- May 2, 2024
- Posted by: legaleseblogger
- Category: Related News
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## Considering a Job Change in the Oil & Gas Industry in California
Debating whether I should take a job back in the oil and gas industry in the state of California. Right now I’m working for a city and make about 110k gross. I hardly pay for medical benefits and the schedule is amazing. Have 2 young kids at home right now. New job would be around 135K gross plus overtime but would be working shift work again. Maybe I’m just typing this out to convince myself that the money isn’t worth it and to soak up all the time with the family. I’m not living paycheck to paycheck, but we don’t have a ton of extra money to go on vacations. Get a pension at the city job, the oil and gas job would have a 6% 401K match.
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No, it’s not necessarily a no-brainer.
Not paying for benefits has value, your time with your kids has value, your pension has value. The job is in California, one of the more expensive places to live. It sounds like your current one isn’t? So be sure to factor cost of living differences too.
While $25K is nothing to sneeze at, it sounds like other factors at your current job are worth more than that.
I’d kill to work in a good hour gov’t job that has a pension AND pays 6 figures. Sounds like you’re in a great spot
Pension is worth a lot more than 25k before taxes
Ask anyone over the age of 50 what their biggest regret was and it’s always working too much and not being with their family as much as they wanted.
They are only young once and there will be plenty of opportunities if/when you’re ready to make the leap later on. Enjoy life dude.
Not worth it. 25k isn’t going to make a significant difference. Depending on the amount of overtime could be a bigger bump but with kids at home I would not make the move. I worked O&G for 8 years and was rarely home. With a family now, I would only do it if I was hard up for the cash.
Does your current state have income tax? Has the company discussed how much they charge for health benefits?
These two could really negate the pay increase depending on the answer.
To be honest, 25k isn’t life changing at your income level.
I’m only going to uproot my and my families life over life changing money.
I rather have a pension then a 401k
Understand
A pension is a defined BENEFIT plan.
A 401k is a defined CONTRIBUTION plan.
The pension guarantees you X dollars in retirement.
The 401k match guarantees the company will put X into an account that may grow/fall depending on the investments made inside the account.
Pensions are much more desirable, especially government pensions because they’re guaranteeing you a check every month.
Think about COVID, my aunt was near retirement age. Her 401k dropped like a rock. She delayed retirement till it recovered. Things happen.
Yeah, money isn’t everything. Having time with your kids while they’re young is very valuable and pays dividends down the line. If you establish a good relationship with your kids early, later on parenting them will be easier.
Maybe you should wait a few years and then take a higher paying job.
This is what my father once told me when I was younger… he was an over-the-road truck driver for 30 years. I think about this often and when decisions like this come up.
“Son, don’t chase the dollar. I’ve done that my whole life. No matter what, you will always have bills to pay. Sometimes more, sometimes less. Chasing the dollar always seems to give you more bills to pay. I’ve missed out on so much of your life by always chasing the dollar. If I could go back, I’d rather chase you around the yard more often. I’d think we would both be happier.”
I would stay unless you don’t like your current job or there are other issues that are affecting you. Work on increasing your savings so that you can take those vacations. See where you can cut expenses. Maybe your SO could get a better job that would increase their salary (assuming they can/are working and you’re not a single parent).
Not worth it. I worked in the oilfield for close to 9 years when finally the 2014 downturn and resulting layoffs finally punched my ‘clock out’ button for that time.
A routine week, if you’re based doing, say, shop work at a district is 60 hours on a slow week. I was mostly in the field, pulling an absolute bare minimum of 80 per week, and when we were sent out of town we were doing 21 days on, 7 off. My house became a furnished storage unit for the longest time, and until I got into a relationship in 2011, then married in 2013, I was OK with it as I had no attachments.
With your situation having 2 young kids? Not worth it. Enjoy your family. Don’t go into an industry that treats everyone like absolute crap where no matter how hard you bust your ass, you’ll still catch shit. That’s one of the reasons there were a lot of military vets in that industry when I worked for it. They’re used to the abuse.
Keep the government job. Be patient. Apply for promotions.
You can’t get time back, and a 20% raise is not even remotely a game changer, life wise, especially given how much you make now. I went from making $110k to $125 one year and exactly nothing in my financial life changed. It’s far from being worth sacrificing your time or quality of life over.
Please young jedi, stay at your city job. As an older person I can tell you that the time with your kids alone is worth it. 25K? pffft After taxes and benefits it’s a pittance.
We used to go on cheap camping vacations and my kids still talk about them. Have cake, eat it.
Shift work is terrible, it’s not worth it. You are trading your health and time with family for money. My dad worked as a shift worker through much of my childhood. I won’t get time back with him, and wonder if our relationship would be different if he had never done that job in the first place
Which job would you enjoy more? How much money is it worth to you to come home when you want and happier with your day’s work?
Shift work literally takes years off your life and you are going to miss it on your kids growing up. It’s not even a debate.
Your medical expenses will increase by a great deal, considering you have 2 kiddos. You’re looking at what? 5k to 6k out of pocket max with the job switch? Ugh.
I would not switch. Having a great schedule is worth a lot when you have young kids. Also, you could be so busy you don’t have enough time for vacations with the new job…
Also, pension is amazing if you’re willing to stay long enough. If you were moving to a lcol area and getting the raise would be more tempted, but I’d say no.
30s with young children myself. Night shift is not worth it man. Reevaluate in 5 years or so. I regret every single night shift I’ve worked since my daughter was born.
Did the opposite – jump from O&G to City work as an engineer – took a big pay cut but climbed my way back after a few years – do not regret it at all
Watch the Bluey episode The Sign. Then make your decision. Sounds stupid but do it
As you know, O&G is a volatile industry, so id put job security into your considerations as well.
How you dont have extra money when you make 110k gross? How expensive if your livestyle?
Id take the time with your kids at this point. Not saying I wouldn’t take it in other situations.
May be more money for vacations, but will you have the time or energy for it? Plus, that sweet, sweet government pension….
Depends on what you want out of a work/life balance. May be tough to say no to the extra coin, but I’d probably ultimately say no. If I was making 50k or less, I’d consider it more heavily though.
Plus, can’t working in oil & gas get complicated due to global conflicts? Where it would just a Tuesday at the local office….Unless there’s a brief government shutdown, but…there’s backpay on those occasions 😅
Regardless, my point is the city job seems less volatile and easier to predict/work through professional hiccups.
I like u/93195 ‘s response. Doing the math to convince yourself which is better is complicated. Adding in the 6% 401k match is easy…but what about the pension — calculating the present value of the contributions they’re making is something you’ll have to dig into, because the future value of the 6% match is different than the value of the pension — a pension is calculated to grow more conservatively.
For the math component, I’d compare take home pay to take home pay, with some adjustments for future retirement benefits. Even then, it’s kinda black magic to do that computation.
Oh… is the city job pulling social security / medicare taxes? Take that into account, too. (if they’re not, then I think the pension replaces social security but you’re out on the 401k match)
but it’s not all about the money. Which job makes you feel good? Is there a shame in Eco-fornia for working in oil and gas?
Did something similar recently. You will miss the time with the kids more than any amount of money. I’m currently looking for roles with a focus on life balance for that reason now that I know what I was missing.
Running 110K and 135K in California through a calculator says take home will be 15k more (after taxes) at the new job. Obviously, it doesn’t know all the factors but a city job with a pension, work-life balance and paying very little for medical benefits is worth more than that 15k IMO (unless you’re struggling financially, which it sounds like you’re not). What if medical benefits aren’t cheap at the new job? Now it’s not even a 15k bump. What if you hardly see the kids? You only get them at this stage once. I bet they’d trade having dad around more than having an extra vacation here and there.
Just my two cents. Been down this road with my wife’s job. Guess which job she left because it wasn’t worth it..
Your current job has major benefits and they outweigh the $25K salary increase and 6% 401K match from the oil and gas job, cause it involves shift work that could reduce your time with family. If you’re managing financially and value work-life balance, staying in your current position is 100% more beneficial for your overall quality of life.
No. I worked in infrastructure engineering firm in CA. Everyone I knew that left city jobs for oil and gas regretted it due to the workload and bs they had to deal with.
Not sure what company the oil and gas job is for but if it’s the big firm with HQ in OC, that’s a hell no. They pay low, little room for growth, and incredibly outdated systems leading to inefficiencies and $ loss.
Your quality of life will decease if you move to CA with 2 kids on a $135k salary.
Unless you need the extra money, I would not be chasing those dollars. You also need to account for $$$ with changes to lifestyle when accepting a new job. That may eat away any dollars gained.
Having a stable job with great work life balance to me is far better than slightly more pay for an extra vacation. Your kids aren’t going to remember that one extra vacation but they will remember growing up without you there. A present parent is far more valuable than a vacation.
Is it far enough that the new company has told you info on their benefits? Health insurance could easily cost you a chunk of that 25k. Another chunk to taxes. And then you’re working shift work for 10-15k more maybe.
What kind of life do you want? With kids, I’d stay where you are at. Enjoy them. When they are older, go back to something else.
Do you live in California now?
Depending on state taxes, you’re looking at $1400 a month in increased pay, minus whatever benefits difference there is. It’s not insignificant, but neither is quality of life. You’re the only one who can know if it’s worth it.
I would make a plan to the penny with what you can/will do with the extra money and then try and decide. Extra money for vacations, but figure out when you’ll have time to take them. Maybe it’s to increase an emergency fund if you need it, or to start 529 accounts for the kids.
Either way no one can tell you that you’re wrong with either decision. Just try to give yourself a detailed pro/con list and talk it over with your SO.
Your kids value your time more than how much money you have and how many gifts you buy them
I thought it was. Then I got there and found out I was lied to and my job duties were.different from what I was promised. 16 months later I found a new job that paid between my older and just-left jobs’ salaries. Life is now much better.
It’s a nice bump and you could def take that vacation but the way you lay it out it wouldn’t be a net positive in total happiness and satisfaction.
Rotating shift work? How are the benefits?
Do you like working OT?
I was in a similar position. I end up staying with my current job because my kids are this young and they grow up so fast the first few years. Maybe if the kids were a bit older I would’ve made the jump.
I think something worth considering is the cost of living where you’d be moving too, certain parts of California are very expensive, so even with a 25k raise it you could be losing money due to cost of living compared to where you live now.
If you already know your job is kush and makes decent pay why even entertain the thought of a new laborious job for the sake of 25k. Seems to me you knew the answer from the start
Gray problem to have! Some questions to ask yourself…
Are you unhappy in your current job? Do you have a career path there for more money eventually?
My parents are on a CalPIRs pension and it’s amazing, including medical coverage in retirement. Not sure what you current package is as they retired 10 year ago, but that’s huge for them in retirement.
Does the new job offer have a career trajectory for more money? Would you find the work more rewarding than you do now? Would you have flexibility for family stuff?
How old are your kids? My daughter is 6 and I prioritize flexibility to do as much as I can with her because I know when she turns 14, she won’t want to see me and I can work harder then. That being said, I’m lucky with a good job and pay check so I have that luxury, but it sounds like you do too.
Figure out the employee contribution for the healthcare and examine the out of pocket benefits. Take that amount off your gross new salary if you’re current contributions are low.
Do you have a partner? Are they working? What does their career and earning potential look like.
You said opportunity for OT. So are you paid hourly? What happens if a big downturn in the industry? Do you want the OT? If you want some work-life balance, can you turn it down or is it just naturally expected? Are you okay with that? Will you be on call on days off?
Depending where you are in CA, what’s the difference in commute? Wasting life in traffic sucks.
I think with the 2 kids, personally I would value stability over the extra 25k. Shift work blows. Especially if you are taking a hit on job security.
Could you consider just working very part time at this other place if you needed extra money? I’m sure the state job has great work life balance and benefits
Do you have some side gig you could do with the family to give you extra cash?
Your kids are only highly interactive until about 10. Our son just turned 12 and he has times when he needs parent time but for the most part it’s friends, games, school, and sports.
Also, which job do you like better? Job satisfaction is huge.
Best of luck with your decision.