Take the job offer or stay?
March 25, 2010 8:50 PM   Subscribe

I need some unbiased feed back....I went on job interview on a whim. Turns out the hiring manager liked me a lot and I got a job offer the next day. The offer included a hefty pay raise with bonus potential. The job is similar in scope with some more responsibility and the potential for good growth. But the health insurance/dental/vision benefits are not great, but all other benefits are similar. The new position is salaried, my current is hourly.

The main issue is I change jobs frequently, often jumping ship every year so. Some jobs I have stayed at for only 6-9 months. I have been at my current job the longest - almost 3 yrs. Do I stay put and add some longevity to my resume or take the job with the more money? My current job is pretty much a dead end, but isnt really any heavy lifting.

The more money would be nice, but it isnt necessary. If I stayed at my current job, Id most likely go get my PMP cert.

Additional info -
I have been out of college for about 5 yrs. Both jobs are with finance companies and are in IT. I'm not into to either job really,they are just a source of revenue. The current job is a strict 9-5 no OT required ever. New job is located in a industrial park in a suburb. Current job is in a major city.
posted by burlsube to Work & Money (17 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Oh god, take the new job. More money, better location, scope to grow. If you're around 25, having a dead end job is fine, but you may want to settle down/buy property/ travel more/indulge you desires for baubles and trinkets of bewildering variety in the next few years - and let me tell you, more money, better cv, more career development, etc will help you in every one of those desires. The only way it won't help you is if it stresses you out, but only you can answer that, not us. Go, go take the job!
posted by smoke at 8:58 PM on March 25, 2010 [1 favorite]


Three years is a decently long tenure already, especially since the job is similar in scope and field, with some additional responsibility. It'll look like a natural next step along a steady path, not a whimsical change in direction.
posted by salvia at 9:06 PM on March 25, 2010 [1 favorite]


The Steve Miller Band advise "Take the money and run." and my Magic 8 Ball says "Outlook good."

"The more money would be nice, but it isnt necessary."

See, the thing about more money is that, well, it's more money. It's how people in a capitalist system say "We like you. We think your contributions are valuable. We'd like you to contribute more often, and if you do, we might be richer than the people that employ you now, and able to give you, then, still more money." And to you, eventually "money-that-isn't-necessary" = future choices, personal time, alternate futures.

It's an uncertain economy. Unless your current job is an absolute lock in terms of stability, you'd do well to take an opportunity for more money, and let the newly passed Health Care Reform initiative smooth out the benefits inequity while you're young, probably healthy, and making bank.
posted by paulsc at 9:10 PM on March 25, 2010 [1 favorite]


It wouldn't make sense to stay just for "longevity." The only reason I see to stay with your current job is if you're willing to pay a lot of money to stay in the big city rather than work in the suburbs.
posted by Jaltcoh at 9:12 PM on March 25, 2010 [1 favorite]


Go for it. 3 years is plenty. I you had a string of 9-12 month jobs with nothing longer it'd be an issue, but 3 years is solid especially given your age.
posted by alms at 9:14 PM on March 25, 2010


3 years is plenty for IT. If longevity is your only reason for staying then definitely feel free to go.
posted by Tell Me No Lies at 9:36 PM on March 25, 2010


The new job might be great, but keep in mind that salaried positions can sometimes be a trap. Some companies view salaried workers as bottomless work machines -- after all, they're not paying you by the hour. You may want to learn more about your responsibilities at the new job, just to make sure you don't end up in a situation where you're working full speed 60+ hours a week and making -less- per hour than you're getting now.
posted by dacoit at 9:38 PM on March 25, 2010 [3 favorites]


What would be the purpose of showing longevity except to get the sort of job you've just been offered?
posted by thorny at 9:38 PM on March 25, 2010 [2 favorites]


Nthing go for it. I'm job-hopping myself in your same industry finance/tech in nyc, working hourly but looking for a salaried role. your concerns about tenure are valid, but 3 years is plenty. Good luck!
posted by xiaolongbao at 9:41 PM on March 25, 2010


What Jaltcoh said. Some people (myself included) would require 7 figures, a yacht, and a pony to even consider being in a distant suburb. You may or may not be one of those people.
posted by ripley_ at 9:44 PM on March 25, 2010


Absolutely go for it if the suburb thing isn't holding you back. Three years is fine, and it's good to know when your current job has leveled off and get a new one. Otherwise, your performance at your current job will suffer, which won't be helpful.
posted by questionsandanchors at 7:34 AM on March 26, 2010


Welcome to your career - getting pay raises, moving up that's how successful careers progress. You should go for it -- in IT even 2 years somewhere is considered pretty stable and these days being in one job for a long time tends to lead to a stagnation in skills so moving is not considered a downside. Even if the money isn't "necessary" you could always sock it away in retirement or savings.

Congrats!
posted by Kimberly at 7:40 AM on March 26, 2010


Seconding dacoit. I have friends that work in investment banking and brag about how much they are making until I help them do the math to make them realize that they were making less per hour than I was making 50k. Sure they had money and might retire earlier, but they had no time to spend it and were missing out on being young.

As a few others have said, consider what your hours will realistically be. Try to talk to existing people at the company and see if they'll shed some light that the HR person won't tell you about.

You'd be surprised how many companies out there hire someone on a salary vs. hourly just to wring more value out of them. I mean, think of it from their perspective...if they pay you hourly they have a vested interest in minimizing the time you work as it saves them money. If they pay you salary, they have a vested interest in maximizing the time you work because after a certain crossover point they get more value out of you than if they hired you hourly.
posted by Elminster24 at 7:48 AM on March 26, 2010 [1 favorite]


I agree with most of what's been said; I just wanted to add that it may be worth walking up to your current employer and saying "Hey, Current Employer, Perspective Employer wants to hire me for $X, but their benefits and hours aren't as good. I plan on taking it, unless you can offer me $X to stay. Interested?"
posted by craven_morhead at 7:58 AM on March 26, 2010


If you decide to go the route craven_morhead mentions, be aware that you can only do this once. And once you do it, management will know that you've been looking around and are likely to look around again in the (near?) future. If layoffs are coming, you'd be first on the list, and they may try to "manage" you out before then.

Take the new job offer. If you really don't need the extra money right now, invest in Berkshire Hathaway and let it ride 'til retirement :)
posted by wwartorff at 12:50 PM on March 26, 2010


Oh, yeah, I would only follow my advice if I were planning on taking the new job, and if they did get me to stay, I'd make clear that I plan on staying for a while.
posted by craven_morhead at 1:06 PM on March 26, 2010


I was going to say basically what craven_morhead said, except I'd frame it as "Hey, Current Employer, Perspective Employer wants to hire me for $X, but I really like working here. Would you be willing to increase my salary to $x?

Or you could substitute more vacation hours/other benefits for more money if that's what you really want. And if they won't be prepared to take the other job.
posted by grapesaresour at 6:47 PM on March 26, 2010


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