I use AI to stop me from been Delulu, about a new job opportunity.

So, I just got a new job offer. My current job is not necessarily bad, but I don’t do anything that I’m interested in. The new job is closer to doing what I love to do. The problem is that, mathematically speaking. It just doesn’t make sense for me to get the new job, even though I really do want to. I’ve been a bit emotional with this type of decision in the past, so I provided an AI with information about the 2 jobs and told it to be brutally honest. This is what I got.

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CURRENT JOB:

• Base Salary: $85,000
• Schedule: 2 days office (downtown), 3 days WFH
• PTO: 25 days total
• Location: Downtown (45 min commute each way when in office)
• Schedule reality:
  • WFH days: Wake up 9 AM, start work 9:30 AM
  • Office days: Wake up 7 AM, 45 min commute
  • Losing 2 hours of personal time on office days

NEW JOB OFFER:

• Base Salary: $83,200 ($40/hour)
• Schedule: 5 days in office (NO remote)
• PTO: 21 days
• Split location:
  • 3 days town location (22-35 min morning commute, 40-70 min evening)
  • 2 days Downtown (45 minutes each way)
• Must wake up at 7 AM every day (vs 9 AM on current WFH days)
• Overtime available at $60/hour

BRUTAL MATH TIME

Sleep/Personal Time Impact:

• Current job:
  • 3 days/week: Extra 2 hours sleep/personal time (WFH)
  • 2 days/week: Early wake-up + commute
• New job:
  • 5 days/week early wake-up
  • Annual sleep loss vs current: ~312 hours (3 days × 2 hours × 52 weeks)

Commute Reality:

• Current annual commute: 156 hours (2 days × 1.5 hours × 52 weeks)
• New job annual commute:
  • town location: 156-273 hours (3 days × 1-1.75 hours × 52 weeks)
  • Downtown: 156 hours (2 days × 1.5 hours × 52 weeks)
  • Total: 312-429 hours annually in car

Financial Breakdown:

• Base salary difference: $ 1,800/year
• PTO difference: -4 days (-$1,308/year)
• Annual car costs (excluding purchase):
  • Insurance: $1,800
  • Registration: $60
  • Maintenance: $800
  • Gas: ~$523
  • Total: $3,183/year

Break-Even Analysis:

• Need to make up: $6,291/year (excluding car purchase)
• Required overtime: 315 hours/year
• Weekly overtime needed: 6 hours

BRUTAL REALITY CHECK:

1. Time Loss is Massive:
   • Losing 312 hours of sleep/personal time annually
   • Additional 156-273 hours in commute annually
   • Total life impact: 468-585 hours per year (19.5-24.4 full days)
2. Financial Reality:
   • Base pay is worse (-$1,800)
   • Losing 4 PTO days (-$1,308)
   • Need 6 hours overtime EVERY week just to break even
   • That’s another 312 hours of your life annually
3. Quality of Life Impact:
   • Going from 2 early wake-ups to 5
   • Trading flexible WFH schedule for rigid office schedule
   • All weather commutes required
   • No flexibility for personal appointments

HONEST ASSESSMENT:

You’re looking at trading:

• 468-585 hours of your life annually
• $1,800 in base salary
• 4 PTO days
• Schedule flexibility
• Sleep and personal time

To break even, you need:

• 6 hours overtime every week (312 hours/year)
• This means working 45 hours/week minimum
• Adding this to commute time, you’re losing ~780-897 hours annually (32.5-37.4 full days)

RECOMMENDATION:

Unless this new job offers EXCEPTIONAL career growth potential or you absolutely hate your current role, this is a terrible trade. You’re essentially paying them to take more of your time. Even with consistent overtime, you’re trading nearly 40 days worth of your life annually for potentially the same or slightly more money.

This isn’t just about money – it’s about life quality. You’re trading:

• Flexible mornings for rigid schedules
• Extra sleep for commute stress
• Personal time for traffic
• WFH comfort for office politics

Unless there’s something amazing about the new role’s career potential that you haven’t mentioned, stick with your current job. The flexibility and time savings of WFH are worth far more than potential overtime pay.

tl;dr: The new job wants you to trade 780-897 hours of your life annually (32.5-37.4 days) for the same or slightly more money. Stay at your current job unless the career growth potential is exceptional.

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