What job would you take

[big a]

Two jobs


Job A- Travel work and night work (I hate both), no benefits or profit sharing (yet), huge opportunity for advancement and even maybe ownership (10+ years down the road and economy allowing)

Job B- No travel, occasional night work, benefits, profit sharing, higher hourly rate than job A by a couple bucks, company has been around much longer limited advancement opportunity


Based off the limited info which job would you take? I thought I would spare everyone the reading but if you want the whole big story behind the dilemma let me know. Thank in advance.

[GreekGodX]

I guess part of your answer lies with how old you are, and if you're willing to take a chance on the future economy. If you're a young(er) guy then take Job A. Being younger allows you to take the risks involved in job A. Job B just sounds too safe and I wouldn't be able to be stuck in a situation that was never going anywhere :2

Either way congrats :tu

[Don Fernando]

Go with your heart!

[kelmac07]

You gotta be happy with what you decide Big A. I am certain you will make the right decision for you and your family. Good luck brother!!

[mosesbotbol]

I would go for job "B". The job market is not like what it use to be. I doubt you'll stay at job "A" long enough to reap benefits and you could (assuming the are both the same kind of work) work for job "A" later on. The days of a gold watch and a pension are long gone and employers do not put long term investments in their employees.

I'd take "B" for what you can get out of it and then take a look around when you are in a better position. Night, weekends, less pay, no benefits... sounds like a lemon of job. Promises of advancement are just sweet nothings, pay is real.

[68TriShield]

B.

[tomc3084]

Job C. Cigar Shop Owner, or manager...........lol!

[elderboy02]

I would go for job "B"....
I'd take "B" for what you can get out of it and then take a look around when you are in a better position. Night, weekends, less pay, no benefits... sounds like a lemon of job. Promises of advancement are just sweet nothings, pay is real.

:tpd:

[madwilliamflint]

"I hate both."

That's all I needed to read.

[Blueface]

For me,
Based on economy and years you predict you will need to invest in job A, the answer is easy.

Job B


BENEFITS
401K
Higher rate of pay now

Those three are BIG reasons to go with B.

[G G]

For me,
Based on economy and years you predict you will need to invest in job A, the answer is easy.

Job B


BENEFITS
401K
Higher rate of pay now
Those three are BIG reasons to go with B.
I have to agree.

[Scottw]

B brother, it seems to make more sense unless you want to do what you hate for the next 10 years to "maybe" get to the light at the end of the tunnel.

[Mugen910]

Two jobs


Job A- Travel work and night work (I hate both), no benefits or profit sharing (yet), huge opportunity for advancement and even maybe ownership (10+ years down the road and economy allowing)

Job B- No travel, occasional night work, benefits, profit sharing, higher hourly rate than job A by a couple bucks, company has been around much longer limited advancement opportunity


Based off the limited info which job would you take? I thought I would spare everyone the reading but if you want the whole big story behind the dilemma let me know. Thank in advance.


Depends on your age and current relationship status with family and friends. It also depends on how much gambling you want to take. 10+ years is a long time and who knows how well the economy will be. Job B sounds like a good start and keep in mind you don't have to stay there forever, you just need experience. I believe the avg person changes jobs at least 5x in his or her lifetime.

[jmsremax]

Depends on your age and current relationship status with family and friends. It also depends on how much gambling you want to take. 10+ years is a long time and who knows how well the economy will be. Job B sounds like a good start and keep in mind you don't have to stay there forever, you just need experience. I believe the avg person changes jobs at least 5x in his or her lifetime.

I agree. Plus who's to say a few years down the line you can't go to another company anyways? Never settle for anything less than you deserve.

My choice would be B.

[hotreds]

$$ isn't everything. B!

[jmsremax]

$$ isn't everything. B!

He would be making more money with job B. :tu

[Col. Kurtz]

I would go for job "B". The job market is not like what it use to be. I doubt you'll stay at job "A" long enough to reap benefits and you could (assuming the are both the same kind of work) work for job "A" later on. The days of a gold watch and a pension are long gone and employers do not put long term investments in their employees.

I'd take "B" for what you can get out of it and then take a look around when you are in a better position. Night, weekends, less pay, no benefits... sounds like a lemon of job. Promises of advancement are just sweet nothings, pay is real.

Exactly

[Veritas]

I would only consider the A option if single, or if my wife had a job with benefits, and it was in a field I planned to work in for the foreseeable future. The benefits (assuming medical, 401(k), vacation time) tip the scales strongly toward option B.

It sounds like A is a gamble on the potential for a better future and B is the guarantee for a better now. Rather than look at B as a dead-end position, view it as a stepping stone to a better company.

Regardless of your choice, congratulations!

[ashtonlady]

I am with everyone else, I vote for B.

[mithrilG60]

"I hate both."

That's all I needed to read.

x2. There's nothing worse than getting up everyday and thinking how much you hate your job and how there's 1001 things you'd rather do than go back into that office. That's a soul sucking scenario and being happy with your life is far more important than anything else. Besides, considering the one that it sounds like you'd be the least happy in also has fewer benefits and lower pay the decision seems like a no-brainer to me.

As others have said, the odds that you'll be in any one job or with any single company for 10+ years is pretty low. The job and skills market is just too fluid to allow the same long term company path that our parents/grandparents have. You need to look at what gives you the best short-term return while continuing to look for other opportunities to apply to long-term success (additional training, certifications, further higher education in the evenings, etc). It's going to be hard to do that if you're forced to travel a lot and/or work a lot of evenings.

[kenstogie]

I would pick B myself but hey what the heck do I know?

[BlackDog]

There's plenty of good advise here. I'd just echo that the liklihood of being in one job for 10 years is pretty slim these days. Take the job that offers you the best opportunity over a 3 year time span, and see where that takes you.

[big a]

Both of these job are two different trades in construction. With both jobs I feel I would be starting low enough that I would be moving up the pay scale at around the same rate. Just with job A as the company advances there would be more need for office positions where as job B there is not. The work part of both jobs I enjoy it is just that with job A there is a much high chance of having to travel. I guess it is just the chance that A could turn into something big that I am getting hung up on. Either way thanks for all the advice and for confirm everything I was leaning toward.

[kaisersozei]

Andrew: Either way, congrats! That's an enviable position to be in.

That being said, although I understand your dilemma, I'd think hard about the "both things I hate" issue. That could be a bad long-term position to be in, regardless of the potential upside. Good luck!

[themoneycollector]

For me,
Based on economy and years you predict you will need to invest in job A, the answer is easy.

Job B


BENEFITS
401K
Higher rate of pay now
Those three are BIG reasons to go with B.

I agree with this as well. At least for now, choose "B" brother.

[BigFrank]

Greater the risk the greater the reward.

[SSDVC]

Hard work, a solid work ethic and knowing your job front and back (subject matter expert, a real one) will help you advance and be valuable in any market job. Go with what you like, but don't do something because it is easy. Sometimes you have to work some hours you don't like or work harder than you think you should in the beginning. It will pay out in the end and, if you like what you are doing, it will be well worth it in the long run.

Oh, and the days of changing jobs every year in search of something better are over.

[mithrilG60]

Oh, and the days of changing jobs every year in search of something better are over.

Yes it certainly is, and this point most people are just happy to have a job full stop (at least that's my impression looking in from the outside since where I live hasn't been hit nearly as hard as the news portrays down south).

That said, unless you're in business for yourself, the odds of being with any company for any longer than 5 years, let alone 10, is still pretty slim. 5 years is a very long today in today's business world and the odds are that either you'll have outgrown your employer or vice versa and as a result you'll have moved on in that time. It might be the same job for a different employer, career advancement or a total change of career but for the most part the marketplace is so fluid that long term employer/employee relationships are a thing of the past.

Having a valuable and current skillset combined with a solid work ethic means you'll never be without options or opportunties :2

[wolfandwhisky]

Both of these job are two different trades in construction. With both jobs I feel I would be starting low enough that I would be moving up the pay scale at around the same rate. Just with job A as the company advances there would be more need for office positions where as job B there is not. The work part of both jobs I enjoy it is just that with job A there is a much high chance of having to travel. I guess it is just the chance that A could turn into something big that I am getting hung up on. Either way thanks for all the advice and for confirm everything I was leaning toward.

Hey Big A - if you think that you could parlay the experience in B into an advancement with a different company, then you nullify the benefit in job A that you are getting hung up on.

Afterall, there will be more than one company that is growing as we all come out of this mess.

Plus, you'll have a higher compensation package to negotiate off of - as much as you don't want to, your next employer will ask what you made, and will use that as a first step in deciding what to offer (assuming non-union here).

Either way, wish you the best! :tu

[neoflex]

I would pick B, but I hate traveling for work since I never really got to enjoy where I was in the past when I did so and I hate working at night although these days I find myself in front of a computer into the wee hours of the night more and more. The potential in growth at A sounds good but unfortunately in this economy, you may not be around long enough to take advantage of those opportunities. Just sayin'