Possibly the Best or Worst thing ive ever done.

L.Culley

L.Culley

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Leon
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Not sure which one it is yet though. I gurrently work full time in business development, yesterday I was offered an opportunity to take a job paying 10k a year more than i am currently on and jumping up the ladder several steps becoming a manager for the entire east of england, and what did I do? - turn it down....

Why?!

Well, I want to be a full time photographer, Ive spent a LOT of time and effort trying to set this up and feel that if I took this job, I would be earning so much more that it would mean it would be so much harder to take that risk of losing it all...

As I said, I dont know if this is going to be the bravest decision of my life or the most stupid...

I guess we will see.
 
A hard one,but a lots of years ago turned down a few jobs,with better pay to do photographer,let say i am not a rich man :D,very easy to say money not everything,when you have never had much.

But i feel i still i did the right thing,as those i am not a pro anymore,i still loved thoses years of doing it :)

Good luck
 
What means the most to you? money? your passion for photography? An extra £10k a year is a substantial amount of money, but it probably wont buy you contentment. Only you can decide where your priorities are placed. I've never had much money, but if you live within your income ('cut the cloth to suite' as they say). I doubt you'll get rich as a photographer, but if it's what you want. Do it :)
 
in this current economic climate, the job i think would have been a safer bet so you can buy any equipment you wanted to start up your photography business.
 
it's better to be happy than rich!

That kind of job is the sort where people will end up telling you "work to live, not live to work" as you'd find a lot more of your time taken up on work than the hobby that makes you happy!
 
Harvey_nikon said:
it's better to be happy than rich!

That kind of job is the sort where people will end up telling you "work to live, not live to work" as you'd find a lot more of your time taken up on work than the hobby that makes you happy!
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:plusone:

For me, my outlook has always been to have a good work/life balance. OK I could be living in a bigger house and driving a better car and working longer hours - would I be happier?

Money is not everything - following your passion counts for a lot!

I do apply common sense to that - live within your means, don't get into massive debt etc. Being careful with money can actually give you more to spend than earning more.

And now you have even more motivation to pursue your dream and make it happen.
 
imagine the stress - and no doubt a lot less time to 'live' your life, security is best I think, and no new position would be secure for at least a year
 
They'd have wanted blood for that extra £10K - I'm sure you'd have had to earn every last penny if it. ;)

I'm sure you've done the right thing for you. :thumbs:
 
As one who hugely downsized a career from earning big numbers to ickle numbers I have to say it's a wonderful thing to do. Actually having a private life after 25 years of having none at all is an incredible experience. I sold my soul for 25 years, now I have it back.

In my case, less money definitely bought happiness.
 
You made the right decision and you should be proud of yourself for making that bold decision, money is not everything! if you can get by on less but have a better quality of life then you are right in going for it and not letting greed get in the way.

Similarly I was working in the offshore oil industry on good earnings but a demanding job, my better half's job was less demanding on our lifestyle so we made the joint decision that as soon as we could manage to live on her earnings alone I was to give up work entirely and become a house husband, that time came about when I was 49 and it was the best decision we have ever made and gave us both a better quality of life on less money.
 
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I'd have taken the money.
 
I have taken the money in the past. Had a job working with a great little company myself and 2 others who sold to a much larger scotish company. The sale went wrong but the larger company liked the idea of someone working down this way so offered me a chunk of money car the works. It was ok for a year-18 month then they sold to another company who kept us for 6 month then got shut of everyone. I went self employed for 8 years but in february I returned to working for the great little company me and the other 2.

I am earning less than I did when self employed but I am loving every minute of it and I can take days off without worrying about stuff for things like focus on imageing and a trip to Donna Nook which is planned for later this month.
 
If it had felt right to take the job you would've done. Good luck striking out as a pro
 
I'm in the offshore industry just now and work for a big company, I make good money but I actually hate the place. Got a job interview next week and I'll be taking a massive pay drop, but as long as I can pay my bills and have a little to save ill be happy.
 
Dexy101 said:
I'm in the offshore industry just now and work for a big company, I make good money but I actually hate the place. Got a job interview next week and I'll be taking a massive pay drop, but as long as I can pay my bills and have a little to save ill be happy.
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:thumbs:
 
I was in a similar situation, wasnt getting paid much as a product designer at a small design consultancy but got offered a much higher paid job with more benefits in a large organisation (a large camera company lol). Problem for me was i used to love the work i done, the people, company and working environment but felt i couldnt say no to the money.

That was nearly 5 years ago. It was without a doubt the correct decision.

Unless you can earn in photography what you earn now then im sorry you might regret that decision. Taking a pay cut is difficult.
 
it's certainly true that you never have enough money to live on - I used to be a single parent with mortgage and 3 kids earning 15k but we got by, now I am on a LOT more with a husband who works and no kids (well one at uni but he doesn't cost much) yet I still don't seem to be any better off :(

however, I finally have a job with NO stress, and it's magic
 
learnt after an accident you only get one life don't look back thinking 'oh i wish i had' while sitting with money in bank or in a big house.
life can end in the blink of a eye enjoy the short time we all have been given, do things you love with people you love and leave all the other pooh behind (no i'm not a hippy) ;-) just someone who had and lost a lot but now is happy again
 
I think you made the right choice. You only have one life, so you should spend it doing what you WANT to do. So many of my friends from school ended up going into careers that their parents pushed them into because they were "practical", like various corporate jobs, and the majority of them are miserable now. You spend most of your time at work for a good part of your life, so you may as well spend that time doing something you actually enjoy.

Good for you.
 
Brave decision Leon and as they say, it's better to regret the things you did rather than the things you didn't do ;)

I strongly dislike my job (hate's a little too strong) BUT the money, benefits etc kinda tie me to it. I couldn't really afford to earn any less than I do right now.

For what I do I get good money in today's climate but I have no interest whatsoever in what I do, it's mind-numbing, there's no job satisfaction/end result to work towards. It's merely a set of tasks during a day/week I have to complete.

In August I got an 11% payrise and apparently our manager is working to get our salaries increased again as he feels our current salaries are lower than the market rate.

Without wanting to sound ungrateful (because any extra cash is always welcome and feeds my photography addiction) even 20% wouldn't make me like the job any more.

Last week I was asked by a friend to cover the opening night of a new skating rink in the area. Recompense was by means of free entry on future visits :lol:

Thoroughly enjoyed the evening, the pictures went down a storm and I got a good "buzz" out of it :clap:

As others have said, money isn't everything ;)
 
Russ, its a great buzz when people love the images you prouce isn't it. I remember back on my first time out shooting and selling prints when I realised someone was buying a shot I had taken it was awesome. The wedding I shot a few months ago for freinds I enjoyed the day and had set ideas of the shots I wanted and the bride and goom loved the photos and I actually liked them myself which is quite un usual really. I even got coments from the grooms parents saying how well I managed the crowds, again another great feeling.
 
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