Another Career Questions: Step Back to Move Forward

[Pamalicious]

Hey Peeps since we on careers:

I recently (maybe five months ago) got a huge raise and a small promotion that moved me out of the Secretarial field. I was most appreciative and felt that my education helped in this area.

However, this is not the field I have been studying for: I want to go into Human Resources/Recruiting and/or Training.

I will be done with my Masters in Organizational Management with a concentration in Human Resources this summer.

I have ENORMOUS fears that I can't identify but that have stifled me.

I have been at this job for 10 years and it's been good to me but Direct Marketing is just not what I want to do and it holds no interest for me.

I had an opportunity to do a bit of work in an HR capacity and was overjoyed.

NOW - I don't even go to my jobs career board cause I just don't. Well the other day I did for some reason and there it was a position in HR right up my alley. I had this burst of confidence that I could do it so I applied.

I got a call back but now there is a hitch. Basically I would lose my raise and go back to making what I made before give or take a few hundred (there might could be a push for a little over what I made before but times are hard and budgets are thin.) In speaking with the Recruiter who I have known for 9 years she's like this would be the perfect opportunity to get my feet wet and make the transition into the field I want to be in and learn the ins and out.

I like my company, I have tenure and 35 vacation days and it fits my lifestyle and schedule. YET I feel in a quandry about the money thing.

I want to not block a blessing and I want to stop being scared and step out on faith. This would be new people, new programs, new responsibilities, new quad new everything for me.

What do you professionals think? I haven't had the money long enough to overspend and now be stressed about it - but I don't know what's coming around the corner, husband has started school, I got a teenager, I am in court for baby momma drama, I get angry when I have to cut back, lol

I do know that at some point - you gotta stop chasing the money especially if ultimately you are still unhappy. Since I gotta work, I've put the work in for an education, I think I should be happy at the job.

[mystkev]

I understand your dilemma. I think that sometimes you have to take a pay cut to get into your field if in the long run it will lead to you making more money. It is even better if you can do this in your current company. But, I would still look around and make sure they are paying you market rate for that position. Is it even possible to try and negotiate the salary?

[sistuhchey]

since HR is your field of study...

depends on what you deem professional if it's just a degreed individual. maybe I shouldn't chime in...

But if it's a person that has worked more years, than anyone on this board...I'll spew my view point...:p I consider myself...very much a professional..degreed or not..having worked in a pleuther of industries...but always in finance...

If you're feeling passionate about the posted position go for it!! if you can continue your lifestyle..with out the short lived pay increase go for it!!..if there's possible room for growth..and a pay increase in the future go for it!!..after 10 years of working for the same company...you pretty much know the ins and outs, the do's and don'ts......of that company..you know how they operate

sometimes we do have to step back...to move forward...

4 years ago...i took a pay cut.."major"..but ended up networking w/ a company that has made me permanent 3 years ago.. I ended up getting 2 pay grade increases..and still have 2 grades to go before I top out..which is sweet, I'll get my 3rd increase in 2009 (hopefully).. and still make a sweet salary...I have comfort, a decent supv/manager/ good benefits/ and freedom..the later is very important to me...for I'm too old to play politics..my own office, my own space..and no one over my shoulder....I may actually be able to hang until I retire...with God's help!!

so yes...going back can be ok..as long as you see a future!!

Good Luck in your decision!!

[Pamalicious]

When it pays to take a pay cut
There are times when a smaller paycheck can pay off in spades.
November 29, 2005: 1:24 PM EST
By Jeanne Sahadi, CNNMoney.com senior writer

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) – "Just about never" seems like a good answer to the question, "When does it pay to take pay cut?"

But it's not. In fact, it's the kind of answer that could stymie you not only in your career but in other parts of your life as well.

Twice I've opted for jobs that paid less than I could have earned elsewhere, and they proved to be among the best moves I've made.

If you're just looking at raw numbers, there are at least two occasions when it might make sense to accept less pay for a new job:


It's in an area where the cost of living is lower and your money will go farther; or

It offers more than your current job in tangible benefits like health insurance, 401(k) matches, and paid time off.
But there are a host of other situations when making the move may be the smartest thing you ever do.

You're young and inexperienced. A lot of Gen Xers can be unrealistic when it comes to making more money, said Neil Lebovits, president and COO of Ajilon Professional Staffing.

The biggest problem: shortsightedness.

Lebovits has seen job seekers who won't consider any position that pays even a little less than what they're earning.

"To strive for more money is a good thing," Lebovits said. But, he noted, "it often makes sense to jump at a well-researched opportunity that pays less than your current job when it can provide more room for growth, extra training, learning opportunities, and other non-tangible benefits that can enhance your career over the long-run."

You're not so young and feel stuck. Lebovits' advice also could apply to those who are well past the rookie stage and feeling stagnant.

To take a pay cut mid-career is hard, but it may be a great move if a new job energizes you, has earnings potential and offers you plenty of mentors and contacts who can advance your career when you're ready to move on.

And you should plan to move on within 18 to 24 months, suggested career coach Dory Hollander, a workplace psychologist and author of "The Doom-Loop System."

Shifting to a lower-paying job in a new field should be considered a tour-of-duty, she said. "It's like a paid internship."

Your list of unfulfilled desires is long. Except for a possible pit-stop in grad school, most of your post-college life has been governed by meetings, deals, power plays, working weekends and a host of demands from unreasonable bosses.

It's not been all bad, but it's left plenty of desires and professional ambitions unfulfilled: trying your hand at your own business, spending more time with your kids, doing something that directly benefits others, you name it.

So you start looking into working at a start-up, taking a job with fewer hours or going into teaching.

If one goal is to die without regret, "Ask yourself, 'Will this go into my pile of regrets if I don't do it?'" Hollander said.

You need a break: A steady climb in pay is no defense against misery, mangled mergers, burnout or unethical practices by which you can't abide.

One of Hollander's clients left a 24/7 job he hated for one that paid half as much. "He told me, 'It's worth it for me to earn 50 percent less to be happy,'" she said.

If the need to get out is urgent, you might consider a short-term stint at a lower paying job. But ideally, she said, you don't want to get to the point where you're willing to jump ship at any cost. (See more about signs you've stayed too long.)

Before making a move
Switching to a lower paying job is never easy. So you need to figure out just how much of a pay cut you can afford.

Consider what it's worth to you to give up the extra pay in your current job for the benefits of a new one. Maybe it's a friendlier environment, saner hours, or greater potential for promotion.

You also need to negotiate the move with your family, Hollander said. "If you have a green light from your spouse and kids, life is going to be much easier."

And getting them to give you the go-ahead may not be as hard as you think.

"If you're depressed or burnt out, your family is probably suffering the brunt of that as much as you are," Hollander said. "They may prefer a pay cut to you're being so down."

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[ERinger]

I say go for it. You get your foot in the door in HR and that next latteral move might be for more money that your current position. Unfortunately, as I have found, sometimes you have to take lesser money when trying to get your foot in the door of a career field you've trained for, if you have little to no experience in that area, despite your educational achievement. It might be less money, but at the end of the day, if you're loving it, it's worth it. Nothing worse than making more money in a job you hate. Days will be long and the lure of the money will wear off. I know, I work with people who feel that way everyday.