Need advise with a new job opportunity. Cant make up my mind.

I currently work for one of the biggest US telecom company. Making OK base salary, probably less than the market, but I get 10-20hours overtime a week which makes it sweet. I deal with anything from SMS, MMS call issues to enterprise issues that deals with VRF, BGP and how customer's private network deal with ours. I been working here for 3 years and got 2 promotion thru this time.

Now there is an opportunity since performing well and made my name hear by many other network teams. This opportunity is to work in core where I will be implementing MOPs and change controls to core routers CRS routers, some juniper equipments and F5s. Secondary function will be to implement SDN(Openstack and possibly Mirantes) while company converting to SDN next 3-5 years.

All sounds good except the salary.

My background: I am 36 years old. I have CCNA, JNCIA and CCNA security. Getting Some linux certs soon. And planning to make a move to VMware and Openstack certs.
Cons: Overnight job, lower total pay due to lack of Overtime, higher responsibility.
Pros: Higher base pay, better career move, flexible hours, work base hour, have downtime for studying and improving. Involve with SDN and opportunity to learn openstack before most people.

I will be making $1200 average less a month which normally goes to my saving. I can survive without this money, but I wont be able to save a lot of money. I am married, have a kid and just bought house.

My heart says take the job, but my mind says wait another year before making the move. This department always hires this time of the year, but there will be lots of competition next year to get the job due to company changing direction.

In the short term, I will be losing $15000 a year, but in the long term(3-5 years), I have a chance to double my base salary, if I decide to move a smaller company.

All my life, I always played catch up game, and now have an opportunity get on something before everyone else.

Was any of you in the same boat? What did you do and how did it pan out?

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Comments

thomas_

What gives you the most upward mobility in the future, staying in your current position or taking the new position? How does your spouse feel about the drop in income and overnight work? Have you learned as much as you can in your current role?

Kalabaster

Yeah, clearly you need to make the decision as a family but will the new role ultimately help your future? Like you said, you have a kid now. So it's not about the money you make right now. It's the money you need to make over your lifetime. Their bills will only increase every year, and then there's college, etc. You need to pivot yourself to be in the best place for your future. For their future. Be careful with overnight though. Overnight jobs can indirectly hurt a family as well in unexpected ways.

Danielm7

You lost me at overnight work and 15K total pay decrease. Can you look for another job outside of your current workplace?

networker050184

I'd personally avoid overnight implementing MOPs. You're likely just going to be typing in commands from a document someone else wrote. Not the best job if you want to move up on the technical side.

The openstack skills are nice to get, I've started moving in that direction myself a bit, but still wouldn't be worth it to me. There are plenty of better opportunities in NYC than night shift MOP implementer. Plenty of money to be had as well.

volfkhat

Just wondering,
If the PAY was the same..... would you feel differently?

My 2 cents:
Will there be anyone on Midnights that you can learn from (new things)?

If the Answer is NO.... then i'd probably pass.

JustFred

networker050184 wrote: »

I'd personally avoid overnight implementing MOPs. You're likely just going to be typing in commands from a document someone else wrote. Not the best job if you want to move up on the technical side.

The openstack skills are nice to get, I've started moving in that direction myself a bit, but still wouldn't be worth it to me. There are plenty of better opportunities in NYC than night shift MOP implementer. Plenty of money to be had as well.

Seems his job is shift based which can be ok even with a family. Its not night shifts only which could easily kill ones soul. I also think shift based job, gives you time to study and work on certs to be able to move up.

LeBroke

Remember that if you work graveyards even part of the week, it's a lot less time you can spend with your kid, which is something you'll regret later.

yellowpad

My 2cents... Fo whatever that makes you happy, enjoy, and have a passion for. Also, invest a little time to prepare yourself in a moving opportunity so that you can achieve your future goal for better $$.

To me, it doesn't make sense have a decent income for a long period of time. I rather start less for way more compensation in the future..provided that you work for it and that it fits with your goal as well as the opportunity.

mbarrett

If you can use it as a springboard to something else that you clearly know you want, otherwise pass. How will this experience allow you to market yourself? As someone pointed out, you will be doing stuff in the night shift (which kind of sucks for a lot of people) - so they are looking for someone to mostly work with their brain switched off - and you will be making less money. On the other hand, you have more autonomy & ability to control you own destiny.

MeanDrunkR2D2

I did 3rd shift work for 1 year a couple of years ago and it was hard to learn to stay up, and then sleep all day. Even harder was the time that I did miss with my kiddo, but it was a better option that I could see my wife and kid every day even if only for a couple of hours, instead of working 2nd shift where I'd only see them on my days off. In that case they were gone before I would wake up, and I'd be at work when they came home and would be asleep when I would get home on work days. I set out and planned for it to just be 1 year and just short of that time I was moved to 1st shift. It was a hard year, but it did springboard me into the role I will be starting next month and I'm much better off now than I was a couple of years ago. Short term pain, for long term gain.

Remedymp

Third shift should be targeted at childless persons.

NetworkNewb

Can't imagine doing it with a family... So during the weekdays you would sleep during the day. Does that mean during the weekends you sleep during the day and miss most of the day with your kid as well? Or do you try and change your sleep patterns just for the weekends? Sounds like that would be extremely unhealthy for your body.

MeanDrunkR2D2

NetworkNewb wrote: »

Can't imagine doing it with a family... So during the weekdays you would sleep during the day. Does that mean during the weekends you sleep during the day and miss most of the day with your kid as well? Or do you try and change your sleep patterns just for the weekends? Sounds like that would be extremely unhealthy for your body.

It wasn't easy to handle the weekends, but I did what I could to maximize my time with my son (2nd was born after I moved to 1st shift). I generally would stay up later so my sleep cycle wasn't too far out of whack, and would go to sleep in the middle of the night instead of morning and missing the whole day. So basically, I'd go to bed around 3-4am, get up around 10-11 and stay up and maybe have a little cat nap after my son went to bed if I was tired. I did this because it was a great way to springboard my career, and I wouldn't have done it for a job that would not have offered me that. Also, I knew and had put in place a plan for them to transition me to the day shift. If not, I would have found something else at that 1 year mark.

Again, it wasn't easy, but it was better than working the same role on 2nd shift when I'd never see my wife or kid. During the week I'd work 12 to 8am, and get home and asleep by 9 usually. Wake up around 4 and go pick up my son from daycare and spend the evening with my wife and son. Put him to bed and spend a couple of hours with my wife before she went to bed and then I'd head off to work. Long term it helped. Short term it sucked because I just never felt 'normal' by working those off hours and I was always tired. But, here I am today, working with normal people 8-5, and soon to start a new job with a huge pay bump thanks to the experience gained from taking that risk a couple of years ago and trying it.

(I initially turned down interviewing for the role when I found out that it wasn't a 1st shift position, but for my career and good for my family we took our time and applied for it again after deep thought over a couple of months.)

MeanDrunkR2D2

Remedymp wrote: »

Third shift should be targeted at childless persons.

I'd disagree with that. But those without kids would be perfect for those types of roles as they wouldn't have that responsibility to worry about trying to manage.

NotHackingYou

I'd pass on this opportunity.

Kinet1c

I moved away from night work to spend time with family, life at home is much much better now. Loss of income and time spend with the family would say no. If it were the same hours with just the income drop then I'd say go for it but it's not so I'd pass.