Base move on more than salary

A client recently presented me with a meaty question: Should he stay with his current employer, who he thinks is underpaying him, or should he launch himself in the job market?
On its face, there is nothing unusual about this query. Most of us ponder some version of it on a regular basis. But his situation has just enough variables to create confusion.
He wants to buy a home, he has children now and another on the way, his industry is in decline, so jobs for his skills are scarce, and, after several years with a small employer, he has reason to believe he will never be promoted. Nor does he think he'll be laid off, unless his boss closes up shop altogether.
If you're making a mental checklist, you can see reasons for staying and for leaving. You might see a middle ground that includes negotiating with his current employer or moonlighting to add income and smooth the way for a career change.
As always, there are still more variables. His boss is mildly abusive and experience has shown negotiation to be futile -- although this worker has been able to win small raises each year. An extra job would steal time from the family. The job is bearable, so departure isn't psychologically necessary. But the job is a dead end and the boss is galling, so staying is difficult.
What to do?
A few tips
If you have found yourself in a similar quandary, related to your job or any other of life's puzzles, it helps to take a bird's-eye view of the problem. In this case, the vantage point is not one of height, but of chronology. If you can see this period in your life as one section of a longer lifeline, you can create a helpful perspective.
To see what I mean, draw a line across a piece of paper. On the left end of the line, write your age. On the right end, write the age you expect to be when you die. (Be generous!)
Now write some of your goals and the age at which you want to accomplish them. For this person, a new house and a new baby loom large for the next year. Longer-term objectives include saving for retirement and education and coaching kids' sports teams.
If you've put your goals on the timeline, revisit your current job. How can this job be a tool to reach at least the short-term goals? Will staying in the job past a certain point actually keep you from reaching some goals? When is that point? Perhaps that's the date by which you should leave. Presuming that date isn't immediate, you can plan for a smooth transition from this job to the next.
What if staying in the current job doesn't present obstacles to future goals? Then it's wrong to blame the job for holding you back. For example, if you feel like you can't start taking classes because this job is too tiring, but then realize that any job will be tiring, you may need to re-examine your plan for classes. You need to either cut something else out of your schedule, or rearrange your work hours, or stop working and concentrate on school, or take classes online.
Important issues
I gained clarity about my client's question when I realized the importance of homeownership to his family. He has been frustrated because he feels he could afford a better house if he had a better salary, which is true. But getting a better salary in a new job is not a sure thing, particularly when you factor in the possibility of being laid off after a switch. Further, a delay in buying a house might mean higher mortgage rates.
It's possible that he could switch jobs and buy a house in a timely manner, but I'm skeptical. Since his industry is in decline, it would take extraordinary luck to land a comparable job during the next few months. Likewise, that's not enough time to change industries.
Is meeting your personal goals reason enough to stay in a job? If you see your job as a tool, and your life as a timeline, there's no other reason to stay in a job -- well-paying or not. It's only when your job stops making your goals possible, or costs too much emotionally or psychologically, that it's time for a switch.
Just don't use salary as your only guide. That's like drawing a map without seeing the area from above. You might get the main points right, but you'll probably get them in the wrong proportion.
XAmy Lindgren, the owner of a career-consulting firm in St. Paul, Minn., can be reached at alindgren@pioneerpress.com.