My current salary is 41000 per year, I work about 50 hours per week, and I hate my job! I have worked for this company (off and on) in various capacities since 1988. I used to like it. Over the years, a lot of changes have taken place. Almost none of these changes are good. The latest change in ownership has brought in the most dishonest bunch of pricks that I have ever seen. I am convinced that they are going to run the company into the ground within the next few years. Everything is about the bottom line TODAY, future be damned.
But, like a good little slave, I keep showing up. Day after day, year after year. Because I make 41000 per year. Because it’s what i know. Because I have bills and 2 teenagers to support.
Anyway, that’s the work situation.
2 years ago, I decided to go back to college to finish a degree that I started way back in 1986, before a descent into alcoholism intervened. (It has been 6 years since I’ve had a drink). I just started my Junior year at a certain university studying for a degree in electrical engineering. So I go to school full-time and I work 50 hours a week. I don’t sleep much.
The only good thing I can say about my job is that they will allow me to set my own hours. They really don’t care when I work as long as the work required is done to their satisfaction. Most of the time, I devote weekdays to school, show up to work early Saturday morning and work straight through to late Sunday night. If I can get everything done on the weekends, great! If not I will pull another all nighter on Tuesday or Thursday. Like I said, I don’t sleep much.
I live about halfway between work and school. The University is about 50 miles to the East and work is about 45 miles to the West. I spend a lot of time on the interstate.
So the point of all this is that this morning I was offered a job that is 3 miles from my house and I pass right by it on the way to school. The manager of a small grocery store offered to hire me as her assistant manager for 12.00 an hour. She said she would work around my school schedule. The company also has a tuition reimbursement program that will reimburse 80% the cost of tuition, fees and books. Plus they will pay commission. She said that my commission would be exactly half of hers, and she usually gets between 600 and 800 dollars per month.
So I started adding all of this up:
12.00 per hour, 40 hours per week, 52 weeks per year - $24,960
80% of the tuition, fees and books - approx $6,000
Approx 350 per month commission - 4,200
Money I won’t be spending for gas to get to work and back - approx $2,080 (Not to mention wear and tear on my car.)
Add it all up - $37,240
$3,760 per year less then I make now. It’s doable, but I will definitely struggle at times. But then I think about the time saved. 10 hours of work less per week plus about 7 hours of commuting time less per week. 17 hours per week or 884 hours per year freed up! 17 hours a week is an extremely valuable amount of time in a life that is currently averaging about 4 hours of sleep a night!
I’m soooooo tempted! I have never worked in a grocery store before, so I really have no idea what it is like. I imagine it would be very tedious. But I do like the manager, we chat every morning when I stop in for my daily dose of caffeine. Plus it would in no way be permanent. If everything goes as planned I will graduate in the fall of 2014.
So, my friends, what do you think? Is it worth losing 3760 per year in income to free up 17 hours a week? I’m thinking it is, but then I have only slept about 3 hours in 3 nights.
Anyway, I have a circuits test tomorrow so I need to get back to studying… I’ll check back later for some good advice, encouragement, whatever. Thanks for reading all of this.