In January 2023, I took a 30% pay cut, from a $98k/yr job to a $70k/yr job. It was the best career decision I ever made.
In 2022 I started my career straight out of college, transitioning from intern to full-time. I watched my bank account grow bigger than I had ever seen it, not truly knowing how much I was making. I knew my base salary was $50k but would get a big commission check once a month. Turns out, the commission nearly matched my base salary, as I learned on my 2022 tax return come 2023.
Unfortunately, I felt like I was handcuffed to my desk. If a customer emailed, I essentially needed to respond yesterday. I arrived about 7:40am (8am in the winter, couldn’t wake up any earlier thanks to the darkness) and didn’t leave until ~5pm, fighting I-35N traffic for 30 minutes. It ate me up in the summers, yearning to be at home enjoying the warm, sunny evenings instead of under the glow of office ceiling tile lighting. On top of that, I got 15 days of PTO a year. Seriously… how am I supposed to enjoy my life & travel with such little time off? I felt like I could only live life and enjoy the money I was making through experiences on the weekends and the few days of PTO per year.
The commission aspect was great. I was given the free reign to create as much value for myself and the company as I could, which is a great place to be in straight out of college when learning my strengths & weaknesses, getting rewarded for how much effort I put into the job. That said, constantly knowing that I could sacrifice my time, health, and mental stability (even more so than I did in college) for hoarding as much money as I could became golden handcuffs. If I wanted to change roles, I needed to break out of the handcuffs quickly. Otherwise, I’d gain TOO much experience in my field and get locked into customer-facing roles for the rest of my career while kids straight out of college eat up the behind-the-scenes, sales support roles I wish to eventually try.
I applied for new jobs behind the scenes, taking a few interviews in my car over lunch, and sometimes in our one office conference room after 5pm. Fortunately, I got lucky with timing and faith at the end of 2022, starting my new Pricing Analyst role in January ’23.
When I got the call from Coloplast and was offered my current pricing role, I was ecstatic. No negotiating for extra salary, just a “Yes.” I didn’t want to leave the offer up for chance. With the role came greater alignment with my future career, and knowing exactly how much money would be entering my bank account each paycheck. I felt so lucky.
That said, the transition was still hard, personally and monetarily.
I thoroughly enjoyed the camaraderie at my previous job. Heavily relying on your team in a fast-pace, think-on-the-fly environment is what I was used to from playing hockey. Hockey players make great freight brokers. That’s what made it hard to leave; I wouldn’t miss the role, but would miss the people, the culture, the uncomfortable comfort at a difficult role that you still know inside and out, and the relentless pursuit of the next deal.
Also, lifestyle creep is real, and it leapt onto me going from dishwashing college student to big-boy salaried career. I did not realize HOW much I was spending during my first year of full-time work, nor did I ever dig into how much I should be spending. New car, concert tickets, Wild games, restaurants all the time, you name it… I was spending nearly everything I made, saving a measly $200 a month.
There was no budget, just vibes & trying to hide purchases, which is hilarious because a massive part to why I wanted to be a Finance major was to learn personal finance inside and out, so I didn’t ever have to worry about feeling broke or poor. So much for that endeavor, back to the drawing board and learning how to “adult”…
In my new role, I’d need to reel back the lifestyle, trimming some fat on an otherwise wasteful system that was my finances. My habits truly did not align with my long-term goals, spending on what I wanted when I wanted it, and turning back the dial on a lifestyle you’re accustomed to is a hard pill to swallow. No more dining out every weekend, drinking too much at the bar, subscriptions up the wazoo. Some things I was used to just weren’t worth the price anymore, especially considering my post-COVID student loan payments would be kicking in.
Was I far more content day-to-day in my new role? Absolutely. But with everything in life, there are trade-offs, and long term the trade-off of some salary for more time freedom, career alignment, and sanity needed to be made. As scary as it is starting something new, and leaving behind a role many would drool over, every happening is a learning experience. This transition was a great opportunity to learn how to control my career, finances, mental health, & time.
Finally, there was no more barely sneaking in ramen noodles for lunch at my desk or driving in rush hour for 1+ hour each day. Now, I get to sit outside in the summer with my coworkers over fresh salads at the office cafeteria, later to whiz by cars stuck at traffic lights on my 8-minute bike ride home. Hallelujah.
Riley Martin 