TL;DR: Do I apply for a full time job that offers 50% better pay than my job that I love, or apply suggesting a job share they haven't specified?
I have been in my current, 2 day a week job for nearly 3 years. I love it, I love the people and I saw myself settling in with the organisation for the long term (like 5-10 years) and it has made me feel confident about what I am good at, what I can offer and understand the type of work I want to, and can do. I am genuinely proud of the work I have done there and excited each week for the work I am going to do now and in the future.
The problem is... the pay is terrible, the hours are weird and difficult to arrange childcare around, and the Ts and Cs are crap too around pension and holiday entitlement. I knew this was a problem when I took the job, decided to do it anyway despite reservations, and it has remained a niggle that has never really completely resolved.
I had also been working 1-2 days a week freelance for a single client that paid well when I started 3 years ago, which kind of buffered the terrible pay at my 2 day a week job, during my child's pre-school years. Again, I got on with the people, felt the work was worthy, and was planning on expanding my hours when my son started school in September.
However, this company got absorbed by another bigger company in the US in July, and long story short have deeply messed me around for the past three months making me reapply for my job, negotiate pay and be set up as a 'worker' rather than self-employed person which messes up my tax returns/mortgage applications in future.
The time I had planned on spending looking for more self-employed work (in the same field) got eaten up by this bloody palaver, which still isn't sorted, I am getting less work than before from them, and they haven't paid me money owed for about 6 weeks now. Unions are involved btw. I also had to undergo surgery last month which also delayed my ability to look for extra work.
I finally got round to dusting off my CV/LinkedIn profile in search of some more freelance work for the 3 days a week I now need to fill, and found... a perfect role.
It is very, very similar to my current job with regards to day-to-day responsibilities (it is not a promotion though), but pays nearly 50% more pro rata and the employer pension contribution is nearly 10x higher and the paid annual leave 2.5x higher than my current situation.
I smash the person specification and I have done some pertinent work pertaining to that field in my current job and freelance work, they may even be aware of. The specific field it is in is one that fits my passions, abilities and experience very well. I think I have strong ideas I could bring to the role and it would be an opportunity to refine my craft in an area I wanted to further specialise in.
Ideally, I would like to apply for this role 3 days a week and propose a job share, and continue in the job I love 2 days a week. But would I just be blowing the opportunity for a financially objectively 'better' job, by clinging onto a poorly paid, two day a week job I love I know there is no opportunity for progression in?
For background I had a difficult time in my career in my 20s and was managed out of/made redundant from three jobs in a row and it smashed my confidence and self-esteem to smithereens and also made me a bit of a realist about the 'security' of a 9-5 'job', particuarly a new one. The thought of leaving my current role which has brought me incredible confidence and self-actualisation makes me want to cry, but I am wondering if it is time to put on my big girl pants and sort out my family's financial future. But what if this job didn't work out... again? My husband earns well but in this role I would be earning slightly more.
What would you do?