Lisa Beaumont: Should I Take A Pay Cut To Be Happier?
Posted on August 16, 2019 by Lisa Cherry Beaumont, One of Thousands of Career Coaches on Noomii.
You hate your job but it's well-paid. Should you take a pay cut to do something you love, or should you just stay put and suck it up? Find out here...
“Lisa, can you tell me what I should be doing for a living?”
Absolutely – it usually takes me about 15-20 minutes to figure that out. Easy peasy.
“So, why on Earth is your programme two months long?!”
Haha, bless you. Because it’s the HOW you should be doing it that takes some analysis. Let me give you an example…
After a quick chat it’s blatantly clear to me that Fred is cut out to be an English teacher…
He is deeply passionate to the point of obsession about grammar, and he explains complicated English tenses in a way that ANYONE can understand – it’s a gift!
His use of vocabulary is pleasurable to the listener, and his articulation is like music.
When he’s not working, he’s teaching English anyway, to anyone who’ll listen; correcting them, adding to their knowledge, and taking great joy when they get it right.
But Fred already IS an English teacher! And he HATES his job! So what the heck’s going on, here?! Am I wrong that he should be an English teacher?
Nope! I NEVER get these things wrong. ;)
Fred is presently teaching corporate English to groups of foreigners in companies…
His creative flair is suppressed, and the people he’s surrounded by all day, every day, are serious and stressed out. (They’d rather be back in the office getting on with their mountains of work, than forced to participate in the obligatory class that HR forces them to attend!)
The office building is grey and concrete and his commute is through an urban jungle of graffiti and 1970’s tower blocks.
Fred LOVES kids! He also adores being outside in nature, and singing brings him so much happiness.
(Where do you think I’m going with this? Haha, keep reading, it’s not what you think…)
Fred’s job is very well paid. Being some sort of nursery school teacher just wouldn’t bring him the salary he needs to maintain his current lifestyle. So, what should he do?
Should he suck it up and carry on hating his life? Should he quit the corporate job and take a massive salary cut?
Neither of the above, actually. I help Fred to incorporate his love for kids, his love for nature, and his love for singing WITHIN his current job.
HOW?!
1. He must go to bed 15 minutes earlier, and get up 15 minutes earlier.
2. He takes the 15-minutes longer, scenic route to work which avoids the scummy urban area and goes through a pretty area with trees.
3. He takes a guitar to work…
4. He uses a totally different approach with his students – instead of working through the standard text books (that everyone hates), he brings out the kid in those foreign students and has them writing fun lyrics using business language which they put to music, and learn, and sing together.
5. Everyone now looks forward to the classes – including Fred – and they emerge happy and energised.
Fred is still an English teacher. He works with the same people, at the same company, for the same salary. But now his days are relaxed, and joyous and fun and meaningful.
Hate your job? Request a free consultation with me so we can decide if it’s the job or the how.
