rfenst wrote:I have been in that situation before- a job I hated with an employer I hated even worse. Took me nine years to figure it all out and leave. Took a major pay cut, but loved it. Wife had a similar situation where they were paying her an ungodly sum. The money wasn't worth it. She got a new job about a year ago and although she took a major pay cut, we are much happier. Sanity is more important than money.
^ This
Worked for about 27 yrs in various fields as a R&D, Process Development, Manufacturing engineer. Worked on some really cool stuff... some
really cool stuff. I loved the technical side and many of the people I worked with on a daily basis.
I despised the the corporate BS and all the hoops, hurdles and games that came with the position. I despised the the 2-3 hr round trip commute each day on top of 10 hrs at the plant. I'd get home frazzled only to get up the next day and do it all over again, many times dreading going in.
I've been on a hiatus from the engineering stuff for about 2 yrs and I'm working on changing gears to a different profession. I'm making a fraction of the money I made before but somehow I have more disposable income by cutting out frivolous spending. The car was also a huge money pit: 700 miles of wear and tear on the car/week, $100+/week on gas, oil changes every month and a half, a new set of tires each year. I had two fender benders in commuter traffic (one totaled by the insurance company - costs for body work out weighed the blue book value on a high mileage commuter car). Most of the driving is Boston area commuter traffic so it's only a matter of time when your number comes up for a serious accident.
I did my time, I made my career. I made a conscience decision that it's time to turn the page on that stuff and move on to a job that's "just a job." I've had a few headhunters call me to do short term contract engineering/consulting work. I seriously considered two of them because I enjoy the technical challenge but I'm pretty comfy with where I am right now. Maybe that will change later {shrug}.
As Robert said, "Sanity is more important than money."
Disclaimer: some may question my sanity in general and I'm not sure I have a strong counter argument.