Would I be stupid to not take promotion?

[Mementomorissons]

I've been in my job for a year. Have just been offered a very different role in same national company, for more cash. I'm trying to decide between them

Current job- been there a year. Only just settled in. I earn £32k a year
Pros are: Loads of freedom, no pressure but lots of opportunities to make impact when I want to, like my colleagues, and the work is fun. WFH 4 days a week.
Cons: have to go in to office 1 day a week with a 6-hour round trip commute on that day (it's far!) Which is really tiring, and living so far away makes me feel disconnected from rest of team and the job. I spend £1800/year on that commute.

New job
Pros are: it's down the road, could literally walk there, and it's up a pay grade - I'd have an extra £4k a year after tax - salary would be £37k a year

Cons: the role is completely removed from the 'fun' elements of current job. Basically there would be no fun, very little freedom, and I get an uneasy vibe of high stress and seriousness from their team.

I am single and don't own a house and it's been my dream to get a mortgage for a house for years (I'm mid-30s). I already have a big deposit saved, just never earned enough to get a big enough mortgage to buy

I just can't decide if I'm ready to leave my current job for the unknown so soon, but then I feel stupid for passing up the chance to earn more

Cons: the role is completely removed from the 'fun' elements of current job. Basically there would be no fun, very little freedom, and I get an uneasy vibe of high stress and seriousness from their team.

For me, I'd swerve that. It's not worth an extra £4k to go into a very stressful job (lack of autonomy will cause additional stress).

How about going for the new job in order to get the mortgage? Give the new job a year. If it's no good/too stressful, look again for another job

When you move, can you move closer to the current job to reduce that commute?

Would the new role be a stepping stone to other opportunities in the company? The great thing about working in a big company is there are always other roles to move into - I’ve worked for the same company for 10 years but changed roles pretty much every 2 years (with additional pay every time).

Is sacrificing the fun for a few years worth it to get a mortgage and open up other opportunities?

What are your longer term aspirations? Is having fun at work and freedom something you are willing to sacrifice a higher salary for or are you prepared to deal with more stress is exchange for a better salary?

Will the new role get you any closer to your longer term goals?

Could you ask for a trial with the new team and role for, say, 3 months ? Or even just a few weeks?

I totally get your dilemma and would be torn too. Sounds like it’s all down to what the realities of the new role would be int terms of is it just boring and stressful and you won’t like the people (in which case I might hem and haw over whether the extra money and lack of commute is worth it). Or could it be more fun and interesting than it looks, in which case the extra money and commute will totally offset the bits that aren’t as good.

but I always think you don’t know the realities of these things until you try them

This is a good point actually. If I really think about it then the fun and freedom are quite important to me otherwise I tend to get really depressed in very serious, 'every day the same' environments.

And the new job isn't really on the same path of my long term ambition, it's just that it's closer and more money.

Reading through these comments I think I've already made my mind up to wait until something else comes along. Now that I'm thinking more rationally I'm not sure how much better a house an extra £4k a year would buy me.

It's more than £4k a year as a payrise. Not paying the extra commute money is also a massive pay rise. Remember that £1800 a year for the commute is alot more to earn pre-tax.

Normally every £1k you earn a year is another £55-60pm post tax when 20% tax payer. £1800 divided by 12, will free you up around £150pm, which is another £3k a year you need to earn to cover that cost.

So you could argue it's a £7k payrise.

However at this point in your life, if you can afford to then think to yourself when deciding: "What helps my career path the most long term?"

@workoholic ohhh yeah you're right. I thought I'd already factored in the commute savings. I'm rubbish at maths. Actually it does make a bit more difference! it's not an amount worth loads of stress/mental health, but it's difficult to tell if they're over egging the stress bit

But it's a good point about the long term ambition. The bits that I find enjoyable in current job are the occasional opportunities like public speaking and supporting big events, so I guess that's not really a job but more elements that could probably come up in most corporate jobs