Has anyone stepped down from a senior job to something else interesting?

[unlikelychump]

I'm a chief exec in a small public sector organization, have really enjoyed the job but am about ready to move on now.

My kids are 8-12 the youngest is autistic and has quite a lot of support needs.

I'm thinking about widening my job search to something easier / more flexible / home based and am wondering whether I will be quickly bored.

I'm in the post holiday relaxed mode and I might have lost perspective, but I know that life has been very stressful the last few years.

My circumstances were broadly similar. I took a huge pay cut and now work in a business admin role in a secondary school/academy chain. It is so much fun working with young people and every day is different. I'm lucky in that it's quite forward-thinking and the principal and senior team are very supportive and good managers. They recognise people's backgrounds and skills so I've been able to adapt and grow my roles and tasks.

I would stress, it's really crucial you carefully consider the being happier/pay cut balance. My friend thought she could manage with less money but in the end it made her more miserable than staying in her previous stressful role. Drop in status also affected her (whereas I couldn't give a flying fuck).

I know someone with a big local government job who retrained as an occupational therapist