I don’t like my job and think about reducing to 50%.
Where I work (Germany), several colleagues do that, but most of them are married women where the husband is the main breadwinner working 100%. I live alone and have to finance myself independently.
I now earn 4,000 euros brutto, 2,900 netto and can save some for retirement. If I work 50%, I’ll earn half that.
I did an apprenticeship as a nurse and while the money is ok, the job is not. People say with a nursing apprenticeship you won’t be poor, but what they don’t tell you is how taxing it is and how you have to be a sociopath not to be criticized by management.
Looking for some opinions out of Germany.
Not 50, but 60 percent. I earn ~1,600 euros net per month. 60 percent work does not mean 60 percent net, because taxes and social security contributions are deducted. Nevertheless, the most important thing is to keep living costs as low as possible. That’s why I live in a WG (shared apartment approx. €500 per month) and will be moving into a cooperative next. Also important: no children! However, you have to accept that you will have significantly less private space. For example, I have a 15 square meter room. But in return, I have Thursdays and Fridays off.