Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. Only the apps you allow.

Meet the Other Phone.
Only the apps you allow.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To wonder if there are jobs that are reasonably paid and not stressful, and if so, what those jobs are?

114 replies

Jinsei · 10/10/2012 21:38

Have had a shitty day at work, and have concluded that I just don't want the hassle of managing other people any more. I know that stress comes with the territory, and that's why managers earn more, but I want out. I don't mind taking a pay cut but I am the main breadwinner in our family and need to pay the mortgage.

Are there any jobs out there where you can earn a living wage without being stressed all the time? And if so, how do I get one??? The other day I was stressing about a potential redundancy situation in a few years time, but now I'm almost wishing it would happen...

OP posts:
PickledFanjoCat · 10/10/2012 21:39

What field are you in??

SoupInaBasket · 10/10/2012 21:39

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn at poster's request.

ScreamingNaanAndGoryOn · 10/10/2012 21:40

If you come up with a solution let me know as I'm in the same position.

Noqontrol · 10/10/2012 21:41

Funny, I was just thinking the same question. And I have no answer.

joanofarchitrave · 10/10/2012 21:43

Depends on what you need for a living wage, and unfortunately that's not something I would reveal on a public forum myself!

I'm on 21K and feel my level of stress is very reasonable :)

Who's your manager? Do they know you are feeling like this? Have they got any ideas?

Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 21:43

Sorry pickled, don't want to say which field in case I out myself. But it looks like I'm not alone...:(

OP posts:
ceeveebee · 10/10/2012 21:44

Well on returning from maternity leave I moved from a department head job with a team of 50 people to a specialist professional job with no team to manage. I had to take a 25% paycut but it was worth it IMO as I only have my own work to worry about- I am still very well paid.
Is there some kind of technical role you could move to? Or perhaps a project management /consulting / training role? Depends on your background and what field you are in.

wonderstuff · 10/10/2012 21:45

I want that job!

Essentially its the laws of supply and demand isn't it - don't expect that many top footballers are that stressed - but talent is in short supply and high demand.

Plumbers get paid quite a bit - when Pimblico Plumbers did that program about their pay structure the plumbers were on about 100K. But I'm thinking you'd have to deal with sewage at some point..

BlastOff · 10/10/2012 21:48

Actually I think that, although you undoubtedly get paid more for more 'stress', responsibility, and/ or risk, on a personnal level it is more about the level that you can cope with as an individual. It's a balance between those things and your quality of life. A job which others may find very stressful may be easy for you, and vice versa.

If you are serious about changing jobs, then taking to a career advisor might help to see where your strengths lie, and how you can best utilise them to have a stress-free as possible life. All jobs have stress, even those which look like they don't from the outside.

Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 21:49

Joan, my manager knows a bit about how I feel, but not how strongly. Trouble is, he feels exactly the same! He's had to manage some really difficult situations in the last few years and he's now decided to take early retirement as he's had enough. I wish I could do the same!

I don't know how much I'd need to earn to call it a living wage. Our mortgage isn't massive and we're not extravagant, but I need to look at our outgoings.

OP posts:
YouMayLogOut · 10/10/2012 21:49

I'd like to know too Confused

Bilbobagginstummy · 10/10/2012 21:50

I'm with ceeveebee - specialist technical/professional job.

BlastOff · 10/10/2012 21:50

Although I think footballers are vastly overpaid, I suspect it is very stressful on match days etc.

PickledFanjoCat · 10/10/2012 21:50

No probs, without knowing exactly what ceevee says...

Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 21:53

Hmm, how does one get to see a careers adviser as an adult?

I don't know if I'm serious about changing jobs or just venting. I know I'd like to do something different but I don't want to let my family down, and they're used to the luxuries that my current salary can afford. I know I'm being horribly ungrateful as there are lots of people out there who just can't find a job. But I am so very, very tired.

OP posts:
Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 21:57

I agree that a specialist job would be ideal, but I've been managing, not practising, for a long time now, and I'm out of date with all the changes that have happened. Not sure how easy it would be to go backwards. Also, those jobs are like gold dust in my sector, as it's not really growing and staff turnover is very low.

OP posts:
ceeveebee · 10/10/2012 22:01

One of my friends is currently seeing a careers coach as she has just returned from maternity leave and wants to explore her options in balancing a successful career with family life. Would that kind of thing be good? No idea how much this kind of advice costs...

ShellyBoobs · 10/10/2012 22:02

I don't like managing people.

I'm told I'm good at it - I get good results through my staff and they are happy enough (as far as they tell me) - but I don't enjoy the people wrangling side of my job at all.

In all honesty, though, does anyone actually enjoy managing people? If you like telling people what to do, you won't be a good people manager. If you don't like telling people what to do, it's a stressful job. Basically, being a good people manager requires compassion and an understanding of what makes people tick. Unfortunately, having compassion and good intrapersonal understanding leaves you open to extra stress.

It's a thankless task; when things are going well, no one notices. When things aren't going well, everyone notices.

ceeveebee · 10/10/2012 22:03

Oh one other thought, are there any secondment or project opportunities within your company that you could transfer to for a while?

Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 22:08

Yes, shelly, I think you're right. If you care enough to do a good job, then you probably care enough to find it all very stressful. And yes, it's utterly thankless sometimes. :(

A career coach would be good, I think. Might help me to reassess. I suppose I would find one on google, but how would I know if they're any good? Is there a professional body of some kind for career coaches, I wonder?

OP posts:
Original poster
Jinsei · 10/10/2012 22:10

Don't think secondment is a possibility. Or if it was, it would probably still involve managing people.

Though they'd be different people.

OP posts:
Mintyy · 10/10/2012 22:10

My dh is a freelance journalist. He is his own boss, is well paid, and stress-free 95% of the time. Lucky him.

herladyship · 10/10/2012 22:13

I work as a healthcare professional in NHS, band 7 payscale (starts at about £30k)

Somedays I think I would turn up & do my job even without pay, other days I feel the stress might kill me & I need to take early retirement!!

Perhaps you've just had one of 'those' days? Hope tomorrow is less shitty anyway :)

RobynRidingHood · 10/10/2012 22:13

Today, I decided I wanted to be a traffic warden Hmm.

Crimpolene trousers, a ghastly blue jumper, being sworn at for a pittance is preferable to being over paid and working with fuckwits.

Nancy66 · 10/10/2012 22:13

librarian's got to be stress free hasn't it....any job where you're only allowed to whisper can't bee too heavy on the nerves