£70k job offer - help

[bonnefemme]

I applied for a job. It's a hybrid position. It's wfh and 1-2 days/week in the office. There was no salary indication on the ad but similar jobs are advertised for £50k-£60k.

I went through a lengthy recruitment process. They asked me what salary I wanted and I asked for £70k. I thought they would negotiate and we could agree on £60k-£65k. But they agreed to £70k!!!

The working hours are 9 to 6 with an hour lunch. All my other jobs have always been 9 to 5 or 5.30.

What should I take into account to make the right decision?

Are you me? This happened to me recently and I took the job!

My DC are older so it was an easier decision but I’d have made it work with younger DC. It’s a longer day a couple of days a week; days I’d be out of the house with my previous job anyway 🤷🏼‍♀️

I'd ask for 9-6 on the days you are at home. 8-4 for the two days in the office. And for both those points to be included in your contract.

1-2 days a week in the office is very generous. In a lot of places it is 3-4 days a week. Your work hours do not sound too long in the corporate world. You didn't mention at all if you really like the job, the company, if you are excited about your role? If yes, I would take it but negotiate some flexibility or hours with the employer. What do you lose if you ask? Eg start earlier and leave earlier these two days in the office. Finish work from home in the evening. It is only two days. If it is only about 70k and you are not that excited I would pass. But honestly many other jobs would be hybrid and around those hours if not longer ..

What will you do if the hours are more 'whatever is needed to deal with all the shit we throw at you' rather than 'just' 9 to 6 and to leave on time you have to do more later?

Half an hour extra a day would barely register a blip. You can make it work if you want but it does not sound like you care to progress, fair enough. The company may have misplaced confidence in you, maybe that is why you are shocked you got the salary.

Speak to them before turning it down. Some employees need a bit of encouragement to move to the next step up and your manager might be understanding. If not, you have nothing to lose since your priorities are elsewhere at this time.

I think it’s worth considering that if you’re WFH most of the week then you get more time with your kids on those days, as you’ve saved time not commuting. Plus if you’d be getting a nanny then you’d see the kids even more as they’d presumably be at home on your WFH days rather than out at nursery all day.

Yes I’d speak to them first, give the impression you’re considering other more flexible jobs. Most companies don’t need you to be there until 6pm, or can you do the office days 8:30-4:30 or something with less lunch break. Cut off 30 mins lunch on WFH days as well.
Come up with a plan first and then speak to them. Better than just ditching the job. (Remember a small % payrise is quite big on a 70k salary so your earnings will increase at a good rate rather thinking nannies are expensive)

And here's me as a teacher going for a leadership role which will probably double my workload for 3k more a year than I currently earn... 🤦‍♀️

9-6 is fine! Unless the commute is mega long.. could finish 5:30 and just have a half hour for lunch?

Congrats on the job offer op! Are you currently part time? Or a SAHM? Or full time but 9-5? As that will make a difference on the replies you get and the advice.

Just seen the mega commute! But only 2 days?

OP id go for it!

No I wouldn't. No judgement though.

Talk to them. See if you/they can sort it out to make it work. I'd do it personally.

Hello everyone. I will address some of the comments. I am neurodivergent. While I am really good at what I do, I struggle with some things which may seem easy for the rest of you. I am in a specialised area of coding.

I have always worked for home in the past while roles offering a lot of flexibility. I currently am on £56k on a full time position but actually working only about 21 hours.

The job I applied for has a great culture and it is a step up my in career running a department for the first time.

I have thought a lot about it and I'm going to turn down the offer on this occasion. This has however given me the confidence to go for similar positions but I need WFH.

This!

You don't say what your alternative is? Do you currently have a job and if so what hours, salary, commute time? Because surely that if needed to weigh up your options.

I definitely wouldn't work that much when my children were so little. I just couldn't cope with missing so much of their life. I work 3 days a week and am out the house 830-530. We could have more holidays, meals out and better cars if I worked more but I don't think I'll ever do it. I love taking them to school/collecting them and also having a day to do housework, shopping, etc that isn't eating into my weekend with them.

Could you not go full time in your current position? After tax and taking into account commute, work/life balance and childcare costs, the final result wouldn't be much different.

I’m surprised everyone’s calling it a mega commute. I’m in the SE, similar salary, in the office in London 2 days a week. Leave the house 7.30 on the train 7.45, at Waterloo for 8.25ish, at my desk shortly before 9 having got a coffee on the walk up from the tube. Out the door 5.15, on the train for 5.45, back in home town 6.25, home 6.45. I don’t know anyone who commutes in the SE who doesn’t have a pattern like that?

I accept OP’s hours are longer and I wouldn’t be happy to take them (although tbh I do bare bones hours in the office, WFH 3 times a week and then catch up if I need to in the evenings) but I don’t think it’s wildly unusual. Most households on £140kish can’t afford a decent family sized house in equivalently nice bits of London without having to move further out and increasing the commute quite significantly…

@GoodChat I think OP is full time in her current role but gets the job done in 21 hours

Ohhhh that makes sense!

In that case there's no way I'd be moving

I think so.

Unless you really need the money I wouldn't give up the time with your kids for extra money. Plus added stress.

I quit my high paying job in oil & gas industry for 4 years to go PT as a dinner lady and it was fantastic, I'm slowly getting back into my career PT now they are older. But the stress and missed time when young isn't worth it to me unless the money is needed of course. Your current job sounds perfect for life with young kids.

Yes i would.
I work these hours in a role that cannot/will not ever be part time.
I have agreed with work to block 5-7pm for travel /childcare. Meetings only to be booked in this time block in exceptional circs with advance warning so dh can cover. I work when dd is in bed.

My aim is to save now so i can be part time when she is a teenager.

No.me neither! I'd be making the most of the easy life until all three kids were older and then go for the step up

I'd negotiate 30 min lunch so 9-530. And office 2/3 times a month.

Your current job is a gift.
£56k / 52 weeks / 21 hours = £51.28 per hour.
New job £70k / 52 weeks / 45 hours (that's the working hours of 9-6, not even the commuting hours) = £29.91
You'd have to earn £120k to make it worth it.
(£51.28 x 52 x 45 hours = £120k.

I would fully support your decision @bonnefemme . DH is neurodivergent, and had similar offers when our kids were younger (and in a probably similar field to you). I was also working abroad a lot with my job, or working overseas/around the UK chaperoning my DS, so his working hours & commute factored into our childcare needs.

The market is excellent for code hounds like you & DH, he’s just started a job with a stellar package that is 50% more than his last job, with 75% wfh & one week every month 5 hrs a way on site. They offered X salary, DH countered with another (just to see how far they’d go!) and within 20 mins they’d put together his current package!

There’s a lot of purely wfh roles, with occasional on site meetings - DH’s last job was one such job, in 2 years he did 3 on site meetings.

My kids are adults now so no childcare needs of course, but I’ve never seen the market so good with pure wfh roles!

I don’t think anyone not in the field understands how many high functioning ND people are in this industry, but there are a lot of businesses who are fantastic at understanding the situation, and taking advantage of the technical brilliance ND coders bring to the table.

Good luck in your jobs search!