So. I've been offered a great new job at one of the biggest/most well known companies in my industry working on much more varied and interesting stuff than I do now. Seems more stable and secure than where I am now as well as there have been redundancies and the business seems to be focusing less and less on our area.
The problem is that it's in central London. I live in Northants and I'd get the train down every day - moving not an option at the minute. Aside from the extortionate ticket prices (which always seem to be going up), I would make the commute about 2 hours each way, making the 12 hour shift days 16hrs out the house. All my current shifts are 10hrs so I'd be adding an extra 4 hours out of the house on the long days.
The upside is that I wouldn't have to drive as I do now (50min-1hr depending on the day and time), sitting on the train isn't really stressful like driving. I'd also get more weekends off than I do now and there are only 2 weeks in the 16wk rota where you do a full 5 days in a row at 10am-6pm. But there are also night shifts and long days. I have a baby on the way any day now and I guess I'm just worried I'm going to be away for a long time when I'm working. How longs it going to be before I get sick of the commute and regret leaving my easy but boring, relatively close to home old job.
What do you guy think? I've bored my gf to tears obsessing over this and need to make a decision by Monday!
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I've done that sort of commute- North London to Guildford.
It was a complete pig to do and I would not do it again.
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Its a great truism that as you look back on life that you never think 'I wish I'd worked more'. At almost 53, time feels very much an ever-diminishing resource - spending time on things you enjoy is vital for a fulfilled and happy life.
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Also, as I often suggest, flip a coin and see if you want to make it best of three or if you're happy with the outcome.
[edit] Just wondering; if you took the job and it worked out, would you be in a position to move a bit closer?
Having said that, I wouldn't even think about doing that length of commute - especially with young kids. My current office is only 12 minutes from home, and the difference it makes is huge.
Your family is - if you work at it - forever.
That should guide your priorities.
If you've no real home commitments, then a 2hr journey to & from work every day (for a great/interesting/well-paid job) might make some sense. If you've got home commitments, or want any sort of life outside of work, then spending 16hrs of your 24 daily allocation focused on work starts to make very little sense.
And travelling on the tube is about as de-humanising as it's possible to get.
If it was hugely well paid and I otherwise loved the job I'd do it for a while and then have a look at whether I could either use it as a stepping stone to something else, or move nearer long term.
It would need to be a ridiculous pay rise though.
My current upper limit for commuting is about 45 minutes each way. If that went to 2 hours each way and longer shifts, I'd need to be getting 50% more money for it to be worth it to me.
Combining 12 hour days with a new child and 4 hours a day of commuting could be awful. The job would need to be the best ever and the pay astounding.