Would you take a major pay cut to leave inpatient psych hospital social work?
I currently work in inpatient psych hospital social work. The pay and benefits are unusually good for my area, especially for someone currently in supervision, and realistically most jobs in this field around here pay significantly less.
The problem is that I’m increasingly unhappy. The stress, long commute, and overall environment are wearing me down, and I dread going in most days.
I’m considering another community mental health role that would likely mean around a $20k pay cut and much weaker benefits, but it’s also the kind of work I actually want to be doing long-term. I’ve done similar work before and felt much more fulfilled in it. The schedule and commute would also likely be much better for my overall quality of life.
The hard part is that I also know how important financial stability and benefits are for future planning, especially TTC, so I feel torn between emotional sustainability and practical stability.
Has anyone made a similar move and been happier despite the financial and benefits tradeoff?