Figuring out how to make a career change is hard. It’s not just about the per-hour rate. It’s about stress, commute time and expense, benefits, and more.
While you might be able to negotiate for a higher salary, other factors matter too.
Here are five things you should consider when you’re considering a job change:
1) The pay. This is not just what you would make per hour. Look for what their retirement matching setup is, what kind of bonuses are possible, public transit discounts, and more.
2) Total time away from home. This includes your workday as well as the round-trip commute. Example: I have a long commute of 50 miles, and I am typically away from the house an average of 11-11.5 hours per day.
3) Average fuel cost for your commute. Many vehicles have a running MPG rating which helps. At the very least, you can utilize a trip odometer and how much fuel you have used between fill-ups. Get an idea over a few weeks and in different weather. This will help give you an idea of what you spend just on the commute. Of course, you can go deeper into this by factoring in how much oil changes and tire wear costs, but for now, the basics are a good start.
4) Benefits cost and any discounts that a job may offer. Healthcare is a major thing. Look at your needs and see if the new companies’ healthcare could be a better bet on rates and out-of-pocket expenses. Discounts could include cellphone plans, health clubs, shopping, and vacations.
5) Pto/vacation/sick and flex time options. This can be a huge point towards keeping your stress levels down. We need to take time off for more than dr appointments, and kid functions. If the company uses the PTO model, this can be to your advantage. Especially if you don’t call off to work very often. The “sick” time can be utilized as a vacation day if you let the PTO build up.
6) Look for Work from home options. The savings could add up quickly with even just 1 day per week working from home. If you have a decent internet connection, this could be a real help.
Watch for end-of-year maximum carry-over amounts. Use that time regularly so that you don’t lose it. If you have flex time, like a flexible start time, or comp time, this can be a great way to help conserve PTO for real time off. You can try to schedule appointments so that you don’t have to take actual time off to get something done.
Considering the main sticking point is overall pay, let’s look at that, and the commute.
Let’s say that you work 50 miles from home, make $20 per hour, get an average of 25 MPG. Gas is $4.00 per gallon, and with your commute, you are away from home an average of 11 hours per day. This is for a 5 day work week
100-mile round trip 5 days per week = 500 miles
500 miles divided by 25 MPG = 20 gallons.
20 gallons at $4.00 per gallon = $80 in fuel per week.
$20 per hour times 40 hours = $800 before taxes and deductions.
Ex: 70% take home = $560
If you take your weekly net pay of $560, take out the fuel cost. You get $480.
Then 11 hours away from home per day times 5 days = 55 hours.
$480/55 hours gets you $8.72 per hour take home.
Now, let’s say you find a different job with everything the same as far as benefits, but the pay is $18 per hour, and it is 20 miles from home.
40-mile round trip 5 days per week = 200 miles
200 miles divided by 25 MPG = 8 gallons.
8 gallons at $4.00 per gallon = $32 in fuel per week.
$18 per hour times 40 hours = $720 before taxes and deductions.
Ex: 70% take home = $504
If you take your weekly net pay of $504, take out the fuel cost. You get $472.
Then, a much shorter commute of 30 minutes, so 9.5 hours away from home per day times 5 days = 47.5 hours. (a nice increase of 7.5 hours per week at home)
$472/47.5 hours gets you $9.93 per hour take home.
As you can see, the benefits of working closer, for less per hour can actually be more beneficial. Less wear and tear on your car, more time for home and family time. Even though the closer job pays 10% less, you are also spending less time commuting and saving $48 per week in fuel. Plus it’s only $32 less in take-home pay.
If you still need more money to help with expenses, you could look for a part-time job close to home and the closer full-time job. Or, you could look at driving for one of the meal delivery services to get a little extra cash on your commute home.
