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× A place to talk about stuff that doesn't belong anywhere else.

OT: need advice about difficult career choice

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11 Dec 2014 12:58 - 11 Dec 2014 12:59 #192467 by Shellhead
One in the hand or two in the bush? Which would you choose?

My current job is tolerable. I am earning $20K less than my old job, but the company is stable and the job is secure, in part because they would have trouble finding somebody with my experience willing to accept the low payrate and lousy benefits. The company is growing, but not very quickly, so I will probably be struggling with really tight cash flows for at least the next year or two. I settled for this job after ten months of unemployment, so I don't have much money saved.

A job recruiter found my resume online yesterday and is now trying really hard to recruit me for a contract job. The job would pay exactly twice my current payrate and last for six months. It might get extended to a year or even go permanent, and the company is big and healthy and likes to promote people from within the organization.

The reason why the money is so good is that the company is looking for a "purple squirrel," a candidate with a very unlikely combination of skills and experience including a variety of standard accounting tasks, financial analysis, technical accounting and experience with derivatives trading. Since nobody in the metro area has all of that, they are willing to settle for somebody who can learn the job. I have only worked for small CPA firms and other small companies, and have only a vague understanding of derivatives, but I am hands-on with a wide variety of accounting tasks.

So, should I throw away my safe but low-paying job for six months at twice the pay? I won't even get to meet the people that I might work with at the new job, because they are in a hurry to fill the position now, and the recruiter doesn't want them talking directly to me until they sign the contract for my services.
Last edit: 11 Dec 2014 12:59 by Shellhead. Reason: details

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11 Dec 2014 13:12 #192468 by jeb

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11 Dec 2014 13:15 #192469 by jur
Is that the kind of job you would like to do (more than your current job)? Or is it just the money?

As far as I know you are still young and you don't have to support a family. So even if you don't have a lot of savings, the risk is limited to just you.

If this gives you new experience that would help you (more) easily find a job (you like) after this one, the risk would be low, especially long term.

Also as far as I can see the US economy and job market is still growing but not near the peak, so job opportunities should be better in general by the end of your contract. But local circumstances may differ.

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11 Dec 2014 13:24 - 11 Dec 2014 13:25 #192470 by Gary Sax
Do you have kids or some reason you'd have to be super stable?

My instinct is to take it. But a lot depends on how easily you can find a job if the one you are going to ends up being temporary, which is all about economywide demand for your set of skills.
Last edit: 11 Dec 2014 13:25 by Gary Sax.

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11 Dec 2014 13:29 #192472 by charlest
If you don't have anyone else relying on your pay and you can possibly stomach the chance of another long period of unemployment then I would take it if I were you. I would keep my eyes open for other opportunities while I was in the new position as well, in case things go south.

As a contractor you're likely covering your own health insurance at cost, which can be quite expensive, make sure you've done the math on all of this (unless you're fine with no health insurance).

I got my current full time position after a contract stint for 6 months and everything went well. I've also seen contractors let go after their contract was up so it's dicey. If you perform well and they have the money, they'll keep you.

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11 Dec 2014 13:41 #192473 by mutagen
I initially thought no, because "tolerable" jobs are hard to find, and recruiters are liars. Also, jobs that need to be filled immediately tend to be high stress/long hours. But if this contract will teach you new skills, you need to take it. Otherwise when your stable company goes under, you will be screwed for another ten months.
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11 Dec 2014 13:48 #192474 by OldHippy
Oh good lord. I shudder at the thought of giving advice, having you take it, and then things not going you're way. But here's what I've always done and it has served me well. I work the job that makes me happiest regardless of pay. Where I am right now is not stable, but I like the people and I like the work... so I'm staying. If someone wanted to take me away no advancement or money would change my mind (short of stupid money obviously), only the quality of the site and work could do it. If the people and the job are cool... I can be swayed and indeed have been in the past.

Now that I have a child in the mix I might change my philosophy a tad in order to provide him stability, but not too much. I don't want to send the wrong message to him either so some risk is still acceptable (although it better be Legacy or 2210). So without giving an actual opinion on what you should do those are the criteria that I work with personally.

Good luck man!

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11 Dec 2014 14:01 #192475 by DukeofChutney
Others have asked whether you have dependents etc. If they are going to give you extra training / investment in to your skill set, seriously consider taking it.

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11 Dec 2014 14:27 #192476 by Gregarius
I agree with what the others have said-- take it.

There appear to be more pros: double pay, skill learning, , better company, chance for advancement
And less cons: no benefits, limited contract.

I totally understand how being unemployed for so long can make you hesitant. I've been in the same boat myself where I was happy to find any port in a storm (ooh, double metaphor!). But at certain points in your career, you have to look at every job as just a stepping stone to the next job. The one you're in now saved you from unemployment, but also set you up for this new one. Maybe this new one will set you up for something else, or it may become that something else.

I also agree with JonJacob about finding a job you enjoy being more important than money (I took a significant pay cut for my current job, and don't regret it a bit), but in this instance I think you might be better off to put that as a lower priority.

My two cents.

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11 Dec 2014 14:29 #192477 by Black Barney
You have an opportunity to take a job at 100% pay increase with possibility of extension of contract, permanence or other opportunities within that company.

If this was an opportunity at +15% you should be at least considering it. At +100%, it's a no brainer.

My advice is to try and force a meeting so you can at very least meet with them to make sure it's not some boilerroom right out of sopranos. If it's legit, you take the contract and you KNOCK IT OUT OF THE PARK in terms of job performance. Companies don't let good people go. They do everything they can to keep them. So if you work hard, play by the rules, they'll probably make something work for you at the end of the contract hopefully.

Make sure you don't leave your current job badly. Leave that door WIDE open so you can potentially work there again one day. Give the good reasons why you're leaving, don't give the bad ones.

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11 Dec 2014 14:42 #192479 by Shellhead

JonJacob wrote: Oh good lord. I shudder at the thought of giving advice, having you take it, and then things not going you're way.


Think of this as a firing squad where only one of you has the real bullet. I am trying to gather a bunch of opinions and weigh them all.

More about my situation. I'm 49 years old. I have 27 years of experience in accounting, but my current job pays about the same amount that a recent graduate could make if he had high grades. My current employer is too small to afford insurance coverage, so I buy my own cheap health insurance with a high deductible. Fortunately, I am ridiculously healthy. I am currently renting an upstairs bedroom and some storage space to an old friend for $550 a month. 10 months of unemployment wiped out a lot of my savings.

I don't have any kids, but I am spending $600 a month helping out my girlfriend until she lands a good job. She is currently working two part-time jobs and finally graduated with a couple of bachelor degrees last summer. We plan to get married in a couple of years, but we don't know if we're going to have a kid. We're both willing, but money is too tight right now. She is in her mid-30s, so we might have a few more years left to try. She has a lot of student loan debt, and I still have a lot to pay off on my mortgage, plus we both have some credit card debt.

I like my current job okay. The commute is easy, the people are nice, and I'm learning some stuff. My boss can be a fussy micromanager at times, but he likes my work. The potential new job is with a big and successful company that is not publicly traded. They have a good reputation, but tend to hire people right out of college and then promote them from within instead of hiring outsiders. Half of the work at the new job would be very familiar to me, and half would be less familiar or new tasks for me. The commute would be twice as far but not terrible except sometimes during winter. I have no idea what my new co-workers would be like.

Aside from the money issue, I have concerns about my next job search. I could just leave my current job off my resume, but a short stint at the contract job might weaken my resume, making it look like I couldn't cut it at a big company. Alternatively, this contract job might get my foot in the door with the company and open up subsequent opportunities there.

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11 Dec 2014 15:04 #192482 by Black Barney
I don't think it'll weaken your resume at all. It is an easy decision to move, your reasons to move are valid.

Things must be worse in the States than I thought. I never heard of an accountant having trouble finding work. It's traditionally the safest, most stable industry that always has jobs, and the pay is good. I've been head-hunting for accounting jobs before and i always have to explain to the person that finance is different than accounting and I don't have that skill set at all.

The only time I ever regreted not following through with studies in accounting was when there was a cool accounting job at WB Games. That would have been fun.

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11 Dec 2014 15:14 #192483 by Shellhead

Black Barney wrote: I don't think it'll weaken your resume at all. It is an easy decision to move, your reasons to move are valid.

Things must be worse in the States than I thought. I never heard of an accountant having trouble finding work. It's traditionally the safest, most stable industry that always has jobs, and the pay is good. I've been head-hunting for accounting jobs before and i always have to explain to the person that finance is different than accounting and I don't have that skill set at all.

The only time I ever regreted not following through with studies in accounting was when there was a cool accounting job at WB Games. That would have been fun.


I did a lot of interviews during those ten months, but rarely got an offer. The first offer was $10K less than my old job. After turning that down, it took me two more months to figure out that I needed to settle for less money.

This potential job is strange because it's roughly 2/3 accounting and 1/3 finance. Normally a big company would break up the separate functions into separate jobs. I am considered a possible fit because all my small company experience makes me a jack-of-all-trades, for better and worse. I don't fit all the requirements of the new job, but I am theoretically flexible enough to be taught anything involving accounting and finance.

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11 Dec 2014 15:23 #192484 by ubarose
"Found your resume online" sounds a bit sketchy to me. Find out exactly who the "recruiter" is working for. If he isn't an employee of the company, find out who pays his commission if you get the job, the company or you? If it's you, it is likely there is some bullshit being thrown.
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11 Dec 2014 15:23 - 11 Dec 2014 15:25 #192485 by Black Barney
that's why I mentioned the Boilerroom thing. Derivatives trading where you do your own accounting? That is SKETCH.

Well, this new job sounds 1/3 interesting


edit: I got ninja;d by uba! Funny that we both used 'sketch' at the same time.

Yeah, what kind of company wants you to finalize a contract and you don't meet them first?
Last edit: 11 Dec 2014 15:25 by Black Barney.
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