Stay in comfortable job or move for prospects?

[TheDogsKnees]

I work as a community nurse in the NHS. I'm a mum of 3 DD's (16, 14, 8) and am the main earner in our household. My job is very comfortable in terms of my hours, work/life balance and autonomy. I can WFH whenever I want. I love my job but there is no scope for progression and I feel I will stagnate if I stay where I am. My earnings will be capped within next 3 years... unlike the mortgage!

I have the opportunity to apply for a specialist role within my field with a charity. I know people who work there and they say they are well supported and invested in, and there is scope for progression. It sounds like a rewarding role and I've a good chance of getting one. The money is better and the benefits are good (though not quite as good as NHS).

There would be regular regional train travel and some overnight stays. My autonomy would be much-reduced and it won't be as family friendly. My DD's are all neurodiverse and it's full-on managing their different needs at times. They rely on me too much a lot (we're working on making them more savvy and independent). DP is very supportive and happy to make any necessary changes.

My main reasons for considering a move would be the investment in training and development, and to increase my future earning potential. I worry how we will manage financially as the girls get older (college, uni, rising cost of living). DP is not qualified in anything and not classed as a "skilled" worker. He's looking for better paying jobs within the NHS but there's not much about currently.

I guess what I'm asking is, should I stay put in my comfort zone, at least until my DD's are less dependent, or take a leap of faith for the potential long term benefits even though the short term could be hard going?

How is your overall MH and stress levels?
You have two DDs in exam years or soon to be, another starting secondary in a few years which often is very challenging for ND girls
Equally you can't put off moves until they are out of school but I'd consider how they cope and whether your MH is robust enough to deal with that and a new role and all that entails or whether it's better to stay where you are. My autistic generally copes really well but I had a career change just as she started secondary and year 7-8 were quite rough going and took far more mental space than I thought it would. Fortunately my career change was from an inflexible job into a very flexible one which reduced a lot of my stress

Essentially though nothing is forever and as a family you'll make it work.

@Singleandproud I probably should have mentioned that I'm also perimenopausal which I've only just started HRT for. I am struggling a lot to be honest. You make very valid points about stress levels and mental health, and transitions for ND kids. As much as I love them, they do cause me a lot of stress and I know there's more to come! I think my current job allows me a lot of leeway to manage but i dont cope with things as well these days. I have days where I struggle to function, but the nature of my work allows me to catch up when I'm more switched on. But I also think the nature of my job contributes to worsening some symptoms because of how flexible it is and no one is breathing down my neck.

I'm generally of the opinion we can have it all, but not all at once. In your shoes I think I'd stick with the flexible role for now and review in 3 years. It isn't ideal but life in 3 years will look very different. Hopefully you'll be out the other side of peri, have one at uni or becoming more independent, one doing A levels and one settled at secondary.

Unless your DH can pick up the slack if not financially then the headspace and supporting the girls and general life admin, freeing you up mentally and physically to take on the new role

I'm feeling similar at the moment.
My job is quite low level admin, not stressful, great people at work and decently paid, but without going into details, I'm not getting any opportunities to progress and the more it happens the more complacent and dare I say, lazy I'm becoming and I hate feeling like that as it's not typically me.

I usually go with the safe option and would normally just stay but I've just turned 41 and while the prospect of moving onto the unknown and changing our family routine is daunting I just know I can't stick it out for another year or more