[Finance] What is the best or worst career decision you've ever made?

[The Optimist]

Similar along the teaching lines. Moved from Medway to Singapore to work in an International school for 20 hours a week at triple the salary I was on in the UK. Weather/lifestyle/pay just doesn't compare.
I understand it is difficult for many people but I would urge anyone who is teaching to strongly consider moving abroad for your own sanity. A sad indictment of the UK education system to be honest.

I’m another ex teacher. Left about 12 years ago. Now earn double what was I was on when I left and while not stress free it is less stress.

In the middle was my most stressful job and leaving it for my current company was my best decision, however I wouldn’t have managed to get my current job if it wasn’t for the stressful one.

 

[Peacehaven Wild Kids]

Leaving a company after 16 years that I’d been with since school. Easy option would have been to stay and bumble along……..only realised after moving I was pretty much institutionalised, and didn’t realise what I knew/could do was equally (and ultimately more) valued elsewhere.

This (except read 29 years!) it got to a stage where I was petrified of change. When I finally took the plunge my mental and physical health improved 100 fold. Looking back I’m amazed/shocked how I tolerated it for so long. I have not missed a thing about it for one second.

 

[Springal]

First industry job involved travelling from Worthing to East Grinstead, was only 19 so was hard work but it gave me a big leg up.

Second company got acquired and when I was 21 moved to London as new company was in Canary Wharf, did 12 months living in a house share with uni students. Looking back was brave but again propelled my career massively forward even if it was hard work at the time.

 

[southstandandy]

Best - taking a six figure golden handshake allowing me to retire early

Worst - working 2 jobs in my early 20's to save for a house. It worked from the savings perspective, but my social life for much of my 20's was non existent.

 

[Bold Seagull]

Best career decision: becoming an architect.
Worst career decision: becoming an architect.

 

[HalfaSeatOn]

Best - choosing a less stress free path
Worst - going down a stressful path

 

[The Antikythera Mechanism]

It’s all about being in the right place at the right time, although you probably don’t realise it then. In 1998 I held a senior position in an Italian international company. I was based in the UK offices in Docklands and travelled frequently to the Netherlands. Out of the blue I got a call from a company in SW London asking if I’d be interested in joining them. They were a small specialist sub-contracting firm turning over about £8m pa. I nearly didn’t go, but decided nothing ventured nothing gained. The owner said he’d have to make me an offer I couldn’t refuse, which was a basic of 45k pa plus guaranteed £5k bonus, company car, pension, health insurance etc. Three years later I was a director, five years later I was part of a management buyout, sixteen years later I sold my shares. Twenty five years later, I still have an involvement as a consultant. My previous company downsized their UK operations and closed the London offices. Things could’ve been so different had I made a different decision twenty five years ago.

 

[mejonaNO12 aka riskit]

On a side note, I find it weird how people let a job define them. "And what do you do?"

Worst, not buying the flat next door when I was 20 and it was on the market for 18 grand. I could happily now own a property portfolio, if I’d known then what I know now

You still can. The older generation quite often inform the younger that all they simply need to do is cancel Netflix or stop having takeaways to afford a home.

Houses are dirt cheap

 

[knocky1]

I’m another ex teacher. Left about 12 years ago. Now earn double what was I was on when I left and while not stress free it is less stress.

In the middle was my most stressful job and leaving it for my current company was my best decision, however I wouldn’t have managed to get my current job if it wasn’t for the stressful one.

Good decision for me was to do my PGCE in Economics. Better decision was to then not go into a school to teach. Used it to spend 2 years abroad in the 90's working only 2 hours a day and with 24 weeks a year paid holiday. Saved enough to invest in property and haven't been to work since 1996. A lot of luck with timing regards property prices and I also sold my soul to the Saudi Devil. I'm a hypocrit and a dosser at heart.

 

[Herr Tubthumper]

Two good decisions:
1) Decided to go freelance in 1996
2) Decided to turn down an office based contract 20 years ago and look for home/remote working opportunities. This was when firms were deeply suspicious of home working and tech wasn’t as good as it is now.

Both worked a treat, I currently have two remote clients which offer slight different roles but which keep my skill sets current. I now work as, what I’d call a proper freelancer, and not a contractor.

Worst work moment was a couple of years after graduation, on a temp graduate contract at the CAA, applying for my own job and not getting it. That was awful and very humbling.

 

[knocky1]

On a side note, I find it weird how people let a job define them. "And what do you do?"

The answer "I don't have to DO anything" can be used both by aristocracy or people on benefits. A class leveller.

 

[RandyWanger]

My worst turned into my best in an odd kind of way.
I left a job I'd been at for 6 years, knew everyone and everything and was just coasting collecting a salary at that point. The job I moved onto was a much higher salary for a well-established company who were setting up a new office in the UK, every plan and proposal was rejected, I achieved nothing, felt miserable and hated the job, company and people. The project was eventually canned but thankfully they paid me a nice sum to leave.
I took a few months off to decompress and get my mind right and then ended up working for the maddest of mad men in a totally bonkers company that's so much fun and have been here for just over 2 years now.

 

[Albion in the north]

In 2003, quit a very well paid contract to run overhauls on power stations. Bought the local village shop, for the first 2 years at least, just put the money back in to the place to make it better. Still dont earn that much but as they say up here, just cut my cloth to suit. Took my daughter to school every day. Saw all her plays/sports days/carol services. Never been happier. Money isnt everything.
Obviously that kind of radical change might not fit in with your lifestyle.

 

[Westdene Seagull]

My best and worst decisions are actually linked. I was working for a Canadian MSP which a loved - had a decent team, great boss, trips to Canada, remote working and good package. Then I was headhunted with the offer of a very senior position, big team, shares, remote working and a 45% pay rise. How I regretted it - the company was in utter chaos, the staff were leaving in droves and I was micro managed. I lasted six months - resigned after both my parents died which meant I couldn't do the job and deal with their deaths. Took a year off and then rejoined the Canadian MSP where I plan to stay until I retire.

So worst decision - giving up a great job for the lure of money and empire building.
Best decision - realising I'd made a mistake, taking a decent amount of time out and then rejoining a fantastic company.

Moral of the story - don't chase the money. Maybe I should have had a word with GP before he left !

 

[Eeyore]

In 2017 I left my job and moved to the other end of the country to move in with my partner, while jobhunting in my new area.

I ended up with a temporary role in a sector I'd never have imagined myself working in, but found that I loved it. The temporary role was made permanent, I've since been promoted twice and am in the midst of applying for a third.

I still love the work, and have a career path which should see me through the rest of my working life, as well as being better paid and less stressed than my previous jobs.

Oh, and my partner and I are now happily married, so it all worked ou!

Although you needed to buy a few extra layers when you arrived up there !

 

[thedonkeycentrehalf]

On a side note, I find it weird how people let a job define them. "And what do you do?"

A few years ago, the Chief Exec of the place I was working was in an informal welcome meeting with some new starters.

She hadn't been formally introduced and one youngster I was standing next to asked her "What do you do?".

Her response was that "I am the Chief Executive".

Without missing a beat, the youngster then said "yes, but what do you actually do?".

I had to walk away at that point as I couldn't hide that I was laughing so much.

 

[The Fifth Column]

Worst - Joining the Army
Best - Leaving the Army

 

[FamilyGuy]

That sounds familiar, I was lied to at interview once, went round my boss eventually to get the money I was promised, he never liked me after that.

The icing on my cake was a bigger pay rise than originally 'promised'.

Lesson . . .get it in writing.

Worst: I was working as a Sales and Marketing Director in a small company with people that I liked and "making a difference", and gaining something of a reputation (personally and corporately) in our chosen field.

Out of the blue I was contacted by a competitor who "wanted me to help them be as successful". I was flattered, but they were in London and I didn't want the daily commute, so I negotiated what I thought was an outstanding package and would make the commute almost bearable. Lots more money/bonus/perks, they agreed to pay for the commute costs, commitment to invest in sales and support people, marketing programmes, website, sales conferences. etc.

Long story short, they lied. My first job was to reduce the sales force, they didn't have the budget to pay for a website revamp, the marketing guy left, they refused to honour their commitment to pay my commute costs, the "great support people" they claimed to have were nothing like as good as they said they were/or I was used to working with - a sh*t show all round.

It came to a head when they told me that I needed to travel into the office "even on days that I had nothing to do there", and return to the office in-between client meetings (I had a fully equipped office at home that would save me me 4 hours a day travelling, and £36 per day costs), and that they wouldn't pay my travelling costs from the office to London-based clients. In other words, I had to pay to visit clients.

I resigned the job from a sun bed in the Caribbean and never saw them again. I sued them and we settled for a 5 figure sum. The grass isn't always greener.


Best: I went back to the company that I'd left - who by then had changed and improved too. I worked 3 days a week on contract on a good contract, I sold a huge global Training deal and made good bonuses. I also sold a nice Government deal against the company mentioned above - and made sure that they knew it. After a successful couple of years I suggested they should increase my day-rates, the "new guy" suggested a smaller increase than I wanted, so I took a contract with a partner-company for 2 days a week at a better rate than I was getting for 3 days a week. I did that for 18 months (original contract was for 6 months), then I retired in March 2018 - and never looked back.

 

[Weststander]

On a side note, I find it weird how people let a job define them. "And what do you do?"

You still can. The older generation quite often inform the younger that all they simply need to do is cancel Netflix or stop having takeaways to afford a home.

Houses are dirt cheap

On a ski clinic 20 years ago, the guy running it pointedly didn’t want to know what our jobs/careers were. Only because he thought that he/all of us in the group, wouldn’t then subconsciously pre judge or pigeonhole each other.

A nice touch, it worked. You just got to know the characters first. Perhaps in passing finding out vocations midweek.

 

[happypig]

Best decision I made was around 1999 I had the opportunities to become a manager or go on the 24 hour rota. I chose the rota and a colleague to the manager role. Over the next 20 years I worked nights and weekends but had a lot of time off in usable chunks (7 days off after a week of nights was great) and had a load of extra money due to rota allowances and overtime. Managed to bang a load extra into my pension and retire early.
My colleague, who became a manager, was forever bemoaning the fact that I earned more than him, even after a promotion.
I think I made the right choice.

I don't think I've ever made a bad career decision.