Sleepless nights - Offered a new job - what would you do?!

[LilacBeth]

I’ve successfully applied and interviewed for a new role in a similar company but I’m now unsure if I’m doing the right thing.

Current role - basic pay is £160,000 with 10% bonus potential. Close to home and good flexibility as I’ve been there a long time

New role - pay is £175,000 with 15% bonus potential but I’ll be commuting an hour each way every day and will obviously have to knuckle down before any flexibility comes into play…

DH works (he’s got a high powered job in London and is away a lot of the week) and we have 2 DC’s of secondary school age who are privately educated.

I’m torn! Has anyone been in a similar position?

I have but it meant moving hundreds of kms. I did it and I don‘t regret it. The way I see it is you regret the things you don’t try more than the things you do (obvious crimes notwithstanding!). Check the reviews of the company on Glassdoor and do some research.
another time I did it and regretted it and after a couple of years went back to my old role as they’d never managed to replace me.

I probably wouldn't for 15k pay rise, at that salary the flexibility is worth more. Unless there's a clear progression path that you don't have where you are currently? Saying that, I've been in the same organisation for 20 years so I'm clearly very risk averse 😆

Why do you want to change jobs?

I think flexibility is worth more than any money, especially if your husband is away a lot.

What else is going for job 2? Company culture/progression/impact/alignment with values? If nothing else but 15k then it’s a big fat no from me

What sort of commute? 10 minute walk each end to the train station, then you can doze on the train? Or drive in rush hour on routes that get very busy? Or a mix of public transport with changes? Not all hour long commutes are equal (nor have equal potential for going wrong.) Also, if your current commute is much shorter, you're going to have increased costs in petrol or train tickets or whichever form it is. I didn't mind driving an hour each way, couldn't face regularly getting the train into London, even though it would be similar timing and loads of people do it.

Why did you apply for this job? Does it have career opportunities you won't get in your current one? Are you leaving difficult personal relationships at work (left my last job because of micromanagement)?

If it's just the money, it's not enough of a raise to make a huge difference. If there are other reasons, you need to weigh up the pros and cons and what each means to you.

I’m on similar income, and I wouldn’t move for an extra £15k basic.
my next job I’d be looking for an overall increase of at least £50k , it would have to be a great career move, plus longer term bonuses and benefits.

I don’t know any roles paying only a 10% bonus of £160,000 salary. That’s pretty poor. Roles in my industry pay 25-100% bonus on that level.

I am not fortunate to be paid as much as you, but £15k extra and potentially 5% extra bonus on your existing salary, both taxed at highest rate, doesn’t seem enough to commit to a 2 hr daily round trip.

I wouldn't.

The pay rise is not going to make a massive difference once you factor commuting costs and tax.

What made you apply for the job?

On the face of it, a 15k payrise on your already large salary, and potentially a bigger bonus, with an added 2 hours of commute and loss of flexibility doesn't seem worth it. BUT if you were totally happy where you were, you wouldn't have been looking at job adverts.

Unless you are very unhappy with the current employer, I’d go back to them with the new offer, make a big fuss about how it fell into your lap but you don’t want to leave, and try and see if they’ll match the salary.
In a double income household on high salaries that flex is worth a lot more that 7.5k a year after tax.

I can't imagine you need the additional money, you'll be losing 2 hours a day commuting... are there any plus sides? Based on what you've said, it would be a no from me if I was in your shoes.

Kind of an irrelevant comment. The OP has said those are the circumstances and hasn't given any information about the industry so you can't possibly know

What is the current commute? And does the new job have a better long term progression. The proportionate increase in monthly take home would not be worth it for me if the commute was much longer. There must have been something about the job that made you want to apply

What was the driving power behind applying and interviewing?

I wouldn’t give up a shorter commute and flexibility for a small pay increase.

With children that age I would not give up the flexibility

Do not underestimate the toll it a heavy commute can take on you

What's the actual commute?
5mins walk and one time ride for 50 mins ?

Or 1h 30 door to door and 2 interchanges?