[muffinman26]

If you switch careers, of course you're going to take a pay cut. Why would I expect to be making as much money as an apprentice plumber as I am as a software developer with years of experience?

There are plenty of jobs that are important to certain career paths but come with a pay cut. For software developers, it might be starting a business. Would you expect a politician to turn down a position as Secretary of [State, Treasury, etc.] because it's a pay cut?

There's more to life than money and if I have to spend the rest of my life working at a desk, that isn't a life at all.