What do you do when you are locked in the "golden" handcuffs i.e. high paying job

[bjcheung77]

That's exactly how many people on the board feel... My suggestion is to reevaluate everything again about the pro/cons, I would usually recommend staying at a position instead of leaving... I am in the same shoes... Kinda

a 20k pay cut with lower stress ?
definitely

a 20k pay cut with HIGHER stress ?
no freaking way

hiking activities around the mountains --- awesome

Mandatory OT and crazy hours like 4 days of 12-16 hr days --- oh, well, there goes the free time for hiking

at least for anyway

if I'm working 12 hours a day 4 days a week and not getting enough sleep due to high stress then I know I'm not going hiking on my free time
as much as I love hiking, I know I just wouldn't be up for it

:iagree: As I mentioned earlier, I would recommend staying put until you know more about that new offering and if pros would outweigh the cons. I am in similar shoes, our IT departments are constantly changing, found out that there will no longer be team lead and supervisor roles, they've been moved back to tech analyst roles. Only management for our divisions are managers and senior managers.

For myself, I like the work and feeling of a busy bee, I work hard and smart, I would say I am more committed than many if not all my coworkers, but we all get paid the same 75k, TL gets +$2/HR, Sups +$4/HR, Managers are close to a bit over 100k. I have thought about leaving, but the cons outweigh he pros, I just love doing some OT - I get 75/HR.

I love my unionized government job, and frankly love working 4 days a week for 10 hour days. I get 3 days with wife and kids, but now I've added several SL courses, so I'll be more busy. I won't change that for a $20k decrease and more stressful hours, :coolgleam:.

Update: Regarding change, I think I would rather do something more useful for a few hours a week such as, creating a business... Get paid for doing what you like, ie; start your own consulting business and rake in cash on the side. That's what I will do, something online... I created a thread on here and other forums, so many ideas!