Career Advice: What Would You Do?

[dowie]

bit late to the thread but job 1 is easily the better offer, taking a job which pays 50% more, at your age, is a no brainer...

Stick it out for a year then take a look at the job market again - main benefit now is you'd be a jobseeker earning 31k rather than a job seeker earning 20k... people don't always get paid what they're worth (thats subjective anyway) - simply earning the large amount on paper (hours are irrelevant) gives you more credibility when say, if after your next payrise at this place, you go looking for a job paying high 30s or 40k-ish... If you'd taken the 20k job you'd have a hard time pushing for that sort of salary. The more you earn now and the better progression you can get now the better off you'll be in the future - taking the other job and sticking at it for a few year might have ended up with you only being on 30k a few years down the line... The next role doesn't have to be 55 hours a week but its likely going to be a lot more $$$ if your current role pays more.

also if you grind it out without the pay rises, progression etc.. for a few years then you'll be less credible if, later down the line, you suddenly do want to push for more money, more responsibility.... much better to have a CV which already shows decent progression, pay increases etc... its not about ability, the world isn't fair, its all about perception...

 

[semi-pro waster]

bit late to the thread but job 1 is easily the better offer, taking a job which pays 50% more, at your age, is a no brainer...
Snipped for space

Fair points but equally there is a risk that you get stuck in a job/career that you can't really afford to leave because in the meantime you've either acquired responsibilities (kids/mortgage/partner/whatever) or simply got used to a certain level of income.

I'd probably have taken job 1 for the career progression and the additional money but that's without having responsibilities that would tie me into staying at the moment.

 

[Pulse]

Thanks for the advice guys, I've already got a mortgage so happy with my current level of pay meaning what I earn over it will go straight into savings. No plans for kids any time soon! Maybe a ring if my partner gets her way lol.

 

[BuffetSlayer]

My brother is in logisitcs and I can say without a doubt that based on his work life I would have gone for job 2.

The problem with being management is you have to do a lot for free because it is 'expected'. For example after a night shift he would be expected to attend morning meetings that ran for 2hrs or more and he would not get paid for that time.

He would be expected to do productivity forecasts and so on and so forth on top of his working day and not get paid extra.

Yes, the initial wage looks great, but actually when you break down the pay vs free hours worked, you are actually no better off financially.

I would have made a serious point of enquiring about overtime, and whether you get paid for it or not. One national sized supermarket chain he worked for actually saw it as having a 'bad attitude' and not being a 'team player' if you didnt work for free at several points over the working week.

From my own working life, I can absolutely say that money is not everything. I would much rather do something I love and have a good work life balance and a modest life style than earn big money and do silly hours.

I was working 80-90 hours a week in one job, and yeah the money was great but I didnt have a life and it eventually caught up with me. I nearly had a nasty accident because I fell asleep at the wheel whilst driving to Scotland after only 4 hours sleep.

I swore from that day on, never again - and I have been far happier for it

Also, you will promise yourself you will save the extra money. But you probably wont. You will see that car you like the look of and think to yourself "yea, why not I am working hard - I deserve it". Or there will be something else, and before you know it you depend on the wage.

That is how you get trapped in a job and need to stay doing it even if you hate it.

Also - advancing and having a career is not the be all and end all. If you are stable and happy, that counts for far more than the next promotion. Being content is an old fashioned concept these days, but I like it. It works for me, but I accept it is not for everyone

Anyway, best of luck to you, I hope all goes well

 

[dowie]

Fair points but equally there is a risk that you get stuck in a job/career that you can't really afford to leave because in the meantime you've either acquired responsibilities (kids/mortgage/partner/whatever) or simply got used to a certain level of income.

31k isn't a huge amount in the grand scheme of things... I wouldn't have thought you'd get stuck at that level when in a rather generic job

IME people who can find themselves trapped are a lot more specialised... developers who aren't necessarily all that good but earn 100k+ because they're essential to one particular company - their skillset might not warrant that amount in general but they're intimately familiar with a particular bit of legacy software that they'd be a pain to replace... those are the sort of people who become trapped, not people in generic management roles earning 30k... there are almost always options available at lower pay levels if you're good at what you do and can present yourself well.

 

[pitchfork]

31k for a 60 hour week? Sod that.

Take the one with less hours and reasonable pay, you'll never be sat on your deathbed wishing you'd made more money, and if you needed the money that comes with the other job you wouldn't be asking the question if you should take it.

 

[DailyGeek]

God, I do a 50-60 hour week for 20k Worst of both worlds!

Hopefully that will change soon...

 

[Pulse]

Seems I did have some initial facts wrong its 48hrs/week and that includes hr and 1/4 break. It works out 4 x 10hr shifts, 1 x 8hr. If I work overtime I am expected to take it back that week or next. They don't want us doing over contract and speaking to a store manager I met last week for a sort of work experience, he said he's been with the company 13years and loves it now more than ever and never does over 48hrs/ week. In response to others, it might not be a lot of money to some, but to me that's a huge amount, I'll be the first person in my family to earn over £30k/year, well over £26k.