Is it a mistake to leave a consulting job for a job just to get health insurance?
Dear Deb:
I work as a consultant, mostly for non-profits. My husband was laid off and we will be without health insurance when our COBRA coverage expires in 3 months. If I take work as a barista at a coffee shop, they will provide full health benefits. This is a $25,600 annual benefit to my family of 5. The wages for my 30 hours are 1/2 of what I made in non-profit consulting for the 20 hours/week. We can’t buy insurance for our family outside a group for a lower price and to match that price the benefits would be much lower.
I hate leaving my career, but I am hoping it is just for a year or less. My family needs the insurance and we will be cutting it close just on my husband’s unemployment pay plus any part-time work he gets while searching for full-time work.
Am I making a mistake??
Thanks,
Lynn
Dear Lynn:
Here are a couple of short-term options:
* Can you increase your consulting business to 40 hours per week and perhaps your husband could help in other areas at home to make that possible? With the extra hours, could you pay the insurance?
* Can your husband help you in your consulting practice and ramp it up to 60 hours of business between the two of you?
* Can you work 30 hours at the coffee house and continue the 20 hours consulting? Maybe you could work weekends and late nights when other baristas want to be off?
If those options don’t work, perhaps the coffee house is an excellent way to provide your family with the security of health insurance. This is a temporary move and if you continue to network in your industry, you will be ready to re-enter when the time is right. Maybe you can ask your manager if you can be the non-profit liaison for your coffee house. You could help with their community image and do something related to your passion.
Long-term options may be to find a permanent job with a non-profit organization so you do what you love and have the security of insurance. In the meantime, good luck with your short-term solutions. Share CareersDoneWrite.com with your husband so he can start his new job quickly!
If you have a question for Deb, please email debra@careersdonewrite.com. The Ask Deb column appears every Friday on our blog at the Careers Done Write website.