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Original poster

dh wants to be a paramedic, it would halve our salary... what would you do?

58 replies

thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 14:18

DH has been shortlisted for interview, I personally believe it is 'in the bag'

but it would halve our salary, mean moving house and definatly mean we would be on the breadline.

we have three kids, it's always been his dream job idea and it looks like he might just get it.

what do you think?

is it worth giving up our very cooshie life here (house comes with dh current job, few bills, beautiful home)

oh help!

any paramedics out there can you tell me that £15,000 rising to £19,000 when trained -is it worth it?

OP posts:
goingfor3 · 09/10/2007 14:20

I would want my dp to be happy. If you can manage they he shoud do it. He will probably get the chance to do extra shifts to make more money.

BetsyBoop · 09/10/2007 15:00

Just to say DH is looking at "downshifting" to something he would actually enjoy doing. Yes it means less money, but TBH life is too short to do something you hate just for the cash.

Have you checked your eligibility to Tax Credits? You might not be as badly off as you think.

spookykitty · 09/10/2007 15:12

I would say go for it as well.

A few years ago DP was in retail and hated it, it was making him really miserable, so basically I told him to stop moaning and do something about it, he went back to uni full time and did a Masters, he then couldn't get a job and ended up temping. We were OK when I was working but then I had a baby and we were skint. He eventually got taken on full time at that company and has worked his way up in 3 years and has just started a new job with loads more money so in the end it has all worked out and more importantly he loves his job now.

Might mean being poor for a few years but he will get pay rises and you can always go back to work once the DCs are at school for example (I'm assuming you are a SAHM with young children?)

newgirl · 09/10/2007 15:33

hello im the 'old' newgirl!!

def look into tax credits - you will qualify and they are pretty good

are kids at school? could you work now?

have you talked to him about your concerns? i think you can do that and be supportive - you dont want resentment in the future so best to work out all the sums now - he will have to cutback on luxuries etc too

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:27

have looked into tax credit, yes we would get some and yes I will be able to work once dc are at school. I currently childmind so could carry on if we moved, but we would have no spare cash at all but right now we have lots of cash and no worries for money.

dh doesnt hate his current job but he has a dream....

the other problem is that it is a job that will never pay well, so we are always likely to be bottom end earners (I am nurse trained also) and living in south england where house prices would be out of reach for us, even both working full-time.

we just don't know what it is like to struggle financially.

it feels like such a gamble....

OP posts:
ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 19:34

Thenewgirl - my job is to recruit paramedics (I wonder if your DH is applying for the service I work for??) and I can tell you that I have appointed several people who, like your DH, have taken a dramatic paycut to do the job....and when you speak to them months, years down the line, not one of them has regretted it.

From my years of experience working for an ambulance service, it is a job that most people do for life (the turnover is extremely extremely low) because of the job satisfaction they get out of it (and the fact that they only work 3 or 4 days a week ).

But the top-earning paramedics are earning over £30k (it does take a long time to get to that though) so the earning potential is there.

If your DH wants any tips etc. for his interview let me know.

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:42

oh my god! where do you work? he has applied for seacamb and south central....

shortlisted for south central but only just put in for seacamb

you gave me goosebumps then because that is my biggest fear -it being an opportunity that might not come up for a long long time (as the trusts have merged, big recruitment drive etc)

my head is all over the place with this decision, it's real 'heart and head' stuff

OP posts:
Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:46

ceebee.. also I didn't know that about the earning potential.
Dh is made for the job, there is no doubt in my mind that he would do very well and love it as so many people I have heard about.

but would we adjust to having no money? would that be cancelled out as dh would have job satisfaction and we would hav time together? (he works lots and lots of unsociable hours in current job)

OP posts:
ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 19:47

I work up north so not the same one .

Not to scare you but it is so competitive - we used to get 500+ applications everytime we advertised (this was pre-merger when we were a smaller trust so now it would be multiplied by 3 or 4) and out of that, we probably appointed maximum of 50 (usually less) as the rest were did not meet the criteria at shortlisting, failed something at the assessment stage or were not deemed suitable at interview.

But as I said before, those that do get through absolutely love it - obviously only you and DH can decide what is right for you and your life - but I can pretty much guarantee that your DH would regret it if it has been a dream of his - but it is what is right for both of you, not just him isn't it?

Has your DH passed the assessments?

ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 19:49

x-posts there. I can't answer about the money but if you are a SAHM, then yes you would get loads of time together.

Our staff work 3 or 4 shifts a week so they get at least 3 days off a week and when they are working nights, they are obviously at home during the day aswell. I assume it is a similar pattern throughout the country. Plus he would get 27 days holiday plus 8 bank holidays a year - but he would have to work nights and weekends a lot so swings and roundabouts I guess.

ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 19:50

Sorry - just read my previous post and it should have said that your DH would NOT regret it - whoops!

ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 19:53

I keep posting things as they spring to mind - there is always the potential for overtime aswell (I don't know any ambulance service that does not rely heavily on overtime to ensure it runs properly) so if your DH was willing to work extra shifts, he could quickly boost his earnings.

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:54

he hasn't done any yet but has been told to expect a date in the next few weeks.

I knew it was competitive but I didnt know it was that bad. I have a lot of faith in him, his current job fits the bill so well, he is so clever at tests and is super fit and is one of those people that can relate really well to anybody so will interview well.

(I am obv very biased )

but he is super fab!

all day yesterday we chatted and said we woud be mad to give up what we have now -after having spent the last few months desperate to get out and get on with our lives... now I am very confused!

OP posts:
Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:55

you are very helpful ceebee

OP posts:
NurseyJo · 09/10/2007 19:59

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Message withdrawn

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 19:59

do youu think then that as the two new trusts that have merged (seacamb and south central) that he stands more of a chance now than in the future?

I was second-guessing that as it is such a big recruitment drive (in south central-100 tats and 270 emergency care assistants) that future recruitment would be few and far between, as well as a shedload of care assistants potentially wanting to train up iyswim?

OP posts:
Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 20:01

what area is he appling for nurseryjo?

are they in competition I wonder!

OP posts:
oreGOREnianabroad · 09/10/2007 20:01

I say encourage him to follow his dream, money is less important than job satisfaction, and ime, when you love what you do, everything kind of falls into place.

Put yourself in his shoes: what would you expect from him if you wanted to do the same??

NurseyJo · 09/10/2007 20:01

This reply has been deleted

Message withdrawn

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 20:09

ha! nurseryjo it is the same trust, four counties have merged into one trust so I suppose yes they sort of are in competition!

I am loving all of this encouragement, I didn't expect it to be honest.

if it was me oregore? I don't know... partly I see that me being a sahm I am giving up on my career in the short-term -which is a joint decision, so as much as I wouldnt dream of holding him back from his dreams, it is the timing of having such a young and needy family that is making it such a difficult decision. if we ddn't have the kids then we wouldn't have to think twice.

we have been poor students together and didnt care but now we have 3 kids we are making decisions on their behalf too.

I know it is only us that can decide but I wish we were just forced into it!

OP posts:
ceebeegeebies · 09/10/2007 20:46

Thenewgirl - hard to say about future recruitment as workforce plans change so quickly - for example, in April this year, we were told that just our geographical area of the new Trust would need approx 100 new Trainees appointed and trained before March 2008 so we advertised pronto and even before the closing date, that figure had gone down to 24 - so we now have all these application forms on hold and no jobs

Also, have done a quick calculation of one 12-hour shift of overtime on a £19k salary - it would be approx £130 net - so it would only take a couple of extra shifts per month to increase your DH's salary by quite a bit - worth thinking about during your decision-making.

NurseyJo - best advice I can give (having done hundreds and hundreds of interviews for Trainees) is that the panel is probably not looking for the 'correct' answers to the questions but will be assessing the personality of the candidate. To be a paramedic, you obviously need to have a certain type of personality - i.e. be able to chat to people, not be shy, put people at ease, have a sense of humour - and it is these qualities that the panel will be looking for - my view when deciding on a candidate is 'would I be happy with him treating a member of my family?' - which came in handy when Ds was 8 weeks old and had to be transferred by ambulance to another hospital from our local one for an operation - the crew were 2 staff who I had appointed - and they were both lovely, put me and Dh at ease even though we were obviously worried to death - and I thought then what a good decision it was for both of them (Mynewgirl - if you are reading this bit, one of those had taken a dramatic paycut for the job). TBH, the panel will probably make their minds up within minutes of the candidate walking through the door so your friend needs to make sure that he portrays these qualities quickly. Obviously the old tips of doing research into the organisation, provide examples of when he has demonstrated whatever quality they are asking about and just be enthusiastic about the job but not over-enthusiastic about it (this tends to get labelled as 'ambulance-chaser' behaviour!)

God I have waffled there haven't I? I apologise but I do like my job and love talking about it - I am very proud of working where I do which is a good thing I guess!

Original poster
thenewgirl · 09/10/2007 22:17

that is incredibly helpful and kind of you to offer your advice ceebee, yesterday we were thinking it was a no-brainer; we couldnt afford it, but in our hearts we know that to take that job (if he got it!) then we would be being true to ourselves.

I don't know if that makes any sense because that statement takes into account our curent lifestyle (middle class) and that just aint us.

we ended up in this job with a beautiful cottage in a gorgeous south downs village after being poor students, quite randomly, and have been living a very easy life for the last five years, having kids, being a sahm and not worrying about money. but as my dh says, it feels like a cardboard cutout life where he is unfulfilled in work and feels like he is missing out on his dream that he has had for longer than he has had his family.

BUT...
is it worth sacrifisng his dream for a few more years in order to give his young kids an easy and somewhat prividged life until we can better afford to take such a paycut...?

OP posts:
Piffle · 09/10/2007 22:26

thenewgirl

we are also contemplating my husbands hatred of his job and desire to downgrade and this would mean for us to downsize house and so on big time...
We're nutting it out slowly.
good luck I think we're heading the same way but we'll be being true too...
xx

EllHell · 09/10/2007 22:26

Hiya... I am not going to be able to help with any of the practical stuff, I'm afraid, but I couldn't ignore your post.

My dh also wanted to be a paramedic. To cut a long story short (my dh's working life is a v-e-r-y long story ) he completed a PhD at the age of 37 having already decided he didn't want to be an academic. (I am one... he had seen what it was like!) He was really really keen on becoming a paramedic. More keen than I've ever seen him about anything. He passed all the assessments (some sort of written test about the workings of the heart, an interview, a lifting test, a driving test) and was all set up with a start-date for training and everything. The final hurdle was an occupational health check-up, and they bloody failed him because he'd had a cruciate ligament injury in the past and they said that they couldn't be sure his knee would be strong enough to cope with the lifting on a daily basis. He was totally gutted. He has since got a job earning a lot more than he'd have earned as a paramedic. But I know that he is still utterly gutted that he didn't get to do the job. It's the only thing I've ever seen him really keen to do, and I know that the job he does now interests him, but doesn't really engage him in the way that being a paramedic would do.

So... my inclination would be that if you can find a way to make this work for you as a family, then let your dh go for it. It's an incredibly worthwhile job, and it will make him happy. I wish him luck.

EllHell · 09/10/2007 22:28

PS IME kids are totally oblivious to things like size of house, foreign holidays, and such like.

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