What Would You Do?

[Calgary_Girl]

Hi everyone!

I posted back in May that DH's company is being bought out so there's a lot of uncertainty right now if people will be let go or even worse, if the whole office will be shut down.

DH has an interview on Monday with another company so I need your opinion on what you would do in this situation given the following pros and cons.

Current Job:

Pros & Cons:

-Good salary ($130K CAD) (pro); great benefits (pro); likes the people he works with (pro). Uncertainty about the future (con); DH is working his butt off but probably won't see any bonus because of the management change (con).

Possible New Job:

Pros & Cons:

-More responsibility (pro) and more money (pro). However, this would be contract/consulting work and would probably not last longer than 2 years (con) even though it would pay quite a bit more ($75 - $100 USD/hr and since we live in Canada it would mean more money after the exchange rate). Also, no benefits (con) although we are covered anyway with my employer. Plus, for that amount of money, DH is overwilling to look the fact that they don't offer a pension plan.

The new job would provide great experience as a project manager so DH is pretty excited about it (at least for now anyway).

Thanks and sorry for rambling!

 

[laurence]

Jump ship!

The money could really get you on the fast track to ER (properly invested, of course) and the experience he gets will be invaluable for his career. Once the gig is over, he'll be able to step into a position at a higher rung than he's at now, and in the mean time he's covered by your benefits. Plus, he's excited about it, and happiness ain't got a price tag. Sounds like a no brainer to me.

 

[MasterBlaster]

Well one is never certain what is the best thing to do.

However let me tell you about my friend Ron. He worked for a large Mega Corp that was in negotiations to sell off his department. Most of his coworkers had bailed to find other jobs. Well that didn't look good so they gave Ron a bonus of 6 months salary to stick around through the sale as well as a good raise.

Then the new company took over, They promptly gave Ron another huge 40 percent raise as well as another 6 months salary to work for another year.

After the year was up Ron quit to become a consultant to the new company at around twice his last salary.

SO, my advice is.... There may be tremendous opportunity for talent in troubled times.

 

[Jay_007]

Having recently gone through this myself, and having witnessed others who have experienced the same thing, I can tell you that you can never predict what's going to happen, no matter what. If he stays, things may actually get better. If he leaves, the "temporary" position might open up even more doors.

My point is, there really is no way to tell which choice is the most secure. Every day people go to work feeling secure and find out it's their last day working there.

The new job offers more money, more responsibility and more experience. The only risk is that it isn't "permanent", but nothing is! If there are other variables in play, it could change things but as you described it, it seems pretty clear to me. It certainly isn't all about money... it sounds like the opportunity to grow is greater if he leaves. That's the biggest point, IMO.

Good luck!!!

 

[Calgary_Girl]

Thanks for everyone's replies!

DH's interview is on Tuesday so he's keeping his fingers crossed. I think DH has a good shot at it since the hiring manager has phoned him 4 or 5 times and he even phoned when we were on vacation.

 

[johnlw]

Sounds like a big factor in the decision should be whether or not your Husband wants to be a Project Manager and if he likes that type of work.

John