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Stick with dead end secure job or take risky job with good future?
Mugaaz
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
I've worked at the Help Desk at an insurance company for the past 18months. I wanted to move up here so I went back to school to finish my degree and I'll be graduating in May. I was promtoed to fulltime after being an intern for 13months. In the meantime I've tried to move up to tech support here 3 times. I've managed to get an interview everytime, but never gotten the job. They put up a new posting for a tech support intern which I applied for and I was offered the position.
The cons are that if I accept it I will lose all my benefits (which are pretty good, but I knew this going in), what I didn't know is that my pay will be reduced to intern level which is a decent cut, but on top of that I was going to get a fairly big raise for my yearly review at the help desk due to job performance, but now I'll miss out on this as well. Also, since this is a bad economy, and since I work in a health insurance industry it's possible I may be let go as an intern if it hits the fan. This has never really happened to anyone here in the past, but the economic/health situation right now is obviously pretty unique.
The pros are that I'd finally get hands on 2nd lvl experience, and that it would in all likelihood lead to a full time tech position within 4-12 months depending mostly on whether anyone leaves and the economy. Also
finally having some 2nd level experience would help my job prospects everywhere since the hurdle from help desk to tech support is pretty big.
What makes the situation unique is I live in a smallish town and there is a close to zero possibility of me getting any tech experience because there simply isn't any tech jobs in the area and if they did get posted there are more experienced people who would apply. My chances of moving into a full time tech position without taking the internship are also pretty bleak, if the economic situation was better it would be different, but this isn't likely to change regardless of my job performance, graduation, or obtaining any certifications. If I don't take this I think I will be stuck at the help desk and to move up in IT I would need to move post graduation. I don't have any children or people depending on me so that part of the risk is not an issue.
To sum up:
Stay in Help Desk
15.50ish / hr
Full benefits
Job Security
Very little to no possibility of job growth
Transfer to intern
12/hr
No benefits
Possibility of job loss due to economic situation
Very good prospects for job growth
The cons are that if I accept it I will lose all my benefits (which are pretty good, but I knew this going in), what I didn't know is that my pay will be reduced to intern level which is a decent cut, but on top of that I was going to get a fairly big raise for my yearly review at the help desk due to job performance, but now I'll miss out on this as well. Also, since this is a bad economy, and since I work in a health insurance industry it's possible I may be let go as an intern if it hits the fan. This has never really happened to anyone here in the past, but the economic/health situation right now is obviously pretty unique.
The pros are that I'd finally get hands on 2nd lvl experience, and that it would in all likelihood lead to a full time tech position within 4-12 months depending mostly on whether anyone leaves and the economy. Also
finally having some 2nd level experience would help my job prospects everywhere since the hurdle from help desk to tech support is pretty big.
What makes the situation unique is I live in a smallish town and there is a close to zero possibility of me getting any tech experience because there simply isn't any tech jobs in the area and if they did get posted there are more experienced people who would apply. My chances of moving into a full time tech position without taking the internship are also pretty bleak, if the economic situation was better it would be different, but this isn't likely to change regardless of my job performance, graduation, or obtaining any certifications. If I don't take this I think I will be stuck at the help desk and to move up in IT I would need to move post graduation. I don't have any children or people depending on me so that part of the risk is not an issue.
To sum up:
Stay in Help Desk
15.50ish / hr
Full benefits
Job Security
Very little to no possibility of job growth
Transfer to intern
12/hr
No benefits
Possibility of job loss due to economic situation
Very good prospects for job growth
Mugaaz on
0
Posts
Yeah. Remember that nothing else truly matters except you being happy. Don't let anyone ever make you believe otherwise.
This is an internal move.
Getting a good performance review will have little to no impact on moving up since that would be to a different team and they really don't factor that (they should).
Moving to tech support would make happier, but honestly happines is not the only criteria when risks are involved.
The performance review itself means little. You've got to get out there and familiarize yourself with the team. Network, brother, network. You all share the same office space 40 hours a week. Get your face/name out there. If you make friends with someone on the team, you can get a recommendation to the hiring manager. Taking a professional step backwards seems needless, especially if you lose your health benefits.
do you have a rainy day fund? 3-6 months of expenses in liquid funds should do it since that's about how long it takes to get a job now... this would essentially mitigate the risk of having a less stable job
if not, will you be happy at the new job while fearing a layoff?
Thanatos right yet again. How old are you, OP? I think your strategy should be to get your degree and lateral. If this helps you get a better job through that process, gof or it. If it won't help your post-graduation job search, don't.
lol
Hardly. What else matters? Yeah, sure lot of people say me that they are "happy", but why in the hell I can see dissatisfaction in their eyes? I'm not talking being about selfish prick and hurting someone in the process, but about finding what rings true for you. Only way to do this is to trust your own feelings.
Stick it out till you get your degree. Once you have the piece of paper doors will open.
I agree with this, but there are certain tangible things you have to factor into "being happy", ya stinkin' hippie. For instance, being able to go to the doctor when I break my arm and not paying $9000 for care makes me really happy. Making more money allows me to save up and go on a nice vacation every year which makes me really happy. It's not just being happy at the job that you have to think about, but everything that goes along with it.
Help Desk work can be awful; I'm very lucky to work in a company where it's challenging and fun. Best of luck!
Anyway, none of this now matters, they just told me they are going to now retract the offer. They didn't give me a real answer why, but there's only two possible reasons and both result in the same thing so it doesn't really matter. Pretty depressed about it, been working hard for this for the past 12 months, thought I finally got there. Oh well.
Stinking hippie? I'm probably one of the most well groomed men on this board.
If you mean "which job has tasks which you enjoy performing more," that's only one small part of the decision.
If you mean "which opportunity will make you happier in the end, all things considered," then that's a difficult question. If he knew the answer to that, he wouldn't have posted here. Some job tasks make people happier, sometimes money is a huge factor in happiness, sometimes it's the people you're working with. Regardless, it's not very useful to just say "do what makes you happy."
I'm supporting msyelf fine on $13 an hour, but supporting myself as in I eat fine and can buy a video game now and then, but if my car breaks down that would really hurt.
I disagree (somewhat).
You spend 40+ hours a week at your job, I see no reason why you shouldn't make a conscious effort to enjoy what you do for a living. Having a job enables you to do your fun stuff, true. But considering the majority of the week you spend your working hours doing this task, you should enjoy it. If you make marginally less doing something you enjoy significantly more, go with the lower paying job (if you can afford to do so). Money seriously isn't everything.
The ideal here is to fine the balance of the job you enjoy and the job that is financially supportive of your enjoyment. And what "afford" means is different to every person.
But if you hate your job, why the hell are you wasting you time with it? Unless you are reaping a humongously disproportionate amount of support for things you do in your downtime, you are only hurting yourself. Even then, you have to ask yourself if the toys and benefits are with the disappointment and frustration of the labor. Maybe for some it is, but I wouldn't stay in a miserable, high paying job if I could do something I was passionate about and still be able to support myself in some fashion. If I had a family, I'd how my spouse and children felt about the adjustment and come to some sort of balance (as no one should be forced to be miserable for the sake of others).
Money does not equal happiness. It can help, but you have to balance it.
I'm usually all about taking the riskier move early in your life before you have a family and shit, but in this particular position, I think you're probably better off sticking it out.
Money = happiness when you're poor. Once you can afford to pay rent, car payments, bills, go to the doctor when you're sick, etc. then you can start saying money != happiness.
Also, I've never had, and never will have a job I 'enjoy'. There are plenty of jobs I didn't hate though. It's work, they're paying you because you don't want to be there. Waking up and dreading going to work is a terrible feeling, but there is nothing wrong with having a job you're ambivalent about but enjoy the people you work with.
Except for the part that he's getting a job in something he dosen't at all care for. Start lower in a field you like and can grow in, rather than one that's convenient in the short term with cash but will provide a lifetime of meh-to-disgust each day going in.
Of course, this is mostly idealism. I did my job seeking days before the recession for the most part, so things are probably different now. Still, when things turn around again get into something you like doing asap and get your job growth on. Money will eventually come as time goes on and you work harder.
Edit: I'd like to clarify by repeating the "afford" line again: The ideal here is to fine the balance of the job you enjoy and the job that is financially supportive of your enjoyment. And what "afford" means is different to every person. If you are struggling to make ends meet, of course you can't afford other things or a decrease in pay. If you are making 50k a year and hate your job and can easily downgrade to something you like for 40k a year, it might be worth looking into for personal happiness. Etc. etc.
Hey man, what's up? No idea about that, kind of giving up here to be honest. Going to finish my CCNA this month and see if there is anything open in the cities.
Further concurrence with a twist of lime.
Money may not buy happiness, but it can sure as hell prevent misery. If you're living paycheck-to-paycheck (like many people) a sudden four-figure car breakdown, medical bill, or other Oh Shit moment can mean serious financial troubles.
Can trade TF2 items or whatever else you're interested in. PM me.
Agreeing with this too. But also with the other poster, get a job you can enjoy doing because all jobs will become boring and repetitive.
Then again, it is not the same for everyone, I have worked with people who are happy working lower paying jobs. As long as they get their weekends off to do what they want and their bills are covered. In the end, if that is what makes your life passable to you, good on you... What the hell does it matter what other people think anyways?