Advantages of a “low-flying” career
Posted on December 10, 2007
Filed Under Self Improvement, Tips |
Having a low-flying job can be surprisingly rewarding. It’s difficult to have a high-flying career without working long hours (unpaid), being stressed and tired, getting frustrated with office politics and having work invade your non-working time as well. Yes, you are financially rewarded but when do you have time to enjoy it? Does a three-day city break make up for six months of work-induced stress?
A low-flying job is one where you work considerably below your abilities or qualifications in a job with little responsibility and career prospects. Why would people do this? Well, if you can cope with the reduced income, a low-flying job has a number of advantages over a high-flying one:
- No-one expects you to do extra time unpaid. Start at 9, finish at 5, take your full hour for lunch.
- You don’t arrive home tired and stressed so there’s no need to spend hours winding down from work or waste money on a takeaway because you’re too tired to cook.
- You are not as intellectually or emotionally involved in the work you do, so you don’t find yourself thinking about work at all outside the hours you are contracted to perform it.
- The work is well within your capabilities so you don’t have to worry about your own performance.
- You don’t go to bed on Sunday night worrying about what faces you on Monday morning.
- You don’t get involved in office politics.
- You have plenty of mental space that you can devote entirely to yourself and your own projects or interests.
- You keep a healthy distance between your work and the rest of your life. Neither impinges on the other.
I’ve enjoyed doing low-flying work more than I thought. I was worried about getting bored at work but this didn’t happen to the extent that I anticipated. Instead, I found I had the space in my head to think about things that were important to me. I could make mental shopping lists, write mental blog posts, plan my little plans!
All of that thinking time translates into being more in control of your life. For instance, have you ever been so busy at work that you don’t have time to consider what to have for dinner or even remember what’s in your fridge? So you end up getting an unhealthy takeaway or grabbing the first thing off the supermarket shelves on the way home.
To some people, it might seem like a waste of your abilities to take a deliberately low-flying job. But how many of us have jobs that really tax our brains or challenge us consistently to come up with new ideas? And in any case, unless you own the business, all your efforts and exciting new ideas are simply contributing to making someone else’s business a success.
Those in low-flying jobs often have a very absorbing hobby or sideline that gets the bulk of their mental capacity. For example, I have my blogs, to which I devote an enormous amount of intellectual energy. Isn’t it more rewarding to devote the bulk of your mental capacity to your own projects rather than someone else’s?
Has anyone else deliberately taken a “low-flying” job? How have you got on? Is it a long-term solution or only good as a stop gap?
Stumble it!
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Find out how to leave the rat race and get the life you want. Read my story and others, learn from our mistakes and be inspired by our successes!
after working in broadcasting for years, I finally produced a surf movie and then became a “low flying” handyman. it does have the benefit of being a self employed post but i do find it incredibly rewarding. maybe not exactly like the type of “employment” you refer to, but there is the shared aspect of not reaching for the stars in your career. this definitely allows for creative development and activity outside of work. there are definitely bonuses to be a high achiever in a low flying job.
I’ve long thought of having a low-flying career as a good idea, in fact the time when I was working as a warehouse monkey just moving boxes all day was one of the most stress free and happy times of my life work wise, the only draw back then was as casual labor the work was solid, and so turning up one day and been told you aren’t needed for a few weeks isn’t financially viable.
These days my approach is a little different and I’m looking towards at make next pay review to negotiate more holidays rather then more pay, particularly was my wage starts to approach the upper level of tax my aim is to always work below that, and take extra benefits. - Sure some people argue I can work for myself and then I wouldn’t pay as much tax, but I don’t want to deal with all that paper work, and worry etc so working less to keep me at a reasonable level is a much more fun plan.
@ chuck - yes, being a self-employed handyman is the type of employment I was thinking of, it’s just that in the article I was biased towards an office scenario as that’s what I’m used to! I do like your idea of a ‘high achiever in a low flying job’. Achievement doesn’t have to be measured solely in how far up the corporate ladder you can climb, but in whether you’ve achieved your dreams, done something you’ve always wanted to do, made your family happy and so on.
@ paul - your approach sounds like a very good plan. A lot of people opt for ‘deferred happiness’ in their career, thinking that if they work their butts off for twenty years they will eventually have enough to be ‘happy’. Of course, happiness doesn’t really work that way and people who opted for money rather than happiness might regret it in the future.
I’ve actually encountered the casual labour issue you mentioned as I have been temping recently but the market dried up in November and won’t kick start again till January. I’m okay at the moment but some people would not find that position viable.
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Think carefully: you could end up being managed by a spotty youth who can’t spell.
Seriously, if you step down you may have to take shit from people with a fraction of your ability.
It can get as stressful as your old but much better paying job.