Probably my every job in life was "lower paid" and no it didn't mean it was easier and chilled.
Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
31–40 of 111 posts
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#32Joined Amazon as an SDM and left in 3 months. Took a 30% pay cut, looking back after 3 years, couldn't be happier. At Amazon, felt like I was in a Squid Games like environment, with the Leadership Principles thrown in your face to justify any and all actions. Switched to a healthcare related company, where people seem genuinely driven to build products and care about your colleagues.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#33Definitely a good move but out of the blue (after ten years) our old startup group is getting back together and the CIO is creating a role for me. Seems they won't take no for an answer.
However, I hired into my current job for stability and learned there is no stability despite repeatedly being assured that it was. The startup will yield about five-plus years of work until we sell (options). The pay bump will be nice.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#34I left the electronic warfare industry even though I'd helped build a program from nothing to a product bringing in $100M (probably billions since I left) because I didn't want to be in the war industry any longer where the entire legacy of my lifes work could be measured in destruction. Worked as a software engineer in industry for a while, gradually moving up in salary, then went into contracting. Contracting seeme…
I was mostly OK working in defense. Good money. Until Reagan took office. His nonsense spooked me. The politics of the day drove me away. No more gravy train. Trading peace of mind for money and job security.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#35Friend of mine had 150k job working for system's integrator, was stressed out because of the frequent travels & certification requirements. Quit and went to work for hospital as sysAdmin for about 75k/y.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#36Switched from a startup job to an academic research job last year. The stress and pressure are just gone entirely. There is no slack/chat, meetings are rare and ad-hoc. People just talk irl or email if it's really necessary, but most of the time there's nothing that important. No idiot clients that really need some dumb feature added by Monday, and there's almost complete freedom on what to work on and how.
Probably one of the healthiest changes I've made recently tbh.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#37I would do that if Idid not have real life responsibilities, mortgage, kids. I could live even on basic income, my family not.
This. I would have been happy to stay in academia forever as a DINK person. Once there was a kid, that option evaporated.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#38It's been a while, but I quit the aerospace industry in 1992 for a lower paying Unix (SunOS) job. Aerospace was hidebound, people refused to do anything new. Not because the new methods were risky, but rather because in 1965 they'd sworn to the Air Force they'd done the best job possible. Anything new put lie to that. The security requirements were also anxiety inducing to me. I've missed some me things, but mostly i…
with computers and drone tech, you can get back to "aerospace" for a fraction of the penny as a hobby.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#39I quit a high pay/low cost of living job to move to a high pay high cost of living job when I was young. The skills, connections, experience I got were great but eventually it was clear I wasn't on a path for long term happiness in that city. I then quit that high pay/high cost of living job to move to a low cost of living area. I bought a house, which was unattainable in hcol area. I ended up getting promoted to comparable pay after a few years. I am now planning to go from leader to individual contributor role soon. I have saved enough in retirement accounts to still retire early, but I'm not in a hurry because my partner wants to work another decade or so and generally be stable while we raise kids.
you might Google and read up on the concept of "coast fire", which is essentially front loading retirement savings then working lower paying jobs while you let your savings compound.
Re: Ask HN: Tell me your stories of taking lower paid work to be happier
#40Some years back I went from full-time (5 day work week) to part-time (3 day work week). For me it was absolutely worth it. My mindset and lifestyle are that of an artist: I spend all my free time writing, coding, drawing, composing music, cooking, and just generally building stuff. Money is not an issue because I don't buy anything other than what I need to survive. I'm aware I'm not the norm.