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Help...can't see wood for the trees

5 replies

cupcakeandtea · 09/06/2010 09:10

To cut a long story short... I took voluntary redundancy last year during mat leave as my media job was horribly stressful and I had the boss from hell.

After years of trying, I've managed to land the job of my dreams in the NHS and apart from feeling terribly guilty about putting my DS into nursery and wondering how the hell I'm going to fit everything in as it's full-time initially I should be happy but I'm just feeling really up and down about it all.

When I applied I didn't think I had a cats hell in chance of actually getting it so didn't consider the fact that I'm taking a massive £12k drop in salary and when I've paid the usual bills, childcare etc I'm literally going to have £100 a month spare cash.

I'm waking up in the night torn between wondering if I should go back to a well-paid job in the media, which equals stress, long hours and it's not a child-friendly business at all or going with this complete career change which for a few years will mean we're strapped for cash but will pay dividends in the end both emotionally and financially.

As I'm in my late 30s we were planning on trying for another baby next year but god only knows how we'd afford another one!

Is this how it is for many families? Do you accept you won't have much cash until the kids have left home!

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DameGladys · 09/06/2010 13:15

Yes!

Don't worry, you'll manage. And have more children too if that's what you want.

If it's the job of your dreams, it's a no-brainer. Go for it!

You're bound to be worried and nervous but after you've settled in you'll be fine. Even if it's a disaster for some reason, you can always leave the job. Give it a go.

brennannbooth · 09/06/2010 13:22

Sounds perfectly sensible to me, so long as you can pay the bills. Childcare fees drop down so quickly, it's only a few years really until they go to school. Quite a few NHS places I have seen have decent on-site nurseries - do you know if you could take advantage of something like this? Also I thought NHS mat package was quite good (more than SMP anyway)?

toucancancan · 09/06/2010 13:26

First of all congrats on landing a job you really want to do. It's normal to be having doubts about the money side, as until you start to bring home a wage you'll not know how financially it'll all balance out. But having a job you think you'd enjoy and working for an employer who supports work/life/balance is worth its weight in gold. And once you've stepped off the stressful media merry-go-round to see what working life is like in another area you can then compare the two jobs and see what you feel gives you the best quality of life.

Could you start at the NHS and see how it goes for the first six months to a year?

Ring the personnel department and find out if one of the benefits is childcare vouchers which will save you some cash.

zandy · 09/06/2010 13:28

But you are not taking a drop in salary are you. You accepted redundancy which means you are now unemployed? Therefore, your new wage is all 'increased salary' from your unemployment benefits.

(Trying to be positive).

cupcakeandtea · 09/06/2010 19:07

Hi everyone

Thanks for all your positive messages.

The on site nursery is great and we've been for a settling in session and DS seems fine so far. In fact he didn't even give me a backward glance!

I do get childcare vouchers and the NHS has lots of benefits for working parents so that's good.

I'm sure I'll be fine once I'm settled. I think I've lost a bit of confidence in the 15 months I've been off work to be honest.

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