my commute would be ~35 mins in the morning and ~45 mins in the afternoon (plus the 15 minutes it takes to get from my house to the P&R.
I guess ultimately, depending on salary, I feel like I owe it to myself to take this chance if it's offered to me. If I'm miserable, I can suck it up for a year and then go back to teaching with more planning ahead. The job would even be applicable to the subject I would want to teach, so it's not like it'd even be considered a gap in experience.
We moved further out from the city, giving DH an hour commute. He has a work vehicle and gas is covered so that is not in the equation for us. He received no extra $ since he kept the same job, but we got a lower mortgage and a yard, and a community we are happy to raise our kids in. For us it was a no brainer.
When I was working in DC my commute was about an hour which seemed about average. I don't think it is horrible, but I guess it is relative to what you are used to.
Post by noodleskooze on Apr 25, 2015 13:16:54 GMT -5
Thanks, neeps. It's good to hear experiences from the P&R. I've never done public transit in Houston. I'm coming from the northwest side of town...it's basically a straight shot down I45, but the traffic is atrocious.
One hour each way? I just wouldn't. Nope. One hour total? Maaayyyyybe.
I feel like 90% of the people who live in my city have a 1 hour commute. I mean, when I took the go into downtown it was 45mins on the train but 15min walk once I was in town and I had to leave house 20mins early to park and get the train My h leavs the house at 6.30 to start work at 8.30 because if he leaves later he will be late for work with the traffic.
Op, if you have no choice I don't think an hour is killer. I used to have a 1.5 hr each way commute in Los Angeles. That was a bit too long tbh but one hour is doable
My H went from a 45-50 minute minimum commute (often 1.5 - 2 hours because he'd go directly to a job site) to a 10-15 minute commute. He lost his company car, because he was no longer driving enough miles, but he said it was more than worth it to cut the commute down that much. I think it had really started to wear on him. (He'd been at that job for about 15 months, and for 5 years previous was commuting about 25 minutes to his office or 1 - 2 hours to job sites.)
I'd want to have the option to WFH sometimes eventually, or flex my schedule a bit to avoid traffic.
Post by gibbinator on Apr 25, 2015 14:36:12 GMT -5
I went from 5mins to 50 mins one way a few years ago. The difference was from a $250/wk minimum wage job to a slightly better $400/wk. I spent $40/wk on gas. So the difference was only about $400/month. But man did we enjoy that extra money! We basically went from a bare bones budget to spending money willy nilly. I think that's the difference. Will the extra money improve your lifestyle?
I've done all kinds of commutes. 1.5 at the longest down to a 20 minute WALKING commute. I presently have about a 25 min drive.
I would need a LOT of $$ to drive an hour each way every day. If I could WFH at least 2 days, maybe. But if Icouldnl't do that- I would seirously consider not doing it. Especially with kids. My time is just too important to me.
I would only do it if DH was assisting with childcare pick-up/drop off and we were able to skew my hours to avoid a lot of traffic. I.e. you go in at 6:00 or 6:30, DH takes kiddo around 8:00, etc. Plus I'd want to work from home a few days. On the days you work you'll be gone from home a minimum of 10 hours a day. That's with no lunch and no work out. Yeah, I don't think I could do it.
Post by pinkdutchtulips on Apr 25, 2015 16:11:07 GMT -5
where i live in Nor Cal, hr commutes are standard. so an hr commute doesn't faze me in the least. at my worst i had a 2hr ONE way commute on a good day. the upside was that i completed my CLE units in the car commuting
i went from a 45 min commute to a 60 min commute for a 15k jump in pay. that jump in pay basically paid for dd's daycare.
people would always ask if i ever entertained the idea of moving closer to work ... the answer NO ! either it would cost a small fortune (that i couldn't afford) to live w/in 20-30 mins of my office if you go one way, or its one of the crappiest school districts in the state going the other way.