AIBU to want to escape the rat race?

[SunFlower222]

I heave the house at 7am to drop the kids at breakfast club, sit in traffic getting stressed trying to get to my job for 8.30am.
I then sit at a desk battering a keyboard making a fortune for a large company, we're under staffed, over worked, it's stressful.
I leave that desk at 6pm and get home at 7pm, see my kids for an hour before they go to bed.
At the end of the month I get paid an ok salary, there's ppl doing a lot worse in the world but considering the millions I/my team make the company, we're very under paid.

All my experience is in the same line of work and leaving to go to another company wouldn't make things better, it's long hours, commuting to a city centre, being over worked and under paid.

Recently I've just been feeling like there's got to be more to life than this.
I never get to drop my kids off at school or pick them up.
I'm out of the house from 7am-7pm, I get to see my kids for an hour a day.
I could ask to reduce my hours but then I'm pretty much waiving goodbye to any opportunity to work my way up or even just move on to a better department in the company.

I've been considering starting childminding but I'm worried about whether anybody would chose me, what if I don't make enough money etc.

I've also been trying to think of business ideas. I don't have any savings to get me started though.

I'd love to hear stories from ppl who have successfully managed to escape the rat race and any ideas for businesses of jobs I could look in to.

Also if anybody tried and failed then feel free to tell me it's not all its cracked up to be please feel free to tell me not to bother, i'd like to be fully informed.

[Mishappening]

I dropped out when I had 3 children to maintain. I was sick of the bureaucracy surrounding my profession (which was meant to be a caring one, not a financial gatekeeping one) and looked at what I was good at/interested in. Whilst planning my escape I retrained part time in photography and left to work in that field - picture editing, freelancing, taking stills for film shoots etc.etc. My other skill lay in music so I ran singing workshops for people who are disadvantaged; I also secured a 2 year part time post running an arts outreach project for young people.

Yes, my income plummeted, but you will be surprised how you can manage on less than you thought - and your tax goes down!

It is about priorities. I can tell that you are still in the rat race mindset because you are talking about not going part time because it would reduce your chances of promotion - do you really want promotion in this company that is sucking the life blood out of you? - or do you want to spend time with your family and show your children what real values are?

My children have told me that they learned a valuable lesson when I jumped off the wheel - that money is not everything.

My OH also did a similar thing from his very well respected and lucrative profession - in his case it was because of illness. So we all managed on a much smaller income than our qualifications and professions would suggest. But we lived the life we wanted. We are both now retired and my OH is fading away from PD, but we can look back on a life that we did not waste entirely doing things we did not want to do.

The Thatcherite principle that if it does not have monetary value, then it has no value has been deeply absorbed into the national psyche - ditch that and the world is at your feet!

[DarkN1ghts]

Surprised you are tired at age 34 you could be working to a state pension of 68 or more. You have children and a house and bills to pay. I would look at it another way and be thankful that you have a permanent job. I would concentrate at looking at what you do outside work and enjoy your time off. I think you need to look at a long term view and how you can save for your non working life.

[wobblywonderwoman]

I am feeling the same really. I have considered childminding but it isn't easy either.
Could you go down to a four day week? You might not miss the money - one day off might make a huge difference to you

[SunFlower222]

DarkNights - exactly, I could be working until 68, another 34 years in a career I don't enjoy.

My comments about if I reduce my hours I'd be waiving goodbye to any prospect of any promotion aren't so much about money, just if I was to get a more senior position I think i'd enjoy the job more. There's other departments which I think I'd be happier in, other roles I would enjoy more but when another position comes up they're going to want somebody who works full time hours. It would be better for me to get one of those positions first and then reduce my hours.

[pandarific]

The commute is a killer - can you search for jobs which a) pay around what you earn now and b) which are within a walkable distance/15 min drive from where you live? You never know, something may pop up.

[pandarific]

if I was to get a more senior position I think i'd enjoy the job more...It would be better for me to get one of those positions first and then reduce my hours

Ah - in that case, I think you're right. How often do these jobs come up? What's your manager like? How do you think they'd react if you asked for a meeting and then in that mentioned you wanted to progress and if they could look into a growth plan/stretch objectives for you?

[SunFlower222]

yes work know that I want to progress, I did recently apply for a more senior role, I wasn't successful as somebody who has been there much longer than I have got it but I got lots of positive feedback after my interview.
Management also seem to have much more flexible hours e.g. "I'm going to go home early and do some work from home later"