Twice a week we publish problems that will feature in a forthcoming Dear Jeremy advice column in the Saturday Guardian so that readers can offer their own advice and suggestions. We then print the best of your comments alongside Jeremy’s own insights. Here is the latest dilemma – what are your thoughts?
I dislike my present job and have been offered what I consider to be a dream role, but it would mean my pay dropping by £8,000 a year.
I work in the production department of a national newspaper. I find the job very repetitive and unchallenging and spend the majority of each day with nothing to do. My team are all quite negative and downbeat as nobody really likes the manager.
However, all my work experience is in publishing and being with a large company I get nice perks: a good amount of holiday, pension, free tickets to things etc, as well as a kind of status (people being impressed when I say I work for that newspaper).
I feel that working exclusively in printed products is a bit silly. The sector is in decline and there are no jobs that I look at and think “what a great role, I’d love to be able to do that”. It doesn’t seem particularly easy to move into other departments, although there are some great contacts in the building I might be able to make in the future.
The job I’ve been offered is 40 minutes outside London. It’s a very small company so unlikely to offer many benefits, and the pay is £8,000 below my current level. However it is a dream role – working for a travel company specialising in horse riding holidays, and offering extensive travel opportunities. It seemed from the interview that I would be able to contribute to the blog, the website, the production of the brochure and lots of other interesting, varied kinds of work.
Would it be worth asking for more than the advertised salary to cover the costs of my commute and the skills I would be bringing to the role, as I have a lot of relevant experience? Or should I stay where I am and continue looking for other jobs? I should add that I’m in a position where I could just about manage on the low salary as I have reasonably cheap rent and don’t have children or a mortgage.
Do you need advice on a work issue? For Jeremy’s and readers’ help, send a brief email to dear.jeremy@theguardian.com. Please note that he is unable to answer questions of a legal nature or to reply personally.
