[trying, but failing, to keep it short - bear with me]<p>me: mid-30's, dad to 3, software engineer and mentally ill for over 20 years<p>situation: been "doing career" for 7 years in software engineering, advancing to 100k a year but sacrificing myself in the meantime (anxiety and suffering from schizotypal disorder)<p>effect: my mental condition and quality of life has been steadily worsening over the years but since i began "careering" its become worse to the point of not living home anymore and basically "just working" and being exhausted to the point of not being the great dad i want to be.<p>choice: a new job has been posted: be a tech at a museum, earn 37% less, flexible and reduced working hours and stress, work close to home, be part of creative development of exhibitions etc.<p>i am very much thinking that those 37% is easy to "sacrifice" for the opportunity of not feeling i am rapidly decaying but it also seems like a "shutting the door behind me" to a skillset i've been developing since age 7 to me now doing data engineering.
My intuition tells me that you are heading downhill and my experience tells me that the projected outcome will cause you untold additional suffering.<p>Whether or not you should take the museum job you can only determine by getting an interview, but I think it's clear that something about your current setup has to change significantly, and none of us want that to be preceded by a major breakdown.
Well, you should apply and interview at least. If it doesn't feel like a good team fit then decline.<p>'tech at a museum' could mean a lot of different things, even within the same museum. If you are able to talk to someone that works on the same team then ask them how much their job changes each year, that would give you a sense of whether you will be able to grow your skillset or not...
I have a friend that went to a 4 day week with a paycut, and she seems happy. more space and time away from the burnout to do and not do is always better.