Have you made a major trade-off in your career over money, flexibility, or other benefits? Tell us if it was worth it.

There are a lot of tough choices and sacrifices workers and job seekers have to make as they navigate their careers.

We want to hear about what major trade-offs you've made — and how those choices panned out.

Have you taken a job that pays less because you wanted more work-life balance? Did you leave a steady paycheck for the freedom freelance work tends to provide? Are you staying in a job longer than you wish because the benefits are just too good to let go of?

Fill out the survey below to let us know about your experience, including what you learned and advice for others. Make sure you hit submit at the end of the survey so your response is recorded.

Maybe you have taken a step back in your career to build experience for the longer term. Dawn Choo, who is in her 30s, interned at Facebook in college, hoping to then land a data scientist job at Instagram. She didn't get an offer and ended up doing a quant role at Bank of America before taking a business analyst job at Amazon. The Big Tech role would mean a roughly 40% pay cut, different duties, and feeling like she wasn't learning much.

"Despite what felt like moving backward, I could see the upsides of taking the job," Choo said in an as-told-to essay. "Amazon's a big company, and I knew it was a step toward where I wanted to go. I had to make some adjustments, like eating at home more. But I also felt like it was a step back in my career because I suddenly stepped into a service-desk role."

She eventually got a promotion before landing her dream job at Instagram.

"I think my experience working in tech and product changed my application," she said. "I also had a lot more leadership experience since I spearheaded a project. Plus, I matured around interviewing and presenting myself."

Meanwhile, Karime Masson retired earlier than she'd planned after working for the Social Security Administration for more than 20 years. She ended up taking a retail job at TJ Maxx as she was wrapping up her time in the federal government, and said she's the happiest she's been in a while.

"On more than one occasion, they've asked if I wanted to work more hours or take on more responsibility. I'm like, 'Nope, no thank you. I'm happy just being a worker bee. That's all I want to do.' It's been a really good fit for me," she said in an as-told-to essay.

Some people have left the corporate world to be self-employed. Amber Smith was a little nervous to leave behind working for an employer to be her own boss, but she wanted more freedom. She turned her side gigs of reselling items, making money through her TikTok and YouTube accounts, and brand deals into her full-time job.

"I feel way less stressed out," Smith told Business Insider in 2024. "I'm just happier in general. I would actually cry about my corporate tech job way more than anyone should cry about their job, and my side hustles never made me cry, and they still don't make me cry now that they're my full-time thing."