18% pay cut to work from home?

No, too many distractions. Not disciplined enough. If you are and you can afford a huge cut then do it.

Depends. How much would you be saving on gas? Would the job make you happier in the long run? Would you get to spend time with kids or would you be by yourself? There's a lot of factors to consider.

Quite possibly. The 18% is probably a wash. You save on gas and eating out, but your power consumption will increase. Depends on what you are doing if distractions would be an issue or not.

So you are gonna lose $1.80 per hr to work from home? Seems like an easy decision, should generate more food stamps for you and yours too.

It's a huge change, but the rewards outweigh the costs, IMO. If you have a family, it's a big plus because it gives you more time with your little ones, especially if they are really young. The best advice I can give you is to create a space that is very much a work space - somewhere you can close the door and it feels like you're at work.

The thing is, whatever you are losing in financial capital, you are doubling in emotional/mental capital. The things that really matter in this world are the people we love and our time with them. You'll gain a great deal of that by not having to schlep it to an office everyday. I would also speak with an accountant/tax professional about how to best take advantage of the tax breaks you get by doubling a space in your house as a home office. That could help shave down that 18% number.

As a general rule moving backwards isn't a good idea unless there are other circumstances at play. If your job is one that is commission driven then a cut in base isn't that big a deal. If not I'd hold out.

There's a huge glut of boomers that are retiring which is opening doors for young smart guys like yourself. If your job is one that can be performed remotely you could probably do this and make more money if you're patient....

....that is if you don't spend your whole day on internet message boards.

Hmmmm....on second thought you probably need close supervision with limited internet access....in one of those half wall cubicle pods...

Whatever makes you happy.....you can't buy that.

quote:

---

It's a job I've already been doing part-time for two years, in addition to my day job. I got to a point where I had to pick one or the other, I could no longer do both, because both were asking more and more from me.

So I quit the part time one.

Part time one called me back, said if I went full time they'd give me X. It's 18% paycut (but the benefits are slightly better).

---

I would probably do it.

The only factor that could kill it for me would be if there was not room to grow and increase my income back

The real question is what happens when Day Job comes back and offers me a 50% raise to stay.

Well, not really a question. I'd stay.

I have been working a mix of out of my home and travel in the US and abroad for 6 years. You have to be careful about a couple of things.

1) Self discipline.
2) Burgeoning reliance on you because you are home by others in the household. Just because you are there does not mean you can take the kids to the dentist.
3) Out of sight, out of mind. This speaks to company internal culture. "He is working at home, so he isn't working". "Why can't I work at home too? That prick". You aren't there so you lose the company office dynamic. It takes a mature company to successfully pull this off. - This is REAL REAL important. If you do go this route, make damn sure you are in the office frequently. Your boss is also extremely important and how he views working from home.