About to the pull the trigger on this offer, but...

Hi!

I just got the following job offer today and was looking for some input from you guys.

Current Position - Systems Admin: 67k + 3k annual bonus, 401k matches 4 of the first 6 percent.

Potential Role - Systems Engineer: 87k + 4k annual bonus, 401k matches 7 of the first 6 percent.

Both are about the same commute, but the lone caveat for the new position is that they seem to frown on working from home. Whereas at my other job I would work from home at least once or maybe twice a week. The new place said that WFH is ok for appointments or emergencies, but that seems to be about it. Is this too good offer to turn down because of WFH?

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10Linefigure

Where can you learn more? Where do you fit in better? Those should play a major role.

quickman007

You can by some nice PJs with that extra 20k, even if you don't get to wear them as much...

But seriously, a 20k raise vs. a couple days WFH isn't even a comparison in my opinion. I'd assume the engineering position would come with some invaluable experience as well.

markulous

It would be hard to pass on a 20k+ raise like that. I couldn't care less about working from home one or two days a week.

joelsfood

30% raise vs 1-2 days wfh? No question, take the other job (assumign you'll still learn, be kept interested, etc). Now if it was 100% wfh, that'd be different.

210mike

I agree with the other posters. 20K a year with a better 401K match is a no brainer. 5K a year... I could see but 20K for the same commute, you'd be silly to pass that up.

iBrokeIT

After you establish yourself as a solid performer and receive a few positive performance reviews bring up the topic again with your new boss. Willing to bet he would probably be more open to it.

markulous

iBrokeIT wrote: »

After you establish yourself as a solid performer and receive a few positive performance reviews bring up the topic again with your new boss. Willing to bet he would probably be more open to it.

That's a good point too. If it's work that can be done remotely, it's likely he'll budge if you're a rock star.

networker050184

Depends what is important to you. Most would say money. Having not been into the office for about a month now I can say working form home is a pretty valuable perk though. A $20k a year perk? Not for me personally, but you have to decide that for yourself.

oxymoron5k

Im so jealous..

jamthat

jdarch82 wrote: »

Hi!

I just got the following job offer today and was looking for some input from you guys.

Current Position - Systems Admin: 67k + 3k annual bonus, 401k matches 4 of the first 6 percent.

Potential Role - Systems Engineer: 87k + 4k annual bonus, 401k matches 7 of the first 6 percent.

Both are about the same commute, but the lone caveat for the new position is that they seem to frown on working from home. Whereas at my other job I would work from home at least once or maybe twice a week. The new place said that WFH is ok for appointments or emergencies, but that seems to be about it. Is this too good offer to turn down because of WFH?

Just made a similar switch...

Old role - 65k, no bonus, 2.5% total 401k match, work from home 3-4 days a week (whenever you wanted)
New role - 77k, quarterly+annual bonus depending on personal/company performance, 5% 401k match, no work from home

After bonuses, this will probably be around the same salary increase overall (25ish%). I haven't worked from home in about 3 months, and it sucks, but I've adjusted. The paychecks are definitely making up for it when you factor in the additional salary and MUCH cheaper insurance. Go for it!

jdarch82

iBrokeIT wrote: »

After you establish yourself as a solid performer and receive a few positive performance reviews bring up the topic again with your new boss. Willing to bet he would probably be more open to it.

Yes def a good point. I guess I could always bring it up again in a year or so if I'm performing well.

Deathmage

The OP, I had the same issue when I went to my current job.

But My 1st performance review was amazing. I mean lets face it the previous two IT people were just technical but not certified or skillful as a network/system administrator so me coming in was like a gift from god. But now moving forward 5 months and me just completing my own VMware deployment with networking, servers, storage, security, VMware hosts, and proper system/network design basically everything 2 or 3 engineers should do they have seen my worth and are NOW way more flexible since there system is way more stable and not crashing daily. I can work from home now and they don't care since they know I know my **** and will get er-done.

my biggest problem though is finding time to study since my experience is vastly outpacing my certifications.

Like others mentioned put in the time and I bet at the new job it will pan out in your favor.

N2IT

I love working from home avoiding the office politics etc, but 20 k IMO is enough to come in as long as the commute is no longer than 30 minutes one way. You start getting into an hour or so forget it I'd rather WFH 2 days a week and avoid that traffic sometimes.

nascar_paul

quickman007 wrote: »

You can by some nice PJs with that extra 20k, even if you don't get to wear them as much...

But seriously, a 20k raise vs. a couple days WFH isn't even a comparison in my opinion. I'd assume the engineering position would come with some invaluable experience as well.

I'm working as a deskside support analyst, and I'm working my ass off to get to the point where I've got this problem! Take the money and the step up to the challenge!

Let everyone know how it goes!

DoubleNNs

Can't someone explain to me what's so great about working from home?
Do you guys actually do any work? Do you stay home, or kinda take it as a day off? i.e sign on from your smartphone and do just enough that people won't get mad, but make sure your laptop is in the car in case something actually happens.

My dad works from home roughly twice a week. I see him do about an hour of work. The rest of the time looks like he pays the bills, runs errands, makes phone calls, cooks, and sleeps. Honestly, doesn't look too far off from his Saturdays...

W Stewart

I just got a job that has a policy that everybody gets one day a week to work remotely. Personally, I'd rather come in to work to interact with people and I've also got a 3 year old who would probably make working from home difficult but it's nice to have the option there when I want to use it.

BradleyHU

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Can't someone explain to me what's so great about working from home?
Do you guys actually do any work? Do you stay home, or kinda take it as a day off? i.e sign on from your smartphone and do just enough that people won't get mad, but make sure your laptop is in the car in case something actually happens.

My dad works from home roughly twice a week. I see him do about an hour of work. The rest of the time looks like he pays the bills, runs errands, makes phone calls, cooks, and sleeps. Honestly, doesn't look too far off from his Saturdays...

yeah i've always wondered that as well. when i wfh, my productivity drops like crazy. Couch, bed, playstation/xbox, gym near the apt, doing laundry/chores...i might as well have taken a PTO day. i mean, i'm connected to the VPN, and check my email on my phone, but if its not pressing, i'm not really doing much. and i like seeing & interacting with ppl during the day as well.

Shdwmage

W Stewart wrote: »

I've also got a 3 year old who would probably make working from home difficult but it's nice to have the option there when I want to use it.

This is some truth right here!

Danielm7

Just depends on your personality, I get tons of work done when I'm working from home. I find the office to be super distracting, people always want to chat and forget lunchtime. If some of those people go out to lunch its 1.5 hours easily. If they can manage to rope a vendor sales rep into it then you can expect them to be gone 2-3 hours. I've also worked in positions where I'm largely self directed for awhile now so my own time table and time management are pretty important.

joelsfood

I get tons of work done working from home. I'm 100% wfh, I have to get stuff done, or the job is gone.

The advantage is I'm not spending an hour or more on train each way,a nd I get to watch my daughter grow up.

Mike-Mike

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Can't someone explain to me what's so great about working from home?

with a wife and kids at home, especially during summer vacation, I would have a hard time being as productive at home. I am about 5 minutes away from the office, which i see as the ideal situation. My commute is almost nothing, and I get to draw a decisive line between work and home..

networker050184

DoubleNNs wrote: »

Can't someone explain to me what's so great about working from home?
Do you guys actually do any work? Do you stay home, or kinda take it as a day off? i.e sign on from your smartphone and do just enough that people won't get mad, but make sure your laptop is in the car in case something actually happens.

My dad works from home roughly twice a week. I see him do about an hour of work. The rest of the time looks like he pays the bills, runs errands, makes phone calls, cooks, and sleeps. Honestly, doesn't look too far off from his Saturdays...

Sounds like your dad is the type of slacker that gives working from home a bad rep. I get much more done from home. None of the shoulder tapping, hey look at this. I can wake up early and start working without the commute (unless you count walking from the bed to the couch). I get most of my work done in the first few hours before anyone even makes it into the office. No support guys bothering me, no management freaking out. Really working from home is multitudes more productive for me.

Danielm7

I'm with networker^^ I'm sick today, so I'm remote. I was logged on at 5:30am and working, hours before anyone will even get in the office. The people who treat remote working as a vacation are the ones that ruin it in companies for all the other employees who would actually perform well remotely.

JoJoCal19

Danielm7 wrote: »

I'm with networker^^ I'm sick today, so I'm remote. I was logged on at 5:30am and working, hours before anyone will even get in the office. The people who treat remote working as a vacation are the ones that ruin it in companies for all the other employees who would actually perform well remotely.

Agree but honestly, it's on the company if that's happening. When implementing a remote work program, everyone is expected to perform at least on the same level (and sometimes higher) than anyone in the office. If the work isn't getting done then management should revoke remote work privileges.