Leave an 80K a year job to brew?

There is a craft brew house not far from me (half hour drive) that is hiring a brewer. I would LOVE to get this job but I know that it's not going to pay enough.

I did email them about it anyways just to see what happens.

If I was to get it things would be hard money wise but it "could" be great in the long run.

Would you be willing to take say a 50-70% pay cut just to do something you love?


I know that I wont get the job anyways but it's cool to dream.

It depends on where you want to take it. If you eventually want to own your own brewery, and I mean really want that, then it might be worth it.

I love homebrewing. But I know that if I brewed for a living, there is a strong chance it would become just a job (and a hard one at that) and not fun anymore.

I'll keep my >$80k job, thanks, and continue having tons of fun brewing at home at the same time.

As long as it's a hobby I can still love it. As a brewer, I can do anything I want with my process / recipes.

AS an employee, I'm afraid my creative, restless juices would be stifled.

I imagine that I’d spend all day brewing someone else’s beer, and then be anxious to get home and brew my own beer.

That is…of course, unless I owned the brewery. Then it would be other issues (payroll, personnel, taxes, vendors…etc).

So for now...I'll brew because I can brew, and I want to brew. I'll leave the job responsibility to someone else.

BM hit the nail on the head. I think that brewing would lose a lot of its allure if you did it every day, all day, and instead of making whatever you wanted, you'd be making the same 4 or 5 recipes over and over again. Don't get me wrong, it'd still be better than most occupations...but there's nothing quite as awesome as true homebrewing.

I only recently joined the 80K club, but I can tell you that I would not personally go back to 40K just to brew. I will make the extra dough, brew like crazy and have some cool equipment at home... and still retire in a timely fashion.

BUT, I can see your dilemma... money is a horrible thing.

I used to enjoy messing around with computers until it became part of my job. Now it's no longer part of my job or my hobby. Stick with homebrewing. 80K will buy a lot of equipment.

There comes a time when the lure of money looses its luster and one goes after more self fulfilling employment. I'm thinking along those lines right now so this is a timely discussion. I make >90k a year and it would be hard to go to half that. Wife says she supports what ever I want to do. (And she's the one that got me my first kit!........She's a keeper) Still thinking about it though. Like the money too though. I would have to say that I was happier when I didn't have as much stuff.

Mid life is a *****. I'm going home to drink a bottle of homebrew.


(Crap, you know I'll stay but I'll be daydreaming.)

RickWG said:

There comes a time when the lure of money looses its luster and one goes after more self fulfilling employment. I'm thinking along those lines right now so this is a timely discussion. I make >90k a year and it would be hard to go to half that. Wife says she supports what ever I want to do. (And she's the one that got me my first kit!........She's a keeper) Still thinking about it though. Like the money too though. I would have to say that I was happier when I didn't have as much stuff.

Mid life is a *****. I'm going home to drink a bottle of homebrew.


(Crap, you know I'll stay but I'll be daydreaming.)

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You sound to be in the same boat. My goal really is to some day have my own brewery. But I know that I need to bust my azz now and get to where I have everything paid for before putting my head on the chopping block and doing it.

I wonder if I could talk them into letting me work a few hours a week to kind of get a feel for what the big time is like.

i would really put some serious thought in before you make any decisions. Work for a week for free and see if brewing as a living is really for you.

Here's my take on your situation. Seems to me that right now you love to brew good beer and you want a shot at giving back to the masses something that you love to do and have created. As for giving up your current $80K job it might put you into a bind of some sort financially. But ultimately that decision is for you and your SWMBO. Personally if I were you I would see if they wouldn't mind if you could do this part-time and see how well you can handle the work load. Kinda like try before you buy. Or see if you're current employer with give you a leave of absence so in case this newfound career doesn't pan out like you had hoped. Either way the only thing you'd be out was time and effort. I wish you luck in your decision. As for me I wouldn't mind trying this once I retire (hopefully in 12 yrs). But I'll wait and get better at homebrewing till then. Good luck!

Yep. Offer to volunteer to help in all the processes involved in brewing. SWMBO would never let me take the pay cut. Owning a Brew Pup is a different story.

Everyone has different priorities when it comes to balancing compensation and job satisfaction...no one can tell you where yours should be 'cept yourself (and of course your sig others if you want to keep them sig others). Few people are in the position where they could take that kinda pay cut and the related decline in lifestyle to seriously consider the position. I have thought in the past that a good way to look at these questions is to ask yourself if you are ready to jump because of this situation is right in front of you or are you ready to jump period....because you have the drive that requires you to do it.

Pitching in a brewery would prb clarify things pretty quick!

I will speak as someone who, 2 months ago, quit my $80K+ job to concentrate on opening my own brewery. Since then I have been working at 2 breweries to gain experience brewing on a commercial level. At one brewery, I'm working 3-4 days a week for free and at the other, I'm making $12.00 hr. 1 day a week. Tomorrow, I start at a local winery for 1 day a week also at $12.00 hr. For me, it's totally been worth it. My SWMBO is extremely supportive and really pushed me to quit my job and follow my dream.

Having worked at a commercial brewery the last couple of months, I can tell you that I love every aspect of the process. I worked a 14 hour day today (just got home) and while I'm physically exhausted, I never felt more energized emotionally. I HATED my $80K job and couldn't wait to get out. The money is not as important to me (or SWMBO) as QUALITY OF LIFE.

We are close to narrowing down a location for our brewery and I'll scale back the other jobs once we get the location and concentrate full time on taking Naked City Brewing Company to the next level.

The way I look at it is, If you can still support your family on that kind of pay cut, then go for it. If not, well family needs to come first.

Originally posted by Ryanh1801
The way I look at it is, If you can still support your family on that kind of pay cut, then go for it. If not, well family needs to come first.

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I completely agree with Ryan. We have no kids, very few bills. (It pays to live in a 492 sq.ft. condo ) and a VERY supportive wife.

If you live in a 492 sq ft condo and have very few bills, you should harness (by investing/saving) that 80k, create a 3 year plan for yourself, and open a business. If you just up and quit your job, you may find yourself in a very....VERY....different situation. Count your blessings, brother! Maybe you could just buy a house with a shed out back and brew for yourself....?

Brewtopia said:

I completely agree with Ryan. We have no kids, very few bills. (It pays to live in a 492 sq.ft. condo ) and a VERY supportive wife.

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As I said, The lure of money looses it's luster at different times in people's lives. Sounds like you got it goin on man. I'm jealous. I'm still searching for what I want to do in the future. Until then I'm here and payin bills.

I was just out at lunch watching the guys doing lawn maintenance. Sunny San Diego day, moderate temps, cuttin the grass/trimming trees...etc. I used to do it before grad school and hated it. Now when I look back on those times, Hmmmm what's that about hindsight?

Just go buy a Corvette.

It's always the "other" things that really help you make the decision. As others have mentioned, bills. I have other responsibilities that makes me stay where I'm at. Yes, it's all money related, but that is how the world is. I got kids and a wife that is relying on me and I just can't take a chance like that to them. Quality of life is one thing, but living is the most important thing. You got to eat, you got to either provide, or contribute, to the way you are accustomed to living. You take that away, and that will create undue tension inside the relationships. Whether it be with your SWMBO or with your children. Difficult decision sure, but set down with yourself and logically go through it. I don't know you, but you may be at the same point in life as I am and that would lead me to having to pass on this oppurtunity with no guarantees.

Taking a 50%-75% pay cut to start at the bottom at a brewery doesn't sound like fun to me, no matter how much I like brewing.

If you could take that type of pay cut and still get by, you must have a lot of expendable income. If I were in that position, I'd keep my current job and save that expendable income to open a small brewery and bring on an experienced partner that knows what they're doing. That way you could transition into a higher paying job (owner instead of part-time brewery assistant), and you could stick to the fun part of brewing, instead of just cleaning all day.

If you're going to take the risk of quitting your job to follow a dream, it might as well be the dream that you really want.

i saw an ad to work for a brewery...i've been thinking about it. with my current bad back, however, i don't think i'll get the job. also, i would get less money. plus, do i really want to work at pyramid??? don't really like their beers, although i drink enough of their hefe at the local bar (it's all they have)

i've actually been thinking about going to school in a couple of years for brewing. there's a UC Davis extension for brewing...an 18-week course. i was also thinking of studying abroad, possibly germany

Well, if you decide to brew, can I have your old job?

bigben said:

Just go buy a Corvette.

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I already have one.

Damn Squirrels said:

Well, if you decide to brew, can I have your old job?

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Sure, do you know anything about automotive design?

Really, I love what I do, I love designing and being creative, and it's always cool to see a car going down the road and know that some of my work is right there.
But then there is beer, god I love beer.....

I'm going to have to pass on this job right now, maybe in 5 - 8 years from now if I do things right I can make a different call. Just right now I don't want to put that much onto my wife to make the ends meet.

DeathBrewer said:

i was also thinking of studying abroad, possibly germany

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The Technical University of Munich, Weihenstephan Campus is where you want to go. Home of the brew school and oldest brewery in the world (seit 1040). Only 33 more years till their thousand year anniversary!!