Which job to pick? - Page 2

cute fuzzy bunny · 03-08-2006, 01:49 PM

My first reaction was "NEITHER!" because I wouldnt take a job with 24x7 oncall or one that I had to get up at 5am to commute to. Both pretty much shoot your life in the face...err...spray it with bird pellets.

I also wont play ball with companies that put out that 'we have to have an answer by thursday, friday is too late' crap. If they pressure you over stuff that really makes no difference before you take the job, hows that going to work out for you later on?

Maybe take the lesser of the evils (the one with the commute) and look for a third option, or hack the commute for a year and then look for the transfer.

I remember fondly the train commutes into and out of boston 18-19 years ago...the commute was a big demand on my time, but I got in a lot of reading and given cell phones and wide area wireless internet connectivity, a lot of that time can be your own.

I remember very unfondly taking midnight calls from japan and israel and trying to stay awake on the couch while they worked to fix something that could very easily have waited until the next day. Or my favorite, the small little nothing problem at a law firm customers site that could have been resolved in 2 minutes over the phone, but since "we're paying a lot for service to your company!" I got to get in my car at 1:30 in the morning, drive into san francisco, and push a button.

JB · 03-08-2006, 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute n' Fuzzy Bunny

I also wont play ball with companies that put out that 'we have to have an answer by thursday, friday is too late' crap. If they pressure you over stuff that really makes no difference before you take the job, hows that going to work out for you later on?

Ding. Ding. Set your own timeline and make them adhere.

geeman · 03-08-2006, 02:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cute n' Fuzzy Bunny

I remember fondly the train commutes into and out of boston 18-19 years ago...the commute was a big demand on my time, but I got in a lot of reading and given cell phones and wide area wireless internet connectivity, a lot of that time can be your own.

That is true. I could use my laptop and get wireless internet service for the train ride. I'm really leaning towards the government job, that is if they send me an offer... Does anyone here contribute to the TSP?

vinhmen · 03-08-2006, 03:15 PM

5 am? #1.

SLC Tortfeasor · 03-08-2006, 03:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by vinhmen

5 am? #1.

Ditto. Unless you're sure the 24/7 call thing is going to be really horrible, #1 sounds like the superior deal. And there's nothing to stop you from still looking around for something even better.

Brat · 03-08-2006, 04:55 PM

Humm, it seems that OP doesn't have a good feel for the impact of 24/7 availability. Consider telling #1 that you is very interested in their offer and want to meet with the manager to discuss his/her expectations further. Then get in deep on the 24/7 issue. OP is in a great negotiating position with #1 right now, it will never get better.

24/7 availability is a BIG issue, it could make the commute to #2 a picnic.

Lazarus · 03-08-2006, 05:04 PM

They don't say 24/7 for nothing. They will be calling. What response time do they require? No going out to eat without interuption. No movies. No getting drunk. Think about it. The pay per hour when there are 24 that you will be working will not be good.

smooch · 03-08-2006, 07:58 PM

A fellow Baltimorean! I agree that I would never accept a job with 24/7 on call. I did that for many years. My sister works for the federal gov and they encourage her to work from home. If you could do that a few days a week - commute ptoblem solved.

geeman · 03-09-2006, 10:25 AM

Well, I told HR at job # 1 that I would accept the position. Now I just have to hear back from the government...

soupcxan · 03-09-2006, 02:30 PM

Roughly how old are you? Any wife/kids to consider? Would they be impacted?

geeman · 03-09-2006, 02:31 PM

I'm 23. No wife or kids right now. I'm actually still living with my parents

Jay_Gatsby · 03-09-2006, 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeman

I'm 23.* No wife or kids right now.* I'm actually still living with my parents* * *

Whoa. You're 23 years old and you'll be earning near $60k a year? Many people your age are still pouring Starbucks coffee.

First things first though. Move out. It's time to go.

maddythebeagle · 03-09-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Whoa. You're 23 years old and you'll be earning near $60k a year? Many people your age are still pouring Starbucks coffee.

First things first though. Move out. It's time to go.

Not so hasty. Maybe living in his parent's basement is a good way to get to FIRE by 30.

Rustic23 · 03-09-2006, 03:18 PM

Just curious, what sort of job qualification for a 23 year old starting at $60,000.

The comute would not seem to pose a problem! Pick the job you want and Move!

thefed · 03-09-2006, 03:23 PM

Congrats to you! 60k/yr and you're 23! I'm 22 and scraping in only 33k.yr from my 9-5, and maybe 20k/yr from my own business.

Rustic23 · 03-09-2006, 03:51 PM

In 1966 a college graduate made about $6,000 a year starting salary. At 3.5% inflation that would be $23,755 today. Your salaries look real good!

brewer12345 · 03-09-2006, 04:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rustic23

In 1966 a college graduate made about $6,000 a year starting salary. At 3.5% inflation that would be $23,755 today. Your salaries look real good!

Uhuh, but what has average student loan debt/cost of college done in the intervening years? What has the average work week done? Should I even mention the cost of housing?

Its not all roses.

Rustic23 · 03-09-2006, 04:14 PM

This could quickly digress into another statistic argument. 3 to 4% is what is often stated as the inflation rate. To get to $60,000 you have a 5.9% rate. We could also digress into what an employer pays for when he sets a wage, and weather the current price of a college degree is worth the dept (my first employer did not care what my financial state ie how much dept I had). My point was, it appears starting salaries appear to have kept pace with inflation. When I think of my standard of living at that time, it is not that much different than my children.

geeman · 03-09-2006, 04:32 PM

Well, I graduated from college in Dec of 2004 with a degree in Geographic Information Systems. My first job title after school was a systems engineer ($45,000) for a Naval contractor. It is now just over a year from graduating and I'm jumping from this systems engineer position to either one of these jobs.

My goal is to put in 30 years with the government, retire at 53 and then travel...

I actually don't mind living with my parents (they are really cool), but my girlfriend doesn't think too much of it

Free food, free rent, free utilites, can't beat it.

Brat · 03-09-2006, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by geeman

My goal is to put in 30 years with the government, retire at 53 and then travel...

I actually don't mind living with my parents .... Free food, free rent, free utilites, can't beat it.

Start paying your parents for your room and board, you aren't in need of their charity.* They may enjoy having you around, and they may bank what you pay them for the day you buy your first home (mine used it to pay for my wedding), but you need to do the grown up thing and don't mooch.

The Feds"
+/-
Don't count on the Fed retirement program staying the same as it is today.* The retirement program looks like the private sector 401(k) - you aren't boxed in by CSRS.*

You can encounter bosses who are jerks in the public sector, just like anywhere else.*

+
As currently structured, if you retire with an annuity you can continue your health insurance - a big thing for early retirees.*

USUALLY the working conditions (hours) are more humane - no 24/7 unless you are in management.*

They will want to hold on to your skill set.* You have less exposure to the ups and downs of economic cycles.

Good luck with whatever position you hold.

03-08-2006, 01:49 PM	#21
cute fuzzy bunny Give me a museum and I'll fill it. (Picasso) Give me a forum ... Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Losing my whump Posts: 22,527	Re: Which job to pick? My first reaction was "NEITHER!" because I wouldnt take a job with 24x7 oncall or one that I had to get up at 5am to commute to. Both pretty much shoot your life in the face...err...spray it with bird pellets. I also wont play ball with companies that put out that 'we have to have an answer by thursday, friday is too late' crap. If they pressure you over stuff that really makes no difference before you take the job, hows that going to work out for you later on? Maybe take the lesser of the evils (the one with the commute) and look for a third option, or hack the commute for a year and then look for the transfer. I remember fondly the train commutes into and out of boston 18-19 years ago...the commute was a big demand on my time, but I got in a lot of reading and given cell phones and wide area wireless internet connectivity, a lot of that time can be your own. I remember very unfondly taking midnight calls from japan and israel and trying to stay awake on the couch while they worked to fix something that could very easily have waited until the next day. Or my favorite, the small little nothing problem at a law firm customers site that could have been resolved in 2 minutes over the phone, but since "we're paying a lot for service to your company!" I got to get in my car at 1:30 in the morning, drive into san francisco, and push a button. __________________ Many an optimist has become rich by buying out a pessimist

03-08-2006, 03:15 PM	#24
vinhmen Dryer sheet aficionado Join Date: Aug 2005 Posts: 28	Re: Which job to pick? 5 am? #1.

03-08-2006, 04:55 PM	#26
Brat Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,869	Re: Which job to pick? Humm, it seems that OP doesn't have a good feel for the impact of 24/7 availability. Consider telling #1 that you is very interested in their offer and want to meet with the manager to discuss his/her expectations further. Then get in deep on the 24/7 issue. OP is in a great negotiating position with #1 right now, it will never get better. 24/7 availability is a BIG issue, it could make the commute to #2 a picnic. __________________ Duck bjorn.

03-08-2006, 05:04 PM	#27
Lazarus Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: May 2005 Posts: 413	Re: Which job to pick? They don't say 24/7 for nothing. They will be calling. What response time do they require? No going out to eat without interuption. No movies. No getting drunk. Think about it. The pay per hour when there are 24 that you will be working will not be good. __________________ My Dog eats dryer sheets.

03-08-2006, 07:58 PM	#28
smooch Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Nov 2004 Posts: 123	Re: Which job to pick? A fellow Baltimorean! I agree that I would never accept a job with 24/7 on call. I did that for many years. My sister works for the federal gov and they encourage her to work from home. If you could do that a few days a week - commute ptoblem solved.

03-09-2006, 10:25 AM	#29
geeman Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 97	Re: Which job to pick? Well, I told HR at job # 1 that I would accept the position. Now I just have to hear back from the government...

03-09-2006, 02:30 PM	#30
soupcxan Full time employment: Posting here. Join Date: Aug 2004 Posts: 780	Re: Which job to pick? Roughly how old are you? Any wife/kids to consider? Would they be impacted?

03-09-2006, 02:31 PM	#31
geeman Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 97	Re: Which job to pick? I'm 23. No wife or kids right now. I'm actually still living with my parents

03-09-2006, 03:18 PM	#34
Rustic23 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lake Livingston, Tx Posts: 1,104	Re: Which job to pick? Just curious, what sort of job qualification for a 23 year old starting at $60,000. The comute would not seem to pose a problem! Pick the job you want and Move!

03-09-2006, 03:23 PM	#35
thefed Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Oct 2005 Posts: 1,473	Re: Which job to pick? Congrats to you! 60k/yr and you're 23! I'm 22 and scraping in only 33k.yr from my 9-5, and maybe 20k/yr from my own business.

03-09-2006, 03:51 PM	#36
Rustic23 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lake Livingston, Tx Posts: 1,104	Re: Which job to pick? In 1966 a college graduate made about $6,000 a year starting salary. At 3.5% inflation that would be $23,755 today. Your salaries look real good!

03-09-2006, 04:14 PM	#38
Rustic23 Thinks s/he gets paid by the post Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Lake Livingston, Tx Posts: 1,104	Re: Which job to pick? This could quickly digress into another statistic argument. 3 to 4% is what is often stated as the inflation rate. To get to $60,000 you have a 5.9% rate. We could also digress into what an employer pays for when he sets a wage, and weather the current price of a college degree is worth the dept (my first employer did not care what my financial state ie how much dept I had). My point was, it appears starting salaries appear to have kept pace with inflation. When I think of my standard of living at that time, it is not that much different than my children.

03-09-2006, 04:32 PM	#39
geeman Recycles dryer sheets Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 97	Re: Which job to pick? Well, I graduated from college in Dec of 2004 with a degree in Geographic Information Systems. My first job title after school was a systems engineer ($45,000) for a Naval contractor. It is now just over a year from graduating and I'm jumping from this systems engineer position to either one of these jobs. My goal is to put in 30 years with the government, retire at 53 and then travel... I actually don't mind living with my parents (they are really cool), but my girlfriend doesn't think too much of it Free food, free rent, free utilites, can't beat it.

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