What was the best employment decision you've made during your working life?

[LookingForAChange21]

Just that really...

I'm at a bit of a crossroads in terms of work/not particularly liking my role or the sector/wondering how far to carry on with my studying.

It just got me wondering what other people may look back on and see as a pivotal moment, either leaving a particular job or taking one, or enrolling on to a certain course etc.

Just curious about all your experiences while I wonder where to go next

Leaving my role as a mental health nurse after 17 years as I despised the management and how the unit was ran
I now work in a gp’s surgery part time for less money (although there is often the opportunity to do extra hours)which is nearer to home and I can walk to work.I am so much happier and I no longer have to work unsociable hours or weekends.I love the team I work with and really enjoy my job as every day is different.

Leaving my employed role to start up my own psychology practice. I love the freedom to work when I like, with whom I choose, in the way we choose.

I was told I couldn’t be promoted as I worked part time ( due to caring for a disabled child). I watched men who weren’t as good as me leapfrog me again and again. It really impacted on my professional confidence. Now my confidence and motivation has never been higher, I earn well and do a good job for my clients.

Giving up a lucrative yet demanding career in a FTSE 250 to work 16 hours a week in an admin role for a small business.

I left a job that was a 40 min drive then struggle to find a parking space or 1hr bus ride. And not enough to do when I got there. I took a job that paid 5 grand less, was a 40 min commute before parking at the door and most of the time spent driving around amazing countryside. Pension,sick pay, flexibility etc way better and I dont regret it for a minute.

Doing my masters (was similar age to you but stuck at home with two young DCs) and needed a further degree to get back to FT work and change career - never looked back. Go for it and enjoy!

Attending a careers fair and being offered a job before I’d even graduated. I met my DH in that job

Since then, my career has been one disaster after another. I recently changed jobs and really thought I’d made the right decision this time, but I’m a few weeks in and not feeling it at all.

I’ve never really known what I wanted to do, plus I despise working which doesn’t help!

To take a job rather than finishing my Masters' degree. I was literally taking it in order to get a job, I already had a 1st class BA from a very good uni, so felt no need to prove myself (MIL, for example, doesn't understand why I didn't want the letters MA after my name, but it didn't mean anything for me). Everyone who left it longer had a much harder time getting a job, but I got into the field I wanted.

Taking voluntary redundancy (with a decent payout) from a company that went bust 2 years later.
Resigning from a travel firm where the MD hated all customers, especially those who booked the cheaper holidays, he openly called them feckin chavs. Vile, vile man. He seemed to overlook the fact that it was them who paid for his overseas villa.
Joining a firm who actually like their customers, what a difference this makes from the very top right through the business.

Two decisions -
Taking a temp job in an industry I knew nothing about, then re-training.
After nearly 20 years in that job, leaving to go consulting. It fits so much better around family life.

I resigned without another job to go to.

Lucky enough to have a DH in employment too (though we couldn’t have lasted long on one salary), so I appreciate many other people can’t take a risk like that.

Deciding to leave the company I’d been at for many years was difficult - like a bad relationship that when it’s bad you’re too stressed to make the move, and then it gets better again for a bit. So I needed to separate the leaving from finding a new job. I figured I’d have a better chance of finding the right new job if I could use my contacts, openly.

So I was recommended for a job by someone I used to work for. And one thing in my favour in getting the job was I only had a month left of my notice (not 3 months).

The new job is so so much better. I should have left me old job about 5 years before I did.

And every now and then my new boss remembers that I resigned my old job without a new one to go to, and then he checks in to make sure I really am happy

I'm really enjoying reading all of these replies - you're all giving me hope! 

@HappyDaysToCome - your describe exactly how I feel when you wrote... 'Deciding to leave the company I’d been at for many years was difficult - like a bad relationship that when it’s bad you’re too stressed to make the move, and then it gets better again for a bit.'

I find that I'll hate it for a few months, get myself of Indeed, lose my confidence and then it picks up a bit so I convince myself it's not as bad as I think. Except I spend more time being dissatisfied there than I do being happy or feeling fulfilled.

*on Indeed

Turning down a senior role that would have paid about £7k a year more but with about 500% more stress, not to mention the massive upheaval of moving my family 200 miles away.

Making that decision nearly killed me, but looking back it makes so much sense I can't believe how much I struggled with it.

I got a place on a course where I did so well they offered for me to become a part time, unpaid instructor with them. So I did that a few weekends a year. Which was a pita but led to a really good job opportunity which I’d never have got otherwise. Sometimes you have to think of the long game.

I then left that job for a more junior/less well paid job with a long commute. But in a sector which can be hard to get into. After a while I then switched organisations with a big promotion/pay rise which I’d never have got if I hadn’t taken the job with the pay cut and got that experience.

Apart from weekend jobs while at school/ college, I've always worked in childcare. It's meant that once my children started school I could work term time and mostly within school hours, so we've saved a fortune on childcare costs.

Unfortunately it also means I'll probably never earn much more than minimum wage.

[quote LookingForAChange21]@Mediumred of course

I'm 34 and have studied to degree level. I fell into a retail job post-uni when I wasn't sure what to do with myself and have been there ever since! As time goes on I feel myself losing more and more confidence, but I know I need to do more for myself, every year I stay in this role is another year I regret.

I've recently started a college course which I've loved! I had wanted to go on to the degree but due to already having one I wouldn't be entitled to the student loans and unfortunately can't afford to do it without.

My other option is to enrol and hope to be accepted on to a Masters course, starting Sept 2022, for which I would be entitled to financial help, but the thought of it terrifies me! [/quote]
Personally I'd do the masters. As the job market is competitive and its just going to get worse. I don't know what sector you're in but in my sector (the cultural sector) its very common for people with masters or even PhDs to be in a role which just asks for a degree, or maybe doesn't even ask for a degree. This is my experience as I have a masters.

I absolutely loved studying for my masters. I had a gap of 3 years betweeny degree and MA. So had enough time to know a bit about work and the world and think that adds value. There's also quite a range of ages tend to do post graduate study so you might feel it's a bit easier to develop a peer group. Which is important for successful study. It's not just about making friends.

I also think although a masters is harder than a degree actually it's not that much harder. And with work experience yiu might have a few more options in terms of subject. So for a similar amount of effort you could be educated to postgraduate level. Which is probably going to do more for your career prospects.

My best decision was definitely doing my masters. But also working my absolute arse off and getting a distinction. (not a brag, I do think it gives you an edge to have good grades)

Good luck op

Singing the promotion song, to the tune of The Red Flag.

"The working class can kiss my ass,

I've got the foreman's job at last!"

Mine was taking a low paid position in a team I really wanted to be part of, and then working my butt off to show how much more they could use me for.
I'm now two pay bands higher within 4 years.
Lucky to have a good manager and be in an organisation that tries really hard to keep hold of good people.

Feb 2021 I had just had enough of my job. I had only been there since the end of 2019, but I always felt anxious about it. I think I would have walked sooner if it hadn't have been for Covid and WFH. I had my notice written for a while and sometimes would even start an email, which I never sent. Then one day, I pressed send. I still don't know if I meant to really or if it was just a cry for help as I really wasn't coping. I gave a little over 4 weeks as it was mid week and it made sense to leave on a Friday.

Due to Covid DH wasn't working and I really didn't have a clue what I was going to do. My ex manager arranged a meeting a couple of hours later and basically said OK bye. She also offered me to leave then and there an not bother with my notice. I kept my notice period just because I really didn't know what I was going to do money wise.

Luckily I did find a new job to go to just in time which is sooo much better, but if I had not handed my notice in I would still be half looking for a job, but not applying properly (just applying to the odd one online with a generic CV). So handing my notice in without really thinking about it was the best decision I made as it meant that I actually tried to change my work life as I was desperately unhappy. I cried most days at my laptop.

I took on unpaid admin work after sending my CV to a lot of local companies speculatively just asking for experience.....only did a month there before they offered me a paid job.

Then a few jobs down the line.... leaving a job that I hated and taking another role even though I had to take quite a significant pay cut. Less pay was totally worth it for less stress and a better work-life balance.

@LookingForAChange21,

Is the masters an extension of your current role or your degree? What is it that frightens you so much, you sound an intelligent and capable person who is already taking on further study alongside a job. Could the college course lead to a job in that field without a degree, even if you had to work your way up from a lower level? Aww, work is such a big part of our identity and it sounds like yours is really sapping your confidence, but you sound like you have loads to offer and you are still plenty young enough to embark on a new path (not that you are ever too old for opportunities to open up!)

A bit boring as I’m only 22 but I left a job at a well known fast food restaurant as I was denied a well-deserved big promotion for ‘being too emotional’ after my dad died. Decided to put my determination and work ethic into training to be a nurse and left shortly after being told that. Now I’ve just qualified, secured a really nice job to get my skills up and having other amazing offers already through friends who are doctors/nurses in other sectors.

All these stories on this thread are very motivating and inspiring, well done everyone.