Two job offers.... tough decision.

Quick little back story about me is that I graduated with my bachelors in M.I.S. last year and have been working help desk for a healthcare IT company for around 7 months now being GROSSLY underpaid (10k less than the next lowest guy at help desk). I started sending my resume out two weeks ago and have already gotten interviews with two different companies last week and both of them gave me an offer yesterday afternoon.

The first company is working at the home corporate office of a huge brokerage firm, I would be working on a help desk staff of 20 and the entire IT staff there is around 130. The schedule will fluctuate anywhere from 5:30am to 7pm, but only 40hrs/week. The guy I interviewed with had that "elitist" attitude and kinda scared the **** out of me saying stuff like "the 5 minutes they are on the phone with you they could be losing 1million dollars or more". Plenty of room to move up.

Second company is at the home corporate office of one of the largest real estate companies in the US. However being a real estate company they don't have a huge need for IT, there's a 12 person IT staff that does everything for the state i'm in. I would be THE HELPDESK, doing all the desktop support for around 400 computers by myself. It's apparently easy work though and the system admin who is doing it now while they are looking for a replacement said the call volume is low. The schedule is 8:30-5:30 m-f with no fluctuation or overtime ever. The two guys I interviewed with are super laid back, i've never had such a comfortable interview before.

I'm not sure which one to take, job1 has a worse quality of life, more career advancement potential, and a 5k higher salary than job 2.

Job 2 will have a lower salary (still 8k more than what i'm making now), a near perfect schedule, and much less work stress.

I'm pretty torn about which to take, on one hand I think i'd learn more doing helpdesk for job1 since it's so freaken big but then again working in a smaller environment like job2 might be more beneficial and allow me to get my hands on more stuff. Job 1 would be nicer for vanity purposes since it's in an AMAZING building at the heart of downtown with an extremely well known company, Job 2 isn't too shabby either but nothing like job 1. Both industries kinda suck to be in right now.

Any advice would be helpful from any of you older experienced peers.

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Comments

Forsaken_GA

I've worked for real estate folks before, they can be fickle. I'd probably go for the brokerage firm in your shoes, at least it sounds like it'd be challenging

BradleyHU

usually, i'm all about the money....but when you put job schedule into the mix(530am is just NOT goin to happen for me) and the fact that it fluctuates...that ruins the deal. Job # 2 wins out because even tho you're doin just desktop support now, you'd probably be involved in other things since the IT team is so small. Hell, i was on a IT team of 7, including the VP of IT, and i did desktop support, servers, phone systems & light networking.

gosh1976

Sounds like job 2 with the low call volume might give you time to study for further exams and may give you the opportunity to get involved with the network admin. You said they were laid back and besides the fact that it makes for a good environment to work in they may not mind you shadowing them a bit to learn on the job.

bwcarty

What do you want to do after you've gained your helpdesk experience and want to move on? Which company/position is going to look better on a resume?

If you are the only helpdesk guy for the real estate company, how often are you going to get called outside of your regular hours or be forced to stay late for an urgent issue that only you can fix? I've never had an IT job that was 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, period.

Dryst999

bwcarty wrote: »

What do you want to do after you've gained your helpdesk experience and want to move on? Which company/position is going to look better on a resume?

If you are the only helpdesk guy for the real estate company, how often are you going to get called outside of your regular hours or be forced to stay late for an urgent issue that only you can fix? I've never had an IT job that was 8 hours a day, 40 hours a week, period.

Well they have a System admin and a Network admin so anything big they would be able to get. I work a 40hr/week at my current company supporting around 1500 users with only a help desk of 4 so I wouldn't think it would be too bad.

I'm not sure which would be better on a resume. The real-estate company i'm working for is the 4th largest in the nation so it's not a small company, just not a big IT department.

sambuca69

The "huge brokerage firm" will be nice resume dressing, IMO. Brokerage/banking pay very well (when times are good) It's very hard to get into one without prior experience working in one.

Personally, I'd go with the Borkerage one only for the potential of where you could work later on.

tpatt100

Low call volume after 10 am allowed me to get involved in other areas with the sys admins. This allowed me to transition up in less than a year on the help desk

peanutnoggin

Quit bragging... with the state of the current US market, you know how many people would kill to be in your position!!! Just kidding!!!

I would take job 1 with the brokerage firm. It appears that this job would provide the most growth and the biggest challenges. In my experience, when I work a job and I lose interest in the job... I become miserable!!! Keep that in mind... if you're at work for 8 hours a day, but you're only doing 1 hour worth of work... you may begin to feel as if you're wasting your time!! That's just my thoughts.

MentholMoose

You're in a good position right now. You should take this opportunity to hone your negotiation skills and get a better offer (or offers).

Dryst999

I think i'm going to take the brokerage firm offer. I've been thinking about it all morning and it's higher stress but if I don't want to be stuck working help desk my whole life i'm going to have to suck it up and deal with it. 5k isn't nothing to scoff at either considering I live in TN which is a low standard of living.

I called about 3 hours ago to talk to him about the offer and got his voicemail and left my name/number. I still haven't heard back from him yet.... is it ok to call him again today to try to get in touch with him or will this seem desperate?

BradleyHU

Dryst999 wrote: »

I think i'm going to take the brokerage firm offer. I've been thinking about it all morning and it's higher stress but if I don't want to be stuck working help desk my whole life i'm going to have to suck it up and deal with it. 5k isn't nothing to scoff at either considering I live in TN which is a low standard of living.

I called about 3 hours ago to talk to him about the offer and got his voicemail and left my name/number. I still haven't heard back from him yet.... is it ok to call him again today to try to get in touch with him or will this seem desperate?

so wait...you dont even know what time your position is for? thats one thing i need to know right away. cuz you might plan on goin back to school for an advanced/postgraduate degree, or to complete your degree if you havent already.

sambuca69

Dryst999 wrote: »

I think i'm going to take the brokerage firm offer. I've been thinking about it all morning and it's higher stress but if I don't want to be stuck working help desk my whole life i'm going to have to suck it up and deal with it. 5k isn't nothing to scoff at either considering I live in TN which is a low standard of living.

I called about 3 hours ago to talk to him about the offer and got his voicemail and left my name/number. I still haven't heard back from him yet.... is it ok to call him again today to try to get in touch with him or will this seem desperate?

I'd wait. 3hrs isn't that long and he could be in a meeting or something.

Dryst999

BradleyHU wrote: »

so wait...you dont even know what time your position is for? thats one thing i need to know right away. cuz you might plan on goin back to school for an advanced/postgraduate degree, or to complete your degree if you havent already.

I need to be flexible to work from 5:30 to 7pm m-f depending on how well I do and when they feel they need me, shifts are 8 hours with a 1 hour lunch. My current employer I work 7-4 some weeks, 8-5, or 10-7 others so it's not a huge change. I'd rather have it be "8:30-5:30" all the time like the real estate company but it's not a deal breaker for me since they are offering more money and more career potential.

I don't have plans for grad school in the near future, I have 40k in debt that I want to get paid off before I pile anymore on, other than certs i'm gtg on outside training.

Stotic

Take job 1. After 2 years your resume is going to look much more impressive doing helpdesk at a brokerage firm then a real estate firm. Also, finance companies tend to only hire those with experience within the finance industry. This is kind of your "in" to this world. As you gain more experience and move into more advanced technologies, the money you'll see in finance (even doing IT) will trump other industries (especially real estate).

Dryst999

Well I took a quick break from work to call him and as soon as I get down to the lobby the phone rings and it's him! I accepted the offer, start may 10th at 10am. The benefits are amazing, better than what i'm getting now at a whole $500/yr cost to me. I didn't try to use my other offer to negotiate salary considering it's a 15k increase from my current position and still really high market value for my qualifications.

I'm pretty excited and nervous. Hopefully dealing with brokers won't be as bad as I think it is... I deal with doctors on a daily basis now so it couldn't be MUCH worse lol.

Only thing that kind of worries me is when I asked if he was going to send the offer through e-mail he said that they don't normally do that, there word is my bond type of thing. Should I be worried at all by this? The real estate company didn't send me an offer either they are looking for just a verbal acceptance. I told him that i'm accepting the offer then reiterated the salary/benefits/hours and that I would put in my notice today, he said sounds great see you May 10th.

earweed

Congrats! Hope it works out well for you.

BradleyHU

ummm, eff dat, i'd want it in writing. my current job sent my an offer letter by FedEx, along with my whole package...pause. I dont play that "my word is bond" ****...you put it on paper, HOLMES!!!

Dryst999

Well I spoke with my recruiter about it and he said that's completely normal for them and I shouldn't be worried in the least. It's not like a written offer is contractual at all anyway. I'm going to send him an acceptance letter tonight with all the things we discussed over the phone just make sure there were 0 misscommunications.

Bl8ckr0uter

BradleyHU wrote: »

ummm, eff dat, i'd want it in writing. my current job sent my an offer letter by FedEx, along with my whole package...pause. I dont play that "my word is bond" ****...you put it on paper, HOLMES!!!

^^^^ This ^^^^^^

My second IT interview (for what I thought was going to be my second IT job) I was actually told by the Manager of IT that I had the job. I almost put in my two weeks but I wanted to wait until I had the offer letter. Well 1 day passed, no letter, 2 days, no letter, 3 days, still no letter. I called them back on the 4th day (a Friday) asking them wtf was going on. They told me that they decided to go with someone who had more experience. They also said that because I didn't have the Network+ yet, it would be an issue (I only had the A+ at the time). My point is, get it in writing, always! You really don't want to get screwed.

blargoe

Congrats on your offers! I wish you luck at the brokerage company.

I'm not sure which position I would have chosen if, knowing what I know now, I were put in the same position as you. I just don't buy that "working for a brokerage company" is really all that big of a deal, prestige wise, unless you're looking for work in the finance niche... you know? "Big" companies, companies known to be technologically ahead of the curve, have impressed people that I have worked for if the show up on a resume, but then again I'm in a smaller market so maybe that makes a difference. I will say this, having exposure to a high-stress, fast paced environment is good for your own personal development.

I might would have given stronger consideration to the real estate job because of the exposure to desktop support that I think you're lacking right now, but I'm not sure which job I would have picked.

Devilsbane

Dryst999 wrote: »

The first company is working at the home corporate office of a huge brokerage firm, I would be working on a help desk staff of 20 and the entire IT staff there is around 130. The schedule will fluctuate anywhere from 5:30am to 7pm, but only 40hrs/week. The guy I interviewed with had that "elitist" attitude and kinda scared the **** out of me saying stuff like "the 5 minutes they are on the phone with you they could be losing 1million dollars or more". Plenty of room to move up.

Second company is at the home corporate office of one of the largest real estate companies in the US. However being a real estate company they don't have a huge need for IT, there's a 12 person IT staff that does everything for the state i'm in. I would be THE HELPDESK, doing all the desktop support for around 400 computers by myself. It's apparently easy work though and the system admin who is doing it now while they are looking for a replacement said the call volume is low. The schedule is 8:30-5:30 m-f with no fluctuation or overtime ever. The two guys I interviewed with are super laid back, i've never had such a comfortable interview before.

I'm thinking job 2 would have been better. Since you are going to enjoy what you do. It is still more money than you are getting now, and if you sit there for a few months and decide that you want more then you can continue your search.

You should find out what to do in your down time. I had an interview once where I was told it was slow some nights and that was the perfect oppurtunity to crack open a book and study for a certification. So while you might learn less from actual work, you might be able to spend an hour a day (or more, depending on the workload) studying for your next cert.

Tesl

sambuca69 wrote: »

The "huge brokerage firm" will be nice resume dressing, IMO. Brokerage/banking pay very well (when times are good) It's very hard to get into one without prior experience working in one.

Personally, I'd go with the Borkerage one only for the potential of where you could work later on.

This This This.

Finance IT is absolutely the best place to be. Not only can you learn a lot about interesting applications, be "in" the industry, get paid a whole lot more, but it presents massive opportunities for your future. Two easy examples for me:

1) First level support guy, worked a few years and probably made close to $100k supporting trading applications after a few years. He got friendly with the traders themselves, and moved to London to be a prop trader himself. I've no idea how much he earns now but its no small amount of money.

2) Me. I got hired at $70k (base) as a developer, though with the bad economy bonus was only $15k. I'm moving this year into the business side and will make $100k base + better bonus (hopefully at least another $30k). I'm still 24. In the future I'll likely go into trading myself.

I like IT but enjoyed this side more, and am still working my way to where I want to be. This kind of career move could not have been easily made within other industries, which is why I would always recommend working in a financial firm should the opportunity ever present itself.

Good luck!

Michael.J.Palmer

The brokerage firm is definitely the smarter move as far as long term goals go. Not only do you gain the possibility of moving up within the company and getting pay raises along the way, but like said in other posts the experience at the brokerage firm will definitely trump that of anything else you could have on a resume for real estate. So if you do decide to leave for whatever reason in the years to come, you'll have a better looking resume overall, not to mention be worth more money on a salary history standpoint when moving to another position elsewhere.

We all work schedules we don't like at some point or another, but we do it so we can get that "in" to any field. At this point I'd work a graveyard shift for an ISP if it meant I'd get a steady job and some experience, just count your blessings and take the money and run,

.

Also as a side note: my instructor told us a story during week 1 of class about how he broke into the IT world. He was actually working at a brokerage firm about 15 years ago and he got tired of the networks in his department always going down for whatever reason, so he decided one day he'd go in and figure out if he could find a way where if the network did go down then how he'd at least be able to synch up his departments work when it was back online. He basically just read the manual on how to work everything and then set it all up where it worked! A few days later the network went down and another guy from another department came by and asked what he had done. when he told the guy, that guy asked him if he'd come by and do the same thing for him. He joked around with the guy about it when the guy offered to pay him to do it and he threw out some figure like 17K or something, well... he ended up making about 12K and that was it... LoL. So yeah, brokerage firms man... gotta love them. Those guys can never afford to be down for too long (hense your stressful interview), but the money is definitely going to be good if you're good at what you do.