Would I be crazy to stay in a 40k role instead of a 75k?!

[worklifedilemma]

On the surface I know YES looks wild...

Here's the dilemma:

I'm a mum to 3 primary age DC, currently in a FT role 40k per year. It's remote mostly with very occasional travel into London (1-2x a month) - I live west of London, very rural, around 1hr30 door to door. It's also technically a self-employed contract which means I can pop expenses onto my tax assessment etc. Also qualify for child benefit etc. I'm a middle manager at a private company, in case that helps context.

Not yet formally offered but going well a side side step career wise (no people management and stand alone), but in a more 'money' direction. (Comparable to say moving from criminal law to corporate - just more money in certain niches). £75k, PAYE. Obviously better pension wise etc as I only have my own self employed one at the moment. Almost double the money at £75k, but where it's PAYE no tax relief on expenses, which would be higher as they would want me in their London HQ 2-3 days per week. This is also longer days and would have to ensure we could make it work with childcare. So my overall expenses would be much higher, job much more taxing due to travel and time in office, and I'd lose child benefit. This would make my take home (after travel) around £400 ish more a month.

Just can't figure out if that £400 is worth the extra work/time/travel less time with the kids etc? Long term career I guess so.

Any words of wisdom? Any thoughts on what you would do if it were you?

Does the £400 a month extra also factor moving into a higher rate tax payer band?

I wouldn’t move jobs at this point but would keep looking for a better paid and more secure remote role than your current job.

Yes the £400 net is after tax and work related expenses

What would the pension calculation look like
of you took it?

Definitely negotiate hard about WFH, commuting etc however could this be a good stepping stone to another role if perhaps the commute and juggling didn’t work out?

Your current job is not sound particularly reliable so perhaps a move would be beneficial, whilst keeping an eye out for something more flexible?

For some more context - the industry I am in is relaatively high risk with times of lots of jobs & times of less money and less jobs/more redundancies (I guess comparable to say hedge funds etc. that are market dependant if that makes sense) - the new role would put me in a better position to get out of this industry as it has more crossover with corporate/institutional style roles. Hope that makes sense.

Sorry if seems very cryptic don't want to out any more than I already have 😂

I think it sounds like a terrible idea for the following reasons:

That many days with a 1.5 hour commute, is really, really hard work
It's not £4k extra a month, it's £400 so not worth it
Unless strategically it would change your direction but it sounds like it's not urgent to do that right now
1 car will be painful
You will spend more on childcare
Your quality of life will be significantly worse, I once did a massive commute like that and it was terrible
You have another year where you are now

IIWY I'd plan this properly: look properly for the position with more money but less commuting and the same career opportunities.

Ok I hadn't actually considered pensions - so I've just calculated that. Wowee eye opening.

OK so these are some rough numbers:

Current: net after tax/self employed pension/travel per month plus child benefit etc. = around £3-3.2k
Potential: net after tax/self employed pension/travel per month (no child benefit) = around £3600 BUT that is around 20x going into my pension monthly (insane!) and doesn't include actually getting to the station so say minus another £200 either on taxis or buying a runaround car

So the different is closer to £200 in my pocket so to speak but pension much much higher

@IamRoyFuckingKent I think you're right. The commute 3 days a week isn't possible really I'm being v optimistic

The pension and it being a more secure field might sway my thinking tbh if you could get it down to two days a week in the office?

With every post that's been added since my last.

I'd still consider taking it, after negotiating hard for your benefit!

Your current role is not great this new role has all sorts of potential.

The pension difference is SO important.

You wouldn't entirely lose child benefit, the cut off is £80k and pension contributions will reduce it further.

For me it's the lack of security in your current role that would stress me out more than anything else.

Yeah the pension is a huge, huge difference. Wonder if they'd agree to 1-2 days, would likely be more doable and more worth it then.

My pension is embarrassingly small at the moment due to less work during pregnancy and early years so either way something I need to think about.

I think your DH needs to step up here, he may have potential but he's obviously earning less than £50k now if you're getting CB, so why wait for him, you've got the opportunity to earn more now, he can step up to enable you to take it.

@jwnib so he has earnt 6 figures in the past, then went self employed and the business is failing (I mean failing! A story for another thread I'm sure). So in theory he should be (I hope so) going back into a 'normal' job in the near future - which actually would probably impact child benefit too 🤔

@worklifedilemma so it's probably not worth even factoring CB into the decision if it's likely you will lose it soon anyway.

It still feels theoretical to me, you've got the opportunity now, don't let an opportunity pass you by because your husband "should" earn more soon, you can now.

I would do it. But after being SE most of my life my pension isn’t great, and I’m in my 50’s.

i’d do 10 years shoving absolutely everything over the tax/CB allowance into my pension.

then retire.

Look at where you want to be career-wise in 5-10 years time. What is your long term goal?

If the new job is a stepping stone into something even higher paid, it could be worth it

@EdgarAllenRaven long term goal honestly I think deep down I'd love to have a career that earns well and I can be proud of. I love being a mum but I'm not cut out to be a stay at home mum/part time around the kids etc. - I'd worry too much about my future prospects I think which is why now they're finally all school age I'm straight back to work ASAP after around 6 years of part time/self employed roles a few hours a week to fit around them.

As much as it is hard work right now I like to hope in future it will pay off.

It's probably tainted a little by the fact I was married and messy divorce young and as much as I love DH that could very much happen again in any relationship and I wouldn't want to have nothing and no way to support myself, if that makes sense.

Then go for it OP! Any short term inconveniences could pay off massively in the future

So if your DH business is tanking, he can do the child care side so you can commute when needed. Let go of the mum guilt and grab this opportunity because one of you needs stability, considering you are on a time limited contract. I was also not cut out for the SAH thing, we are all different and what works for one family doesn't for the next. Neither is wrong.
The pension is a massive thing. Employer pension contributions make an enormous difference, you just don't get to see it immediately. Is there any bonus and other allowances? Can you negotiate any extra on the £75k?
Given your last couple of posts, I really think you need to take this role and use it as a door opener to the next opportunity. I am in my early 50s and having done similar, will be in a position to retire by 57, if I choose to.

long term goal honestly I think deep down I'd love to have a career that earns well and I can be proud of.

Go do it OP. I would. I did.

Your DH will always have much higher earning potential if you always defer to his career. No reason why he shouldn’t take some of the domestic load for a bit to let you progress.

The money, and particularly pension, is worth it but is also a bit of a red herring because you want to develop your career, and recognise how vulnerable you could be in future if you don’t.

I think you’ve done really well to get this offer after several years out of work and in PT jobs. You’re obviously very employable, and you might find this is just the first step towards your career really taking off again.

A couple of things to keep in mind, the government cap for child benefit recently changed from £60k PA to £80k, tapering after £60k. So I think you’ll still qualify for that. Secondly, you should ask if you could either flex or condense your hours. Depending on the company, many will agree to FWR. Failing that, you could also do 4 days per week, so 0.8 FTE, which would bring you below the child benefit cap tapering threshold and ask if the business allows people part time to only do 2 office days per week instead of 3. That way you’d get a whole day at home to sort the house and have time for yourself, 2 days wfh, 2 days office, no loss of benefit and subject to calculations, be much better off long term with your pension contributions! I think longer term, such a big pay bump is a no brainer financially.

Hmm. After reading your updates I think it's worth doing for the stability, career progression, and pension.