A fork in the road, two very different prospects`

[oulton]

The house is sold, notice handed in at work, and after 7 years in Scandinavia we are moving back to blighty this summer, yes!

I have interviewed had two job offers, both very different.

1 - lead analyst for a very large company in the energy sector. Would run a team of analysts reporting to the head of dept. Potentially a job for life with a great pension and good hours, lots of holidays.

- cons - in a potentially grim part of the country where my other half may not find work. Lots of red tape.

2 - head of dept for a small boutique company doing extremely well in the land, energy and utilities sector. Better money and very good five figure annual bonus, good car allowance, etc. Potential to be a non-equity director in several years time.

cons - 11 hour days are the regular. Lots of responsibility and mistakes could be extremely costly to the company so it is going to be high pressure. Also work scope will be less varied, lots of the same type of work. Missing out on some family time.

I know both jobs sound good, and if i was in the position of only having either one offered I would bite the proverbial arm off, but having interviewed today for the 2nd one I am in a bit of a conundrum.

 

[oulton]

although I would have loved an enjoyable career, the time and money that the boring career gives means my free time is...epic!

My current job is like that, but with the added boredom of Scandinavia, seriously compared to the UK this place is like a mortuary.

Yes, job 1 offers more stability and potentially a more enjoyable field, but its in a grim area. Job 2 is in a lovely part of affluent Cheshire. options to earn mega coin, and extremely successful business to be in. But hard work.

 

[oulton]

Four words to live by career wise:

"No pressure, no diamonds".


Depending on how much of a family man you are, I'd go for option B. This means you can provide for your family better and cherish the time you have with them more. That said, if you're not good at dealing with pressure and the kind of person who takes their stress home with them, this might have an adverse effect.


Welcome home, just in time for summer

Thanks

Lots of good opinions.

I am coming from working as a consultant in an EU institution which has taught me a lot because I was lucky enough to have a great boss, but generally the place had some serious issues, and I have found myself taking my grievances home at times. They weren't stress related though.

I think the opportunity afforded by Job 2 is worth taking, and after all I can take a little time to man up and get in the right frame of mind. Personally I prefer to be busy than twiddling my thumbs!

Option 1 is in West Cumbria, option 2 is in leafy Cheshire.

Go for the job with fewer hours and pressure unless you are that career driven.

the pressure and 11 hour days you will regret when you get older esp if you have kids.

But, my current commute can be 2.5 hours, meaning I get in after 7 often.

If I am in 7.30 till 6.30 with a 10 minute commute it can't be that bad.

 

[oulton]

Long hours are not stress, they are just long hours. Ill children is stress, cancer in you or a loved one is stress, long hours are just long hours. A part time job can be stressful, hours don't add stress in a job that you enjoy. What if you earned 300K after 12 months, could that help a few people on here destress their lives?

All about perspective and why, to my point above, it's not a decision you/me/anyone can really help with. Over to you OP, what do you want?

The job I have been in up to now has been extremely unsatisfying for the most part but quite lucrative. I worked myself up into a kind of 'fixxer' status and in the end I was being given impossible jobs to work on with no hope of resolving. The two lads coming into the team had a bit of a panic when I did the knowledge transfer with them last week which was nice But I have had it up to my neck with the place, and would much rather work hard in a well defined job spec and enjoy my life outside of the job. I'm early thirties so the prospect of being a director by 35 is very appealing and I am prepared to squirrel away for a few years to get that.

I just can't imagine our family in Whitehaven or Workington...

 

[oulton]

Nah West Cumbria and the other job is in leafy Cheshire.

 

[oulton]

Two threads merged, please don't cross post.

Possibly should have merged to the GD thread as it was busier...

 

[oulton]

I did read the opening post as implying that option 1 was well-paid, but option 2 had significantly better prospects. But then I also misread the 'non' bit in non-equity director.

I'd also very much agree that there's a temptation to live to just beyond your means, whatever your means are. Fighting that takes restraint and will-power.

The degree to which pay, and more importantly, the future track, vary determines the degree of ongoing stress I'd be prepared to put up with, and yes, it'd have to be significant enough to justify the cost in stress and family time.

There's two discussions going on here, one about Oulton's specific options and another about the work to live or live to work choice. Both are a question of degrees.

Yep, they are both well paid but not megabucks.

 

[oulton]

I woke up this morning thinking about it and I am starting to lean towards the Cumbria job as I don't think I want to be spending that much time away from my family week in week out. Also looking at the contract if I was to work the the same hours in job one I would be accrueing a shed load of time off.

 

[oulton]

Whatever you do, talk to your Mrs about it too. I find that helps making sure they're happy as I've dragged mine along for the ride on many occasions.

Of course, got to keep the lady happy

Now that it has sunk in I think she wants to move to Cumbria. I do think finding a meaningful job will be more difficult there but hey ho...

Then don't live in either of those places move to a beautiful country village just down the road and commute, if your wife and kids like the outdoors they will love the location.

They are very much outdoors people. Can you recommend a few places? We have looked at Cleator Moor and St Bees so far.