Interesting Topic: Changing Paths

Which is 'the good life,' long hours and stress or short hours and party? That's the question.

I was in the same boat as you three years ago and made the jump you proposed. Scary how the two situations you posed lined up with mine to every detail except the partying. I got to know my kids better and am overall healthier and happier.

Now I'm thinking about looking for something in the middle salary and stress-wise with a shorter commute to offset the hours.

1) Don't burn any bridges.

2) If you make the jump, look for work in a field in which you find intrinsic meaning and agrees with your values.

Do it, do it, do it. And tell me how it works out.

bump

If you don't try it now, I can assure you you will not try it later, when you saddle yourself with a mortgage, you have a family to support, and you start thinking you're too old to switch back if it wasn't what you hoped it would be.

This is the perfect time to try

working nearly full time to have no money to run and party is the good life?

how do you know that you will enjoy a low stress job and low pay - just because it is low pay doesn't mean low stress. often there is more stress because you have less control but more or asinine requests from some knucklehead manager.

here's the big kicker - there will always be "stress of performance", how you deal with the stress is how you will be able to succeed in life.

it sounds like you are getting a dose of the reality of real life and you are longing for the care-free days of college. sure, give it a try for a while, but it's a bit like walking in a race, you get relief initially but after a while you may start to feel bad when everyone is passing you by and leaving you behind. some people don't seem to have a problem with this , if that is you then that is your decision.

basically, you have trained for a marathon, it is race day and the pace is faster than what you are comfortable with running, maybe your breathing is labored. you start to think back about the runs that were at an easy pace, where you chatted with your buds. you slow down, maybe even to a walk, and people begin passing you - then the people that you were running with begin to fade out of sight ... eventually, you work your way back to a pace where it is easy.

Maybe your situation is a little different than mine after all. I had worked five years before grad school and then three years after grad school before I left the circus. If you are just out of undergrad then I encourage you to tough it out for at least one to two years, three years if possible, and see if your perspective changes. Meanwhile, get completely out of debt, save as much cash as you can, build a resume and positive professional reputation that you can leverage for a new job. By then you'll be in a better position to make a decision.

You don't need a lot of money to run or get by, if you're willing to live responsibly. I willingly switched jobs that cut my salary by almost $50k, but I'm running more now and saving almost as much because I don't feel I have to keep up with the Joneses.

the good life? wrote:

basically, you have trained for a marathon, it is race day and the pace is faster than what you are comfortable with running, maybe your breathing is labored. you start to think back about the runs that were at an easy pace, where you chatted with your buds. you slow down, maybe even to a walk, and people begin passing you - then the people that you were running with begin to fade out of sight ... eventually, you work your way back to a pace where it is easy.

Your analogy depends on the assumption that life is a race. It doesn't have to be.

I've always been attracted to the idea of moving to a retreat or some kind of charity where you work for them and don't have to worry about rent, bills or food. The only problem is I don't think this would mix well with running!

I think it would help if you don't like expensive things, and you like filling your spare time with things that are free. Could get a bit frustrating if cash starts to limit you though

Also would help if you don't have any family or dependents to support

Maybe try it for 6 months?