Board 8 > Which job would you choose?

(+) Yeah! (+)

Job 1
Position is exactly what I want to do, potential succession plan in 3-5 years. Business is doing real well. However, it's not remote at all. 20-25 minute commute, standard benefits, want you to check in on vacation just to make sure things aren't burning down. May or may not work with an antivaxer. Would get a 40-50% raise from my current position.

Job 2
My second option for the job I want to do. Decent advancement opportunities. Currently 100% remote but may go back to a hybrid model in the future. 15-20% raise from my current job.

Remote work is a pretty sweet gig as I'm doing a hybrid model now.


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That's a tough choice because I really like the hybrid model, but an extra 20% raise is really nice.

I guess I would go with job 2 because I do not think I could ever work somewhere that has 0% work from home opportunities (assuming that this job can be performed remotely).


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I'd go with job 1, since I don't mind in person work, except I don't like the "check in while on vacation part". If job 2 doesn't have this, I'd probably pick that one, though it may be hard to tell.

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Job 1 scares me a little, if theyre gonna micromanage you during vacation? I dunnopotential disaster tbh

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All my gripes about my current job kind of fall by the wayside since we've gone fully remote with no possibility for return (our local office closed down).

Working from home for me is something I always wanted to do but never really thought I'd be able to do before COVID hit. Now I can't imagine going into an office again.

Just how important is remote work for you? And how much do you really need the money difference between the two jobs?

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Remote work is important, I just don't know of it's a deal breaker. But the number one reason I want to leave my current job is the pay.

And the check-ins are because it's a senior position so they can't really have someone checked out at five. Not that it's like come back to the office or do this report but like hey where did you put that document? Or what do you think of this am I missing something?


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Menji posted...

But the number one reason I want to leave my current job is the pay.

1. So will a 15-20% raise cover your bills, or will you still be living paycheque to paycheque, just with a little leeway?
2. How much does commuting cost to Job #1? Does it require maintaining a vehicle, or can you take public transit?

The answer to these two questions is huge. The extra 25% will 1) go toward vehicular maintenance and 2) compensate for the extra hour you spend each day. Does this matter? Is it worth getting that extra cash - the remainder after gas and whatnot - for that extra hour?

Me, it would depend on the employers. I'd rather work from home, but I'd rather not work for a shitty boss or unstable company. Because in the end, the monetary difference wouldn't be huge enough to differentiate the two jobs, so I'd go with what I liked more culturally.
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Job 1. I prefer to do my job in the office rather than from home, so there's my bias there. Antivaxer can probably be ignored. The commute sounds like a pain, but I use mine to decide if I need to stop off somewhere to do an errand before I go home so it's not all bad. Given a high enough position, you're kind of expected to make sure things aren't burning down around you so unless you like going places without phone service it's not too much of an ask.

"want you to check in on vacation"

To me this is a deal breaker, especially if there is 0% chance of doing remote work. Fuck any company that thinks you owe them your free time. My nights/weekends/vacations are my time. A good work-life balance is important and an employer who doesn't respect that neither gets nor deserves the best their employees have to offer. If the rest of the staff is too stupid to get things done without you for a few days that's a management/owner problem and they need to figure it out themselves.

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25 minutes isn't that bad, all things considered. I might go with #1. But depends on how often I'll have to let my vacations be disrupted.

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this is a difficult question, and i'm going to give an annoying answer and say it depends on what you want your life to be about.

like, what's your overall passions-life-money-family-relationships situation? do you have any desires outside of staying warm and being able to retire at a certain age?

if you're fairly confident you'll reach those goals no matter what, it seems like 2 is the obvious answer.

if not, you can roll the dice and go full indentured servitude at number 1 until you burn out

melodramatics aside, here are my real suggestions.

if you take job #1, go in with a game plan. i've worked at companies that "need" you to be on call on vacations, and it's both miserable and a joke- in that it's the sign of a poorly run company. you need to know exactly what job you're leapfrogging to within two years, and know why you can't do the same at job #2.

places like job #1 can totally be a fun adventure for a little while! it'll just wear you down more quickly than you expect.

you are a white-collar worker. in my experience, true advancement in white-collar land comes from switching companies, not promotion from within. maybe you can get a slight title change to make your next job application easier. advancement from within does happen, just at a comparatively glacial (perhaps more reasonable?) pace

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Menji posted...

want you to check in on vacation

Nope

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MZero posted...

Nope

I'm curious as to why they'd feel the need in the first place

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It's pretty common in middle/project management jobs
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Menji posted...

And the check-ins are because it's a senior position so they can't really have someone checked out at five

Yes they can. Bezos doesn't check his email on vacation either.

Job 1 is really playing pokemon with these red flags. "Potential succession" is always that - potential. If business was really doing well they would promise you something in 1 year. No remote options at all means they had and will have massive turnover, making your job harder.

But def take offer 1 to job 2 to negotiate a higher salary.

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Job 1 is better minus that "vacation" part.
I can only see that being needed for a few positions, i don't know what this position is...however if Job 2 is the exact same thing, it's obviously not a job that would need to check in for vacations.

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foolm0r0n posted...

But def take offer 1 to job 2 to negotiate a higher salary.

yes, please do that. and this goes without saying, but be super nice about it. there's a particular way to phrase it that's really good that i can't remember right now

say you prefer and really want to work at their company, but just can't turn down the other offer

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Regarding the vacation part, if Job 1 is exactly what you want to do, does this mean that you'd actually want to check in on your vacation as you have personal investment in the company's success? Or would you feel like you HAD to check in?

I think the answer to this question would steer my decision

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Unless the money would make a big difference for some reason there is no way in heck I'd take job 1. Way too many bad red flags you mentioned.

Definitely negotiate with job 2, see if you can get a pay raise there.

I'm curious how they want you to check in on vacations but offer no remote work options.

I check in on vacations more than I'd care to admit, and it's really not that bad. Taking 5-15 minutes to check up on email or take a call to help out the team isn't a big deal in my book

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Yeah, I advise you choose convenience (job 2). Quality of life is much more important than money. Furthermore, as others already suggested, you can even try negotiating a higher salary at job 2.

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Peace___Frog posted...

I'm curious how they want you to check in on vacations but offer no remote work options

This is the hipocrisy of these controlling managers. It's impossible to work remote, until you're on vacation or there's a snow day (or a pandemic). Then suddenly remote is fine, if it means they can squeeze more work out of you.

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