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....

David · #7 03-05-2009, 01:02 AM

Did I read your post correctly that you don't know what these jobs pay? If offers were made, why didn't you ask what the salary is? During the interview, it's often wise to avoid discussing salary & expectations, but once an offer is made to you, it would be an odd employer that wouldn't mention the salary, & an even odder one that wouldn't think it weird that the prospective employee didn't ask about it.

Do both companies match on 401(k) contributions? Equally?

You interviewed on site for both jobs, right? Did you look around at the employees? Did they look relatively happy? Do they have their personal photos & things up around their desks? Were any of them chatting or joking?

Either of these companies publicly traded? If so, whose market data (equity value, market cap, etc.) are weathering the recession more successfully?

How much severance is paid if someone is laid off?

Did you ask about the person you're replacing (if anyone), & why he or she left?

BTFLCHLD · #8 03-05-2009, 01:14 AM

majority of colleges have salaries displayed within employee contracts on their HR website. and, if you are looking to work long term, PENSION is a benefit one would definitely want.

jannieC · #9 03-05-2009, 06:58 AM

I always give the salary range to prospective employees before they even come in for an interview. No sense wasting anyone's time with an interview if the $$$ isn't right.

My advice is to take the less stressful job, as long as you can manage on the pay. I can't even imagine considering it without knowing whether you can pay your bills or not! But if you can, life is too short- we should be happy with what we're doing 8-10 hours of our days. Good luck!

kak125 · #10 03-05-2009, 08:25 AM

Hello everyone,
thanks so much for your comments. i really appreciate it. so as far as pay goes i told job#1 in the interview what i would like to make and then when the guy offered me the job on monday he said he couldnt even tell me what they were going to pay me because HR takes care of it. That is the crappy part is not knowing what they are going to pay. When I looked on their website it has a decent range in salaries. What I am asking for is near their top pay but I told them that is what I made at my last job. I know what job #2 pays and its about 2 thousand more than I was making before.
Both companies have the same 401k contributions. I did not see any employees at either interviews. I wish I would have because thats an easy way to tell if the place is going to be cool or not. I would have to check on the companies and see if they are publicly traded. I think job #2 is and the manager told me that they have hired a lot of people in the last month or so just for the team I will be on. Their client is highmark and they are one of the few companies that are making money here. I dont know about severence but that is a good question. I will make sure to ask both jobs about it. As far as I know I am not replacing anybody at either places. They just need more QA at both of them.

So I am going to drive to job #1 now and see how long it takes me and then if I dont hear from HR for job #1 by end of day I am going to call them and see what the hold up is. I need to have an idea of pay before I accept job #1 or I could be taking something that could possibly offer me 25k less and I dont want to do that. Obviously whatever I am making will be more than on unemployment but I would like to make around the same as I was a few months ago.

I will keep you all updated. Thanks again!

kak125 · #11 03-05-2009, 10:22 AM

So I drove to job #1 this morning and it took me about 15 minutes with traffic so that wasnt bad at all. I found some back roads I could take on the way home if traffic does become an issue. I need to find out about parking because if its too expensive I will have to take the bus. I was going to call HR department but I must have thrown away the number. I am just irritated that they couldnt give me an idea of salary.

Steviefan49 · #12 03-05-2009, 01:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kak125

So I drove to job #1 this morning and it took me about 15 minutes with traffic so that wasnt bad at all. I found some back roads I could take on the way home if traffic does become an issue. I need to find out about parking because if its too expensive I will have to take the bus. I was going to call HR department but I must have thrown away the number. I am just irritated that they couldnt give me an idea of salary.

Hey..

I'm SOOO sorry I didn't get to answer your post from the "Rumors forum"- but, I sure wanted to wish you good luck! Me, personally, I would go with the #1 job, and definitely find out what the heck they are paying you. "IF" the pay is that much lower, then job #2, then it's a given to go with #2! It's WONDERFUL that you have the choice, nowadays between 2 different jobs, when so many people are getting laid off, and their Companies are shutting their doors! Hang in there, and keep us posted on what you find out, and LOTS of good luck with either one!!

Hugs,

Arlene

skcin · #13 03-05-2009, 02:05 PM

I'd take #1. A job at a university should be pretty stable, in theory. It's quite possible that the person interviewing you didn't know the salary off the top of their head - that's how it is at the college I work at, it's not my call. BUT they should have been able to make a quick call & get right back to you, so that is a little odd.

Job #2, although you say it's stable, doesn't seem as stable to me. You never know what might happen with that industry in the future. Plus, the fact that they'e recenly hired several people could mean they have a high turnover rate.

Just my gut feeling.

LikeAWillow · #14 03-05-2009, 02:18 PM

I think I would go with job #1 as well, assuming the pay is manageable. The benefit of anyone in your family attending with free tuition is incredible with the cost of education, and I'm always for picking the option that gives you warm fuzzies

Congratulations on getting both offers, though! I'm freaking out right now because I'm about to do a phone interview for a summer internship in...13 minutes....with a law firm in downtown Pittsburgh.

HejiraNYC · #15 03-05-2009, 02:26 PM

Well, it's very hard to say without knowing more about your circumstances (beyond what is in your profile). What are your long-term objectives? Are you male or female? If you are female, do you plan on starting a family? If not, do the companies provide paid extended leave for new fathers? What is the relative upward mobility for these positions? What is more important to you personally- money or work intensity? Is there a target bonus associated with the non-university job? (I assume universities do not pay bonuses, but I could be wrong). Also, try putting the pros/cons of these jobs in some kind of a matrix; I think the answer may be more apparent than you think.

Anyway, congrats on your good fortune; it's good to feel wanted.