Honestly without knowing your situation better I'd stay put.
You're in an enviable position of earning 150k a year, while also having enough time to do a master's, do side projects and grow in other ways.
You go back to a 40hrs busy job, chuck in commuting and everything that goes with it, is it worth it? For an extra 15k, minus whatever extra tax.
Will you then have time to finish that masters and devote to side projects/ interests?
I'd be networking like crazy, learning as much challenging stuff as possible and then once masters is complete maybe look at self employment?
15k extra a year is 800 dollars more a month after tax. I’m not convinced 200 a week is worth 30 hours of work
150 to 165k obviously not just any 15k extra
Mate, if you are a software dev hit me up. I would highly recommend everyone to learn basic programming. The IT industry is very short of talent atm, other teams in my company are not able fill their headcounts.
Well you have to be careful with that thinking.
You end up in a race to the bottom of squeezing as much productivity out of everyone as you can, and you start losing staff.
12/40 doesn't seem like it's asking for a lot. I'm not a fan of the 50+ hour work culture. But 12 seems... Low. Surely reasonably productive 30h a week is still a good deal?
Edit: NOT a fan*
I would bet (and believe studies have shown) that a 40 hour work week for office workers amounts to 30 hours of work at most for the majority.
Pretty easy to get distracted at the water cooler, have a meeting and and another starting in 15 mins so not worth starting something etc.
It's the reason places have trialed shorter work weeks for same pay isn't it? The idea people will push to be more efficient. And even Microsoft in Japan saw an increase in productivity.
Yeah, a 4 day 28h week seems great. Half the people I know working from home last 2 years work an average of 2h a day... It's insane. Meanwhile some people are flat out for the full 45+ hours they are at the office.
TAFE is offering a Cert IV in Information Technology) Programming right now that is covered by the Jobtrainer grant, it's roughly 5 months long. Definitely worth having a look at. You learn C#, JavaScript, Typescript, mySQL and React. Left my job recently for a career change, would recommend :)
can you recommend the best institution that teaches ya? i am pretty sure this cert iv is free correct? i am also not a jobtrainer because i am 30 years of age and do not hold a healthcare card
I worked with someone who was a tradie, got injured, did the above cert and now works as a software developer. Getting your first job is hard but after that it's pretty good. You might struggle to get hired at the big name tech companies as they'll often test for algorithm knowledge which isn't taught at Tafe.
Finished the cert IV at the end of last year, they strongly push you to do the diploma where outside of a few other essential programming concepts it’s basically a team work project that is supposed to simulate a real world project, however I landed a junior front end dev job off the bat
150k job would change my life a lot. i can imagine the amount of cocaine and hookers i'd be able to get on a monthly basis. it's heaven.
curious though, why would a company use java when they are already brave enough to use c++?
yea, thinking of doing a GA bootcamp to change my career. Or atleast go sideways coming from an insurance broker background. Would be cool to code the websites that take general brokers jobs haha. DOnt want to be on the wrong side of tech
Whats the best and quickest way to learn? And roughly, if dedicating 20-25 hours a week to learn, how long until one could enter the industry at an entry level and make ok money?
I’m a structural engineer (4 years) but looking to go into software development hopefully in 12 months. I’m currently teaching myself python and trying to apply it to my current job where I can. What else would you recommend I do? Hopefully not have to go back to uni as I already have an engineering degree
Part time study or do one of those bootcamps.
I’m doing an online grad diploma part time in 2 years whilst working (got one year left). The good thing about doing an actual degree is that you are eligible to apply for internship and grad programs which might be easier (I secured a grad role at a big company for next year). Otherwise you will need to work hard on your portfolio if you go the bootcamp route (also doable)
I did the grad diploma in IT at UNE. It’s one of the few that is online and has csp spots so its cheap. Most subjects are software development focused which is quite good too
Otherwise if you don’t mind in person studies, pretty much every uni offers something similar but only a few has csp spots
If you currently have a job at a company that has software developers etc maybe try finding out who you can speak to from that area and express interest in wanting to be a dev, they may be able to guide you and even get you involved in various projects.
Have a mate who did this, was working a retail job, asked their store manager if they knew anyone in IT they could chat to, they put them in touch with a manager in IT and that was the start of a successful career, have another mate who did similar, reached out to the manager of the Dev team for a sit down and 6 months later is in the team with minimal skills and experience.
Any advice for juniors?
I have basic c# and c++ knowledge, don’t know whether learning a .NET is the next best move, or picking a specific platform to develop with
I'm nearly done with a mechanical Engineering degree and I'm starting to think the programming classes I took suited me better. I have experience in Raspberry Pi, C+, Matlab and I've been learning more python.
how do you think I would do?
Do you have a recommendation for where to learn these basic skills? Certain courses that would be beneficial? Certain coding languages that would be better than others etc?
150k a year would change my life. To spend most of it doing nothing is a one in a million chance.
I find this utterly perplexing that this is a 'problem' but I understand we are all wired differently.
Wish you the best mate!
The doing nothing part can get soul crushing. There was a long thread on Whirlpool about a guy on $80k in a similar situation. Enjoyed the money but hardly had any work to do. I've experienced it myself but ultimately with bills to pay you power through.
I was in this situation some time ago, $80k, single, very low rent in a shared accommodation, living like a king. The problem with the unproductive hours is that you have to be on standby, available to be contacted, monitoring your emails, being visible to colleagues, etc.
Contractually, that time is still company time. You might use the time to do some online training, but there's only so much you're interested to learn. You might start your own company, but if caught running your own thing on company time, you will get in trouble. You might get into writing, maybe a novel or something, but again if found doing it on company time, the novel becomes the company's property. Or you're a software dev like OP, you build a piece of software that makes a lot of money, company finds out you built it during company time, they sue and acquire the software and all the money.
It's free time, but not really free, kinda like spending time in covid isolation. It's boreout time. And it's very soul crushing.
OK, so just work on your own projects in the off time then. OP is a software dev, there's a million and one ways he could make cash by himself with that time.
I earn $110k + super a year and barely do 5-10 hours work a week. I love it. Total lifestyle job and I’m not at all interested in building a career. During my spare time, I read about current affairs + analyse stocks/ investment opportunities etc. My goal is to make another $100k+ a year trading
I work on a transactional team and I get this completely. It’s so fucking damaging for my mental health to have a quiet month. Just get to stew in anxiety.
12 hours a week working, imagine all the time you’d get to actually LIVE life. Do other things, improve your mental health, instead of grinding 40 hours a week for much less.
Time is money, and this guy has both. I wouldn’t let that opportunity slip
$150k is not top 1%, certainly not if you live in particular high cost of living areas (Op is sydney, so good chance).
Context means everything here. $150k is comfortable, but not even close to 1% rich when it comes to inner city sydney.
Edit - Downvotes? Guys, aus finance is not about burying your head in the sand. What I am saying is the truth for sydney, and even in the broader australia, $150k is NOT 1%, even if it seems that way to you.
I wasn’t referring to the income itself (I would consider that fantastic money which I will likely never earn) more so the ‘problem’ of earning 150k and only having to work 12 hours a week. That in itself is such a hugely privileged situation to be in to start with.
Nothing to do with burying my head in the sand mate, nor did I downvote you. If internet points are that important to you I’ll sling you an upvote.
100% this! Found myself in a similar situation and decided to learn things and find fulfillment that wasn’t work related.
In the last couple years i’ve learned so many new skills like cooking, general repairs and maintenance, improved my health and fitness, coaching and sitting on my soccer club’s committee, all because of that extra free time. It’s been more fulfilling than when I used to chase the next promotion.
Not sure why I'm bothering chiming in here because: who gives a fuck what I think tbf.
But anyway, I will never understand people that say this kind of thing. Why would you want to have a more challenging role unless you want to be paid more money?
Work is one part of life, it's critical and takes up the majority of most people's time, I get that. But if you have the opportunity to work significantly less than the average working week, and receive a good salary for that time, why in God's name would you want anything there to change??
Surely you have other things in your life that you'd rather dedicate your time to? Is there a particular skill or hobby that you'd like to "challenge" yourself to learn or get better at?
Why not do your 12 hours, and discipline yourself to funnel the remaining 28 hours into something you want to do for yourself?
Honestly, the mind boggles.
im with you. i can find purpose in things outside of work. i kind of feel sorry for people if the only sense of purpose they have is from the job they do, i mean no judgement, i just find it sad
Most people want to have some kind of purpose they're working towards, otherwise every other aspect of work will crush your soul. The downsides of doing something as a side project are:
* Companies can have a bigger impact on people than some side project you work on. If helping people solve real issues is what drives you, you need to have real issues to help with.
* Most "challenging work" (hard problems that make you really work hard to solve them) can only be found when you have actual customers and real issues to solve, neither of which apply for side projects.
* Intellectual property agreements in your work contract might make it difficult if not impossible to have a side project which is related in any way to your work.
Obviously, it is possible to still find meaningful things to do outside of work. Some people just want to be able to make their work feel more meaningful. Not to mention that your future employability will suffer if you haven't had the experience (some of which you can only get through "challenging work") most people with your seniority have.
To be fair, OP is talking about getting a pay bump. But regardless, three reasons off the top of my head:
- Having X hours free during your work day doesn’t necessarily mean you can dedicate it to much else. Some jobs need you to be online and available for full working hours. Maybe you can study or do something online, but even that gets hard if you’re not working from home.
- Not everyone has the drive to find new hobbies or development in their free time. It’s not always ideal, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dull or uninspired either. Maybe you’ve already everything you want out of your life outside of work. Maybe it’s just your personality type - some thrive on routine and guidance, which is normal.
- Even if you can utilise your free time, not everyone feels good about it. I’ve been in this situation in the past. It was good in some ways, but I also felt somewhat undeserving of the money and title. Doesn’t matter if it’s illogical, but the feeling is there - and not in some subservient way to the company. Just the human condition or something. And the less time I dedicated to my actual job, the less driven and purposeful I felt.
That will depend if he works from home or if he has to go to an office and work a certain period of time. Then it would be unbearable to have no work throughout the week.
OP has given an annual figure which suggests their income is salaried... if you're earning $150k and are concerned about leaving the office early when you don't have anything to do, you're in big bother. We're all adults, it's not school.
Outside looking in, it sound like you've struck gold but from my experience these things get found out eventually and don't do your reputation any favours. Keep your skills sharp and look for a job that's engaging and you get fulfilment from.
Eh, I think these situations involve a lot of “looking busy” work so even if you only do a days worth of real work, you can’t just start working or training for a second job. It’s also more draining than actual work at times.
Yes I agree, I am already studying a extra master degree + working on a few side projects, but it was not fulfilling my satisfaction on my main job. Sounds like this is the right time for me to move on before others find this out. Thanks mate!
If the organisation I worked for is entirely pleased with my performance and they show no signs of questioning what I do then I would absolutely not quit and I would be very happy to languish in a stalled career with no stress, lots of money and plenty of free time.
If there are starting to be a few questions around what your day to day looks like then do not sit idle, be proactive in pushing yourself at work and finding ways to advance or do more with other departments etc. Eventually somone is going to wonder wtf you do and if you have been slack it can make it harder to go elsewhere because you are behind on the latest tech, news, systems etc.
Not to get too woowoo, but there is so much more to life than just work. if you can make $150k a year by only committing 12 hours of your week… do it! spend the rest of the time doing things that are actually enjoyable. we only get one shot at life. I know people derive satisfaction from their careers, but that satisfaction doesn’t come close to the happiness from non-work related hobbies
The vast, *vast* majority of people won’t ever make that much money working 5-6x that amount per week, let alone 12 hours. I can understand and sympathise with not feeling fulfilled at work, but fuck.. most people feel exactly the same earning less than half of that, whilst working 40-50 hours.
Exactly this. Most people dislike or are bored in their job no matter what they earn. OP is on a great wicket and have the chance to do so much with that time that more rewarding than work.
I think a lot of people just don’t have the genuine understanding or realisation that they won’t live forever. Like I enjoy my work kind of, and it feels good to make a solid contribution, but god damn id much rather go for a surf, play with my dog, have sex, get high, hit up a festival.. the difference in happiness is like an underwhelming piss (work) vs orgasm (non-work). Why would anyone choose the former over the latter.
$150k for 12 hours a week is amazing.
The amount of bloody free time that leaves you with would give you an insanely happy life
I’m in the exact same position right now, I feel like I’m getting dumber every day. I have an interview for a new role lined up at the same rate as I have currently. I never thought I would change roles to get more work lmao.
Use the spare time wisely, if you want to be fulfilled then get serious about your side projects.
You could be trapped working 40h a week in some stale technology
How’s your work life balance? Your post speaks to me as if you focus more on your professional work life (obviously I’m speculating and apologies if I’m wrong) than your outside of work life?
If I were in your position being bored at work would be a small price to pay if I had a great work/life balance.
I feel a work/life balance is so important - especially in the times we’re in.
I am in a similar boat - $160K+, very niche role and I reckon I only do between 10-20 hours of real work per week - a lot of the rest of my work time is taken up with unnecessary MS Teams meetings which, for some reason, I get invited to but rarely have anything to contribute \\\_(ツ)\_/ . I've got this down to a fine art knowing which meetings I need to listen to and which I can just sit in the background and mute while I listen to a podcast or go for a walk.
Prior to COVID, I did a lot of travel between sites and now realise how very little actual work my job entails. I still get good feedback on my performance and am largely left to manage my own time and that of my team by bosses (some of whom haven't a clue what I do).
Here's the thing though - I don't feel like I do 'nothing.' I've been doing what I do for a long while and I just think I've become very efficient at it. I'm able to filter out the bullshit parts of the role and still manage to perform well. A lot of jobs are like that I've realised - just showing up.
I feel motivated by doing lots of non-work stuff in my downtime.
Hell no.
If you're still bored/not learning you're not using your down time effectively.
You have a unique opportunity to upskill like crazy while getting paid full time wages - I would not give that up.
Sounds like a dev from your comments... why don't you build a product or service from scratch. Touch on areas you're lacking in... whether that be databases, cloud infra, automation pipelines, authentication, etc.
There must be something that interests you that you can learn or build towards.
Or have a talk with your manager. Don't say you only work 12 hours and are bored.. but rather ask for more responsibilities/challenging work.
Surely there is tech debt, mentoring, other improvements you can do as well.
>Or have a talk with your manager. Don't say you only work 12 hours and are bored.. but rather ask for more responsibilities/challenging work. Surely there is tech debt, mentoring, other improvements you can do as well.
this is the best advice in the thread
I did exactly this quite recently. It was basically golden handcuffs. I was worried that I would end up unemployable in my 50s if I stayed. I moved to better paying job, and just got a very nice pay rise too do. Much less niche stuff. Much busier, but much more interesting and I am much more respected because I know what I am doing and there are a lot more people who do what I do (not as well though :)). It's a generally all round better job.
Don't think you are trapped! You are almost certainly NOT!
Look for another job while you still have this one though. You are in a much better negotiating position if you do it this way.
So you are not 100% fulfilled with your job, but that only takes like 15hrs a week of your time. You are getting an incredible return on your time. Plus you are reinvesting some of that spare time in keeping developing your skills.
I am working 45-50hrs per week and have very little time to develop my skills and that really frustrates me.
I gave up a highly strung 160k job where I was constantly available and always held responsible for shit I was never given the latitude to affect change on.
Flunked on that for a dope ass 0.8FTE role where they kinda don't care what I do with my time so long as work gets done. I work outside in the trees. They pay me 55k and I've never been happier.
But this is a finance sub, not a wellbeing sub, so my experiences represent possibly some of the worst advice you could take in that context. Do it.
It's been a while. Until around 2010 my main project at work was in Visual C++, a building design program built on top of an existing CAD system in Windows.
Our later projects at work were on web - PHP, JS, Java applet for our newer CAD system. Likewise my freelance and hobby stuff since 2008 has been mostly JS & PHP.
I did a lot of hobby game dev in C++ back in the day (the day being 99-06).
So I haven't been there in a while so I'm not familiar with any new tools, libraries, language features etc. But happy to learn.
You may do less work but make more important decisions where its consequences are more expensive.
Unless of course you found a sweet spot where you learnt how to talk fluff to look like you do important things
I think you answered your own question. You’re not growing and not satisfied. You think you have options where you can get a 10% pay rise. Not really sure why you think it’s a hard choice?
I think the main issue is I could not fully justify merely $15,000 per year for extra 20 hrs/week of work. Obviously I am not satisfied of my current job, but I also do believe the jobs outside would not be chill as now... so want to see everyone's takes!
OP I was going to comment this. The return on your extra effort isn’t worth it here, if you look at it like this. Guarantee you can self-teach or self improve in some way with any spare left over time, attention and energy you have.
There is a different angle to consider or questions to ask. Are you happy? Are you learning? Are you fulfilled? I think the last question is super important.. im of the belief ppl need a purpose (or goal, or objective etc.) to feel fulfilled (and to in turn, feel happy/iness). If you were doing something you were passionate and excited about - something you were learning and growing from, I guarantee doing it for 40 hours a week wouldn't be so bad. Unless of course your passions fall outside of your "day job" in which case, your situation is ideal. However, from reading your posts and comments, it seems like you are doing other stuff on the side but you're still not 100%.
I was in a similar situation, could get away with doing my job. I just found i was bored, stuck, not learning.. not growing.. I've since changed jobs, really like what I'm doing, v different and a huge learning curve. I'm pulling long hours now but it's great to be humming like this .. buuut, to each their own and I get that some folk just have a different view on work.
Good luck!
Yeah I think it will be something personal to you whether you value more that growth and development or the extra free time. Plenty of people in both camps, so just depends what more important for you.
Was in a similar position, ended up bailing to a new role at the end of last year and have zero regrets. Having more work to do during the day is actually engaging me more in my role and I finish the day/week feeling satisfied that I've actually done something. The pay increase was nice, but actually having something to do was the biggest driver
Yes, I just did a couple of months ago. So the back story is that I got hired by one of the big government department as senior developer contract role for about $210k. But the project got canned. So I was asking them for work every day and they would just say, they don't have any.i did a lot of self study but it became too boring.it was a remote job so I literally had no work to do all day. The amount do work I did in 5 months there is something I would do in a couple of days. In first 4 months , I wrote exactly 20 lines of code. It got to a point where I was getting depressed. I talked to my manager and quit after 5 months. I just couldn't take it any more.
I feel you’re a person with commitment on work and hence the question. ✊!
Look for place where you’ll feel like you’re using a around 80-90% of your time. That will leave you room to grow as a person and keep growing. And you need minimum or 5-6 clean hours a week to do that.
When crunch happens you can go to 125% and they’ll appreciate for the 50% additional effort you’ve put and you wouldn’t feel burnt out as you’ve only stretched 25%.
If you can get around this with equal or more pay, do not hesitate. As you pointed out, now is the moment.
I just left a 150k base job where I did about 2h work a day WFH. It was a cushy life, but had zero career development opportunities and my core skill set was getting rusty. Jumped ship for a bit more money and a lot more work, but in a place where I can grow and work towards C suite.
Short term pain for longer term employability and prospects.
I'm in a similar position to you - non-challenging role, above market rate pay (i.e. golden handcuffs) etc. I was thinking of leaving but then decided to use this time to set up my wealth goals (mainly getting into the property market, which I was planning for quite some time).
Once I've sorted that I have every intention of leaving my job, but right now I can use all this spare time and energy I have to focus on building up my wealth foundation and up-skilling so, say in a year's time, I can move to a new role that is a step up. I guess I learnt I can't have everything working for me in my favour, so I will be strategic and set aside some goals so that in the long run I get to where I want to go.
Before quitting have you considered seeing if you can work from home full time? Then you can put in the 12 hours needed to get your 150k and use 20-30 hrs per week upskilling. They’re effectively subsidising your learning journey. Do that for a year and then love yo a job where you get a 30% pay increase
I did! Thats what I was on when I quit a cruisy job.
I debated it with myself for many months before I finally did. I had flexibility to see the first 2 years of both my daughters lives. I achieved what I wanted in the role but by the 3rd year I was going stir-crazy. I left it for a job that worked me hard for slightly more money but my health and sanity improved. 4 yrs on I am looking for something midway between both extremes. Or win Lotto!
Mate keep it, although I do understand your position, I've been in less paying jobs that were similar, weirdly it's very hard to deal with. I'd write out an aggressive financial path to freedom, give yourself 3 to 5 years and pile into a few high reward positions (and less risky ones) and see if you can turn this into a way out. I have had a few career changes in my life and generally I've lost the initial passion after a year in each, it's about learning who you are.
Do you WFH? If not, ask to. If they say no, say you’ll take a 10% pay cut to WFH. Once they allow you, but a campervan with solar panels. Travel and work from the road. You’ll have heaps of time to explore and it should be easy to get your work done, too. The dream!
If you're WFH you could spend the rest of your time volunteering / giving back to the community through service. Can confirm its super fulfilling and much in need! A lot of volunteers are needed because hardly anyone can help if they also need to work full-time hours.
Similar situation atm. Working in IT, some days maybe I do 30 minutes of work. The rest of the time I play video games and study so I can get a better job where I'm actually stimulated. On 80k atm.
I wouldn't quit any job without finding another but for sure I would be looking for another job. I had a similar job working back office for the trading floor of an investment bank and if the traders didn't fuck up their trades I was done by 10am, it was horrible and impacted my career development significantly.
Congratulations! I award you with the world's biggest first world problem. Don't leave the stage so fast, you've also won in world's biggest humble brag category too!
Reading your post made me want to hurt people, starting with you.
I did, I quit a cushy government contract programming job to go to a more interesting tech stack for a substantial pay cut. It was just terminally dull
Depends what else is going on with your life. Do you have a family / kids or hobbies that are benefiting from your free time? It’s not always about work. You have the luxury of getting paid to do very little.
Honestly you have the thing everyone wants, free time.
Why not use that to freelance and lean towards projects you think will further your career? Best of both worlds. That way your not trapped by the golden handcuffs.
There's no way I'd be looking for a 10% increase for roughly 28 more hours a week that's for sure unless I found a spectacular working culture.
Depends on how long I've been there, whether my lack of doing stuff is putting my paycheck at risk, and what changes might happen in the near future.
I've been in a new job for a few months now and while there are times I'm hating it because it's totally not what I see myself doing for years to come, I've found myself in a pretty good situation re the income/output ratio. I think I'm going to reap the benefits for now since this is fairly new (i.e. who knows how it's going to evolve) and it's the most I've been paid ever which puts me in a decent financial situation so I'm going to make the most out of it.
I've been around long enough to have worked in jobs where I was underpaid AND worked to the bone and I think that gives me a greater appreciation when deals like this happen because they don't happen all the time nor are they likely to last forever.
For me, time is a factor here. First of all, from an organisational perspective if you're at a place where they scrutinise every cent they spend and someone comes round, looks at the pay/output ratio and decide to do something about it then it's game over particularly if they look at it and decide this has been long enough of a money drain to justify an immediate stop. From a personal perspective, if I had been in this situation for years and feel like I'm learning nothing new and that is putting my future career move and paycheck at risk then I'd feel like I need to take action. That being said, probably not unless I've exhausted all avenues of upskilling while keep the current job.
So being in the IT industry and having a similar experience, I would say don’t hang around in a job that you’re not enjoying. If you’re worried about money, find another similar paying job and make the move. Be honest with yourself about what you want from the job as this will help you decide if you want to move or not.
If you’re looking to be challenged, look for a more senior role or doing something with new skills.
If you’re looking for money look at either contracts or software vendors.
If you’re looking for a social job, look at something that isn’t fully remote.
These are obviously just generalizations but it sounds like you already know you don’t want to stay in the job.
I was in a similar boat, I was paid around 110k a year but would literally do nothing. I would sometimes go an entire 2 weeks with no one calling me. But then when they needed me I would go at the drop of a hat and fix the issue.
I started studying at uni remotely and studied while on the company dime and I nearly finished now. I have recently moved positions to something paying less - around 90k + OT but I am busy, learning and stimulated. Plus there is room for growth to get back up to 110k+.
So I guess its a personality thing, I can't stand sitting around doing nothing wasting away. I need the brain stimulation.
Well, I have quit a $130k job before where I was working like max 2 hours per day. It wasn't just the boredom that pushed me into leaving, it was the toxic environment and managers playing politics with each other(which was what caused work to be delayed all the time, leaving many people with nothing to do). And before anyone says "were you in gov?", this shit happens in the private sector too, lol. Lots of corporations run very inefficiently.
Anyway, what you should check first before you walk out of any job is the health of your finances. How much do you have in an emergency fund right now? What are your expenses and how many months can your savings last in case you end up in an even worse job and want to quit that too? Are there a lot of other jobs in your field that you can jump to(since you mention being in a highly specialized market)?
If you're in good financial shape and don't have dependents who need you to be in a job with lots of spare time(e.g. you don't have a very young children or need to be a carer for an elderly parent), I think you should feel free to walk away from any job that makes you deeply unhappy, even if other people think you've won the lottery by having such a job.
Fuck no dude.
My last job had me doing actual work for about 15 hours a week for half the year and then only about 1 hour a week for the other half. I worked there for 4 years on $69k and would still be there except they went bankrupt (wonder why…)
Now I have a much higher paying job, but I actually work all day.
It might appear that you are not doing much, that you are spending only 10h a week on actual work. If you are in a leadership role, you are also paid to attend/avoid meetings and work towards ensuring that your team performs at optimum productivity, and are happy in their roles.
You are also paid to learn and stay up to date with latest industry developments, innovate and collaborate with your peer leadership group. And often, you might have the experience and skills to deal with a once in a bluemoon problem effectively and prevent pandemonium.
So, it could appear that you work only 10h a week, whereas you might be "working" more than 40h. For instance, I find myself thinking of ways to help a team member who is not getting along with rest of the team. And there are PoCs I do on weekends or articles I read that contributes to the technical direction we take. If you are paid well, that is for a reason. Your manager is probably smart enough to know the value you bring. Don't be in a haste to let your impostor syndrome get the better of you.
I was working a job earning 100k and doing not much, got bored and wanted more so moved into a job paying 140k and now working 50 hour weeks 🙃
I'd take back the 100k role.
Keeping the job, don't get tied down to a mortgage unless that's what you really want, apply for part time remote jobs or do freelancing in your free time while at this job, earn way more and find jobs that help your growth.
If a company wants to give you free money fuckin take it
You could spend an extra 5 hours a week on a side hustle and probably make more then the extra 15k you'd get from a different job while still working half the hours.
I cant believe you're even thinking of going from a 24 hour over 2 work weeks to 80 hours over 2 work weeks for 15k extra just because you're bored. Keep yourself busy by finding different and extra passive incomes with the spare time you have
Dude.... Study? like if your bored go and get a doctorate in your field. Heck you've got the time and it will keep you busy, it's a tax write off and if they ever make cuts you'll be more qualified
While getting paid an above average salary for doing limited work is 100% enviable - my opinion would be to seek an opportunity that would be more financially rewarding and fulfilling in the long term. I was in the same position 2 years ago (big 4 consulting with a pathway to partner) but in a line that I just didn’t feel passionate about + hit a growth ceiling. The hours weren’t as easy as yours - but to me the soul crushing weight of being unmotivated / unchallenged was a huge sign for me to move on. There’s obviously a lot more factors at play (how old are you? What are your alternate employment options? Do you have debt / other commitments? What’s your current culture/ team like?) but if you could take the risk - I’d encourage you to follow your heart
Use the time to learn. Get certs and training in anything you can
The only bad things about being in a job that is too quiet is that management will probably try to eliminate that job and your skills will rust
"Don’t do things that you know are morally wrong. Not because someone is watching, but because you are. Self-esteem is just the reputation that you have with yourself. You’ll always know." - Naval
Now you are not doing anything morally wrong, but deep down you know it isn't the right thing to do. It will lead to poor outcomes long-term. Go somewhere were you are adding real value and you are learning and growing. For your own self esteem. For your future marketability. Short term pain. Long term gain.
looks like you hit the jackpot mate and just on here to flex , nah but seriously use that time to upskill and leisure - i'm sure 99% of the reddit are envious mate
Lol, I could have written this post, only difference is my income is $250k, had to pay fucked extra tax on my super conts.
Actually I haven't done more than 1 days work a week for months. Thank god for work from home. I only come into the office to go drinking.
I'm in a similar situation. I used the spare time to learn how to invest and make my money grow. It's the kind of active investment/speculation that requires alot of time but can pay off big.
I figured this was much better than finding another job with 20% extra pay but 100% extra work.
Honestly, this situation is almost perfect besides the non compete. I’d stay. Here’s why.
12 hours a week leaves you 28 to do other things with:
Including:
- Study. (Self guided, online, or even enrolling somewhere if you can manage it). $150K for a few more years AND emerging with a doctorate in your field or in something that compliments it is incredibly powerful for your future prospects.
- Try a side hustle, or setting up your own company for when you eventually move on is a great financial move.
- 28 hours to see your family, and friends. 28 hours to enjoy your life. It’s short enough. Don’t be so quick to sign up for a life of work when you are one of the most fortunate people on the planet right now. $150K is plenty. Enjoy your freedom while you still can.
If you do quit… can you please give me a reference to take over your spot? :) I can fake it long enough to use the 28 spare hours to actually learn how to do the job. :)
Honestly without knowing your situation better I'd stay put. You're in an enviable position of earning 150k a year, while also having enough time to do a master's, do side projects and grow in other ways. You go back to a 40hrs busy job, chuck in commuting and everything that goes with it, is it worth it? For an extra 15k, minus whatever extra tax. Will you then have time to finish that masters and devote to side projects/ interests? I'd be networking like crazy, learning as much challenging stuff as possible and then once masters is complete maybe look at self employment?
Yeah agreed, how I would kill for that much free time, got side gigs I never have time to do.
15k extra a year is 800 dollars more a month after tax. I’m not convinced 200 a week is worth 30 hours of work 150 to 165k obviously not just any 15k extra
Might even have to work overtime on top of that 40hrs.
You lose more than a third of that extra 15k to tax as well
Yes, and get them to hire me.
Mate, if you are a software dev hit me up. I would highly recommend everyone to learn basic programming. The IT industry is very short of talent atm, other teams in my company are not able fill their headcounts.
The sector is short of workers, yet only give workers 12h of work a week? Well, that's why. Need 3 people to cover 1 persons work load!
It happens more often then you'd think. Traditional business are not good at managing software development teams.
Sounds like the need work allocators not workers.
Did you just offer a solution to major corporations to get more out of their workers? Amazon would love to hire you.
Well you have to be careful with that thinking. You end up in a race to the bottom of squeezing as much productivity out of everyone as you can, and you start losing staff.
12/40 doesn't seem like it's asking for a lot. I'm not a fan of the 50+ hour work culture. But 12 seems... Low. Surely reasonably productive 30h a week is still a good deal? Edit: NOT a fan*
I would bet (and believe studies have shown) that a 40 hour work week for office workers amounts to 30 hours of work at most for the majority. Pretty easy to get distracted at the water cooler, have a meeting and and another starting in 15 mins so not worth starting something etc. It's the reason places have trialed shorter work weeks for same pay isn't it? The idea people will push to be more efficient. And even Microsoft in Japan saw an increase in productivity.
Yeah, a 4 day 28h week seems great. Half the people I know working from home last 2 years work an average of 2h a day... It's insane. Meanwhile some people are flat out for the full 45+ hours they are at the office.
No you aren't asking for a lot. 12 hours is in solid pisstke territory for sure.
What languages/technologies does your company use? (I'm a software dev :))
Javascript, Python, C++, Java
A’ight I’m out
Just curious - what would you work on? These four certainly cover the lion's share of code being written today. Maybe a bit of C# in MS shops.
Personally I’m in C# for real programming and Python for glueing things together in AWS
Can you teach me all this in 3 months?
TAFE is offering a Cert IV in Information Technology) Programming right now that is covered by the Jobtrainer grant, it's roughly 5 months long. Definitely worth having a look at. You learn C#, JavaScript, Typescript, mySQL and React. Left my job recently for a career change, would recommend :)
Looking into it now, 36 weeks part time looks good, especially if it can be done off campus! Thanks for the tip
Nice! Best of luck
can you recommend the best institution that teaches ya? i am pretty sure this cert iv is free correct? i am also not a jobtrainer because i am 30 years of age and do not hold a healthcare card
Its probably different depending on what state you're in. I'm in NSW and didn't have either of those requirements
Wow I never thought to look into the JobTrainer but a Diploma for free? I might sign up!
Yeah I was pretty shocked when I found it!
Curious I’m having to change industries because of an injury what positions open up once you finish the course
Haven't finished yet but I'll let you know when I get there!
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Remindme! 6 months
I worked with someone who was a tradie, got injured, did the above cert and now works as a software developer. Getting your first job is hard but after that it's pretty good. You might struggle to get hired at the big name tech companies as they'll often test for algorithm knowledge which isn't taught at Tafe.
Finished the cert IV at the end of last year, they strongly push you to do the diploma where outside of a few other essential programming concepts it’s basically a team work project that is supposed to simulate a real world project, however I landed a junior front end dev job off the bat
You legend, I am keen on checking this out
Looking into this tomorrow, thank you if it applies to me and also still thank you I guess if it doesn't but I'll be disappoint
So... Pretty much minimum 10y training and experience... What area of software engineering are you in?
150k job would change my life a lot. i can imagine the amount of cocaine and hookers i'd be able to get on a monthly basis. it's heaven. curious though, why would a company use java when they are already brave enough to use c++?
I got three out of those four. Haven't coded Java in 20 years. When do I start?
Would you employ someone that did a GeneralAcademy bootcamp or expect to see a degree in Computer science to get a entry level job in the industry?
A lot of companies have aptitude tests so they look less at qualifications. Our company's best devs don't have any formal qualifications.
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Self taught, but it's only because they started 30-40 years ago and bootcamps weren't a thing.
yea, thinking of doing a GA bootcamp to change my career. Or atleast go sideways coming from an insurance broker background. Would be cool to code the websites that take general brokers jobs haha. DOnt want to be on the wrong side of tech
Loss adjuster thinking the exact same..
Program the claim settlement/depreciation software and take your ex collegues jobs hahaha
Would, but you'd have to pass tests
What skill sets specifically, just curious.
Whats the best and quickest way to learn? And roughly, if dedicating 20-25 hours a week to learn, how long until one could enter the industry at an entry level and make ok money?
Freecodecamp
Thanks. Although, that only answers a very small portion of the question with no context.
I mean the best answer to your questions is to find a mentor maybe via linkedin.
I too would like the answer to this question
I’m a structural engineer (4 years) but looking to go into software development hopefully in 12 months. I’m currently teaching myself python and trying to apply it to my current job where I can. What else would you recommend I do? Hopefully not have to go back to uni as I already have an engineering degree
Create a portfolio. If you have an example app on GitHub you're much more likely to get an interview.
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Part time study or do one of those bootcamps. I’m doing an online grad diploma part time in 2 years whilst working (got one year left). The good thing about doing an actual degree is that you are eligible to apply for internship and grad programs which might be easier (I secured a grad role at a big company for next year). Otherwise you will need to work hard on your portfolio if you go the bootcamp route (also doable)
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I did the grad diploma in IT at UNE. It’s one of the few that is online and has csp spots so its cheap. Most subjects are software development focused which is quite good too Otherwise if you don’t mind in person studies, pretty much every uni offers something similar but only a few has csp spots
If you currently have a job at a company that has software developers etc maybe try finding out who you can speak to from that area and express interest in wanting to be a dev, they may be able to guide you and even get you involved in various projects. Have a mate who did this, was working a retail job, asked their store manager if they knew anyone in IT they could chat to, they put them in touch with a manager in IT and that was the start of a successful career, have another mate who did similar, reached out to the manager of the Dev team for a sit down and 6 months later is in the team with minimal skills and experience.
Any advice for juniors? I have basic c# and c++ knowledge, don’t know whether learning a .NET is the next best move, or picking a specific platform to develop with
Which city are you in? Looking to moving jobs if the right opportunity shows up
I'm nearly done with a mechanical Engineering degree and I'm starting to think the programming classes I took suited me better. I have experience in Raspberry Pi, C+, Matlab and I've been learning more python. how do you think I would do?
Do you have a recommendation for where to learn these basic skills? Certain courses that would be beneficial? Certain coding languages that would be better than others etc?
How would one find the quickest way to get this happening? I’ve had a desire for the IT industry but have never taken the leap.
Where should I learn programming that recruiters will give me credit for it?
150k a year would change my life. To spend most of it doing nothing is a one in a million chance. I find this utterly perplexing that this is a 'problem' but I understand we are all wired differently. Wish you the best mate!
The doing nothing part can get soul crushing. There was a long thread on Whirlpool about a guy on $80k in a similar situation. Enjoyed the money but hardly had any work to do. I've experienced it myself but ultimately with bills to pay you power through.
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I was in this situation some time ago, $80k, single, very low rent in a shared accommodation, living like a king. The problem with the unproductive hours is that you have to be on standby, available to be contacted, monitoring your emails, being visible to colleagues, etc. Contractually, that time is still company time. You might use the time to do some online training, but there's only so much you're interested to learn. You might start your own company, but if caught running your own thing on company time, you will get in trouble. You might get into writing, maybe a novel or something, but again if found doing it on company time, the novel becomes the company's property. Or you're a software dev like OP, you build a piece of software that makes a lot of money, company finds out you built it during company time, they sue and acquire the software and all the money. It's free time, but not really free, kinda like spending time in covid isolation. It's boreout time. And it's very soul crushing.
OK, so just work on your own projects in the off time then. OP is a software dev, there's a million and one ways he could make cash by himself with that time.
I earn $110k + super a year and barely do 5-10 hours work a week. I love it. Total lifestyle job and I’m not at all interested in building a career. During my spare time, I read about current affairs + analyse stocks/ investment opportunities etc. My goal is to make another $100k+ a year trading
I work on a transactional team and I get this completely. It’s so fucking damaging for my mental health to have a quiet month. Just get to stew in anxiety.
Same, I want this problem lol
It's a phenomenon called boreout. Kinda like burnout but with boredom. Experienced this myself a few years ago
12 hours a week working, imagine all the time you’d get to actually LIVE life. Do other things, improve your mental health, instead of grinding 40 hours a week for much less. Time is money, and this guy has both. I wouldn’t let that opportunity slip
It really is a ‘top 1% of the top 1% first world problem’ if ever I’ve seen one.
$150k is not top 1%, certainly not if you live in particular high cost of living areas (Op is sydney, so good chance). Context means everything here. $150k is comfortable, but not even close to 1% rich when it comes to inner city sydney. Edit - Downvotes? Guys, aus finance is not about burying your head in the sand. What I am saying is the truth for sydney, and even in the broader australia, $150k is NOT 1%, even if it seems that way to you.
> $150k is not top 1%, For 12 hours work though, OP is earning an effective rate of $240 per hour.
I wasn’t referring to the income itself (I would consider that fantastic money which I will likely never earn) more so the ‘problem’ of earning 150k and only having to work 12 hours a week. That in itself is such a hugely privileged situation to be in to start with. Nothing to do with burying my head in the sand mate, nor did I downvote you. If internet points are that important to you I’ll sling you an upvote.
>To spend most of it doing nothing is a one in a million chance. Well actually in tech it seems the norm.
Doing nothing at work can truly affect your mental health.
Having had a 150k job where I worked 15 hours a week, and a 150k job where I worked 70 hours a week...I would take the first option every single time.
Yeah all that free time that if you really want to work you can work on something on the side
100% this! Found myself in a similar situation and decided to learn things and find fulfillment that wasn’t work related. In the last couple years i’ve learned so many new skills like cooking, general repairs and maintenance, improved my health and fitness, coaching and sitting on my soccer club’s committee, all because of that extra free time. It’s been more fulfilling than when I used to chase the next promotion.
Good on you! I’m in a similar position and at first I was lost/disheartened but now I just enjoy the time, money and focus on other things in life!
Yeah, but 70 hours is clearly insane. 40h per week is a different kettle of fish.
Agree, but before someone looks for a more 'challenging' role it's important to be aware that the grass isn't always greener.
Not sure why I'm bothering chiming in here because: who gives a fuck what I think tbf. But anyway, I will never understand people that say this kind of thing. Why would you want to have a more challenging role unless you want to be paid more money? Work is one part of life, it's critical and takes up the majority of most people's time, I get that. But if you have the opportunity to work significantly less than the average working week, and receive a good salary for that time, why in God's name would you want anything there to change?? Surely you have other things in your life that you'd rather dedicate your time to? Is there a particular skill or hobby that you'd like to "challenge" yourself to learn or get better at? Why not do your 12 hours, and discipline yourself to funnel the remaining 28 hours into something you want to do for yourself? Honestly, the mind boggles.
im with you. i can find purpose in things outside of work. i kind of feel sorry for people if the only sense of purpose they have is from the job they do, i mean no judgement, i just find it sad
Yep, I work to make money to live the life I want to live when I'm not at work. It's the last place I choose to be.
Most people want to have some kind of purpose they're working towards, otherwise every other aspect of work will crush your soul. The downsides of doing something as a side project are: * Companies can have a bigger impact on people than some side project you work on. If helping people solve real issues is what drives you, you need to have real issues to help with. * Most "challenging work" (hard problems that make you really work hard to solve them) can only be found when you have actual customers and real issues to solve, neither of which apply for side projects. * Intellectual property agreements in your work contract might make it difficult if not impossible to have a side project which is related in any way to your work. Obviously, it is possible to still find meaningful things to do outside of work. Some people just want to be able to make their work feel more meaningful. Not to mention that your future employability will suffer if you haven't had the experience (some of which you can only get through "challenging work") most people with your seniority have.
To be fair, OP is talking about getting a pay bump. But regardless, three reasons off the top of my head: - Having X hours free during your work day doesn’t necessarily mean you can dedicate it to much else. Some jobs need you to be online and available for full working hours. Maybe you can study or do something online, but even that gets hard if you’re not working from home. - Not everyone has the drive to find new hobbies or development in their free time. It’s not always ideal, but it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re dull or uninspired either. Maybe you’ve already everything you want out of your life outside of work. Maybe it’s just your personality type - some thrive on routine and guidance, which is normal. - Even if you can utilise your free time, not everyone feels good about it. I’ve been in this situation in the past. It was good in some ways, but I also felt somewhat undeserving of the money and title. Doesn’t matter if it’s illogical, but the feeling is there - and not in some subservient way to the company. Just the human condition or something. And the less time I dedicated to my actual job, the less driven and purposeful I felt.
That will depend if he works from home or if he has to go to an office and work a certain period of time. Then it would be unbearable to have no work throughout the week.
OP has given an annual figure which suggests their income is salaried... if you're earning $150k and are concerned about leaving the office early when you don't have anything to do, you're in big bother. We're all adults, it's not school.
Outside looking in, it sound like you've struck gold but from my experience these things get found out eventually and don't do your reputation any favours. Keep your skills sharp and look for a job that's engaging and you get fulfilment from.
I'd tend to agree if it wasn't $150k for a day's work/week. Six other days of the week to keep skills sharp and remain engaged/fulfilled!
Eh, I think these situations involve a lot of “looking busy” work so even if you only do a days worth of real work, you can’t just start working or training for a second job. It’s also more draining than actual work at times.
Yes I agree, I am already studying a extra master degree + working on a few side projects, but it was not fulfilling my satisfaction on my main job. Sounds like this is the right time for me to move on before others find this out. Thanks mate!
If the organisation I worked for is entirely pleased with my performance and they show no signs of questioning what I do then I would absolutely not quit and I would be very happy to languish in a stalled career with no stress, lots of money and plenty of free time. If there are starting to be a few questions around what your day to day looks like then do not sit idle, be proactive in pushing yourself at work and finding ways to advance or do more with other departments etc. Eventually somone is going to wonder wtf you do and if you have been slack it can make it harder to go elsewhere because you are behind on the latest tech, news, systems etc.
Are you WFH? Can you do two jobs at one by taking on small contract work to fill in the gaps and further your skillset?
This is the way.
Not to get too woowoo, but there is so much more to life than just work. if you can make $150k a year by only committing 12 hours of your week… do it! spend the rest of the time doing things that are actually enjoyable. we only get one shot at life. I know people derive satisfaction from their careers, but that satisfaction doesn’t come close to the happiness from non-work related hobbies
The vast, *vast* majority of people won’t ever make that much money working 5-6x that amount per week, let alone 12 hours. I can understand and sympathise with not feeling fulfilled at work, but fuck.. most people feel exactly the same earning less than half of that, whilst working 40-50 hours.
Exactly this. Most people dislike or are bored in their job no matter what they earn. OP is on a great wicket and have the chance to do so much with that time that more rewarding than work.
I think a lot of people just don’t have the genuine understanding or realisation that they won’t live forever. Like I enjoy my work kind of, and it feels good to make a solid contribution, but god damn id much rather go for a surf, play with my dog, have sex, get high, hit up a festival.. the difference in happiness is like an underwhelming piss (work) vs orgasm (non-work). Why would anyone choose the former over the latter. $150k for 12 hours a week is amazing. The amount of bloody free time that leaves you with would give you an insanely happy life
I’m in the exact same position right now, I feel like I’m getting dumber every day. I have an interview for a new role lined up at the same rate as I have currently. I never thought I would change roles to get more work lmao.
Use the spare time wisely, if you want to be fulfilled then get serious about your side projects. You could be trapped working 40h a week in some stale technology
How’s your work life balance? Your post speaks to me as if you focus more on your professional work life (obviously I’m speculating and apologies if I’m wrong) than your outside of work life? If I were in your position being bored at work would be a small price to pay if I had a great work/life balance. I feel a work/life balance is so important - especially in the times we’re in.
I am in a similar boat - $160K+, very niche role and I reckon I only do between 10-20 hours of real work per week - a lot of the rest of my work time is taken up with unnecessary MS Teams meetings which, for some reason, I get invited to but rarely have anything to contribute \\\_(ツ)\_/ . I've got this down to a fine art knowing which meetings I need to listen to and which I can just sit in the background and mute while I listen to a podcast or go for a walk. Prior to COVID, I did a lot of travel between sites and now realise how very little actual work my job entails. I still get good feedback on my performance and am largely left to manage my own time and that of my team by bosses (some of whom haven't a clue what I do). Here's the thing though - I don't feel like I do 'nothing.' I've been doing what I do for a long while and I just think I've become very efficient at it. I'm able to filter out the bullshit parts of the role and still manage to perform well. A lot of jobs are like that I've realised - just showing up. I feel motivated by doing lots of non-work stuff in my downtime.
Hell no. If you're still bored/not learning you're not using your down time effectively. You have a unique opportunity to upskill like crazy while getting paid full time wages - I would not give that up. Sounds like a dev from your comments... why don't you build a product or service from scratch. Touch on areas you're lacking in... whether that be databases, cloud infra, automation pipelines, authentication, etc. There must be something that interests you that you can learn or build towards. Or have a talk with your manager. Don't say you only work 12 hours and are bored.. but rather ask for more responsibilities/challenging work. Surely there is tech debt, mentoring, other improvements you can do as well.
>Or have a talk with your manager. Don't say you only work 12 hours and are bored.. but rather ask for more responsibilities/challenging work. Surely there is tech debt, mentoring, other improvements you can do as well. this is the best advice in the thread
I did exactly this quite recently. It was basically golden handcuffs. I was worried that I would end up unemployable in my 50s if I stayed. I moved to better paying job, and just got a very nice pay rise too do. Much less niche stuff. Much busier, but much more interesting and I am much more respected because I know what I am doing and there are a lot more people who do what I do (not as well though :)). It's a generally all round better job. Don't think you are trapped! You are almost certainly NOT! Look for another job while you still have this one though. You are in a much better negotiating position if you do it this way.
So you are not 100% fulfilled with your job, but that only takes like 15hrs a week of your time. You are getting an incredible return on your time. Plus you are reinvesting some of that spare time in keeping developing your skills. I am working 45-50hrs per week and have very little time to develop my skills and that really frustrates me.
I gave up a highly strung 160k job where I was constantly available and always held responsible for shit I was never given the latitude to affect change on. Flunked on that for a dope ass 0.8FTE role where they kinda don't care what I do with my time so long as work gets done. I work outside in the trees. They pay me 55k and I've never been happier. But this is a finance sub, not a wellbeing sub, so my experiences represent possibly some of the worst advice you could take in that context. Do it.
What's the new job? I want to work outside in the trees too
I'd take a $50k job at 12 hours/week! I do JS, Python, C++, Java too.
I can outsource to you, what kind of C++ do you do?
It's been a while. Until around 2010 my main project at work was in Visual C++, a building design program built on top of an existing CAD system in Windows. Our later projects at work were on web - PHP, JS, Java applet for our newer CAD system. Likewise my freelance and hobby stuff since 2008 has been mostly JS & PHP. I did a lot of hobby game dev in C++ back in the day (the day being 99-06). So I haven't been there in a while so I'm not familiar with any new tools, libraries, language features etc. But happy to learn.
Got a trading dev role recently, and I am getting completely demolished lmao
Look at this undercutting mf.
Mate it’s like this in most places. No one does a full 8 hours work.
Funny how when you move up the ladder you do less work most of the time.
And paid more
You may do less work but make more important decisions where its consequences are more expensive. Unless of course you found a sweet spot where you learnt how to talk fluff to look like you do important things
So many more meetings though.....ugh the bane of real work.
I think you answered your own question. You’re not growing and not satisfied. You think you have options where you can get a 10% pay rise. Not really sure why you think it’s a hard choice?
I think the main issue is I could not fully justify merely $15,000 per year for extra 20 hrs/week of work. Obviously I am not satisfied of my current job, but I also do believe the jobs outside would not be chill as now... so want to see everyone's takes!
OP I was going to comment this. The return on your extra effort isn’t worth it here, if you look at it like this. Guarantee you can self-teach or self improve in some way with any spare left over time, attention and energy you have.
There is a different angle to consider or questions to ask. Are you happy? Are you learning? Are you fulfilled? I think the last question is super important.. im of the belief ppl need a purpose (or goal, or objective etc.) to feel fulfilled (and to in turn, feel happy/iness). If you were doing something you were passionate and excited about - something you were learning and growing from, I guarantee doing it for 40 hours a week wouldn't be so bad. Unless of course your passions fall outside of your "day job" in which case, your situation is ideal. However, from reading your posts and comments, it seems like you are doing other stuff on the side but you're still not 100%. I was in a similar situation, could get away with doing my job. I just found i was bored, stuck, not learning.. not growing.. I've since changed jobs, really like what I'm doing, v different and a huge learning curve. I'm pulling long hours now but it's great to be humming like this .. buuut, to each their own and I get that some folk just have a different view on work. Good luck!
Yeah I think it will be something personal to you whether you value more that growth and development or the extra free time. Plenty of people in both camps, so just depends what more important for you.
Was in a similar position, ended up bailing to a new role at the end of last year and have zero regrets. Having more work to do during the day is actually engaging me more in my role and I finish the day/week feeling satisfied that I've actually done something. The pay increase was nice, but actually having something to do was the biggest driver
Yes, I just did a couple of months ago. So the back story is that I got hired by one of the big government department as senior developer contract role for about $210k. But the project got canned. So I was asking them for work every day and they would just say, they don't have any.i did a lot of self study but it became too boring.it was a remote job so I literally had no work to do all day. The amount do work I did in 5 months there is something I would do in a couple of days. In first 4 months , I wrote exactly 20 lines of code. It got to a point where I was getting depressed. I talked to my manager and quit after 5 months. I just couldn't take it any more.
I wish i was bored and making $150k.
I feel you’re a person with commitment on work and hence the question. ✊! Look for place where you’ll feel like you’re using a around 80-90% of your time. That will leave you room to grow as a person and keep growing. And you need minimum or 5-6 clean hours a week to do that. When crunch happens you can go to 125% and they’ll appreciate for the 50% additional effort you’ve put and you wouldn’t feel burnt out as you’ve only stretched 25%. If you can get around this with equal or more pay, do not hesitate. As you pointed out, now is the moment.
Money isn’t everyone’s key motivator. Yours is obviously professional and personal development. Nothing wrong with that.
I just left a 150k base job where I did about 2h work a day WFH. It was a cushy life, but had zero career development opportunities and my core skill set was getting rusty. Jumped ship for a bit more money and a lot more work, but in a place where I can grow and work towards C suite. Short term pain for longer term employability and prospects.
I'm in a similar position to you - non-challenging role, above market rate pay (i.e. golden handcuffs) etc. I was thinking of leaving but then decided to use this time to set up my wealth goals (mainly getting into the property market, which I was planning for quite some time). Once I've sorted that I have every intention of leaving my job, but right now I can use all this spare time and energy I have to focus on building up my wealth foundation and up-skilling so, say in a year's time, I can move to a new role that is a step up. I guess I learnt I can't have everything working for me in my favour, so I will be strategic and set aside some goals so that in the long run I get to where I want to go.
Before quitting have you considered seeing if you can work from home full time? Then you can put in the 12 hours needed to get your 150k and use 20-30 hrs per week upskilling. They’re effectively subsidising your learning journey. Do that for a year and then love yo a job where you get a 30% pay increase
No!!! I'd stay and work on a side hustle I'm passionate about within the other 28 hours!
I did! Thats what I was on when I quit a cruisy job. I debated it with myself for many months before I finally did. I had flexibility to see the first 2 years of both my daughters lives. I achieved what I wanted in the role but by the 3rd year I was going stir-crazy. I left it for a job that worked me hard for slightly more money but my health and sanity improved. 4 yrs on I am looking for something midway between both extremes. Or win Lotto!
Mate keep it, although I do understand your position, I've been in less paying jobs that were similar, weirdly it's very hard to deal with. I'd write out an aggressive financial path to freedom, give yourself 3 to 5 years and pile into a few high reward positions (and less risky ones) and see if you can turn this into a way out. I have had a few career changes in my life and generally I've lost the initial passion after a year in each, it's about learning who you are.
Do you WFH? If not, ask to. If they say no, say you’ll take a 10% pay cut to WFH. Once they allow you, but a campervan with solar panels. Travel and work from the road. You’ll have heaps of time to explore and it should be easy to get your work done, too. The dream!
If you're WFH you could spend the rest of your time volunteering / giving back to the community through service. Can confirm its super fulfilling and much in need! A lot of volunteers are needed because hardly anyone can help if they also need to work full-time hours.
Get another job on the side? Do study on the side? Seriously. 150k and only 12 hours is a very envious position to be in.
If you are 20s, mid30s, yes. If you are mid40s to 50s, just ride that gravy train to the sunset.
Similar situation atm. Working in IT, some days maybe I do 30 minutes of work. The rest of the time I play video games and study so I can get a better job where I'm actually stimulated. On 80k atm.
What kind of the job is it? sounds like my dream work
I wouldn't quit any job without finding another but for sure I would be looking for another job. I had a similar job working back office for the trading floor of an investment bank and if the traders didn't fuck up their trades I was done by 10am, it was horrible and impacted my career development significantly.
Take a new job that allows WFH and keep the old one. Outsource your new job to someone else. Take the difference.
A real programmers mindset here.
Work from home and take a second job
Congratulations! I award you with the world's biggest first world problem. Don't leave the stage so fast, you've also won in world's biggest humble brag category too! Reading your post made me want to hurt people, starting with you.
Yep, I can't be bored at work
I did, I quit a cushy government contract programming job to go to a more interesting tech stack for a substantial pay cut. It was just terminally dull
r/overemployed
Depends what else is going on with your life. Do you have a family / kids or hobbies that are benefiting from your free time? It’s not always about work. You have the luxury of getting paid to do very little.
Honestly you have the thing everyone wants, free time. Why not use that to freelance and lean towards projects you think will further your career? Best of both worlds. That way your not trapped by the golden handcuffs. There's no way I'd be looking for a 10% increase for roughly 28 more hours a week that's for sure unless I found a spectacular working culture.
Depends on how long I've been there, whether my lack of doing stuff is putting my paycheck at risk, and what changes might happen in the near future. I've been in a new job for a few months now and while there are times I'm hating it because it's totally not what I see myself doing for years to come, I've found myself in a pretty good situation re the income/output ratio. I think I'm going to reap the benefits for now since this is fairly new (i.e. who knows how it's going to evolve) and it's the most I've been paid ever which puts me in a decent financial situation so I'm going to make the most out of it. I've been around long enough to have worked in jobs where I was underpaid AND worked to the bone and I think that gives me a greater appreciation when deals like this happen because they don't happen all the time nor are they likely to last forever. For me, time is a factor here. First of all, from an organisational perspective if you're at a place where they scrutinise every cent they spend and someone comes round, looks at the pay/output ratio and decide to do something about it then it's game over particularly if they look at it and decide this has been long enough of a money drain to justify an immediate stop. From a personal perspective, if I had been in this situation for years and feel like I'm learning nothing new and that is putting my future career move and paycheck at risk then I'd feel like I need to take action. That being said, probably not unless I've exhausted all avenues of upskilling while keep the current job.
So being in the IT industry and having a similar experience, I would say don’t hang around in a job that you’re not enjoying. If you’re worried about money, find another similar paying job and make the move. Be honest with yourself about what you want from the job as this will help you decide if you want to move or not. If you’re looking to be challenged, look for a more senior role or doing something with new skills. If you’re looking for money look at either contracts or software vendors. If you’re looking for a social job, look at something that isn’t fully remote. These are obviously just generalizations but it sounds like you already know you don’t want to stay in the job.
I was in a similar boat, I was paid around 110k a year but would literally do nothing. I would sometimes go an entire 2 weeks with no one calling me. But then when they needed me I would go at the drop of a hat and fix the issue. I started studying at uni remotely and studied while on the company dime and I nearly finished now. I have recently moved positions to something paying less - around 90k + OT but I am busy, learning and stimulated. Plus there is room for growth to get back up to 110k+. So I guess its a personality thing, I can't stand sitting around doing nothing wasting away. I need the brain stimulation.
Well, I have quit a $130k job before where I was working like max 2 hours per day. It wasn't just the boredom that pushed me into leaving, it was the toxic environment and managers playing politics with each other(which was what caused work to be delayed all the time, leaving many people with nothing to do). And before anyone says "were you in gov?", this shit happens in the private sector too, lol. Lots of corporations run very inefficiently. Anyway, what you should check first before you walk out of any job is the health of your finances. How much do you have in an emergency fund right now? What are your expenses and how many months can your savings last in case you end up in an even worse job and want to quit that too? Are there a lot of other jobs in your field that you can jump to(since you mention being in a highly specialized market)? If you're in good financial shape and don't have dependents who need you to be in a job with lots of spare time(e.g. you don't have a very young children or need to be a carer for an elderly parent), I think you should feel free to walk away from any job that makes you deeply unhappy, even if other people think you've won the lottery by having such a job.
Fuck no dude. My last job had me doing actual work for about 15 hours a week for half the year and then only about 1 hour a week for the other half. I worked there for 4 years on $69k and would still be there except they went bankrupt (wonder why…) Now I have a much higher paying job, but I actually work all day.
Or you can find something with more pay and less hours. Aim for the stars!!
A Sydney mortgage? Keep that job AND get another one. You might just make it!
No lol Use the rest of Ur time to learn and invest 150k is enough
It might appear that you are not doing much, that you are spending only 10h a week on actual work. If you are in a leadership role, you are also paid to attend/avoid meetings and work towards ensuring that your team performs at optimum productivity, and are happy in their roles. You are also paid to learn and stay up to date with latest industry developments, innovate and collaborate with your peer leadership group. And often, you might have the experience and skills to deal with a once in a bluemoon problem effectively and prevent pandemonium. So, it could appear that you work only 10h a week, whereas you might be "working" more than 40h. For instance, I find myself thinking of ways to help a team member who is not getting along with rest of the team. And there are PoCs I do on weekends or articles I read that contributes to the technical direction we take. If you are paid well, that is for a reason. Your manager is probably smart enough to know the value you bring. Don't be in a haste to let your impostor syndrome get the better of you.
Absolutely not dude. Start a side hustle and do it while you're "at work" so you kill two birds with one lucky $150k a year stone!!
I was working a job earning 100k and doing not much, got bored and wanted more so moved into a job paying 140k and now working 50 hour weeks 🙃 I'd take back the 100k role.
Keeping the job, don't get tied down to a mortgage unless that's what you really want, apply for part time remote jobs or do freelancing in your free time while at this job, earn way more and find jobs that help your growth. If a company wants to give you free money fuckin take it
Use the free time to work and study the things that you'd like to work on, then slowly turn it into a side hussle
Just do productive things with the rest of your time. Not a problem. Hobby projects, side business, anything.
Dude, just get a hobby... This is such an absurdly stupid thing to complain about.
You could spend an extra 5 hours a week on a side hustle and probably make more then the extra 15k you'd get from a different job while still working half the hours. I cant believe you're even thinking of going from a 24 hour over 2 work weeks to 80 hours over 2 work weeks for 15k extra just because you're bored. Keep yourself busy by finding different and extra passive incomes with the spare time you have
Dude just wanna flex on everyone else. Lost brain cells reading that
Dude.... Study? like if your bored go and get a doctorate in your field. Heck you've got the time and it will keep you busy, it's a tax write off and if they ever make cuts you'll be more qualified
I make 1/3 of that working 45 hour per week constantly busy and stressed. Lol I need a new job
Nope I can remember making 40k answering phones all day, did my head in.
While getting paid an above average salary for doing limited work is 100% enviable - my opinion would be to seek an opportunity that would be more financially rewarding and fulfilling in the long term. I was in the same position 2 years ago (big 4 consulting with a pathway to partner) but in a line that I just didn’t feel passionate about + hit a growth ceiling. The hours weren’t as easy as yours - but to me the soul crushing weight of being unmotivated / unchallenged was a huge sign for me to move on. There’s obviously a lot more factors at play (how old are you? What are your alternate employment options? Do you have debt / other commitments? What’s your current culture/ team like?) but if you could take the risk - I’d encourage you to follow your heart
Use the time to learn. Get certs and training in anything you can The only bad things about being in a job that is too quiet is that management will probably try to eliminate that job and your skills will rust
$150k job and doing nothing! We can’t have 90% of the public service quit. Edit: I suppose we can.
"Don’t do things that you know are morally wrong. Not because someone is watching, but because you are. Self-esteem is just the reputation that you have with yourself. You’ll always know." - Naval Now you are not doing anything morally wrong, but deep down you know it isn't the right thing to do. It will lead to poor outcomes long-term. Go somewhere were you are adding real value and you are learning and growing. For your own self esteem. For your future marketability. Short term pain. Long term gain.
looks like you hit the jackpot mate and just on here to flex , nah but seriously use that time to upskill and leisure - i'm sure 99% of the reddit are envious mate
Lol, I could have written this post, only difference is my income is $250k, had to pay fucked extra tax on my super conts. Actually I haven't done more than 1 days work a week for months. Thank god for work from home. I only come into the office to go drinking.
r/overemployed
lol stick to doing sweet-f-all and enjoy the good salary bro there is more to life then work and money makes that 'more' happen
This ungrateful little shit right here Chief.
I'm in a similar situation. I used the spare time to learn how to invest and make my money grow. It's the kind of active investment/speculation that requires alot of time but can pay off big. I figured this was much better than finding another job with 20% extra pay but 100% extra work.
Honestly, this situation is almost perfect besides the non compete. I’d stay. Here’s why. 12 hours a week leaves you 28 to do other things with: Including: - Study. (Self guided, online, or even enrolling somewhere if you can manage it). $150K for a few more years AND emerging with a doctorate in your field or in something that compliments it is incredibly powerful for your future prospects. - Try a side hustle, or setting up your own company for when you eventually move on is a great financial move. - 28 hours to see your family, and friends. 28 hours to enjoy your life. It’s short enough. Don’t be so quick to sign up for a life of work when you are one of the most fortunate people on the planet right now. $150K is plenty. Enjoy your freedom while you still can. If you do quit… can you please give me a reference to take over your spot? :) I can fake it long enough to use the 28 spare hours to actually learn how to do the job. :)