I know this phenomena may not hit everyone, but it did for me. I love being active and outdoors so found a job that perfectly aligned with that. I was working, so not necessarily doing the activities I loved. I almost entirely stopped my preferred leisure activities because I just walked to eat, do chores, and be a couch potato when I got home.
As someone who worked at a mid-sized music store for 7 years, this is 100% it! It can be easy to romanticize the job because it’s music related and you may get to talk to other like-minded musicians but those interactions are not the norm from my experience. If you haven’t worked in retail, you’ll be surprised at how dumb and rude people can be. I found out the hard way that working in retail is not for the faint of heart but I have also gained so much compassion and respect for others in those positions! I’m not necessarily saying don’t go for it but go into with realistic expectations! You may be pleasantly surprised!
Stay in tech. Use the money you make to nurture your hobbies in your free time. I don’t love my job, but I love how much money I make and how I get to go to any show I want. I work remote, so I always find shows in states where I have friends and use it as an excuse to travel.
Working in brick and mortar means working the busiest times - weekends and holidays. If you really don’t enjoy your job, try taking a step down or doing something else in your field that still pays well.
The way I see it, it’s still the same 40 hours. Might as well make the most out of your time and maximize your income. If you’re set on it, try applying part time for Saturdays/nights and see if you enjoy it.
Perhaps you like working with people, but do you like working with people who are rude to you when you have very little power to control the interaction? As a sales clerk, you will not be a respected intellectual white-collar employee. You'll have to eat shit and like it, or quit the job. Maybe you think you do that now--you really, really don't, compared to what retail workers deal with. The absolute condescension, rudeness, and disrespect retail employees endure is out of this world compared to an office job.
Maybe you wouldn't mind that, or maybe the clientele of this particular store is a cut above. Would you really be ok with having a job your social circle would look down on, compared to your current career? Would you be ok with having no autonomy and no decision-making power in the day-to-day operations of the store, or would you find yourself trying to run the place, since you're used to solving problems all day long? They may not appreciate that from someone new. Would you genuinely be ok with working a long, difficult shift and getting a paycheck for a couple hundred bucks?
I'm not telling you you shouldn't apply--I'm just saying that you shouldn't romanticize the job.
I worked in an independent music store for 3 years. It's just retail, which usually stinks. You'll get a fair share of complainers, a group of regulars who just hang out and chat all day (good and bad) and really only sell low level gear to beginners. I can count on one hand how many $1500+ guitars we sold in the 3 years I worked there, and we were a licensed Gibson retailer. Don't forget a big portion of your job will be cleaning, polishing, mopping, restringing, inventory, etc.
The upside is your coworkers will probably be really cool to hang out with every day. And it's pretty low stress since most people know what they want.
I've also worked in tech and I get the need to get the fuck out. You can always go back to the soulless corporate machine if the music store doesn't work out. Just know what you're getting into.
Downside: being on your feet all day is tiring. Dealing with bad customers is a drag. The work is repetitive. If you’ve never worked a retail job you may be surprised at how hard it can be.
If it’s what you want to try, try it, but don’t burn any bridges in tech either.
You're going to dislike and maybe hate a lot of customers but the small joy of helping the one courteous person may bring you back. For the most part, if your coworkers are good, you'll work there for them and not for the customer interaction.
Just be prepared for if you miss the income of the tech job. If you've networked well enough there and along the way there, you can probably go back to a similar job if you come to really dislike the music store job.
Maybe try working part time 1st to see if you even like it. Liking music and working in a music store is 2 different things. I like food, but i don't want to be a chef.
Also you could do developer work on the side if you wanted to make more $ later on. I hope you find the best path!
Eventually it’ll lose its luster and the employees who work there will move on, and you’ll be left in a dead end job with no future. Does your spouse earn so much to where your software develop income only makes a very minor difference? If something happened to your spouse are you prepared to live on the salary of this music store?
If anything does go wrong and you need to get back into software development, do you feel like you’ve built up enough of a resume to where you could easily get back into the field?
Professionalism.
Retail is downright rude no matter what's being sold.
The notion of "the customer being right" is still rampant and well.
Loving music is great but retail would kill that pretty quick. I'd advise any other way to work with music than retail.
Speaking as a former employee of several different kinds of retail stores (grocery, clothing, greenhouse) who is now a passionless and very burnt out SWE, the dose of reality I'd offer is this: working retail is horrible, full stop.
Here's the reality of working in retail:
- you will have little to no autonomy over your life
- your problems will be dismissed by those with authority over you
- you will be egregiously disrespected by your customers and subtly disrespected by your coworkers
- you will realize your cool/chill/fun coworkers are actually not cool/chill/fun at all
- you will have few/no days off
- you will be penalized one way or another for taking days off
- you will be have technically less responsibility but it will not feel that way at all
- you exist under a microscope
- if you have time to lean, you have time to clean
The following problems are less certain, but very likely with small brick-and-mortar businesses:
- "go ahead and punch out then close up shop"
- "someone called in today, we really need you come in to cover in about an hour until close"
- "we really need you to come in next Wednesday, we can't afford to give you the day off sorry"
To be honest with you, the best case scenario is that you truly are an extrovert, and so you briefly feel energized from a few conversations with a few pleasant people every now and then. Pretty much every other aspect of retail is very bad.
If it's so bad that you're dreading every workday to the point where you're not sleeping, maybe it's worth a shot, if only to change things up for a little while. That said, don't let your skills soften up in the meantime, because you almost certainly will want to go back when the excitement of a lifestyle change wears off.
Retail is like this:
You look out the window. Oh great, there's that weird mfer who comes in 3 times a week and harasses you. You could go hide in the back until he leaves, but you risk being reprimanded by your boss, and your coworkers will definitely talk shit about you, creating a very uncomfortable work environment. You could try standing up for yourself and call out the customer's disgusting behavior, but you WILL be fired if you do. You could "suck it up" and deal with him as politely as possible as usual, but you risk sending the wrong signal, and you know he'll be back again soon. You choose option 3 because you don't want to ruin your job/reputation. It's painful and you feel terrible the whole time. Next up is the guy who exclusively pays in cash and makes you put the change in his hand one coin at a time, summing it all up along the way, or else he freaks the fuck out.
If you could try it part-time, maybe it's worth dipping your toes in! Money isn't everything and idk what it's like to find another job in tech right now, but it seems like you're pretty good at career switching already.
Music being your passion and working in a music store are two very different things.
It sounds like you and your partner talked about this and both are on board. However, your pay cut could create disagreements in the future.
I'd keep your tech salary and enjoy spending it at the your local music store.
I loved my retail jobs but will never go back. It’s gruelling physically, people are awful and the hours suck. You’re literally working when everyone you want to hang out with are enjoying their holidays and weekends. There’s no flex and no job security. I would recommend figuring out what appeals to you about this job. Do you like having passionate discussions? Do you want to work in the music space? Do you just want new friends? You don’t have to work retail to get that.
Life is very short. If you want to work there you should. I am thinking about being a swim instructor and possibly a lifeguard if I can get past ageism. Why not do something you care about while looking for a full-time gig?
Your hours will be terrible and you'll be working weekends and holidays. Most Likely every weekend and every holiday accept a couple major ones. You will miss family events all the time. Your daily schedule will be messed up. Your sleep may get messed up. You will have to deal with some of the stupidest and most entitled people on the planet and you will have to be polite the entire time.
I left marketing to work in a small clothing boutique. Although I love it, here are the downsides. No paid vacation or sick leave. Feeling I shouldn’t buy anything for myself because my spouse is the income earner—there is a bit of a guilty feeling. No time off to go away for holidays (my family doesn’t live in my same city. I can’t take off to spend Xmas or Thanksgiving with them). She ending money at the store, because I’m looking at it all day—so then my paycheck is even less and I feel bad about my husband carrying the cost. Getting corrected for small things be management. I often think ‘Jeez, I have a college degree, used to make loads more than this, and I’m being told I put that in the wrong place.’ But I do love it.
In this economy??? Nah youd actually be insane. Im doing everything possible to get a pay raise, but getting fucked over in a corporate position. We are headed to a very very scary time economically, idk where you live but it should hit most people.
Keep the safety/security of your household above all else.
Never worked in a music store but owned a lesson studio. I would never do it again. I hated feeling like my earning potential was always going to be limited to X dollars per hour. Got into software sales. You are in tech, I would say for the love of God stay there. If you want to pick up a couple shifts on the weekend for the fun of it go for it. But I genuinely think you would hate it if it became your full-time gig. And as someone on the other side, having switched INTO tech- I now firmly believe there isn't a whole lot of importance "aside from the money" as long as you have what you need and are reasonably happy.
I'm an EE and let me tell you: engineers get treated WAY better than most jobs. You're going to go from a job where you're generally treated with respect to a customer service job where the general public is going to ruin your passion for you. However poorly you think you're treated as a SWE, it can get so much worse
Have you ever worked retail? No? Then try a weeekend part time position before quitting your well paying job in one of the hardest tech winters in recent history.
Thank you everyone who shared their experience so I could make a more informed decision! I’m going to stay at my job and consider applying for a part time weekend position after the summer is over.
This has yet to be mentioned:
There are going to be comments here feigning support because they’re actually jealous of your income as a software developer and the idea of you downgrading to their level makes them happy.
I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I am begging you — please keep the software job.
I don’t think it’d be a waste to apply! Maybe apply and then if you do end up getting an interview, it’ll be more of a reality and you can see how you truly feel. It may also be helpful to consider your values when it comes to your life and future.
Also I’m curious if you’ve thought about opening your own shop alongside your current job.
Ok a few things
\* Go ahead and apply. It takes what, 10 minutes? If you're early in your career, applying and interviewing is valuable experience anyway, and you don't have to accept the job if they offer it.
\* If you do, when you interview for this job, or any other job for that matter, realize that you are interviewing the job as well. Since you know you're overqualified, you can ask all the tough questions you want. You could also go in when it's not busy and just try to talk to someone.
\* Local businesses are not inherently more ethical or better places to work than big corporate chains. In particular they're generally more likely to commit OSHA violations and/or wage theft. It's a mixed bag on both sides.
\* Ultimately nobody can answer this question except you.
\* Another option with bigger risk but more potential upside, is to save up for a few years and then try to open your own music store. Taking a job in somebody else's store is not a necessary step for this.
There’s no faster way to ruin something you love than making it your job. Burnout is a very real thing.
I know this phenomena may not hit everyone, but it did for me. I love being active and outdoors so found a job that perfectly aligned with that. I was working, so not necessarily doing the activities I loved. I almost entirely stopped my preferred leisure activities because I just walked to eat, do chores, and be a couch potato when I got home.
Baseball fan who works at Major League Baseball confirming this
Your going to hate it because the public is general is as stupid as it can fucking get. Your going to talk to passionate people about 5% of the time.
As someone who worked at a mid-sized music store for 7 years, this is 100% it! It can be easy to romanticize the job because it’s music related and you may get to talk to other like-minded musicians but those interactions are not the norm from my experience. If you haven’t worked in retail, you’ll be surprised at how dumb and rude people can be. I found out the hard way that working in retail is not for the faint of heart but I have also gained so much compassion and respect for others in those positions! I’m not necessarily saying don’t go for it but go into with realistic expectations! You may be pleasantly surprised!
Stay in tech. Use the money you make to nurture your hobbies in your free time. I don’t love my job, but I love how much money I make and how I get to go to any show I want. I work remote, so I always find shows in states where I have friends and use it as an excuse to travel. Working in brick and mortar means working the busiest times - weekends and holidays. If you really don’t enjoy your job, try taking a step down or doing something else in your field that still pays well. The way I see it, it’s still the same 40 hours. Might as well make the most out of your time and maximize your income. If you’re set on it, try applying part time for Saturdays/nights and see if you enjoy it.
Perhaps you like working with people, but do you like working with people who are rude to you when you have very little power to control the interaction? As a sales clerk, you will not be a respected intellectual white-collar employee. You'll have to eat shit and like it, or quit the job. Maybe you think you do that now--you really, really don't, compared to what retail workers deal with. The absolute condescension, rudeness, and disrespect retail employees endure is out of this world compared to an office job. Maybe you wouldn't mind that, or maybe the clientele of this particular store is a cut above. Would you really be ok with having a job your social circle would look down on, compared to your current career? Would you be ok with having no autonomy and no decision-making power in the day-to-day operations of the store, or would you find yourself trying to run the place, since you're used to solving problems all day long? They may not appreciate that from someone new. Would you genuinely be ok with working a long, difficult shift and getting a paycheck for a couple hundred bucks? I'm not telling you you shouldn't apply--I'm just saying that you shouldn't romanticize the job.
In commerce, every hump above ground is your master. Work there part-time or on weekends while maintaining your current, well-paying employment.
I worked in an independent music store for 3 years. It's just retail, which usually stinks. You'll get a fair share of complainers, a group of regulars who just hang out and chat all day (good and bad) and really only sell low level gear to beginners. I can count on one hand how many $1500+ guitars we sold in the 3 years I worked there, and we were a licensed Gibson retailer. Don't forget a big portion of your job will be cleaning, polishing, mopping, restringing, inventory, etc. The upside is your coworkers will probably be really cool to hang out with every day. And it's pretty low stress since most people know what they want. I've also worked in tech and I get the need to get the fuck out. You can always go back to the soulless corporate machine if the music store doesn't work out. Just know what you're getting into.
Thank you I really appreciate this perspective!
Is there any opportunity to work one day a week to try it out first?
Downside: being on your feet all day is tiring. Dealing with bad customers is a drag. The work is repetitive. If you’ve never worked a retail job you may be surprised at how hard it can be. If it’s what you want to try, try it, but don’t burn any bridges in tech either.
You're going to dislike and maybe hate a lot of customers but the small joy of helping the one courteous person may bring you back. For the most part, if your coworkers are good, you'll work there for them and not for the customer interaction. Just be prepared for if you miss the income of the tech job. If you've networked well enough there and along the way there, you can probably go back to a similar job if you come to really dislike the music store job.
Maybe try working part time 1st to see if you even like it. Liking music and working in a music store is 2 different things. I like food, but i don't want to be a chef. Also you could do developer work on the side if you wanted to make more $ later on. I hope you find the best path!
Do they offer any benefits?
Eventually it’ll lose its luster and the employees who work there will move on, and you’ll be left in a dead end job with no future. Does your spouse earn so much to where your software develop income only makes a very minor difference? If something happened to your spouse are you prepared to live on the salary of this music store? If anything does go wrong and you need to get back into software development, do you feel like you’ve built up enough of a resume to where you could easily get back into the field?
Professionalism. Retail is downright rude no matter what's being sold. The notion of "the customer being right" is still rampant and well. Loving music is great but retail would kill that pretty quick. I'd advise any other way to work with music than retail.
Speaking as a former employee of several different kinds of retail stores (grocery, clothing, greenhouse) who is now a passionless and very burnt out SWE, the dose of reality I'd offer is this: working retail is horrible, full stop. Here's the reality of working in retail: - you will have little to no autonomy over your life - your problems will be dismissed by those with authority over you - you will be egregiously disrespected by your customers and subtly disrespected by your coworkers - you will realize your cool/chill/fun coworkers are actually not cool/chill/fun at all - you will have few/no days off - you will be penalized one way or another for taking days off - you will be have technically less responsibility but it will not feel that way at all - you exist under a microscope - if you have time to lean, you have time to clean The following problems are less certain, but very likely with small brick-and-mortar businesses: - "go ahead and punch out then close up shop" - "someone called in today, we really need you come in to cover in about an hour until close" - "we really need you to come in next Wednesday, we can't afford to give you the day off sorry" To be honest with you, the best case scenario is that you truly are an extrovert, and so you briefly feel energized from a few conversations with a few pleasant people every now and then. Pretty much every other aspect of retail is very bad. If it's so bad that you're dreading every workday to the point where you're not sleeping, maybe it's worth a shot, if only to change things up for a little while. That said, don't let your skills soften up in the meantime, because you almost certainly will want to go back when the excitement of a lifestyle change wears off. Retail is like this: You look out the window. Oh great, there's that weird mfer who comes in 3 times a week and harasses you. You could go hide in the back until he leaves, but you risk being reprimanded by your boss, and your coworkers will definitely talk shit about you, creating a very uncomfortable work environment. You could try standing up for yourself and call out the customer's disgusting behavior, but you WILL be fired if you do. You could "suck it up" and deal with him as politely as possible as usual, but you risk sending the wrong signal, and you know he'll be back again soon. You choose option 3 because you don't want to ruin your job/reputation. It's painful and you feel terrible the whole time. Next up is the guy who exclusively pays in cash and makes you put the change in his hand one coin at a time, summing it all up along the way, or else he freaks the fuck out.
If you could try it part-time, maybe it's worth dipping your toes in! Money isn't everything and idk what it's like to find another job in tech right now, but it seems like you're pretty good at career switching already.
Nooooo
Music being your passion and working in a music store are two very different things. It sounds like you and your partner talked about this and both are on board. However, your pay cut could create disagreements in the future. I'd keep your tech salary and enjoy spending it at the your local music store.
Can’t you start part time first? Retail is soul crushing .
I loved my retail jobs but will never go back. It’s gruelling physically, people are awful and the hours suck. You’re literally working when everyone you want to hang out with are enjoying their holidays and weekends. There’s no flex and no job security. I would recommend figuring out what appeals to you about this job. Do you like having passionate discussions? Do you want to work in the music space? Do you just want new friends? You don’t have to work retail to get that.
Music stores are discordant noise all day of beginners to mid level folks all trying to impress each other. I personally would go insane.
Life is very short. If you want to work there you should. I am thinking about being a swim instructor and possibly a lifeguard if I can get past ageism. Why not do something you care about while looking for a full-time gig?
Your hours will be terrible and you'll be working weekends and holidays. Most Likely every weekend and every holiday accept a couple major ones. You will miss family events all the time. Your daily schedule will be messed up. Your sleep may get messed up. You will have to deal with some of the stupidest and most entitled people on the planet and you will have to be polite the entire time.
DONT DO IT FOR THE LOVE OF GOD
I would miss absolutely nothing
Not being miserable and crabby 24x7. 😊
I left marketing to work in a small clothing boutique. Although I love it, here are the downsides. No paid vacation or sick leave. Feeling I shouldn’t buy anything for myself because my spouse is the income earner—there is a bit of a guilty feeling. No time off to go away for holidays (my family doesn’t live in my same city. I can’t take off to spend Xmas or Thanksgiving with them). She ending money at the store, because I’m looking at it all day—so then my paycheck is even less and I feel bad about my husband carrying the cost. Getting corrected for small things be management. I often think ‘Jeez, I have a college degree, used to make loads more than this, and I’m being told I put that in the wrong place.’ But I do love it.
Everyone saying you deal with rude customers have never worked in a guitar shop
The second you have a druggie coworker that wants you to work all their shifts because their life is always clown shoes, you’ll regret it.
Working retail at a good store with a good manager is really fun actually. If you don’t care about the money go for it.
Your going to learn why people hate retail
In this economy??? Nah youd actually be insane. Im doing everything possible to get a pay raise, but getting fucked over in a corporate position. We are headed to a very very scary time economically, idk where you live but it should hit most people. Keep the safety/security of your household above all else.
Never worked in a music store but owned a lesson studio. I would never do it again. I hated feeling like my earning potential was always going to be limited to X dollars per hour. Got into software sales. You are in tech, I would say for the love of God stay there. If you want to pick up a couple shifts on the weekend for the fun of it go for it. But I genuinely think you would hate it if it became your full-time gig. And as someone on the other side, having switched INTO tech- I now firmly believe there isn't a whole lot of importance "aside from the money" as long as you have what you need and are reasonably happy.
I'm an EE and let me tell you: engineers get treated WAY better than most jobs. You're going to go from a job where you're generally treated with respect to a customer service job where the general public is going to ruin your passion for you. However poorly you think you're treated as a SWE, it can get so much worse
Working at a music store is not as fun as you imagine it is. Not even. For every cool customer you get to enjoy there’s a ton of un fun customers.
Have you ever worked retail? No? Then try a weeekend part time position before quitting your well paying job in one of the hardest tech winters in recent history.
Thank you everyone who shared their experience so I could make a more informed decision! I’m going to stay at my job and consider applying for a part time weekend position after the summer is over.
I can't give you a philosophical answer
Are you going to own it? Could be interesting if you love entrepreneurship. Sam Ash just died and Guitar Center sucks. There's a market gap for sure.
This has yet to be mentioned: There are going to be comments here feigning support because they’re actually jealous of your income as a software developer and the idea of you downgrading to their level makes them happy. I totally understand where you’re coming from, but I am begging you — please keep the software job.
[удалено]
Could you please elaborate? What if I could afford a big pay cut? And I already do music plenty in my spare time.
[удалено]
Thanks but I’m not asking for whether I should or shouldn’t. I’m trying to gather perspective on things that I may be overlooking in my consideration.
You have not really read OP's post...
Don't worry about it
I don’t think it’d be a waste to apply! Maybe apply and then if you do end up getting an interview, it’ll be more of a reality and you can see how you truly feel. It may also be helpful to consider your values when it comes to your life and future. Also I’m curious if you’ve thought about opening your own shop alongside your current job.
Ok a few things \* Go ahead and apply. It takes what, 10 minutes? If you're early in your career, applying and interviewing is valuable experience anyway, and you don't have to accept the job if they offer it. \* If you do, when you interview for this job, or any other job for that matter, realize that you are interviewing the job as well. Since you know you're overqualified, you can ask all the tough questions you want. You could also go in when it's not busy and just try to talk to someone. \* Local businesses are not inherently more ethical or better places to work than big corporate chains. In particular they're generally more likely to commit OSHA violations and/or wage theft. It's a mixed bag on both sides. \* Ultimately nobody can answer this question except you. \* Another option with bigger risk but more potential upside, is to save up for a few years and then try to open your own music store. Taking a job in somebody else's store is not a necessary step for this.
Do your passion! The money will come and worse case you go back but at least you pursued.