Need help picking jobs

kak125 · #1 03-04-2009, 10:30 PM

So I have been lucky enough to get not 1 but 2 job offers and I have to make up my mind fairly quickly on the decision. I dont know what to do though so its a tough choice.

Job 1 -
at a local university
very stable
not sure on pay just yet
upmc healthcare, dental and vision
401k
pension
2 weeks vacation
closed between christmas and new years
2 personal days a year
12 sick days
11 paid holidays
free tuition for anybody in my immediate family
low stress job
job title - would be just a Quality Assurance Engineer
commute: not sure on commute - its 10 minutes away without traffic
work hours 8:30-5:00

Job 2
working for a consulting compay - at least 2.5 years in downtown pittsburgh
very stable - huge company with hundreds of thousands of employees
pays well a little more than what i was making at last QA job
highmark healthcare, dental and vision
401k
5 weeks vacation which includes sick time
9 paid holidays
more stressful job
job title - Senior Quality Assurance Engineer - Tead Lead
commute: 5 minutes away
work hours 8:00-5:00 with hour lunch but work hours are pretty flexible.

I am looking for any advice here. My main problem is that I had a few jobs where I was in charge and I enjoy it because I am by nature the type of person that likes to lead but I have trouble managing the stress that goes along with it. I was thinking of calling the local university tomorrow to ask about pay. HR is suppossed to call me this week with all the details and the start date but the other company wants my answer by end of day tomorrow. HELP!!

Edgeof27 · #2 03-04-2009, 11:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kak125

So I have been lucky enough to get not 1 but 2 job offers and I have to make up my mind fairly quickly on the decision. I dont know what to do though so its a tough choice.

Job 1 -
at a local university
very stable
not sure on pay just yet
upmc healthcare, dental and vision
401k
pension
2 weeks vacation
closed between christmas and new years
2 personal days a year
12 sick days
11 paid holidays
free tuition for anybody in my immediate family
low stress job
job title - would be just a Quality Assurance Engineer
commute: not sure on commute - its 10 minutes away without traffic
work hours 8:30-5:00

Job 2
working for a consulting compay - at least 2.5 years in downtown pittsburgh
very stable - huge company with hundreds of thousands of employees
pays well a little more than what i was making at last QA job
highmark healthcare, dental and vision
401k
5 weeks vacation which includes sick time
9 paid holidays
more stressful job
job title - Senior Quality Assurance Engineer - Tead Lead
commute: 5 minutes away
work hours 8:00-5:00 with hour lunch but work hours are pretty flexible.

I am looking for any advice here. My main problem is that I had a few jobs where I was in charge and I enjoy it because I am by nature the type of person that likes to lead but I have trouble managing the stress that goes along with it. I was thinking of calling the local university tomorrow to ask about pay. HR is suppossed to call me this week with all the details and the start date but the other company wants my answer by end of day tomorrow. HELP!!

kak125,

job choice #1; if you want to less stress....

or,

job choice #2; if you can take the additional stress....

so,

delay making a decision on #1, &, accept #2,

#2 is 5 minutes away, with an hour for lunch, (good stress relief),

if you find that #2 does not work out, then fall back on #1,

"it's only stress", you can handle it,

g....

kak125 · #3 03-04-2009, 11:37 PM

thank you so much for your help. i thought the decision would be easy because with job #1 i had such a good feeling about and really wanted at the time and then job #2 came along and then i started thinking do i really want job #1 and why. i think i am most scared because its been about a year since i have been in charge of a team of people (my last job i was just qa engineer) and I am scared to death about the whole thing. I had a bad experience at a job i worked at a while ago where they hired me as a QA Manager but then after being there for a bit they just kept piling the work on me and expected me to work overtime all the time without paying me for it. job #2 claims i wont have to work a lot of overtime but i swear they all say that, HA!! i really like the idea of job#2 being so close to my house and i can take the bus. job #1 i can take the bus as well which would cut down on commute time and they also offer a free bus pass as well.
so do you think it would be really bad to accept #2 and then if a few days from now i decide i want job #1, to call job #2 and decline their offer? i dont want to make anybody angry ya know? job #1 being a local university and all really takes their time with the actual offer. i talked to the manager on monday and i have that job if i want it but their hr department handles the actual offer and he said it could be few days or more. i am going to drive to job#1 tomorrow morning and see how bad traffic is going to be.

thank you for your help!

Edgeof27 · #4 03-04-2009, 11:51 PM

accept #2, try it on, see how it fits, if it does not work out for you then move on to job #1,

don't worry about making anyone angry, "it's only business",

do what is right for you,

#2, is 5 minutes away, more money, less commute, home for lunch, (more vacation),

g....

kak125 · #5 03-04-2009, 11:59 PM

you know you are so right, it's only business and i gotta do whats right for me. when you break it down like that, job #2 sounds really good. i wish i wasnt so bad at making decisions, i am the type that goes over every little detail for hours or days and then I still cant make up my mind.
thanks again!

Edgeof27 · #6 03-05-2009, 12:18 AM

just make sure that you can get time off for future concert dates......

g....