Decisions, decisions
Two days posting in a row. I rule.
Well, I was pretty sure I was happy with the direction my life has been going lately so of course something came along to potentially shake it up. A friend let me know off the record that his work is going to be looking for someone to take his place when they put him on a new project, and offered to back me if I wanted the job. The offer has a number of negatives and only one positive as far as I can tell, but the positive is a salary that's around 12-15k more per year than what I make now, and that's a pretty serious jump.
The negatives. First, it's a business desk type job, doing paperwork for resources and purchasing. One of the things I regretted after I left college was spending so long working outside the scientific field, which is what I went to school for and what I wanted to do with my life. Of course part of that regret was that I ended up not making as much money as I could have, but still it feels like I'd be moving back away from what I want to be doing and into something I have no real interest in. Second, I just started taking classes to work on my Masters degree, and if I jumped ship I would have to wait a year before getting tuition reimbursement at the new job and I'd have to pay back what I got from this one. Third, some benefits don't kick in until a certain time passes, 401k, etc. I've got two years now where I am, I'd be starting again from scratch if I took a new job. And last... well, I like my job right now. It's relatively low pressure, I work with other people with similar backgrounds and interests, I work in a lab, and the atmosphere is exceptionally casual. Most places have Casual Friday to wear jeans, we have Casual Everyday. I'm sitting at work wearing jeans and a Cardinals World Series T-Shirt. Can't beat that.
So, a big long paragraph of negatives... and an extra $12,000 worth of positives. So I guess the question is what's my price? If it were just me it'd be an easy choice, I can live relatively well on what I make now, but I'm about to have a wife who's trying to get published and in the meantime we'll be living on what I can make. The extra money would make our lives a lot easier.
Just when I thought I had it all figured out. Hm.
Well, I was pretty sure I was happy with the direction my life has been going lately so of course something came along to potentially shake it up. A friend let me know off the record that his work is going to be looking for someone to take his place when they put him on a new project, and offered to back me if I wanted the job. The offer has a number of negatives and only one positive as far as I can tell, but the positive is a salary that's around 12-15k more per year than what I make now, and that's a pretty serious jump.
The negatives. First, it's a business desk type job, doing paperwork for resources and purchasing. One of the things I regretted after I left college was spending so long working outside the scientific field, which is what I went to school for and what I wanted to do with my life. Of course part of that regret was that I ended up not making as much money as I could have, but still it feels like I'd be moving back away from what I want to be doing and into something I have no real interest in. Second, I just started taking classes to work on my Masters degree, and if I jumped ship I would have to wait a year before getting tuition reimbursement at the new job and I'd have to pay back what I got from this one. Third, some benefits don't kick in until a certain time passes, 401k, etc. I've got two years now where I am, I'd be starting again from scratch if I took a new job. And last... well, I like my job right now. It's relatively low pressure, I work with other people with similar backgrounds and interests, I work in a lab, and the atmosphere is exceptionally casual. Most places have Casual Friday to wear jeans, we have Casual Everyday. I'm sitting at work wearing jeans and a Cardinals World Series T-Shirt. Can't beat that.
So, a big long paragraph of negatives... and an extra $12,000 worth of positives. So I guess the question is what's my price? If it were just me it'd be an easy choice, I can live relatively well on what I make now, but I'm about to have a wife who's trying to get published and in the meantime we'll be living on what I can make. The extra money would make our lives a lot easier.
Just when I thought I had it all figured out. Hm.