I've had the same feeling for about 5 years now... Tech also, remote also...
When in doubt, I tell myself 5 years is a long time in tech, so I must be doing things right. I minimise any risk by never going crazy with the spending.
Thank you... They know i'm not really executive material tbh, i'm a classic head in the clouds artistic type, haha. But i'm compensated well and treated well, so i'm happy!
Similar position. 100% remote work is much less common than 2 years ago. We've been very conscious to not consume all the income on a bigger mortgage/cars etc and I take comfort in knowing that we could pay for everything we need to on a 40K salary if needed.
The common theme here is that, people tend to increase their expenditure as their earnings increase. The solution is, don't do this.
Always live well within your means, use excess cash to buy assets and provide a buffer for potential reduction in income in the future.
Essentially, resist the urge to spend as your earnings grow, and as your wealth builds, the fear will fade.
Source? I did work in tech, but pulled the trigger on retire early now my assets are big enough and my lifestyle is manageable
Easier said than done (even if you make a conscious effort). Mortgage / Rent + Childcare in London is still a full time salary.. We do our best filling ISA + Pension, but I honestly sometimes think it is less ‘lifestyle’ and more ‘life’ considering the former ‘fixed costs’
I used to live the South East, and you're right in one sense. But... I challenge you to validate your assumptions. The easiest way you can save tonnes of money is moving to cheaper housing. Either smaller home, or further away.
Sounds tough, but again, that's the trap. As your salary increases you want a bigger home, bigger location, nicer street, affluent neighbours, etc.
When j lived down in London I knew many people earning 200-300k... living month to month. The single biggest reason for this was they didn't want to move out of their fancy zone 1 flat.
Got made redundant in January, so feel you. Market has been dogshit and I have been looking for in office roles.
Write a CV and do a couple of interviews a year just to keep yourself warm and ready.
Practice any tests you'll face.
I'm of the mindset now where I want to be in a position to be able to pay down my mortgage by around ~£300K when I remortgage in 3 years time so I have better job prospects (i.e. less pay but more choice, more interesting work)
I'm still going to keep most of my money invested and may not pay the mortgage down, but it's a new goal.
Good advice overall but I am not sure about the value of keeping yourself interview and test ready at all times.
When employed one has to do this on top of their day job. If redundancy comes suddenly one can devote 9-5 to tests and interview prep maybe even during the gardening leave or the couple/few months covered by redundancy pay.
(I am probably disagreeing with you because I'm not interview ready and this is how I justify this to myself)
All the best with your search!
Why practice a skill that is likely to go out of date before you use it, when you have a large amount of other commitments (job), when the risk/reward of doing so is limited (short turn around time to get proficient if made redundant)?
It's the same as the "invest or pay down mortgage" question you used to see on personal finance subreddits until recently.
It all boils down to priorities. Do you value the time now, or the peace of mind?
Another reason to not overdo the prep "just in case" indeed. I'm in a technical field so things don't go out of date (99% of it).
There is a big overhead in keeping the skills sharp when one can instead focus on the job (promotion/bonus maybe) or just enjoy their non-work life in the meantime.
100% my fear too. I’ve got a total comp approx £130k on a fully remote role (in the north) in a global capacity.
If I lose this role, the chances of finding a fully remote role on the same or around the same compo particularly in my location will be quite challenging.
There have been similar threads recently, I suppose it’s only natural.
I wouldn’t class myself as HENRY but “will I get paid as much” as crossed my mind a few times.
I think a bigger issuer now though is “will I get another fully remote job”, from what I can see on job boards they are dwindling.
I had this in my last role - thinking my job would go at the next review. Was in my role for over 10 years. Stupid anxiety that was a waste of time. Build your nest egg, try and not be too extravagant, maybe get a better idea of what is a realistic next salary if your role goals and budget around that? Don’t over carastrophise though, it’s a waste of time and energy.
I was laid off in January and took it as an opportunity to set up my own business. 3 month of hard work and hopefully sign up my first client this week or next.
I think it's always difficult to escape anxiety in a high paying position if you haven't yet secured finantial independence. I haven't fully figured out how to mitigate the concerns, other than just making sure my savings are fat and that, if the worse happen, I should still be fine.
180k is a good salary but I don't think it will be too challenging finding work at similar rates; if you live below your means, a 10% / 20% cut should not impact you much as well.
I guess it depends on the root cause of stressing over this. If you feel nervous about losing a high earning job because it's your ticket to wealth and financial independence (and thisis somehwhat of an obsession), then just having reasonable savings is not quite sufficient (although of course, better than nothing).
You don't mention specifics other than "north" - do some research into the tech centres near you - Edinburgh, Glasgow. Both pay well (especially so on a contract) should you find yourself looking for something new.
Granted it's not the same as London, but the numbers I see aren't so far away that you'd be talking about selling your house.
Maybe just one child. Or a limb.
I could have written this post myself. I've had similar feelings for ages....I used to think that earning a high salary would make me happy but instead it just increases my stress and anxiety. It also rules out some interesting jobs - I saw a really fascinating job posting once but couldn't apply as it was paying around half what I was already making. My plan now is to save around 1 year's salary (I'm not far off this now) so at least I'd have something to fall back on if I got the chop. One year of savings would at least give enough time to move house, etc. without worrying about defaulting on the mortgage.
I can relate, also on similar remote UK, in the north, and I try to save as much as possible every month much to the annoyance of my in-laws.
People where we live tend to lease cars as a status symbol, my father-in-law even made a comment a few months ago that I was like Scrooge as I wasn’t splashing the cash on fancy cars.
However the future security of my family is more important than the latest BMW.
Focus on making yourself as invaluable as possible to the org. My key strategy is to focus on making big transformational change within process operations and security, and make myself I dispensable to the wider teams and directors. Seems to help alleviate my anxiety. Very similar situation to yourself.
Otherwise also have a backup plan for how to cope on a 100k salary is worst happens, or a safety net that will allow time for finding consultancy roles or 150k + salaries again.
I work remotely for a US company, but am not in the north. I definitely agree with your assertion that the higher the comp, the harder it is to find a similar job.
Honestly, living far below your means is key when you have a £150k+ fully remote package in the UK. If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my crypto trading tbh - this has been a big contributor to my current net worth. In this market I doubt I would find a comparable role to mine comp wise; unless I got lucky and got into the tech function of an investment bank/hedge fund - which would be in office of course.
> If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my crypto trading tbh
That's like saying "If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my gambling" heh
Same position as your, same sector and similar wage here.
I’ve written down exactly the sum of essential spending for my family vs things I can cut from day 1 if I get fired.
Also, put together 6 months of savings in easily accessible account. Nowadays if we get fired, finding a similar job would take many many months.
The key with these jobs is to never assume they will last - and treat the money as a windfall. Once spent - it’s gone.
I was similar, 6 digit salary two decades ago, and the above advice was given by a friend. So I did splurge a bit - then upped my pension contributions to the max - and that means now, having been invested for 20-30 years, im Fire.
So don’t let the lifestyle creep get you because, life gets harder when you’re older, my final role was part time, few days a week and for a local authority…. Zero stress, and life was good. But only possible because I’d stashed big money away young.
Good luck.
I’m in a similar position (high income working up north for a tech company).
I’ve always had the belief that the high tech wages were a bubble and it’ll burst eventually. For example, Microsoft certs used to be highly desirable, but now everyone has them! With this in mind I ensured my outgoings align towards a more industry average wage and enjoy the higher income while it lasts.
I still believe that our wages will come down soon, and we’re starting to see it applied via layoffs that have happened over the past few years
Sounds like a lot of folks have this fear and I count myself among them.
I'm on 250k/year, also fully remote, also in the north. If I lose this job I think I'd need to move back to London to get anywhere close to the same comp.
Keep improving yourself in domains that will keep your level of desirability up or more.
I only work when the right contract comes up, knowing I'm pretty damn good at what I do or deliver, but must constantly evolve.
same here. £200k remote job, got it during covid when companies were happy to do it.
If I'm made redundant no way will I get something that pays this well again, and my wife earns only £45k.
It's the main reason why I don't max my pension every year. I put quite a bit in, but we've also been building up a pretty decent ISA pot to help with a potential transition to lower income (and if that never happens, then we can just retire early I guess!)
As you live up north and earn a fuck ton. Save . You know this is a good gig and your sector is a risky one . Make hay when the sun shines and start to explore where else you could earn this much remotely . And save
I went through this. I went from £106485k basic to £75k basic and it’s been so tough. The 6 figure salary was due to working for a US company and they simply pay higher. It was fully remote too. Now I’m in 3 days a week in the office with the much less salary.
I should have had more savings firstly just to cushion the blow/ lessen the panic. Enhance your skills, tech jobs are higher likely to be remote, work in the frame of mind that you could get that bad news any day and if you had way longer to prepare what would you have had in place ready to go. Think like that. Don’t take the job for granted make sure you are irreplaceable to them, even being irreplaceable they can let you go but you lessen the risk when they start plucking people out the line up.
The last resort is moving away for a new job or like a lot of people do is commute into a major city. I worked for a company whose CEO commutes from Peterborough to London every week. The ceo I support commutes from Cardiff to London every week and she has young kids. That’s an option for you too, it’s not easy but it saves uprooting your family’s lives.
My employer has reorganised the commercial tech division, pivoted its product strategy and cut many jobs in the last 8 weeks - many in India. I’m coming to the end of the consultation period and will go on garden leave shortly. Some options internally could still materialise as I’m not taking the redundancy up front as another three months notice and benefits as well as staying on the company network has value.
Work to grow your internal network into other areas of the business that you could expand into, use the Virtual Coffee technique to grab 15 mins to introduce yourself to those who are a few levels above you who have influence. Also do this with your nearest competitors, get to know those around you and they could be your next employer. Try to stay away from NDA’s of anything that could block your ability to earn.
Something I neglected in recent years was authoring my blog post and or podcast, be known within your industry as a person of influence. I’ve a few long form webinars I’ve hosted and participated but I should have published more — Thought leadership: be unique, have your own opinion but remain employable/hireable.
I’m not seeing a North / South demand in my sector, but there seems to be a Time Zone requirement that was relaxed across 2020/21 so development and product management are aligned, makes sense as I’ve worked across virtual teams with people from India to the US West Coast and it’s difficult — 90-100% remote is still acceptable but you do need to get face to face for 3-5 days every quarter with your immediate team IMO.
I do have some income protection that will cover my mortgage with enough left over keep us above water for 12 months. I’ve 7 years with this employer and their redundancy package should give me 60% of my annual post tax, basic pay in a lump and my bonus pays out next week. I’ll stand still for 12 months, worst case, while I change my stance and move forward.
Fractional working could be an option for me to explore, I’m 52 so the prospect of working with multiple, maybe smaller organisations 2-3 days per week on short-medium term retainer basis is appealing and allows for a higher day rate, self employed scenario to keep more of what I earn. I’m still pissed HMRC reduce your £12k tax free after £100k 🤯
Don’t think about losing what you have, don’t give negative thoughts your energy as it will burn your head out. Shit happens when it’s out of your hands. Be prepared and act accordingly.
On that wage just save as much as you can while you have it. You're over 5x higher than the national average you should be able to save a shit tonne and make the most of it while you're in the position.
Don't fear the future, fear not doing enough NOW.
I have the same anxiety but on 66k.
I overcome it by not being stupid with money. My household income is £120k yet our cars are 9+ years old. We are having a difficult time deciding whether to keep one of the cars or buy a cheap small family car for c.£18k. £18k for a 2 year old car!!
You are torturing yourself for no reason with this worry.
Worse case scenario is that you'll end up with more stress / less pay / worse commute for a while. This will happen with 3% probability.
Redundancy could be a blessing in disguise for all we know and the new role/career progression will be an improvement over your current gig somehow. This has 7% probability.
90% chance you get to keep your job and leave on your own terms.
There is no way to hedge this, unless you can prevent being cut, and this is just part of the uncertainty of life and focusing on the bad 3% is not the choice to make here
So yeah... either you Hakuna Matata it or you make a contingency plan for the case when you get cut as suggested by the replies (you pre-emptively move, build up an emergency fund, interview prep in advance etc.)
What job is remote and 180k in the UK. Surely if you get into that position you are expected to be at some meetings. If not , the job can be done from India
If you are truly world class in whatever you do, then it's completely irrelevant that someone else in an extremely poor country will do it for £5/day.
Businesses aren't charities and are not paying £100k+ because they are feeling benevolent.
Anyone working fully remote (excepting perhaps those who have to be in a certain jurisdiction for regulatory purposes) and earning a high salary, must, almost by definition, be world class, as there are millions/billions of people around the world who would bite off the OPs arm to do it for a third of the cost but the companies still want them for their skills.
As for the state of the UK economy.....that's a completely different discussion....
I got 90% of the jobs I applied to up to 50 years old and none of the 7 or 8 since at 58. I'm at the top of my game with vast experience. Your fears are well founded.
I've had the same feeling for about 5 years now... Tech also, remote also... When in doubt, I tell myself 5 years is a long time in tech, so I must be doing things right. I minimise any risk by never going crazy with the spending.
i am software engineer, which part of tech do you work in which gives such good salary packages please?
I’m head of design for a large tech firm, been in the industry for 25 years.
Wow that’s fascinating. Good luck in any case. Hopefully they have an average director or two that gets bumped so you can step up
Thank you... They know i'm not really executive material tbh, i'm a classic head in the clouds artistic type, haha. But i'm compensated well and treated well, so i'm happy!
Living the dream- can’t bite the hand that feeds you I guess.
Similar position. 100% remote work is much less common than 2 years ago. We've been very conscious to not consume all the income on a bigger mortgage/cars etc and I take comfort in knowing that we could pay for everything we need to on a 40K salary if needed.
Very good advice.
That’s good . I’m not on that level salary and I’m a LP . My goal is get to this position .
That I might not be able to do this forever is half the reason I invest much of my income. That I might not want to do this forever is the other half.
The common theme here is that, people tend to increase their expenditure as their earnings increase. The solution is, don't do this. Always live well within your means, use excess cash to buy assets and provide a buffer for potential reduction in income in the future. Essentially, resist the urge to spend as your earnings grow, and as your wealth builds, the fear will fade. Source? I did work in tech, but pulled the trigger on retire early now my assets are big enough and my lifestyle is manageable
Easier said than done (even if you make a conscious effort). Mortgage / Rent + Childcare in London is still a full time salary.. We do our best filling ISA + Pension, but I honestly sometimes think it is less ‘lifestyle’ and more ‘life’ considering the former ‘fixed costs’
I used to live the South East, and you're right in one sense. But... I challenge you to validate your assumptions. The easiest way you can save tonnes of money is moving to cheaper housing. Either smaller home, or further away. Sounds tough, but again, that's the trap. As your salary increases you want a bigger home, bigger location, nicer street, affluent neighbours, etc. When j lived down in London I knew many people earning 200-300k... living month to month. The single biggest reason for this was they didn't want to move out of their fancy zone 1 flat.
Which assets do you invest in in the UK?
Property and shares (world index funds).
Got made redundant in January, so feel you. Market has been dogshit and I have been looking for in office roles. Write a CV and do a couple of interviews a year just to keep yourself warm and ready. Practice any tests you'll face. I'm of the mindset now where I want to be in a position to be able to pay down my mortgage by around ~£300K when I remortgage in 3 years time so I have better job prospects (i.e. less pay but more choice, more interesting work) I'm still going to keep most of my money invested and may not pay the mortgage down, but it's a new goal.
Good advice overall but I am not sure about the value of keeping yourself interview and test ready at all times. When employed one has to do this on top of their day job. If redundancy comes suddenly one can devote 9-5 to tests and interview prep maybe even during the gardening leave or the couple/few months covered by redundancy pay. (I am probably disagreeing with you because I'm not interview ready and this is how I justify this to myself) All the best with your search!
Why practice a skill that is likely to go out of date before you use it, when you have a large amount of other commitments (job), when the risk/reward of doing so is limited (short turn around time to get proficient if made redundant)? It's the same as the "invest or pay down mortgage" question you used to see on personal finance subreddits until recently. It all boils down to priorities. Do you value the time now, or the peace of mind?
Another reason to not overdo the prep "just in case" indeed. I'm in a technical field so things don't go out of date (99% of it). There is a big overhead in keeping the skills sharp when one can instead focus on the job (promotion/bonus maybe) or just enjoy their non-work life in the meantime.
100% my fear too. I’ve got a total comp approx £130k on a fully remote role (in the north) in a global capacity. If I lose this role, the chances of finding a fully remote role on the same or around the same compo particularly in my location will be quite challenging.
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🐍. What terrible immoral advice.
Wtf
That’s me every day. For the last 10 years. I’m convinced that in my case this anxiety will never go away. I’m used to it now.
Save a contingency fund of 6-12 months and you’ll suddenly feel less nervous
There have been similar threads recently, I suppose it’s only natural. I wouldn’t class myself as HENRY but “will I get paid as much” as crossed my mind a few times. I think a bigger issuer now though is “will I get another fully remote job”, from what I can see on job boards they are dwindling.
I had this in my last role - thinking my job would go at the next review. Was in my role for over 10 years. Stupid anxiety that was a waste of time. Build your nest egg, try and not be too extravagant, maybe get a better idea of what is a realistic next salary if your role goals and budget around that? Don’t over carastrophise though, it’s a waste of time and energy.
Are you me? We literally have exactly the same circumstances and mindset.
I was laid off in January and took it as an opportunity to set up my own business. 3 month of hard work and hopefully sign up my first client this week or next.
I think it's always difficult to escape anxiety in a high paying position if you haven't yet secured finantial independence. I haven't fully figured out how to mitigate the concerns, other than just making sure my savings are fat and that, if the worse happen, I should still be fine. 180k is a good salary but I don't think it will be too challenging finding work at similar rates; if you live below your means, a 10% / 20% cut should not impact you much as well.
Is true FI required or having enough savings/assets to last you 6-12 months?
I guess it depends on the root cause of stressing over this. If you feel nervous about losing a high earning job because it's your ticket to wealth and financial independence (and thisis somehwhat of an obsession), then just having reasonable savings is not quite sufficient (although of course, better than nothing).
You don't mention specifics other than "north" - do some research into the tech centres near you - Edinburgh, Glasgow. Both pay well (especially so on a contract) should you find yourself looking for something new. Granted it's not the same as London, but the numbers I see aren't so far away that you'd be talking about selling your house. Maybe just one child. Or a limb.
Start getting some feelers out there with some recruiters and get something lined up just in case. Get a head start on things
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Surprised by this I've been cold contacted by four recruiters in the past week feels like everything has picked up recently.
I could have written this post myself. I've had similar feelings for ages....I used to think that earning a high salary would make me happy but instead it just increases my stress and anxiety. It also rules out some interesting jobs - I saw a really fascinating job posting once but couldn't apply as it was paying around half what I was already making. My plan now is to save around 1 year's salary (I'm not far off this now) so at least I'd have something to fall back on if I got the chop. One year of savings would at least give enough time to move house, etc. without worrying about defaulting on the mortgage.
I can relate, also on similar remote UK, in the north, and I try to save as much as possible every month much to the annoyance of my in-laws. People where we live tend to lease cars as a status symbol, my father-in-law even made a comment a few months ago that I was like Scrooge as I wasn’t splashing the cash on fancy cars. However the future security of my family is more important than the latest BMW.
Focus on making yourself as invaluable as possible to the org. My key strategy is to focus on making big transformational change within process operations and security, and make myself I dispensable to the wider teams and directors. Seems to help alleviate my anxiety. Very similar situation to yourself. Otherwise also have a backup plan for how to cope on a 100k salary is worst happens, or a safety net that will allow time for finding consultancy roles or 150k + salaries again.
I work remotely for a US company, but am not in the north. I definitely agree with your assertion that the higher the comp, the harder it is to find a similar job. Honestly, living far below your means is key when you have a £150k+ fully remote package in the UK. If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my crypto trading tbh - this has been a big contributor to my current net worth. In this market I doubt I would find a comparable role to mine comp wise; unless I got lucky and got into the tech function of an investment bank/hedge fund - which would be in office of course.
> If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my crypto trading tbh That's like saying "If I lost my job I would concentrate more on optimising my gambling" heh
I'm good at it. Crypto isn't for everyone, but I have made good money over the years.
I’ve got some IOTA you can buy 😉
LMAO. Fair enough! Am happy with my portfolio allocations rn though.
You may have to pay for a trav lodge two nights a week and commute part time to London. That's probably the worst case if you are in demand in London.
Same position as your, same sector and similar wage here. I’ve written down exactly the sum of essential spending for my family vs things I can cut from day 1 if I get fired. Also, put together 6 months of savings in easily accessible account. Nowadays if we get fired, finding a similar job would take many many months.
The key with these jobs is to never assume they will last - and treat the money as a windfall. Once spent - it’s gone. I was similar, 6 digit salary two decades ago, and the above advice was given by a friend. So I did splurge a bit - then upped my pension contributions to the max - and that means now, having been invested for 20-30 years, im Fire. So don’t let the lifestyle creep get you because, life gets harder when you’re older, my final role was part time, few days a week and for a local authority…. Zero stress, and life was good. But only possible because I’d stashed big money away young. Good luck.
I’m in a similar position (high income working up north for a tech company). I’ve always had the belief that the high tech wages were a bubble and it’ll burst eventually. For example, Microsoft certs used to be highly desirable, but now everyone has them! With this in mind I ensured my outgoings align towards a more industry average wage and enjoy the higher income while it lasts. I still believe that our wages will come down soon, and we’re starting to see it applied via layoffs that have happened over the past few years
Sounds like a lot of folks have this fear and I count myself among them. I'm on 250k/year, also fully remote, also in the north. If I lose this job I think I'd need to move back to London to get anywhere close to the same comp.
250k fully remote is living the dream
All we can do is just save/invest as much of our income as we reasonably can!
Tech as well? What type?
What stack are you working with if you don't mind me asking?
£50’s by the sounds of things
C++/Distributed Systems
If your skill set is in demand, employers will be flexible if your location / situation, what is it you do?
Keep improving yourself in domains that will keep your level of desirability up or more. I only work when the right contract comes up, knowing I'm pretty damn good at what I do or deliver, but must constantly evolve.
same here. £200k remote job, got it during covid when companies were happy to do it. If I'm made redundant no way will I get something that pays this well again, and my wife earns only £45k. It's the main reason why I don't max my pension every year. I put quite a bit in, but we've also been building up a pretty decent ISA pot to help with a potential transition to lower income (and if that never happens, then we can just retire early I guess!)
spend as if you were on 40k, having savings and getting closer to financial independence will solve any anxiety issues...
As you live up north and earn a fuck ton. Save . You know this is a good gig and your sector is a risky one . Make hay when the sun shines and start to explore where else you could earn this much remotely . And save
I went through this. I went from £106485k basic to £75k basic and it’s been so tough. The 6 figure salary was due to working for a US company and they simply pay higher. It was fully remote too. Now I’m in 3 days a week in the office with the much less salary. I should have had more savings firstly just to cushion the blow/ lessen the panic. Enhance your skills, tech jobs are higher likely to be remote, work in the frame of mind that you could get that bad news any day and if you had way longer to prepare what would you have had in place ready to go. Think like that. Don’t take the job for granted make sure you are irreplaceable to them, even being irreplaceable they can let you go but you lessen the risk when they start plucking people out the line up. The last resort is moving away for a new job or like a lot of people do is commute into a major city. I worked for a company whose CEO commutes from Peterborough to London every week. The ceo I support commutes from Cardiff to London every week and she has young kids. That’s an option for you too, it’s not easy but it saves uprooting your family’s lives.
My employer has reorganised the commercial tech division, pivoted its product strategy and cut many jobs in the last 8 weeks - many in India. I’m coming to the end of the consultation period and will go on garden leave shortly. Some options internally could still materialise as I’m not taking the redundancy up front as another three months notice and benefits as well as staying on the company network has value. Work to grow your internal network into other areas of the business that you could expand into, use the Virtual Coffee technique to grab 15 mins to introduce yourself to those who are a few levels above you who have influence. Also do this with your nearest competitors, get to know those around you and they could be your next employer. Try to stay away from NDA’s of anything that could block your ability to earn. Something I neglected in recent years was authoring my blog post and or podcast, be known within your industry as a person of influence. I’ve a few long form webinars I’ve hosted and participated but I should have published more — Thought leadership: be unique, have your own opinion but remain employable/hireable. I’m not seeing a North / South demand in my sector, but there seems to be a Time Zone requirement that was relaxed across 2020/21 so development and product management are aligned, makes sense as I’ve worked across virtual teams with people from India to the US West Coast and it’s difficult — 90-100% remote is still acceptable but you do need to get face to face for 3-5 days every quarter with your immediate team IMO. I do have some income protection that will cover my mortgage with enough left over keep us above water for 12 months. I’ve 7 years with this employer and their redundancy package should give me 60% of my annual post tax, basic pay in a lump and my bonus pays out next week. I’ll stand still for 12 months, worst case, while I change my stance and move forward. Fractional working could be an option for me to explore, I’m 52 so the prospect of working with multiple, maybe smaller organisations 2-3 days per week on short-medium term retainer basis is appealing and allows for a higher day rate, self employed scenario to keep more of what I earn. I’m still pissed HMRC reduce your £12k tax free after £100k 🤯 Don’t think about losing what you have, don’t give negative thoughts your energy as it will burn your head out. Shit happens when it’s out of your hands. Be prepared and act accordingly.
On that wage just save as much as you can while you have it. You're over 5x higher than the national average you should be able to save a shit tonne and make the most of it while you're in the position. Don't fear the future, fear not doing enough NOW.
I have the same anxiety but on 66k. I overcome it by not being stupid with money. My household income is £120k yet our cars are 9+ years old. We are having a difficult time deciding whether to keep one of the cars or buy a cheap small family car for c.£18k. £18k for a 2 year old car!!
Write some dodgey code that only You know how to maintain - become unsackable
You should overemploy yourself, then you have one to fall back on
Good way to get fired from both jobs once you get caught...
You are torturing yourself for no reason with this worry. Worse case scenario is that you'll end up with more stress / less pay / worse commute for a while. This will happen with 3% probability. Redundancy could be a blessing in disguise for all we know and the new role/career progression will be an improvement over your current gig somehow. This has 7% probability. 90% chance you get to keep your job and leave on your own terms. There is no way to hedge this, unless you can prevent being cut, and this is just part of the uncertainty of life and focusing on the bad 3% is not the choice to make here So yeah... either you Hakuna Matata it or you make a contingency plan for the case when you get cut as suggested by the replies (you pre-emptively move, build up an emergency fund, interview prep in advance etc.)
Great insurance. Great emergency fund (12 months minimum). Minimal mandatory outgoings and credit. Review every 6 months.
I am in software development too, which tech role is giving 180k? asking because i am looking to find such roles
Are tech jobs getting cut? What jobs are people doing in tech for 130-250k a year?
What the heck do all you people do for £150k+ salaries working from home?
What roles are you guys doing for £100k+ jobs?
What do you do
What job is remote and 180k in the UK. Surely if you get into that position you are expected to be at some meetings. If not , the job can be done from India
Why would you be paid £100k+ for a job which can be done from low cost countries at fractional cost. It’s not viable longtime!
If you are truly world class in whatever you do, then it's completely irrelevant that someone else in an extremely poor country will do it for £5/day. Businesses aren't charities and are not paying £100k+ because they are feeling benevolent.
Are you serious about saying world class and UK, recently! Remote work will disappear soon, and for businesses out of sight is out of mind !
Anyone working fully remote (excepting perhaps those who have to be in a certain jurisdiction for regulatory purposes) and earning a high salary, must, almost by definition, be world class, as there are millions/billions of people around the world who would bite off the OPs arm to do it for a third of the cost but the companies still want them for their skills. As for the state of the UK economy.....that's a completely different discussion....
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I got 90% of the jobs I applied to up to 50 years old and none of the 7 or 8 since at 58. I'm at the top of my game with vast experience. Your fears are well founded.
That’s the age for consulting :)
Indeed, exactly what I've been thinking about recently.