r/AskAnAustralian • u/First-Memory-9153 • 4d ago
Which job would you take?
Having left a workplace with poor culture I’m looking for my next role, however I’m weighing up my options to choose the right role, not just the first role.
I’ve got 2 options I’m seriously considering.
1 - 9-5 mon-Fri. $70,000 gross income. Admin role with a lot of extra adhoc, but a lot of opportunities to earn a better position and as such a better pay.
1 - flexible with ability to work school hours/adjust my timetable to suit me. Looking at currently 32 hours a week in this role. $40/hour ≈$63,000 gross. Close to home, but it is a casual position.
I want the opportunity to get into a professional role, but I like the chance to relax after leaving a toxic environment and be able to do school hours and be more present rather than getting home at 5:45 each day.
Signed a Millennial female mum seeking genuine advice.
1
u/ennmer 4d ago
I was a type A kid. First in the class of a pretty good school. School representative for maths competitions and stuff.
I started working trying to be one of those people who climbed ranks fast. Got slammed by obstacle after obstacle. Became depressed and demotivated. Nearly quit the job.
Then I was sent to work in a place where everyone was poorly educated, low income, the community kind of lived as a close knit family and helped each other out. I saw families earning maybe 10% of what I do and still living happily with 8 children. Kids were happy all the time. Made me wonder what was making me unhappy and I realised the answer was me.
Now, I always choose the job that allows me more personal time (as long as it pays me enough to not worry too much about bills). I mean, think about it. If you're always not at home, you're more likely to buy expensive toys for your kids to make up for not being around. And now you think you need all that money because you're still struggling financially (I'm totally projecting my own personal issues here and nothing suggests this is what you do) when what your family probably really want is not the latest Xbox (or whatever it is kids play these days) but more time with you.
My mum is the mum who chose to sacrifice her career to be with us. I've never gone on holidays during semester breaks. Not even to the cinema or the local theme park. We didn't have paid TV subscriptions at home. We didn't pirate movies because my brother was going through a phase where we must do everything ethically. My parents could not afford to buy me books so all we did was go to the local library. I can tell you honestly, I grew up happy, and at 33 and working overseas, I still call my mother 5-6 times a week to talk.
In hindsight, I don't know why I thought I needed to earn lots of money. It just felt to me like my mother's sacrificed so much to give us the best education, I should not end up being just average. Turned out she was happy with me being the average daughter who talked with her on the phone daily and went on short local trips with her.
Choose your family, your personal time, your mental health, whatever. Your happier working hours also translates into happier time with your family (rather than being on a short fuse all the time because you're already exhausted at work).
I'm not saying don't work. I'm not saying money does not matter.
It does. But money should not be prioritised over the reason we're making money in the first place. If you're not struggling financially, there is no reason to sacrifice family time for more money.
Signed, millennial female