Job Dilemma

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Hello all,

I am just reaching out for some input to make sure I am not missing anything in my considerations. I recently graduated with an MBA, and now have two job offers on the table, and I am really struggling with making the decision.

Company A is a public company (Fortune 100), and voted one of the best places to work in my area. I believe growth is better, as the company is much larger, and the skill set may be more beneficial in the long run and fits me better. This position I think is a clear cut winner in regards to resume building.

Company B is a private company, pretty small (under 200 employees), but has been around for over 30 years, and continues to grow at a decent pace. This company is focused in an industry that has been a passion of mine since I was 16. Culture seems great, I clicked with everybody in the office during a day long interview process. I think the skill set is something I can build upon, but never was a focus or thought of mine. I think the skills will still be transferable to multiple of other markets. However, internal growth seems very limited.

Both companies offer similar benefits, with Company A being slightly better. Travel is a non issue, as they probably within an 1/8th mile of each other. As it stands today Company B is offering about 10k more in pay, with a potential counter from Company A, I will know more on Monday.

My struggle on the decision is - take a pay cut (potentially) for more long-term growth in a job I am sure I will still be happy in. Or take more money up front with less growth in an industry I love and am passionate about.

 

[robert843]

Only you can answer this question but I truly believe its about quality of life and I would take the job that I think would offer me the best of that. I tell people all the time I would take 10-20K a year pay cut if I was able to work significantly less and have more time for my family and myself.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

Only you can answer this question but I truly believe its about quality of life and I would take the job that I think would offer me the best of that. I tell people all the time I would take 10-20K a year pay cut if I was able to work significantly less and have more time for my family and myself.

I took that into consideration as well. Talking to employees at each company, it seems work-life balance is very good for both. I would have the opportunity to work from home if need be for both.

Any other items you would take into consideration that I may have missed?

 

[Troch1]

If you love what you do, you'll never have to work a day in your life... While I agree with robert in regards to lifestyle, your question is different than that... If you have the opportunity to pursue a passion and still get paid to do it, why are you even asking the question???

 

[Dean P]

Any other items you would take into consideration that I may have missed?

I just had this conversation with my son (he's 25) last week. The job he has now is a dream job; work from home, unlimited vacation and sick days, just got a 10k bump and makes really good money. A new offer came from another company making 15k more (over bump). He loves where he works, people are great but growth slow. The new job will challenge him where he'll have to learn more, work harder with only has 3 weeks vacation. He'll still work from home like his current job but he'll be "on call" during the day. I told him to keep pushing to learn as much as you can while you're young with little responsibility. Now is not the time to be stagnant. The competition to too competitive. You will need an edge when you get older. If things don't work out for whatever reason you have time to recover. He said he felt that way too. His last day was yesterday.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I just had this conversation with my son (he's 25) last week. The job he has now is a dream job; work from home, unlimited vacation and sick days, just got a 10k bump and makes really good money. A new offer came from another company making 15k more (over bump). He loves where he works, people are great but growth slow. The new job will challenge him where he'll have to learn more, work harder with only has 3 weeks vacation. He'll still work from home like his current job but he'll be "on call" during the day. I told him to keep pushing to learn as much as you can while you're young with little responsibility. Now is not the time to be stagnant. The competition to too competitive. You will need an edge when you get older. If things don't work out for whatever reason you have time to recover. He said he felt that way too. His last day was yesterday.

This is more along my current line of thinking. I am only 29, so I have a ton of career growth still. Also I may end up loving [HASH=108]#1,[/HASH] as it is something I really enjoyed doing during school.

I would also like to add that I do have a second job currently in the industry that has been my passion, with very flexible hours, so I would not be leaving that industry completely. This job is just in a completely different segment.

 

[Dean P]

Keep in mind, having to work for a living sucks. You need to find something you like AND you're good at. When you do, it become easy and fun. Lot's of people end up in jobs they don't like and are miserable because of it. They're always stressed out and it affects everyone around them.

I'm a little older and I love what I do. Been doing it ever since I graduated high school. I like it so much, I also do it on the side (trying to make more $$ so I can enjoy more boating). Keep learning and don't stop growing until you have to.

 

[Wisefam22]

Only you can answer this question but I truly believe its about quality of life and I would take the job that I think would offer me the best of that. I tell people all the time I would take 10-20K a year pay cut if I was able to work significantly less and have more time for my family and myself.

I took a pay cut W2 wise to basically make my own schedule. I opened my own company doing why I know and enjoy. When you look at company expenses/benefit I make same as what I was making take home for previous company. Now I work about half that time (no weekends) and still grow my company.

I'm 31 I started it when I was 28. Wouldnt go back to corporate america.

 

[Mainah]

Congrats on the MBA. High level opportunities at small companies close by are more rare. Small companies are more like a family. Enjoying what you do is worth a lot of money. Company A will continue to have opportunities pop up if things don’t work out at company B.

 

[Volffas]

Just keep in mind that it isn't only about the salary offered. Look at the benefits, and try your best to figure out if the people that are already working for the company are people that you will be willing to spend 40+ hours per week with.

Some companies take on much more of the insurance cost, which can save you tons of $$ per year. Also ask about their vacation policy, number of paid sick days, weekend work and paid holidays.

Working with people you get along with is an incredibly important piece of the puzzle. I once had a job that I would have loved, but some of the other workers there were just terrible human beings. The boss was a jerk, and several of the other workers were just like him. I enjoyed my job, but hated the environment so much that I quit before my 1 year anniversary.

There are advantages to working for both large and small companies. Small companies can feel like a family, but insurance and benefits usually aren't up to par with large companies, and as you mentioned there might not be a great potential for growth. Large companies can sometimes make you feel like a number, and unless you are exceptionally exceptional, you can be lost in the mix and passed up for promotions. But they usually offer better pay, better insurance and more vacation time.

After working for some very small and very large companies, I feel like I have found a good medium sized company to work for.

Best of luck to you!

 

[Beachbummer]

Regarding Potential Salary Growth... Even at 3% annually, if Big Place has formal annual reviews with annual increases while Less Big Company does not, and you get a promotion or two within 5 years..that Growth opportunity can result in much higher salary 5 years from now if you stand out... See what increases look like at B. Maybe at 5 years, the income earned over time is the same and you have 5 years seniority at A. a better place to be than at same pay on Company B with no chance to grow at the same salary...

As someone said above... You have the most info, only you will be affected by the choice... My suggestion, make a Pro/Con list and make sure you feel strongly about your decision so you don't second guess yourself and know in your heart you made the best decision possible with the information available to you.


Congrats on first world problems these are nice to have.

 

[veedubtek]

At your age, I'd take option A all day long. You're only going to build more value in yourself there, and this is the prime time of your life to do that.

I had a similar option in 2013, and took option B. I never regretted it, until I decided I wanted to relocate and that "dream easy job that I loved" hurt my overall value tremendously. In the end, it didn't really matter as I was at the point where I was ready to do my own thing - and maybe that'll be an option for you as well, but (at least in my profession) I missed out on alot of training and competitive opportunites that would've greatly enhanced my resume and overall skillset should I have continued wanting to work for someone else.

Sounds to me like you're in a career with a much higher plateau, and at a ripe young age to fully take advantage of it.

 

[Chuck Buck]

Wouldnt go back to corporate america.

Corporate america sucks b@lls. I figured this out 20 years ago. Remember when it was called "personnel?" Now it's "human resources." You're nothing but a little oil well pumping for the corp. Once your crude isn't as sweet as the next well, they cap you and move on. Lather, rinse, repeat. I'd like to newke it from orbit, just to be sure.

 

[Bluewater272]

Having worked at both small and large companies, you're nothing but a 'little oil well' at both.


I'd go option B. It's (relatively) easy to find large corporate jobs if it doesn't work out. In my case, I'm making significantly more in a large company than I was at a smaller one (about the size you described), but I miss that environment a lot. There's a lot to be said for being able to work directly with senior leadership, and where your efforts have a more direct impact to the organization. If I could make more money at a smaller company, I'd probably do it in a heartbeat.

 

[2kwik4u]

I've gone through this a couple of times now.

Started at a small company (60-ish person) architectural firm. Moved to a $60mil company with 250 people in the office. Went from there to the family business and was employee #5. Left there, went back to school, and spent 5 years at a smaller Aerospace company with ~15-20 people. Moved to a startup as employee #4. That lasted 6mo, and now I'm at a $100mil/yr company with 150 people.

For me, there has to be a good mix of "my voice is heard", and "I'm easily replaceable".......The company I'm at now fits that perfectly. We are completely employee owned (which means stock options for retirement), and we have management that are not much older than I am, so there is a LOT of "eye-to-eye" thoughts and processes in place. My opinion matters, people know my name in the hallways, but if I need/want to take a 2 week vacation, they'll get by just fine with limited contact from me. It helps I'm in an R&D role, and not a production role. Speaking of that role. I took a pay cut to come here because the startup was a toxic environment, and the company before that didn't appreciate, utilize, or reward my capabilities.

It is very important to me to have a good work/life balance, flexibility in schedule, and pretty consistent feedback from management. I've found that here, and will be sticking around for the forseeable future.

Back to the "what I do" side of things. R&D is my thing. I love taking a deep dive into the "how and why" of the mechanics of a situation or problem. I started my R&D career making kitchen accessories like lazy susans and pull out trash containers and such. Left there for the family business installing voice and data cable in commercial and industrial settings. This lost it's luster in a hurry. Went back to school and ended up in aerospace with a company that did one off research payloads for the International Space Station. This held my interest constantly, but the company wasn't a good fit. The next startup was making Bourbon Barrel Cooperage Equipment. This was fascinating work, as we were literally moving century old technology into the current state of commercial production. Bringing the automation and quality from the automotive industry to bourbon barrels. It was great. The company was completely toxic, and I left when I saw them lie directly to a customers face, that wasn't something I wanted to be around, regardles of how "cool" the work was. The place I'm at now is somewhere in between. I engineer, design, and manufacture large rotary dryers (like cement kilns, or asphalt mixers). These things are HUGE at 10ft+ diameter and 50ft+ length. The scale is unreal to me after working in aerospace. However, they have like 8 moving parts, and there hasn't been much advancement in technology in the last 100+ years. SOOOO........I traded some of the "wow" factor of aerospace industry, and the booming bourbon industry (I live near Louisville, KY, Bourbon is HUGE here) for a stable company with lower stress. I still enjoy what I do, but rotary dryers aren't my passion.

As an aside. I passed up a job opportunity near Cleveland to do R&D on German Sports Sedans because of a low offer, and unfamiliarity with the area. I also passed on an opportunity to even interview with Yamaha because I had a new family and didn't want to move them away from our support network to TN. Kinda kick myself for the last one, but it was the right decision at the time. Finding the right fit in a company is FAR more important IMO than finding either the most passionate work, or the highest paycheck.

 

[I_squared_r]

I would chose Option B because it's $10k more. I don't worry about "growth" in companies because they probably will give 3-5% yearly raises instead of promotions. How many years will it take for Option A to catch up with the $10k extra income? If they do at all? If you like to receive a promotion in a few years then you can find another job.

I'm the same age as the OP and my opinion is based on my observation of the modern workforce. It is fact that people who stay in long-term positions will receive less money then people that frequently change jobs. I would be receiving $30k less then my current salary if I had stayed with my employer 3 years ago. Work hard, gain skills, and move once they refuse to pay your worth. Repeat.

 

[2kwik4u]

Work hard, gain skills, and move once they refuse to pay your worth. Repeat.

I somewhat disagree with this sort of planning. Coming from someone who hasn't spent more than about 5.5yrs at any one company. I'm now in a position where I'm still "green" in this particular industry and company, coupled with an age where most others are starting to look into management. I have neither the background, the industry knowledge, nor the company knowledge to effectively lead a department at this point. I was just getting close to that level when I left the aerospace company. Jumping every 2-3 years will make you a jack of all trades and master of none without some careful career planning, and being in the appropriate industry to accept that. IT professionals have a much more portable skillset than R&D professionals, so your mileage may vary a little from mine.

Another aspect of moving often is not building significant repore, and experience, and subsequent value within any one company. If you're just chasing a paycheck this is most likely not an issue, however if you are chasing a career, then having that long term experience becomes increasingly valuable as you age through the workforce. This again points back to leading teams, departments, and companies. Not saying the new guy they hired in can't do it, but he will have a much tougher "row to hoe" than the guy that's been there for years and has built the reputation.

Just some thoughts from a 38yr old guy who has tried a few things, and has only been unemployed for 5 days since 1996.

 

[I_squared_r]

I somewhat disagree with this sort of planning. Coming from someone who hasn't spent more than about 5.5yrs at any one company. I'm now in a position where I'm still "green" in this particular industry and company, coupled with an age where most others are starting to look into management. I have neither the background, the industry knowledge, nor the company knowledge to effectively lead a department at this point. I was just getting close to that level when I left the aerospace company. Jumping every 2-3 years will make you a jack of all trades and master of none without some careful career planning, and being in the appropriate industry to accept that. IT professionals have a much more portable skillset than R&D professionals, so your mileage may vary a little from mine.

Another aspect of moving often is not building significant repore, and experience, and subsequent value within any one company. If you're just chasing a paycheck this is most likely not an issue, however if you are chasing a career, then having that long term experience becomes increasingly valuable as you age through the workforce. This again points back to leading teams, departments, and companies. Not saying the new guy they hired in can't do it, but he will have a much tougher "row to hoe" than the guy that's been there for years and has built the reputation.

Just some thoughts from a 38yr old guy who has tried a few things, and has only been unemployed for 5 days since 1996.

You make some good points, but there are major differences in our industries. The construction design industry is notorious for people jumping around and becoming a jack of all trades makes you desirable in a project management position. My friend's dad makes a ton of money as some kind of manager at job sites. He jumps jobs all the time, receives crazy sign on bonuses, works through a major project, leaves, and takes the company's k-cups when he goes out the door.

 

[Adrian @ JB Solutions]

I would like thank everyone for your support and insights.

I accepted the offer with the job A, they came up 5k. In the end I feel it fits my skill set better, presents better job security, and offers more improvement for not only my own growth and skills, but also internally. I will be working with a Chief Offer that is also on the Board of Directors and his direct. Being able to learn and work with people at this level, I felt was worth 5k alone.

 

[Beachbummer]

Fantastic!!! You can only make the best decision possible with the information at hand! Congratulation.