just for perspective, its normal to consider slowing career advancement for quality of life. so i'd be wary of framing this in terms of triathlon.

if spending time outdoors with friends doing multisport improves your life, then it may very well be reasonable to value that on a scale that equals or exceeds the prospective upside of a potential career move. im facing the same q with academia vs career, and i'm struggling to not let raw math influence me too much.

they key question might be, in full honesty, how is your relationship with triathlon? it might be great. it might be dysfunctional.

How old are you / where are you in your career?

For me personally, I would never sacrifice professional career for triathlon but that's more because there are other hobbies / activities that I enjoy more. And for those I think I would, but it would be later in life (I'm in my late 20's) once I feel a bit more established and settled.

It's kind of like the above me posted with quality of life. I think to many people put their self worth and identity into their career/what they do. Personally, I will do a good job with the tasks assigned to me, but I value my free time (time I can ride my bike) a lot more right now. I've reached a point where consistently my job requires 40ish hrs a week from me and does not have a commute (I live in a large city that can have an hr commute each way). I value not having a commute as a $25,000 a year benefit that I get in terms of time. I've also reached a point where I feel like I'm making enough to live pretty comfortably. As long as my salary increases to match inflation, I don't think trying to advance my career is worth an extra 10-20,000 in terms of time I'll be asked to give up. I kind of rambled there, but I hope it makes sense. As far as age demographic, I'm in the 35-39 range.

I turned down jobs out of college w/ better immediate pay to invest in my long term quality of life, which included having free time to train. 10 year later it has really worked out.
I would still turn down a job that doubled my salary but made me sit in a room for 40+ hours a week and commute a half hour or more each way everyday.

Good post.

I've personally switched tracks/slowed career growth (US CPA) for personal well being. It so happens that my definition of personal well being includes being able to train 15-20 hours a week as well as spend time with my family, but remove triathlon and I still wouldn't want to allocate that time to my profession in exchange for $50k more/year or whatever.

If you look at the positions you're in line to be promoted to and are excited about that prospect then it seems your outside pursuits would be good taking a backseat. If you look at your future positions and think "that dude's life is not what I want for myself" then it'd be best to reassess things regardless of whether you're a triathlete or not.

Regardless, you need to consider where you're at as far as income (because money does matter) and determine whether that's more than enough or you need a higher baseline before adjusting.

I think people can overestimate the adverse effects of career advancement and a more senior job.

If you look at a more advanced job as being a combination of a greater salary to enable buying more toys, more interesting work, a better position in the hierarchy so you have more ability to come and go as you please and take a long lunch or come in a bit later after a training session, to make up the time later then it doesn't look so bad.
You will have a bit of a learning curve and hard adjustment period in the new role for a little while but it'll become as easy as your current role in no time.

Sure, there are some jobs where 80 hours a week is going to happen to you, but many jobs don't do this, unless you are mental or trying to kiss arses. For instance I earn a shit ton more than most of the guys in the office with me, and i am out of the door at the same time as them to drive to my better home in my better car to play on my bike that cost more than their car.


so, in summary - do both. Don't be scared of progressing in life. It's rarely a binary equation.

I was at that same crossroad about 15 years ago.

I took the road that offered less money, less stress, regular job hours and more time to devote to training/leisure.
At the time it was a hard choice. As I look back, I'm pretty sure it's one of the best decision's I've made in my life.

It's not about "training" per say, it's about getting out of the stress hole that comes with job advancement, job place politics, feeling like you have to move up the workplace ladder. It sucked and was eating me up.

I found a "grunt" job i'm happy with. I like going to work. I like working out 2x's a day. The only downside has been that it's easier to become overtrained…:-)

I have friends and relatives that are locked into the spiral that comes with reaching for that next/better job and more $$. I'm a bit jealous of their cars and 10K bikes (that they only ride on the weekends), but I look at them and am glad I choose the life I live.....40 hours a week, no weekend work, when I leave work for the day, I leave work behind.

Good luck

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"Good genes are not a requirement, just the obsession to beat ones brains out daily"...the Griz

The first question that pops in my head is "are you crazy"?????

My career has not suffered one bit because of my chosen sport. At the end of the day the job pays for my family....not my hobby.

Same spot as you. I have an opportunity for advancement. Right now my hours suck. Around 55 a week, 30 min lunch breaks, 6 days a week most weeks. I start at 5am so no group runs, no masters swim, nothing. My advancement won't change the hours required but it will allow a little later start time and an hour lunch here and there. It's more pay but more expectation. Triathlon/Quality of Life has definitely taken a back seat with only one race early this year. My wife and I enjoy the sport and our 2 youngest kids do as well. I am leaning towards taking the promotion and giving my kids and wife a better lifestyle. Let us know what you choose and how the first few weeks go.

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http://www.sfuelsgolonger.com

This this this!!! Unless the new job requires more travel, which can hinder effectiveness of training, I'd go for it. My experience has been exactly as above, first few months in new role requires a lot of extra time and effort, but it settles down quickly. Coming in a bit later due to a hard morning workout, taking an extra 15-30 min at lunch to squeeze in a swim works really well, especially the more strategic your role becomes and less task oriented. You'd be surprised what you can accomplish.

This is a crazy question to ask as a means of helping choose your own path.
It shouldn't matter in the least what other people on a triathlon forum have done or would do.
It's your life, make your own decisions! For one thing, all of our circumstances are likely somewhat different, but more importantly, we have different loves, fears, and values. What do you care what anyone else thinks? (aside from partner and kids if applicable). Do what YOU consider best for YOU. There's no need to seek approval here.

well said

cheers

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https://www.strava.com/...tes/zachary_mckinney

My swim coach in college told us that you can be dedicated to 2 things and do them *well* simultaneously, but no more. This was his way of telling us that we could do well in school and athletics, but if we insisted on going out / partying it would mean sacrifices to swimming or our grades.

I think that advice still holds water as I sit here at 37, 15 years into my career, where I am working 50+ hours and training 15+ hours a week. Most of my sacrifice has been to my social life and not work, so I've been able to advance in my career and train simultaneously. If I had kids or wanted to go out more though, it would require a sacrifice from one of the other two.

I think you just need to provide an honest answer to what you would do with the extra time if you stopped training. If that 20 extra hours per week would help you significantly advance in your career and you value that, it's a no-brainier. For me, I probably wouldn't work 70-80 hours a week if I stopped training, so it would just be filled with some other hobby that wasn't triathlon.

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Strava

Check: Yes. I choose not to put in crazy hours for my job in favour of more time outside work. I'm fine with that. There's more to life than working 70h/week. Unless that's what really makes you happy. seeing your kids grow up, doing the outdoor sports you like. I'm not waiting around until i'm old and/or my body is broken by the fancy office chair i'm sitting on 12h/day :-)

No Way. I did the opposite. Although a serious injury also helped in the decision. That aside, I dumped all competitive endurance sports, to commit everything to my job... but not just my job on a daily basis, but my job as a fast track to retirement. From the age 30 on, I worked all the overtime offered, and put the money towards my house/retirement funds. I sold back most of my leave, and put the money towards my house/retirement funds. I paid the house off, got completely out of debt, and prepared myself to pounce, at the earliest retirement opportunity possible. I had friends and coworkers think I was nuts. Some of them are still working, into their 60-70's. I was retired by 50, and have returned to the endurance sports I love. The only difference now, is that I can train as hard and as long as I want to, and everyday is Saturday. No regrets. Now that I'm here, I would do it all over again. I might also add, that when I was working, I basically had enough time to train, to be a "participant"... which was very frustrating, knowing I could have been a lot better. But as a well trained age grouper, I pretty much dominate my age group locally, and I have to admit, that is much more fun.

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Athlinks / Strava

Hey Dave Ramsey!

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Gone with the wind

Instagram: palmtreestriathlon

I'm in the middle of the pack and in middle age; I figure if I want triathlon to be a thing in my retirement I need to make sure I have a retirement for triathlon to be a thing in. So no, no career sacrifices for me.

My career is HR (in large companies so this may not apply to you) so I can say that most companies have a path/place for those who want to stay at a certain career level, typically for those that do not want to manage people and it is usually fine, as long as you are certain that continued advancement brings more hours or off-line availability expectations. I will say that a majority of individuals that I see who work more as they advance are those that typically do not set their own guardrails early on. I see an equal amount of people advance just as fast as "hard workers" (in quotes because working more <> harder working) who balance their lives and have guardrails set that people who they work for or with just know and those guardrails don't need to have reasons (always remember, nobody you work with or for has any right to ask or know what you do in your personal time). This, of course, excludes some of those careers where the expectation is pure work like say being a corporate lawyer in NYC or working at a major consulting firm.

If you work at a small company, I can't be sure but I would guess staying at a lower level may be worse for long term career prospects given that at most small companies, everyone knows everyone and more about everyone than one would at a larger company, i.e. people will know exactly why you are staying where you are and I think more people than not will have a negative view of that. Larger companies really allow you to hide it or you stay anonymous to the decision makers who really only look at your quality of work, not how you do it.

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808 > NYC > PDX > YVR
2024 Races: Taupo

Assuming your current job remains status quo if you don't take the opportunity, keep and enjoy your free time.. to do whatever it is, tri, family, other fun hobbies, etc. Unless a move was truly life-altering for myself, like - retire in 5 years instead of 15 or 20, forget it. If it just means more work responsibility for a little more money, that sounds horrible. Don't let work suck you in. Near the end of your life, what will mean more, that you enjoyed time for yourself (and/or your family), or gave it to your company?

I went from software developer to minimum wage bike messenger. The tri folks of my age if not younger who stayed in the industry have grey hairs or are balding. Retiring younger with wealth but lack of health not worth it. I am doing fine living a minimalist life style. Sure I cannot afford the big races here anymore. Glad I am close to the border, competition in Mexico is tougher (in the running world at least ). It is cheap to race with prize money even for AG

This probably isn't your first crossroad nor will it be your last. What you base your decision on today will be influenced by events of tomorrow. Some of which you don't control, many you will control. So whatever you decide now can be changed if you want to down the road. Or, someone else may change their decision that impairs your initial decision. Be flexible. Know what you want. Pursue your happiness. Life is short. I chose advancements earlier in the career. Actually opened opportunities I never knew existed for work, family, and triathloning. Trained and raced more intensely in shorter and fewer events when work required more time. Met new people and raced in new places. Family joined me more often than before and we experienced new everything. A few years down the career path, took lateral positions. Allowed more time for tri training, racing, and traveling. Raced at longer distances in further off locations. Experienced and enjoyed new things at different levels and different places. Some with family, some with friends established early in life and those developed along the way, some with co-workers, and some solo. Training, racing, family relations, social occasions, and more all ebbed and flowed over the years. Life should be colorful based on grey decisions, not black and white ones. Adopt polarity management to smooth out the disruptions and minimize the fallout. Answers change overtime based on your needs, wants, opportunities, risk tolerance, and how the world plays out around them.

https://www.palmtreesahead.com/
https://www.palmtreesahead.com/tactics2faster-new

One job move i would caution against is one i've seen many times: Where a technical guy, engineer etc moves into management and then spends his days looking at spreadsheets about other people doing engineering instead of doing it himself and he gradually loses his skills and becomes old and unhappy.

I always took the path of increasing techncal skills and firmly keeping out of management...

Another point to keep in mind is that if you're making the decisions from the perspective of youth without a wife and kids then you might think that you'll never really need to earn very much to be happy. Wait until you have a family and see just how fast money pisses out in all directions. It's a lot easier to be a happy dad if you aren't constantly in the shit moneywise.

I have purposely sacrificed a significant salary increase to accommodate my lifestyle, not one specific sport or aspect of my lifestyle, but the work/life balance I enjoy. I was recruited by another company and would have enjoyed about a 30% increase in salary to do so. But, the work hours were much less flexible, there would have been more travel, and it would have had a significant impact on my personal life, including my own activities as well as my ability to participate in and attend my kids' activities). I like my current job and I'm paid well, but having the additional 30% bump in pay would have been really nice. My current employer has a culture where work/life balance is important and the it is much less so at the prospective employer. I wasn't willing to make that sacrifice as I value my personal life and time with my family too much. Work to live not live to work.

I would say for me after college (was not into triathlon at that time) I looked for jobs and roles that allowed flexibility as I've never been one to sit at a desk for the whole day...I Interned and did that and knew I wanted to do something different. The one that consistently came up was outside sales. I am now in medical sales and been the past 5-6 years and its been great. Outside sales in general is a great option because as long as you're where you need to be you are mostly able to go as you please. Most Fridays are your "planning" days and at least for me (work specifically with internal medicine, family practice, etc) are not open on the weekends. With that being said...if you are not where you need to be it can be a bit difficult and you will need to put in more hours.