Would you go for this job for 50% extra salary?

[Passportto]

At the moment I work five minutes from home in a job I love with great people. I've only been there a year but all the feedback is that I've transformed the place and they don't know how they managed without me

I have 2 DC currently doing A levels and GCSEs so they're old enough to be left but it's still good to be around when they need me, have breakfast together and be home for dinner etc. DH works long hours, so most home stuff falls to me. I earn £39k

A similar job advertised with a starting salary of £62k, but it's about a 1:15hr commute which would cost around £5kpa. I don't "need" the money although it would feel good to be putting a bit more by for retirement.(we're 50)

Worth the much longer day?

What does your DH think? And your DC? This is a family decision, I feel, as it'll impact all of you.

I wouldn't do it, the commute would be hell. Enjoy the time you have with your kids.
I've done commuting and it's hell in the winter.

I'd apply anyway and make the decision if you are offered the job.

It could be if they really want you they could offer flexible working (eg working one day at home)

I commute an hour and 15 minutes each way on the train currently and would not recommend it at all. It's exhausting

When you take into account tax and commuting costs you will only get £10k more. Not worth it unless you are likely to get promoted quickly.

Can't believe all the people saying don't apply. You should definitely apply and see if you get it. If you don't get it ask for feedback on what areas you need to develop and use that to plan your next move. If you do get it negotiate working from home some of the time, this will depend on the job but if you are as senior as the salary suggests I can't imagine there will be a problem unless there is a culture of presenteeism. Your kids aren't in childcare, one is leaving home soon, you will be facing more and more ageism every year, just when exactly are women allowed to put their careers first if not in their 50s with kids about to leave home?

Your DH works long hours but earns how much? How would your new salary alter the balance of power (frankly, will you be earning more because money talks)? Will he step up and do more home stuff? Can he work from home at all ? Or if he's earning more than your new salary then just outsource everything, you'll need a cleaner or maybe even a housekeeper, a gardener, someone to do laundry (how good are your teenagers at all these life skills, would they do their own laundry/cook an evening me/take charge of keeping a certain area tidy?).

Count I don’t think many people are saying she would be wrong to apply or that she isn’t allowed to put her career first - just that a lot of people (myself included) wouldn’t want a commute that long.

It’s a commute I too am considering, but the lack of work life balance scares me, and personally I would rather put my outside-work life first. That doesn’t have to be compulsory but many people think the same. My father does a 1hr 15 commute, and it means his working days (12hr shifts) are incredibly long, he’s exhausted and can’t wait to leave. If he could do the same thing, 5 mins away, I think he would take it in a heart beat, even if that had a significant cost. BUT - he is in a good position to retirement - he would likely think differently if he wasn’t.

Stay

A friend of mine has recently changed job lured by a big salary. He was as happy as larry in his last job but his circumstances have changed and he thought his priority was the £££. To date he has always been uber successful but it sounds like he is currently failing in his new big role and is very unhappy.

The commute wouldn't necessarily be 'hell' as others have said - depends on the type of commute. I don't mind mine, and it's a wee bit longer. I can fit in walking as part of it which keeps me fit too. Only you know how you'd handle it or if it's worth it. I wouldn't want to be 5 minutes away from my work as I like it to be at a distance when I'm not there, others will feel totally differently. Why not discuss with people who actually know you?

I genuinely don't think people are saying not to apply but that they wouldn't apply. It won't be that much more (if any) money if you factor the cost of 'time' into the equation. Personally, I value my personal time and I always factor a commute into a salary calculation in terms of hours worked even though no-one is paid for a commute. Some people, on the other hand, may like an hour or two out of the house to relax/unwind.
I value the time I have at home to do my own thing far more than work, so much so that I took a massive pay cut to work close to home. It has improved my life immeasurably but then I HATE commuting, I find everything about it depressing.

Exactly that for me stabilo, my personal time is precious and I like the time I spend at home.

I did the job that takes over your life thing for sixteen years and now have a nice enough life working very close to home.

Money isn't the be all and end all for me, I have got enough. I have got 27% going into my pension each year and that, compared with the rest of the way my life is balancing out is fine enough.

I wouldn't. I'm in a different stage of life to you (baby ds and just returned to work) but I left a far better paid career for a lesser paid one but better hours and only ten mins from home. Would never go back to commuting, not even for 30 grand!

Have you done a pension calculator? Most people in this country have massively underestimated how much they will need for retirement, if so then this is a rare and excellent example of being able to greatly improve your position in your 50s.

This is excellent advice. You could do a 5 year stint, chuck a lot more in your pension via sal sac to keep tax and NI down (don’t forget you will also get employer contributions as % of a HIGHER salary).

Unless you already have a good pension sorted.

I wouldn't apply if it were me. In a couple of years your dc will have left home and you'll have more experience in your current job - that would be a better time to move.

Thanks for all your thoughts. It is essentially the same job, managing the same number of people and the same sized budget as I do now. The main reason for the difference in pay is because it in Central London. The same salaries just aren't available locally. So, the commute's by train.

If the extra is paid into a pension I won't pay any tax on it.

That explains the salary, then.

1hr15 isn't a long London commute. Is that door to door, though? 1hr15 all the way fine. Walk or drive to station, 1hr15 on the train, tube journey and walk when you arrive is a whole different matter, especially on a cold, wet winter's day with signal failures screwing up the Tube and cancelled trains.

Go for it! 1 hour 15 by train is fine.

“In a couple of years your dc will have left home and you'll have more experience in your current job - that would be a better time to move.”

I have never heard this said to a man.

I do a 1.5 hour commute by train (a couple of connections) once a week. I absolutely hate it and it kills me. That being said it's not my dream job and I also have 2 very young children. I am not in career growing work mode so I think it makes a difference.

With 2 older children and a job I loved I would consider it. However as others have said I'd work out the salary minus the commute cost and the cost of a cleaner. Then I'd decide if it was financially worth it. You could definitely ask for a pay rise in your current job. By the sound of it you're valued. Doesn't guarantee anything of course.

I would. That’s not too long to commute and you can just do it for a year or so. It might lead to even better prospects and there may well be flexible working etc. It doesn’t have to be forever.