Stress vs income

[darkfox1]

Hey yall,

 

so.. I've come to a point in my life where I don't think I can really do this job anymore.

 

I like my team, I like about 55% of the job, the pay is good, but its very very stressful.

 

I work in managed IT services, so I manage IT infrastructure for client offices throughout our market, and assist other markets with projects and knowledge.

 

I have over 15 years experience in the field, and 7 of it is form managed IT services.

 

The stress this week has really peaked. A client was infected with a nasty virus and we had to lose a days worth of work with a system restore. Now, they have it again, and this time, the backup didn't run.. so we're looking at losing nearly 3 days worth of work.

 

I don't blame anyone in that sort of situation for being frustrated, angry, desperate etc. The thing is, I ONLY seem to deal with clients when their IT house is on fire, so to speak, so everyone is upset, and that stress rolls into me.

 

I have a lot of personal stuff going on as well. It doesn't impact my work, other than the fact that it compounds my stress levels. I can't leave it at home because its something deeply personal (that I cant go into.)

 

My question is this.. have yall ever considered changing jobs, or even taking a pay cut, to reduce your stress on the job? This pays well, but for the amount of frustration and stress we get, I dont feel like it could ever pay enough for me to be able to feel comfortable in my life.

 

I've considered reducing my income, taking a lower level simpler IT sys admin type job, I'd have to downsize a few things to make it work, sell my house, probably reduce my smartphone account, cut out amazon prime etc. but I could probably make it work if I reached for it.

 

The type of job I like, doesn't pay like the type of job I can do, I guess.

 

Thoughts?

[diyer2]

Hard question to answer.

I have a friend who makes six figures, high stress and I quote "you do what you have to too live the life style you want."

If you can't deal with the stress you are shorting your life span.

 

After a major medical problem (wife's brain tumor, surgery, she has to be monitored, high rez. MRI every 6 months for life) nothings as important as it used to be.

 

IMO

You have to care enough to do your job but not enough so it ruins your life, tough road. Less financial freedom or sanity and health.

You have to make that decision.

[barry G]

with stress that high, something within your company has to help...else fail and lose good employees.

 

I worked at a lumber mill until shouder sockets hurt...

it went bankrupt.

I worked at another mill that spun my whole body around in a peeler as a glove got stuck on some bark...

did not get injured..

it went bankrupt.

 

I worked at a shoe factory where dust was making us all sick..

the dust burned,

it went bankrupt.

 

I crew chiefed a kc135 tanker that had every chemistry since korea..

it went to junk yard in arizona, I am forever disabled.

 

 

ignoring stress (that goes physical eventually) on truly worked employees has a resolve peacefully or permanently.

one thing you can keep yourself is faith.

[redhot1.4]

Stress causes alot of health problems, money can't buy health

I would rather have GREAT HEALTH and happiness in my life time

Than a bigger paychecks

[Chris]

I dont make crap and i am always stressed and in bad health. But I am also a full-time college student along with work

[finn5033]

I am in a somewhat similar situation. I have been with my current company for 9-1/2 years. The first 4 years I was just another guy but they liked me so they moved me into a management position. I have been on and off unhappy ever since I took the job. About a month ago I finally told my boss that I was done with the job and going back to my old position. Now luckily I have the option to do that and it won't effect my life style at all. It is a pretty big pay cut but luckily my wife has a really good job too. Only you know if the effects of the money loss will be less stressful than the job. But I don't blame you at all for wanting to rid the stress from your life. Life is too short to be unhappy. I am making this move because for the last 5+ years I have felt like my job controls my life and I'm sick of it. Time to be happy. I hope it works out for you

[sahls01gmc]

My wife just recently did this. She was actually the major bread winner between the 2 of us at the time, I just started a new career. With the birth of our 3rd child, she wanted to spend more time with them. Our oldest was already in school, but the middle child was 2 at the time. She left her job to be with them. The stress of getting up early and coming home late were instantly gone. She used to bring her unhappiness home with her, and it affected everyone! Although we didn't have the same income, we were actually able to afford a lot more than we thought because she was able to focus more on our family, and not "getting to work". It turned out to be the best thing we could have ever done as a family. 2 years has passed now, and she's more driven than ever to find a successful job that makes her HAPPY, not "makes big bucks". With me being able to be less stressed as well, I now coach my oldest daughter's softball team with the help of my wife tending to the lil ones. We're a great team now, and before we were both just paychecks to each other. I also now make 50% more than I did when I started with this company less then 5 years ago. Less stress has impacted every single aspect of our lives......for the better!

 

Don't feel bad if you feel like you're headed the wrong direction. You have to know what BAD is to appreciate what GOOD is.

 

Also, a good counselor can help a whole lot more than what you think. Takes a big man to do it, but I tell you from experience that it's worth it. Your insurance may even pay for it.

[06pirate]

Well, only you can know what is best for you, but I have been in that situation before and I am in it again now. I walked away from aviation mechanic jobs a couple of times due to low pay/high stress, the last time in 2004. I am now in a job that is intrinsically worthless but pays $31/hr, and has absolutely NO satisfaction potential at all. I am moving into my fiancé's house and commuting by ferry boat and life sucks. So...I am looking for something "better" as in less stress/more satisfaction, with the understanding it will pay about 1/2 as much. At age 60, there isn't much interest in me as a new-hire.

 

Having said all that, I can say that your mental/psychic/physical health is more important than money in the long run. But you also have to eat and pay for housing and medical insurance. I know that when my stress level gets too high, and I reach my breaking point, I will go.

 

Best of luck to you.

[HawkeyeSierra]

I always try to remember this quote when it comes to work. I don't know where I saw it, but I'll never forget it.

 

"On their deathbed, no one has ever said, gee I wish I would've worked more,"

 

Sounds to me like you need a change of scenery.

[darkfox1]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

 

it's after 10pm and I've really just now "checked in" at home.

 

I got up this morning at 4am and had to commute over 100 miles today.

 

Tomorrow.. I gotta be on site at 7am. The client wanted earlier than that.

 

I want to keep my truck, and have a garage for it, I want a quiet and safe place to live, but.. I dont need a lot of space. I'm one person.

 

If I would accept a lower paying job I would have a LOT more opportunities based on my qualifications. I'm in a unique niche I guess. I dont have a degree, but I have a lot of experience from some really big names in the industry. Some companies wont even begin to overlook the lack of a degree for that however. I also don't have certifications. So those little sheets of paper that make it easier to find jobs that pay like this one.. dont exist. Maybe that limits my ability to find a GOOD job in this pay bracket, but.. I find the higher pay you take, the more risk you take.

 

For instance, if I were a sys admin for a small company I might oversee a dozen or 2 dozen servers, it may have clustering, it may not. If things go down, its a problem, but management can shrug it off and understand.

 

A sys admin for a large company would pay far more, but you would be 24/7 oncall and work with hundreds or thousands of servers that are absolutely HA, you would have DR sites, and down time would not only be unacceptable, but cost your company millions.

 

It's a lot of pressure, knowing that you're what stands between a company's livlihood and disaster, and.. knowing what I do about IT.. knowing just how fragile all these complex systems are.

 

I want to be able to leave SOME of my job at work. I want to be able to have a guilt free day off.. or have a conversation with someone.. ANYONE.. in which key words don't trigger severe anxiety in me as to whether or not I sent an email, or followed up on something that had gotten snowballed.

 

I feel like lucy in the chocolate factory sometimes.

[j-ten-ner]

...I dont feel like it could ever pay enough for me to be able to feel comfortable in my life.

 

I've considered reducing my income, taking a lower level simpler IT sys admin type job, I'd have to downsize a few things to make it work, sell my house, probably reduce my smartphone account, cut out amazon prime etc. but I could probably make it work if I reached for it. ...

 

IMO that's the biggest part of your dilemma.

Because if you have to cut down your expenses in such a dramatic matter, even considering selling the house to be able to finance your living with a lower income, then you're already on the edge.

I'd keep the good payed job and start to downsize my expenses.

 

I bet that 50% of the stress is self inflicted. Thinking about how pay the mortgage, truck payments, tools and gadgets, vacation, being able to offer your family a certain lifestyle.

You do the best you can to keep the company alive. Because you need the job. You want to make yourself indispensable to the company. You lose trust in your co-workers, thinking that you'd do it better by yourself. Just to make it to the next paycheck.

You've lost the joy to work in the job you love.

 

I don't know you and I don't want to step on your toes. I'm just thinking out loud what I took from your post.

 

Take a step back and start breathing again. Assess your situation and talk to your family. Cut back on your wants. "Clean out the house" and sell the stuff you haven't touched in the last 6 month. Make a plan with your family how to get financially "ahead of the game".

Have so much money in your savings that you can pay all the bills for at least 3 month.

You'll start to enjoy life and work again.

 

so long

j-ten-ner

[darkfox1]

You're actually right.

 

I bought this house because I was star struck by it, and.. well, I didn't know somethings and had long term plans that are now... less likely? I can't say impossible but.. well maybe not in this part of the country at least.

 

I've considered moving to another part of the us, but I know ATL pretty well and moving to "a foreign land" is expensive and can be culturally shocking.

 

In the meantime I am selling a lot of things that I dont use, a lot of tools, I sold a project car, I gave my old car back to my dad when me trying to sell it started an argument.

 

In the past 6 months I've thrown out a TON of stuff, and have 3 or 4 tubs of junk to get rid of in the basement right now in the "junk/sell/donate" bins.

 

I should sell the house because I need mobility right now in my life. The future is very uncertain for me, and if I'm tied down to this place, it could pose a problem.

 

So you're not far off at all. A lot of my stress is self inflicted. If I had NOTHING going on in my personal life that was stressful, it'd be so much easier to just "suck it up" and commit to a high stress job, but when you combine a high stress job with a high stress home life.. it gets to be too much.

 

The home life thing isn't going to change for a while, if ever.. (and it's not even up to me..) though, if I move, it may dramatcally improve the chances of that.

 

Hrmm, well your post has made me think j-ten-ner.

 

I'll have to chew on that perspective for a bit. Thank you!

[Spurshot]

I've been in your shoes. Just a couple years ago. Do what you have to do to maintain your health.

 

I'm in commercial aircraft. I see this all the time. I'm watching a colleague going thru this now. I am fortunate that I had an opportunity to switch jobs within my company, just coincidentally. It lowered my stress and I'm now a happy camper with a bright outlook. I didn't have to lower my income and people really appreciate my work. In fact, I received the best raise and bonus of my career recently...and I didn't think I was busting my ass. Funny how that works.

 

My wife is also in aerospace. We've both experienced high stress for periods of time in out careers. We are In a technical business with six figure incomes...it comes with the territory. Fortunately, as we close in on retirement, our stress from work seems to be easing. I suspect most of that is change of attitude due to having our financial independence at this time.

 

While money can't buy happiness, lack of it can bring misery. That misery is a form of stress.

 

Lots of good comments above.

 

Best Regards

[finn5033]

Thanks for the insight everyone.

 

it's after 10pm and I've really just now "checked in" at home.

 

I got up this morning at 4am and had to commute over 100 miles today.

 

Tomorrow.. I gotta be on site at 7am. The client wanted earlier than that.

 

I want to keep my truck, and have a garage for it, I want a quiet and safe place to live, but.. I dont need a lot of space. I'm one person.

 

If I would accept a lower paying job I would have a LOT more opportunities based on my qualifications. I'm in a unique niche I guess. I dont have a degree, but I have a lot of experience from some really big names in the industry. Some companies wont even begin to overlook the lack of a degree for that however. I also don't have certifications. So those little sheets of paper that make it easier to find jobs that pay like this one.. dont exist. Maybe that limits my ability to find a GOOD job in this pay bracket, but.. I find the higher pay you take, the more risk you take.

 

For instance, if I were a sys admin for a small company I might oversee a dozen or 2 dozen servers, it may have clustering, it may not. If things go down, its a problem, but management can shrug it off and understand.

 

A sys admin for a large company would pay far more, but you would be 24/7 oncall and work with hundreds or thousands of servers that are absolutely HA, you would have DR sites, and down time would not only be unacceptable, but cost your company millions.

 

It's a lot of pressure, knowing that you're what stands between a company's livlihood and disaster, and.. knowing what I do about IT.. knowing just how fragile all these complex systems are.

 

I want to be able to leave SOME of my job at work. I want to be able to have a guilt free day off.. or have a conversation with someone.. ANYONE.. in which key words don't trigger severe anxiety in me as to whether or not I sent an email, or followed up on something that had gotten snowballed.

 

I feel like lucy in the chocolate factory sometimes.

The things you just said about being able to have a guilt free day off really hits home with me. A lot of the reason I demoted myself is because for the last 5 years I haven't been able to take any time off or go on vacation without worrying about work and I'm tired of it. My wife gets more days off in one year than I've had in the last 5 years combined.

[Panik]

A lot of good advice and relatable experience here. Just a thought but you might want to consider seeing a licensed mental health councilor who specializes in career counseling. Not suggesting that you need "counseling" per se. However talking with a good profesional might help on a couple of different levels:

 

- They may be able to help you re-frame some of the stress you are under.

 

- Before making the leap from your current job they might be able to help you narrow down and focus on some good alternatives to your

current job that would not require taking as significant cut in salary.

 

- Given that it would appear that you have a significant amount of high level IT experience without a degree, they should be able to help you

organize and best convey you skills so that you can better market yourself and move into the job you want.

 

I do realize that my suggestion might come across as being a bit hokey but it really does have some merit if you remove the stigma. Think of it as a tool to use to get where you would like to be.