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| I took two pay cuts over the course of my career — for different reasons. Gail Galusha |
In the mid-1990s, Gail Galusha was thriving in the private sector. She worked in data management for the Cardiology Associates of Albany and ran a side business providing transcription services for an orthopedic group and a pain management physician. Her career was steady, lucrative, and full of promise. But within a short span of time, a series of personal tragedies and life-changing events made her question everything she thought she wanted.
A devastating car accident — one that tragically claimed the other driver’s life — came just as she was welcoming home her adopted baby boy. She continued working for a while, but life soon brought more loss. Her mother died from cancer, her brother-in-law was killed in a tragic accident, and her marriage was under strain. The accumulation of grief and hardship left her feeling disoriented. “All of a sudden, I was like, ‘What am I doing?’” she recalled. “I felt like there had to be more to life than this.”
The First Pay Cut: A Move for Family and Fulfillment
Determined to be closer to her children and to find more meaning in her work, Galusha left her well-paying medical position for a clerk typist role at the school her kids attended. It was a dramatic financial change. Vacations were no longer extravagant, replaced with weekend getaways, camping trips, and long bike rides. The transition required lifestyle adjustments, but it also gave her what she valued most at the time: proximity to her children and a stronger sense of community.
She never saw that first move as a mistake. “I was in the school district where my kids were walking the halls, and I knew that role would be a ticket to my future success,” she said. Her instincts proved correct. Within two years, she was recruited by the regional information center that served over 100 public school districts. That move came with a pay increase, and over the next several years, she climbed further — eventually joining the administrative cabinet of a large public school district and earning another significant raise.
When an opportunity arose to leave K–12 education for a role in higher education, Galusha faced another pay cut — this time, about 15%. Yet she felt confident in the decision. Her children were grown and in college, she would keep her pension and health insurance, and the position aligned with her professional values. She sold her home, packed up her life, and moved two hours away to start fresh.
The Second Pay Cut: A Decision That Didn’t Pay Off
While her first pay cut had been rooted in personal priorities and had ultimately strengthened both her career and her life, the second one didn’t unfold as well. The new college position, while aligned with her love of education, didn’t provide the sense of belonging she had hoped for. “It just wasn’t the right atmosphere or the right place for me to be,” she said.
The move away from friends and family proved harder than expected. Renting in her new city was costly, especially after selling her house, and she began to second-guess her choice. “Maybe I should have kept my home. I should have stayed,” she reflected. After about a year and a half, she returned home and found another position in education — but the financial hit and the disruption to her pension lingered.
Looking back, she realized the difference between the two decisions came down to purpose and timing. The first pay cut was both a personal and financial fit; she still made enough to cover her expenses and felt deeply connected to her reason for making the change. The second time, while the career purpose was there, the move didn’t align with her personal life — and she didn’t need to make it from a financial standpoint.
Lessons Learned
Galusha now believes that taking a pay cut can be the right move, but only if it meets three conditions: it must be purposeful, it must work for your financial reality, and it must fit with your personal life. She also cautions against making such decisions during periods of upheaval, echoing the advice of Elisabeth Kübler-Ross to avoid major life changes in times of chaos.
Her experience shows that while a pay cut can be a powerful investment in your future, it can also be an unnecessary sacrifice if not approached with clarity and balance. “The first time I took a pay cut, it worked for me personally and financially because I still made enough to pay my bills, and I wanted to do it,” she said. “The second time, it was purposeful for my career, but it didn’t align as much with my personal life, and I didn’t need to do it.”
