Just wanted to vent about this… With the global economy the way it is, I should in no way be complaining about this, but I will anyway. I’m being interviewed this afternoon for the position of Lead Developer with my company. It’s probable that I’ll get the job, but honestly, I’m not sure I want it. It’s more money in theory, and good on the CV, but at some point money stops being important when the work environment goes downhill. Our entire development team is bored with things here right now, and most of them are leaving for other things, so if and when I transition in to lead dev, my main responsibility will be to train (in technical French, bleh) all of the new devs coming in to work on things. Add to that the new baby, due in February (right at transition time) and the new PM at one of the two subsidiary companies, a guy who I will now have to be in direct contact with, who’s a bit of a pedant. I don’t know what I want to do. I need the money right now, to pay off taxes and student loan debts, but I’m wondering if this isn’t going to turn into a big clusterf*ck. Although it might be the trigger to me going to “full” part-time on my brewery, and consulting on the non-brewery days…
Sounds like you have some options Phil, which is a good problem to have. I don’t know what to tell you other than to drink as many beers as it takes to figure out the right path. 
;D
With the global economy as it is I again lost a bunch of money today… :-\ Bleh indeed! More like booooooooo…!
My advice: keep the professional gig for now. And boredom is an inside job. I continually have to challenge myself to combat boredom work-wise in a job I otherwise love. If they are willing to promote you- get yourself out of debt and save some operating capital. Additionally, what a complement as I see it for an American in France!
With another baby on the way a generous steady paycheck is invaluable.
Good luck.
Be careful about becoming self-employed. Once you make that paradigm shift there’s no going back. The idea of being an employee again becomes repugnant.
That can be a tough decision. Sounds like more money and experience vs. less bull#%#*. Is’s a personal choice for sure. If the transition is less than a year I’d be inclined to take it, however if it’s nothing but headaches for the long haul, I’d have second thoughts. Best of luck with your decision. 
Best advice I can offer is to seek information concerning career changes at places other than a beer forum. 
Tough call Phil. It’s always nice to have financial security with a growing family, but is it worth it if you’re miserable? I don’t know if there’s a correct answer to that one. I’ve been there, and decided to walk away from all the corporate politics and BS, and it worked out for us as a family. At the same time, I wouldn’t complain about having more money either. Life is all about choosing which sacrifices to make. Good luck…
Maybe a Ouija board.
I know the feeling Phil.
About 5 years ago I made the decision to let my skillset become obsolete so that, eventually I would not be able to get a job in the computer industry anymore. Of course I then got a job and have been forced to learn all sorts of new things just to keep the boredom at bay. So what I have done is make a deal with myself. Stick with this until all the debt is gone (house debt maybe not but the credit cards, student loans, car loans etc.) and/or the wife gets that high paying professorship and then reassess.
On the bright side as lead dev you can encourage the projects to go in interesting directions.
Use both reason and your faith (or ouija boards), as well as the love and advice of your family and friends to keep you grounded.
You’re a bright man, so you’ll probably be fine either way. Not everyone is so lucky as to love the work that they do.
Take the promotion to advance your career and pay the bills.
Being debt-free and financially-secure takes away a lot of worry and marital conflict. Everyone will sleep better at night.
Do the best job you can and keep an eye out for better opportunities within the company or in a related field.
Being self-employed does eliminate the company politics, but everything else is harder–freedom has its price.
Use brewing and/or the brewery as the creative activity that rejuvenates you and restores your tired soul.
too funny!
Hilarious.
Also, if you continue to choose the internet to be your source of advice, be sure that you use an alias, as previously discussed. If not, the decision might be made for you.
I did it and am very happy with the change. Between insurance and tax requirements for my industry the thrill of self employment was gone when my old boss offered to make me prez of his 2 companies. Dealing with employees again truly sucks but the pay is great and allows me to have fun again without the constant paperwork hassles I had to deal with all the time(now i have staff to do that).
France is not exactly a entrepreneur’s playground, the rules and regulations are daunting. Many of my inlaws have their own businesses but they constantly complain about the red tape.
My suggestion is to stick with what you’re doing until I retire in France and open a rib joint/brewpub with you. ;D
A beer forum, several beers, and a Ouija board. That trifecta should provide the answer. In all seriousness, there is no right answer. Make the one you want to live with for a few years, would be my advice (but I’ve only had one beer - my own, an IPA, but only just one - so, I can’t say with any certainty).