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Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

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Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#11

Post by esarbe »

I've been moving from working 100% to 80% to 60% while still making enough money to provide for a family and to squirrel away a decent portion of my salary.

I could have continued working at 100%... but what for? I realized I don't need status symbols like expensive clothes or a sports car with vanity plates, and my kids will get their smartphones second-hand, just as I do. We're now living in the countryside with decently sized garden and some animals around the house.

I've escaped the treadmill and it was the best decision of my life.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#12

Post by zebraflask »

The grass is always greener, etc.

It might be better to spend some free time cultivating a side project or two where you can exercise your dev skills without endangering your income. Who knows, it might take off and turn into your own company down the road.

Once you give up salary and seniority, though, those are gone with the odds stacked against getting them back.

And there is the cynical (but non-zero) chance that many people will assume you were demoted for poor performance / behavioral issues / insert your own negative perception, instead of a voluntary move.

Tread cautiously, I'd say, don't do aything to endanger your current position and income.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#13

Post by exabrial »

I did, and it was shortsighted for my retirement savings and investments. While I was able to adjust, my lifestyle and expense is downward, you really just can’t scale down 401(k) contributions.

My advice: don’t do it. Look around while you have a job, but stay fully committed to your duties at work (stealing from your employers is still stealing and is wrong).

If you need to, take some vto to clear your mind and relax.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#14

Post by fatnoah »

I did, and I hated it. As it turns out, what I really loved about the "higher" level was the scope and impact of my work, and the more strategic view of things. In my case, moving "down" also meant a huge (like 200-300%) increase in pay. I lasted 3 years in the higher-paying, yet "lower" role. I recently moved back to a "higher" role and am substantially happier.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#15

Post by sherilm »

Made a pretty big "down" move myself, except in my case I ended up changing careers.

1. I think the biggest challenge in making these decisions is the fear of making the "wrong" move and the fear of "regret". The reality is that there is no one right answer - regardless of what path you take, regret is baked in and guaranteed. The alternate path/s and its possibilities will always go unexplored/unknown. The question is which one are you ok with the consequences, both upside and downside. Which one are you going to regret more in terms of not taking action?

2. You are onto something in terms of money. We forget but it's only one form of exchange albeit one that we easily understand and that's why it dominates our thinking. But there are others not so obvious ones like time, energy, and identity which are of a higher order but don't get as much airtime. Obviously, you can't make decisions in a vacuum given others are dependent on you.

I've written about my experience that might help.

A collection of frameworks to think it through: https://www.leadingsapiens.com/essential-career-change-frame...

Some questions and the framework around money: https://www.leadingsapiens.com/questions-midlife-career-chan...

More questions around mid career dynamics: https://www.leadingsapiens.com/mid-career-mistakes/

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#16

Post by logicalmonster »

If you already own your own house outright and are not faced with financial pressure in that department, a relatively minor step back in salary to maximize your mental-health and life enjoyment seems perfectly reasonable and logical. It's not like a software engineer (who already owns their own home by the way) is going to end up begging in the streets.

Just be advised that a software engineer's job isn't stress free either. Big projects can wreck you both mentally and physically. In some ways, being a PM is a lot easier.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#17

Post by nytesky »

As someone who never prioritized money but instead gravitated to mission and a career supporting my family life, my biggest recommendation is to keep earning the high salary as long as you can. Money represents options and time in a storable, transportable form — I didn’t realize that when I was younger and just figured I could live within my means. I make more than 5x my parents did in my rural town, but in an urban city it’s a different calculus for a family and I wish I built up enough money to exercise different options in life.

Further, as you get older, becoming an IC has ageism risks, and returning to age appropriate leadership roles maybe hard with the “drop” on your resume.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#18

Post by zonethundery »

I did this for a career change, and it was worth it, but the adjustment period was extremely long (4-6x).

Financially it was okay (still painful; 20% cut + move to vhcol area), but I underestimated how much it would grate to _not matter_. I had grown accustomed to a certain level of deference and respect that was not available in the new role, and in fact my willingness to move "down" was viewed with some suspicion.

People will (almost) always assume you "couldn't cut it" in the old role (or had a mental health crisis or something), and higher-ranked people in the new job will rightly look at you as a potential threat from below.

Good luck. Moving back to IC can be good for some people, but I agree with the other poster that "self sabotage" is a phrase that suggests this may not be right for you.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#19

Post by JSeymourATL »

> I worry about having regrets and endangering my family's financial safety.

The tipping point— when you no longer worry about things like finances, career track, opinions of others.

Either because you resolved those issues in your mind, or uncontrollable events have made your corporate position redundant.

Always a smart play to have a solid “Plan B” at the ready.

Re: Ask HN: Have you made a career move “down” on purpose, and how has it been?

#20

Post by Dowwie »

Product management isn't an upgrade from software engineering. You thought it was until you experienced it yourself. That was your downgrade. I went through that experience and realized PM is a necessary yet insufficient role for someone who has built, and enjoys building software. However, not all software is valued the same. Greenfield work is so much fun, creating something from first principles and intuition, blazing trails and risking failure to acquire insights. Why not dedicate yourself to innovative greenfield project work and keep the PM gig until your project can become a viable product?
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