Career advice, WWYD?

BIL's gf is a recruiter who wants me to apply for a position she has open that is in NYC and pays at least 30k more than what I am making now. It is in a field that I was in 4 years ago, before I got the job I am in now. I do like my job and the people I work with, and it is relatively stress free. The pay is not great (although I do get a small percentage raise each year), but the benefits are pretty good as I do get ample vacation time each year. I work an 8 hour day and commute by car, maybe 40-45 min each way with traffic. If I take a job in NYC, I realize I will probably have to leave earlier and get home later, and be away from DS (and probably have to pay extra for daycare) So pretty much the big draw of this is the big jump in salary... I know I can just send a resume for the heck of it, but just nervous if I actually get an interview. WWYD?

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

I'm always skeptical of positions that are being hired by a recruiter. Only because my BIL is one and has told me stories about a lot of the companies hiring not being the best environments to work in.

With that said too, as one mom to another, there's A LOT to be said about current job security and working in a realitively stress free environment.

You didn't say either but why did you leave your old field?

Is the company easily accessible by LIRR? Do you have to add trains and busses onto that?

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

Posted by JDubs

Posted by MorningCuppaCoffee

I'm always skeptical of positions that are being hired by a recruiter. Only because my BIL is one and has told me stories about a lot of the companies hiring not being the best environments to work in.

With that said too, as one mom to another, there's A LOT to be said about current job security and working in a realitively stress free environment.

You didn't say either but why did you leave your old field?

Is the company easily accessible by LIRR? Do you have to add trains and busses onto that?

My current job sort of just fell onto my lap. I was offered my current position out of the blue one day, and I took it because they were starting to lay off a lot of people at the company I was at (this was during the whole fall 2008 crash). The job on LI only paid 3k less than I was making at the time, so I figured it would be the same after commuting... and yes this new job I would have to take a subway too as its 20 blocks from Penn...

I guess I am sort of answering my own question going through this now though, but I guess I just think about how nice it would be to be paid 30k more than I am paid now, considering I have a MBA too. Oh well.

Thanks for responding!

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

IMO I wouldn't add a longer commute when my DS is young. Right now I would take less money to work less.

I was reading about the aspects of your current and job and thinking WANNA SWITCH??!

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

I personally wouldn't do it. In fact, I did the exact opposite -- left a high paying NYC job to get into a new field, basically starting a business from scratch. But in real estate, my hours are VERY flexible and I have so much control over my schedule. And there's no commute.

For me, as the mom of a preschooler, I wouldn't want to be doing my city commute and long hours right now. More money is always nice, but I would rather have the time. When I was commuting and working for a big firm, I felt like I never really had the time to spend and enjoy the salary I was making. I would choose quality of life over money every time -- at this point of my life (and truthfully, probably forever!) -- unless we couldn't cover our expenses or really needed more money to get by, which is a different story.

But I also think this is a very personal question. People have different priorities, different situations, different tolerances for a long commute. And I know a lot of moms, including one of my best friends, who work long hours, do the commute to the city, and even travel for work. And they are happy and are loving, involved parents for their children. My friend's husband stays home with her kids, which is a huge help in that situation, as child care isn't an issue.

So I don't think there's a right or wrong answer. I just think you have to be honest with yourself about whether this type of job change would make you happy. To me, a job you like and that doesn't cause you a lot of stress has a lot of value... and while $30K isn't anything to sneeze at, I would consider how much it will really impact your financial life (when you break it down to how much it will increase your take home pay each pay day after taxes).

But that being said - it doesn't hurt to apply and learn more if it's something you would even remotely consider. Maybe there are telecommuting/flextime options at the job?

Re: Career advice, WWYD?

Reading this as a mom myself, no, I wouldn't do it if it meant sacrificing time with DC and leaving them in daycare for longer each day and adding to your commute which will only add stress on to you. The increase in salary would be nice, but unless you NEED the money to survive it would not be worth the trade off - not for me at least.

Career advice, WWYD?

Dont do it....I made the move to the city from a local job a few years ago ... for a higher salary, advancement....Its so not worth it - nothing compares to having that quality of life. I am miserable - have gone through 2 layoffs and would love to find something closer to home.

Re: Career advice, WWYD?