So, I posted the other day that my H got a job offer. He's currently in a dilemma about whether or not to accept it, or wait and see if he gets a second offer.
Option A: The job that offered him a position earlier this week needs to have an answer by this afternoon. They are offering $X, with stable 8-4 hours (relatively less common in the social work field compared to some other fields), and little chance of having to "bring work home" with him via overtime or being on-call or whatever. Job is ~45 min commute.
Option B: He contacted "first choice" job to see where he is in their hiring process. They said that he is still a top candidate, but they may not have final decisions until Monday or Tuesday next week. Job B is offering $13k more than $X (job A), or possibly more--DH obviously doesn't have an offer yet, but he know the low end of job B's salary range is significantly more than job A. Hours involve some evening/weekend hours and being on-call in case of emergencies. Job is ~30 min commute, in the same direction as my job, so there is a chance we could carpool occasionally. Benefits are better with job B, but both jobs have acceptable benefits (leave, healthcare, retirement, etc)
I have a stable job, and we have enough in savings that he can turn down any and all jobs and keep looking if necessary. The salaries are different between the two jobs, but Job A would be more than enough for us to meet our goals. DH says he may enjoy Job B more, but there is a certain appeal of the steady hours of Job A.
I've told him both jobs sound fine to me, so it is truly his decision what to do (he does NOT have an offer from Job B yet, so would be gambling a little bit if he turned down Job A in hopes of Job
. I have a strong feeling that he will get the formal offer from Job B, but obviously I'm not the hiring manager. Honestly, I'm glad I'm not the one having to make the final decision here.
So, informal nestie poll: If it were you (or your DH), which option would you pick? Accept formal offer from Job A now, or wait a few more days and see if Job B offers?
*drumroll please* I'll let you know what his real-life decision is, tonight.
Re: WWOct08D Re: Job
If it were you (or your DH), which option would you pick? Accept formal offer from Job A now, or wait a few more days and see if Job B offers?
I think if we were in your position financially we would pick A if it is an absolute certainty that there would be little to no take home and no on call.
This is based on my own experience of on call for both DH and I, it most certainly has put a big crimp in our lives and will not likely change any time soon. We both feel our jobs weighing on us but don't have many options at the moment I also take work home from time to time.
A sounds good b/c there aren't any after hours needs, but that commute could be a killer.
B sounds good b/c it's closer, but how many after hours would be needed and would be something simple like responding to emails/calls or having to actually "be at work, working."
I commuted into DC every day from MD after grad school and the only reason I dealt with the 38mile each way commute that ranged from 45mins to 1.5 hours was b/c I was living at home and was able to pay off my SLs.
I would probably wait and go for B if the after hours aren't terrible or require a lot of time. It would probalby also depend on how long he would be at a job with after hours and when starting a family would occur also.
Wow I'm sure that was so unhelpful, lol!
Wives Unscripted
Wow, you and I pretty much think the same! As far as the commute goes, we're near Fort Meade, job A is in Parkville (Balto County), and job B is in Lanham (PG County). We think commute will be worse to Job A than Job B (we drive the route to Job B fairly frequently because it's not far from my job in NE DC, so we know what it looks like. he drove a 'test run' to job A the other morning). But, having a five minute commute is not an option for either one of us right now. All jobs he looked at are 30 minute or more commute.
I'm not really looking for "help" per se. I'd be satisfied with either option, I'm curious what you all would do, because in my head I'm going "Pro, Con, Pro, Con, Pro, Con", which is totally unhelpful. Both jobs have good and bad things.
I would go with A. First, based on my experience being heavily involved in recruiting. I feel if they wanted him, they could make their decision now given the information they gave him.
Second, one of my bffs is a social worker in Delaware and I know that she is not a fan of her on-call and sometimes extra hours so the guarantee of none of that would be very nice in that line of work I assume.
I think the commute is just something that comes with the territory. I think anything less than 45 minutes around here and you're very lucky. Mine is an hour and only 26.7 miles so that colors my opinion but I will say its really getting to me and am looking for something closer BUT it was okay when I was happy with my work/company.
And financially, I agree with what Pooks said - meaning if I were in that position financially I would be okay with job A's salary.
ETA to add clairity to the last sentence.
I will say that many positions I have taken (often within the same company I was already at) noted an on call type of situation or take home work but I felt like they gave a low estimate of what that was. Not saying every employer does that but I would probably factor in a little more than what they are saying. I also overlooked that commute time but feel a 10-15 minute difference would not be a major factor (now 25-30 might be) I guess fuel does factor in too. I wish there was some way your husband could get an extension on giving that answer.
Good luck!
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Interjecting personal experience here: When I was looking for a job, I actually turned down job A because I was *certain* that I was going to get job B (based on someone on the search committee actually telling me I was their top choice). I ended up not getting job B and I had turned down job A which left me miserable in my old position for about 6 more months until I got my current job.
I know your H's circumstance is a little different because he doesn't have to work right now like I did. Will you all be financially ok for several months if turns down A and then doesn't get B? If not, I would suggest he accept A and then if he finds out he gets B, he can always contact A and decline the position in a couple of days, assuming there were no contracts involved. I know that's not a very professional thing to do, but in this economy, you have to look out for yourself.
This.
Also I don't think the 15 minutes more of commuting would be a huge factor to consider. Closer to 30 minutes more then definitely.
And if you are in a good financial positon the lower pay of Job A shouldn't be as much of a factor. More money is always nice but having equal benefits between the 2 jobs and no take home work or after hours/on call easily offsets the more money when you realize the amount of after hours/on call work that would be necessary with his #1 choice.
Haha. Sadly I can't use that argument with DH. His previous job was in the Cherry Hill area of Baltimore City (really super sketchy project housing). "Less than desirable" work neighborhood probably isn't even a blip on his job decision radar.
It's interesting, sometimes, what different people consider important. Obviously everybody values salary and benefits, but there are other things about jobs that definitely play into decision-making.
I have to agree with Pooks. I know Andrew and I both hate when we need to bring work home or work late/weekends. As a mother, it is nice to know that Andrew doesn't need to stay late at work often and never brings work home with his new job.
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