7 ms·

I moved from the software sales industry to waiting tables in a rural area. I have a 10 minute commute by car or moped, I breathe fresh air, and I make enough m

I moved from the software sales industry to waiting tables in a rural area. I have a 10 minute commute by car or moped, I breathe fresh air, and I make enough money to support myself. My colleagues are my friends and my boss has never once slighted me on anything. There is something to be said about the perks of working remotely, but for once it is nice to work in a supportive, engaging environment that is close to my house.

okmokmz 8y ago
How much of a hit did you take on salary, and how much did your cost of living decrease? Would you do it again? I've thought about leaving my career to do something that wouldn't require a commute, and would allow me to live in a very remote area, but I'm not brave enough to take the plunge
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  Thank you so much for your questions. My high year in sales was 110k W2, 70k post tax, and 35k post expenses like food rent and car. My low year was 45k, aka just plain old base salary, and after taxes and expenses I broke even. I was living in a pretty expensive part of Boston. I'm sure I could have found a really nasty bedroom for like $650 if I wanted to haha. Right now as a waiter I'm making about $600 a week pre tax. I just came off of a $400 weekend working only 16 hours! My rent here is $650 in a very very nice new apartment and I'm 15 mins from the beach, forest, and farms. I absolutely would do it all over again. I thank my girlfriend every day for basically forcing us to move out here to Eastern Long Island NY for her medical job, because I never would have had the courage to make this move myself. And, I thought it would be really hard to find a job in software out here, so I just applied to literally anything and the restaurant I work at now was the first offer I received. I plunged headfirst and got lucky! Other restaurants are less of a family than we are. Life isn't perfect and you need a few thousand in savings to get this all started without going insolvent, but so far I'm loving my new location and new industry. If you do go for it, maintain contacts elsewhere just in case! :)
  - pc86 8y ago
    Just to run the numbers for everyone, this is $31,200 assuming no vacation all year. So making less money gross as a waiter than you're able to put into a savings account (after taxes and all expenses) as a software developer. I don't think that will be surprising information for anyone here. I've waited tables before and I'd rather be a software developer for half the median software developer salary than a waiter for 3x the median waiter salary.
    - anoncoward111 8y ago
      Some points in response to this: I keep nearly all of my gross because of the standard deduction and the nature of cash tips. My rent is $650 a month whereas most people in the bay or in Boston are paying $2200 for equivalent quality. I dont spend 2 hours stuck in traffic or a hot subway every day-- most days I ride my moped which gets 90mpg and uses a hilariously cheap blend of oil and fuel from the hardware store. And, what is most important to me, and this is subjective, is that I actually feel stable and welcome at this employer. I was laid off from the job where I was making 110k gross and banking 30k. So, why not take a job where I'm grossing in the 30s and banking 15k?
      - toomuchtodo 8y ago
        Because you could be making $100k and banking $50k. Every hour you work is an hour you'll never get back. But, as you said, you feel welcomed by your employer and feel the job is stable. If this is what you prioritize, that's your decision.
        okmokmz 8y ago
        >Because you could be making $100k and banking $50k. But is it really worth it if you have to live in an area you don't want to live, spend time commuting that you'd rather work on something else, etc. that could potentially affect one's stress/anxiety and even cause health issues? I'm aware that there are people with jobs making 6+ figures that are also very happy with their jobs, but I also don't think it's fair to frame his situation as a negative simply because he could be making more.
thfuran 8y ago
I work in the software industry, have a 10 minute commute, breathe fresh air, make enough money to support myself, my colleagues are my friends, and my boss has never once slighted me. A shit job is a shit job, but you don't have to leave software to find a job that isn't shit.
- markbnj 8y ago
  On the other hand a job you enjoy and that pays enough for you isn't shit, is it?
- andrewjrangel 8y ago
  He was in software sales FYI
  - thfuran 8y ago
    And, while I haven't worked in that department so I can't really say for certain that the team leads don't slight the people they're managing, it's a small enough company that the culture is pretty consistent.
    - sulam 8y ago
      Except sales cultures are typically _very_ different from the rest of a company.
- anoncoward111 8y ago
  I totally agree with this, but where do you live where this exists? I think there are more 35k a year jobs waiting tables in a beach town than there are 150k a year programming jobs in Santa Monica?
  - amenod 8y ago
    Sure there are. But if you compare available jobs the situation might be different. Here (EU) it is much easier to find a non-sucking job as a developer as opposed to being a waiter. The people who are trying to find developers have finally figured out that it pays to be nice, if for no other reason, because people talk. If you screw your workers over, you have trouble getting new hires. And it really doesn't cost you much, if anything, to make good working conditions. EDIT: sorry, software sales is different... probably the same here. :(

okmokmz 8y ago

How much of a hit did you take on salary, and how much did your cost of living decrease? Would you do it again? I've thought about leaving my career to do something that wouldn't require a commute, and would allow me to live in a very remote area, but I'm not brave enough to take the plunge

anoncoward111 8y ago
Thank you so much for your questions. My high year in sales was 110k W2, 70k post tax, and 35k post expenses like food rent and car. My low year was 45k, aka just plain old base salary, and after taxes and expenses I broke even. I was living in a pretty expensive part of Boston. I'm sure I could have found a really nasty bedroom for like $650 if I wanted to haha. Right now as a waiter I'm making about $600 a week pre tax. I just came off of a $400 weekend working only 16 hours! My rent here is $650 in a very very nice new apartment and I'm 15 mins from the beach, forest, and farms. I absolutely would do it all over again. I thank my girlfriend every day for basically forcing us to move out here to Eastern Long Island NY for her medical job, because I never would have had the courage to make this move myself. And, I thought it would be really hard to find a job in software out here, so I just applied to literally anything and the restaurant I work at now was the first offer I received. I plunged headfirst and got lucky! Other restaurants are less of a family than we are. Life isn't perfect and you need a few thousand in savings to get this all started without going insolvent, but so far I'm loving my new location and new industry. If you do go for it, maintain contacts elsewhere just in case! :)
- pc86 8y ago
  Just to run the numbers for everyone, this is $31,200 assuming no vacation all year. So making less money gross as a waiter than you're able to put into a savings account (after taxes and all expenses) as a software developer. I don't think that will be surprising information for anyone here. I've waited tables before and I'd rather be a software developer for half the median software developer salary than a waiter for 3x the median waiter salary.
  - anoncoward111 8y ago
    Some points in response to this: I keep nearly all of my gross because of the standard deduction and the nature of cash tips. My rent is $650 a month whereas most people in the bay or in Boston are paying $2200 for equivalent quality. I dont spend 2 hours stuck in traffic or a hot subway every day-- most days I ride my moped which gets 90mpg and uses a hilariously cheap blend of oil and fuel from the hardware store. And, what is most important to me, and this is subjective, is that I actually feel stable and welcome at this employer. I was laid off from the job where I was making 110k gross and banking 30k. So, why not take a job where I'm grossing in the 30s and banking 15k?
    - toomuchtodo 8y ago
      Because you could be making $100k and banking $50k. Every hour you work is an hour you'll never get back. But, as you said, you feel welcomed by your employer and feel the job is stable. If this is what you prioritize, that's your decision.
      - okmokmz 8y ago
        >Because you could be making $100k and banking $50k. But is it really worth it if you have to live in an area you don't want to live, spend time commuting that you'd rather work on something else, etc. that could potentially affect one's stress/anxiety and even cause health issues? I'm aware that there are people with jobs making 6+ figures that are also very happy with their jobs, but I also don't think it's fair to frame his situation as a negative simply because he could be making more.

thfuran 8y ago

I work in the software industry, have a 10 minute commute, breathe fresh air, make enough money to support myself, my colleagues are my friends, and my boss has never once slighted me. A shit job is a shit job, but you don't have to leave software to find a job that isn't shit.

markbnj 8y ago
On the other hand a job you enjoy and that pays enough for you isn't shit, is it?
andrewjrangel 8y ago
He was in software sales FYI
- thfuran 8y ago
  And, while I haven't worked in that department so I can't really say for certain that the team leads don't slight the people they're managing, it's a small enough company that the culture is pretty consistent.
  - sulam 8y ago
    Except sales cultures are typically _very_ different from the rest of a company.
anoncoward111 8y ago
I totally agree with this, but where do you live where this exists? I think there are more 35k a year jobs waiting tables in a beach town than there are 150k a year programming jobs in Santa Monica?
- amenod 8y ago
  Sure there are. But if you compare available jobs the situation might be different. Here (EU) it is much easier to find a non-sucking job as a developer as opposed to being a waiter. The people who are trying to find developers have finally figured out that it pays to be nice, if for no other reason, because people talk. If you screw your workers over, you have trouble getting new hires. And it really doesn't cost you much, if anything, to make good working conditions. EDIT: sorry, software sales is different... probably the same here. :(