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Dilemma: Job Offers - - IDK what to do Please Help!

I?ve been racking my brain for days trying to decide between two job offers ? can someone maybe help me towards a decision or at least help me sort my thinking ? I need to make a decision soon!

First let me give some bkgrd info: My husband currently carries our insurance, etc. so benefits at this point are not my main concern?. I recently graduated from grad school with my Masters in Criminal Justice and my Masters in Social Work.  I?ve been interning for ~3 years with a forensic population (offenders) though I have had some shorter internships with children & inpatient mental health ?

 

Job #1 ? I received an offer, and have at this point accepted (then Job #2 came along).  I?m due to start in about 2 weeks.  I would be a social worker with children ? It is a FT position, decent salary/benefits.

Pros ? Full-Time with Benefits; A new experience for me; no commute (local job)

Cons ? Its working with children (not ideally what I?d like to do ?) I have little experience with children; and I don?t know the full details of what my day-to-day job would be like

Risks ? Would I be happy?  Would I enjoy the work?  Would I have enough competency to be able to perform the job?

 

Job #2 ? Agency wants to hire me .. is currently working on finding a position for me.  There is currently no open FT position, but they are looking to piece together some hours to make it at least a PT position.  Its working with offenders.  Id ultimately move into full time as several people are retiring ?

Pros ? I have competency in this area; I?d be very happy with the work; I?d be working two different programs with offenders; Jobs like this don?t come up very often ? I?m lucky ?

Cons ? 45 min to 1 hour daily commute; PT with no benefits

Risks ? How long would I be PT for?

 

If Job #1 and Job #2 were both FT with benefits and both in the same area with no commute, I would HANDS DOWN take Job #2 ?. I ideally want to work with offenders, I?ve been in the area now for a few years as an intern, and I LOVE it ? but again it?s a 1hr commute and its PT to begin with ?. I hope to get more details on Job #2 (timeframe, etc.) in the coming days ? I need to make a decision ASAP though ?

 

Thoughts??

Re: Dilemma: Job Offers - - IDK what to do Please Help!

  • Take job #1 and let job #2 know that you are very interested in the line of work and when they are able to offer a FT position to please keep you in mind, reminding them that your experience makes you an excellent candidate.

    You might end up really enjoying working with children.  However, if you know for certain that you'll hate it then don't take job #1. 

  • imageSunAndRain:

    Take job #1 and let job #2 know that you are very interested in the line of work and when they are able to offer a FT position to please keep you in mind, reminding them that your experience makes you an excellent candidate.

    You might end up really enjoying working with children.  However, if you know for certain that you'll hate it then don't take job #1. 

    Exactly this! If job #2 wants you that badly, they'll find something FT eventually. But give #1 a shot until then.

    New Name, Old Nestie Blog: Career Girl Network
  • Um, yeah, definitely Job 1. Job 2 sounds sketchy and tentative at best right now. If they do create a FT position and want to present it to you that way, then you can go through the process. But right now take Job 1 and see how it goes.
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  • Definitely job 1.  I would not feel confident about job security if an employer is having to "piece together some hours" to make it full time.  I agree that you should let them know that once someone retires and there is a definite full time position, that you are very interested in coming to work for them.  However, work at job 1 in the meantime, and maybe you will find that you actually like working with children as well.
  • imageSunAndRain:

    Take job #1 and let job #2 know that you are very interested in the line of work and when they are able to offer a FT position to please keep you in mind, reminding them that your experience makes you an excellent candidate.

    You might end up really enjoying working with children.  However, if you know for certain that you'll hate it then don't take job #1. 

    This.

    I was offered a job once through an agency that was barely ft and didn't pay near what I wanted. It was something where as people retired I would gain more work. I turned it down because even though they thought it would be 2 years before I got more work, you never know. And why wait around?

    I would take #1 and try it out. Keep contact with #2 and if you work a year or so and hate it and another opportunity opens then take it.

  • Go with Job #1 and tell Job#2 that you are still interesting in FT employment. This will allow you to have a full time job, get experience in a new area and expand your skills.
  • I'm so thankful for all of your responses ... I guess you all are telling me what I had been leaning towards anyways but just didn't want to fully accept, haha ... But you all make good points ... especially in the financial times we find ourselves in now, PT just won't cut it .. especially with that 1 hour commute.
  • just to echo what everyone else already said...job #1 for sure.  

    some food for thought from my experience in a different field: when i got out of college, i had several job offers, but they were all for teaching high school.  i had just finished my student teaching in a middle school, and i really wanted to work with middle school kids.  i realized i had two choices: i could suck it up, take a job in a high school and at least have a job, or i could hold out and hope a middle school ended up hiring at some point.  i chose the safe route and took a high school job.  ten years of high school teaching later, i am SO GLAD i took this job.  i didn't know how much i would love it.  i realize it's not the same thing as what you're deciding right now, but since you have little experience with the population you would be working with, you might not realize how much you could love doing that kind of work.  it happened to me!

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