For love or money

[EmperorOfCanada]

The age old question. Do I go for love or go for money?

I have been working for a company for just over 3 years now. I love my job. I am in a sales field and at only 3 years I am one of the senior staff in a chain of stores that has maybe 12-15 locations or so in western Canada.. So, not exactly a mom and pop company but not a huge company either. I love my job because it is easy, it is stress free, and since about March of this year I have been paid to either sit at home while waiting for renovations to complete, or sitting IN my store (which still wasnt ready to open) and play DS, watch movies, and of course spend all day reading the consumerist and gbatemp posts.

With such an easy workload and such little responsibilities, this is a lazy guys dream. However as I am in sales, and I work in a slow location to begin with and now with no customers at all (due to constant renovations) my pay has really really suffered. Almost half my wage is commissions so even though I am making enough to live on, its just barely enough, and I dont have enough to save much extra to get the house I want with my girlfriend.

On the flip side, change is hard. I could apply at a similar job but I would be working a lot harder, having a lot more stress and a lot less fun in my days, and lose whatever seniority I have in my company. I know it doesnt mean a whole lot at the moment but I can be such a chickenshit sometimes and I worry I will be giving up a job I love for a job I potentially could hate, and might not be able to apply here again if things dont work out.

What to do what to do?

Usually I am one of those people who say dont be a pussy, no risk no reward etc etc. But damn Im just not sure I can move on, or that I even want to.

What would you all do?

 

[Cyberxion]

Since it's such a stress-free job, why not get a part-time job to go along with it? It sounds like you'd be fresh enough to go do something else afterwards. That way you have a bit more income, and you can ditch the part-time job once things start picking up at your primary place of employment.

That's what I'd do.

 

[EmperorOfCanada]

Its been talked about, and ultimately if its what I had to do in order to not miss a mortgage payment or something then yeah Id work as long and hard as needed.. But I dont want my relationship to suffer, and it could be hard to avoid that if I only get to spend a couple hours a week with her.

As it is I work Mon-Fri 10AM - 6:30 PM, so much else on top of that will really cut into 'family time'

One thing I am going to do is ask for a couple bucks an hour raise, as well as working Saturdays, that will give me a couple extra hundred a paycheck which should be enough.

How to justify a raise when I dont do anything though? =p I have to be crafty.

 

[Edgedancer]

You justify it by asking for it only until the renovations are complete so you start earning commission again. If you are reasonably important in the company, I think they would be willing to part with a bit more money till renovations are over.

 

[Hadrian]

From experience, go for what you love. I've been there and things have backfired and also its much much better to do what you love than to do what you don't.

Money comes and goes.