Possible new job, better pay, worse benefits...on fence
reppgoa
Member Posts: 151
Hey all,
So I could potentially be getting a job offer from a pretty well established (from my research) security company. I wouldn't be doing actual security work, rather supporting their security product, Netwitness. The position title is Sr. Support Engineer, and I would be coming from Tier 2 desktop support tech, so its a decent bump in title. I have read some good things about the company, and they were very recently purchased by RSA, the security division of EMC. All in all the company looks solid from that perspective.
Where I am having a problem is the salary/benefits. The salary range is 80-103k a year which is fantastic considering the low end is almost double my current salary. The real stickler is the benefits. Where I currently work, I have awesome benefits. $3000 a year tuition reimbursement, unlimited technical certification reimbursement, 1 training event per year (this year I am going to attend the week long GSEC course, on company time... so that's about 5k), decent medical, 401k, and pretty good vacation time (15 days per year, that's sick and vacation in one, plus federal holidays), and fun company sponsored events that I really do enjoy (weekends with small groups of the company doing team building exercises like camping and rock climbing, fully paid for). All in all its a great benefits package. For salary, I make about 55k a year with bonuses. Base salary is about 46k, so the lowest end of the bracket for the new job would be almost double (not sure if they offer a bonus structure), and I am thinking I can pull 85-87k out of them.
From what I can tell, the benefits where I would be going are not quite as good. A bit more vacation time (23 days a year, that's sick time included), slightly better tuition reimbursement ($5500 a year for undergrad, 10k a year for masters), as far as I can tell NO certification or training at all (huge sticking point for me, I love getting certs and going to week long training), and its also quite a bit farther commute (45 minute drive, traffic gods willing, as opposed to 20 minute bicycle ride).
A few other things that might help. My current job is with a gvmt contractor and I HATE being a contractor. The new job would be with the company, but still customer facing. With the new job, I would be getting a lot more exposure to Linux and overall more difficult tasks, but I doubt I will get much exposure to anything outside of their product and maybe simple networking experience. My current job, I get no exposure to anything new at all, ever. I solve simple windows and mac issues all day, every day, 9-5. Another thing is the new job will have some shift work, 4am to 8pm are the support hours I believe.
I am just so on the fence right now. I don't know whether its worth moving to a new company that is a farther commute, in my opinion less benefits, and still not doing what I want to do (security) for that salary jump. I am sure there are going to be people that are like, "omg double your salary", and I get that, I really do. But if I have to pay for my own training and take my vacation time to go, it starts to eat into that "bigger" salary. As well as adding commute costs, about 350 a month from what I can tell.
Let me know what you guys think, don't hold anything back
So I could potentially be getting a job offer from a pretty well established (from my research) security company. I wouldn't be doing actual security work, rather supporting their security product, Netwitness. The position title is Sr. Support Engineer, and I would be coming from Tier 2 desktop support tech, so its a decent bump in title. I have read some good things about the company, and they were very recently purchased by RSA, the security division of EMC. All in all the company looks solid from that perspective.
Where I am having a problem is the salary/benefits. The salary range is 80-103k a year which is fantastic considering the low end is almost double my current salary. The real stickler is the benefits. Where I currently work, I have awesome benefits. $3000 a year tuition reimbursement, unlimited technical certification reimbursement, 1 training event per year (this year I am going to attend the week long GSEC course, on company time... so that's about 5k), decent medical, 401k, and pretty good vacation time (15 days per year, that's sick and vacation in one, plus federal holidays), and fun company sponsored events that I really do enjoy (weekends with small groups of the company doing team building exercises like camping and rock climbing, fully paid for). All in all its a great benefits package. For salary, I make about 55k a year with bonuses. Base salary is about 46k, so the lowest end of the bracket for the new job would be almost double (not sure if they offer a bonus structure), and I am thinking I can pull 85-87k out of them.
From what I can tell, the benefits where I would be going are not quite as good. A bit more vacation time (23 days a year, that's sick time included), slightly better tuition reimbursement ($5500 a year for undergrad, 10k a year for masters), as far as I can tell NO certification or training at all (huge sticking point for me, I love getting certs and going to week long training), and its also quite a bit farther commute (45 minute drive, traffic gods willing, as opposed to 20 minute bicycle ride).
A few other things that might help. My current job is with a gvmt contractor and I HATE being a contractor. The new job would be with the company, but still customer facing. With the new job, I would be getting a lot more exposure to Linux and overall more difficult tasks, but I doubt I will get much exposure to anything outside of their product and maybe simple networking experience. My current job, I get no exposure to anything new at all, ever. I solve simple windows and mac issues all day, every day, 9-5. Another thing is the new job will have some shift work, 4am to 8pm are the support hours I believe.
I am just so on the fence right now. I don't know whether its worth moving to a new company that is a farther commute, in my opinion less benefits, and still not doing what I want to do (security) for that salary jump. I am sure there are going to be people that are like, "omg double your salary", and I get that, I really do. But if I have to pay for my own training and take my vacation time to go, it starts to eat into that "bigger" salary. As well as adding commute costs, about 350 a month from what I can tell.
Let me know what you guys think, don't hold anything back
Comments
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Devilry
Member Posts: 668
Hey all,
So I could potentially be getting a job offer from a pretty well established (from my research) security company. I wouldn't be doing actual security work, rather supporting their security product, Netwitness. The position title is Sr. Support Engineer, and I would be coming from Tier 2 desktop support tech, so its a decent bump in title. I have read some good things about the company, and they were very recently purchased by RSA, the security division of EMC. All in all the company looks solid from that perspective.
Where I am having a problem is the salary/benefits. The salary range is 80-103k a year which is fantastic considering the low end is almost double my current salary. The real stickler is the benefits. Where I currently work, I have awesome benefits. $3000 a year tuition reimbursement, unlimited technical certification reimbursement, 1 training event per year (this year I am going to attend the week long GSEC course, on company time... so that's about 5k), decent medical, 401k, and pretty good vacation time (15 days per year, that's sick and vacation in one, plus federal holidays), and fun company sponsored events that I really do enjoy (weekends with small groups of the company doing team building exercises like camping and rock climbing, fully paid for). All in all its a great benefits package. For salary, I make about 55k a year with bonuses. Base salary is about 46k, so the lowest end of the bracket for the new job would be almost double (not sure if they offer a bonus structure), and I am thinking I can pull 85-87k out of them.
From what I can tell, the benefits where I would be going are not quite as good. A bit more vacation time (23 days a year, that's sick time included), slightly better tuition reimbursement ($5500 a year for undergrad, 10k a year for masters), as far as I can tell NO certification or training at all (huge sticking point for me, I love getting certs and going to week long training), and its also quite a bit farther commute (45 minute drive, traffic gods willing, as opposed to 20 minute bicycle ride).
A few other things that might help. My current job is with a gvmt contractor and I HATE being a contractor. The new job would be with the company, but still customer facing. With the new job, I would be getting a lot more exposure to Linux and overall more difficult tasks, but I doubt I will get much exposure to anything outside of their product and maybe simple networking experience. My current job, I get no exposure to anything new at all, ever. I solve simple windows and mac issues all day, every day, 9-5. Another thing is the new job will have some shift work, 4am to 8pm are the support hours I believe.
I am just so on the fence right now. I don't know whether its worth moving to a new company that is a farther commute, in my opinion less benefits, and still not doing what I want to do (security) for that salary jump. I am sure there are going to be people that are like, "omg double your salary", and I get that, I really do. But if I have to pay for my own training and take my vacation time to go, it starts to eat into that "bigger" salary. As well as adding commute costs, about 350 a month from what I can tell.
Let me know what you guys think, don't hold anything back
I think the profs of the new position outweigh the cons.
For the most part, certs can only rack up a couple grand a year and you can use them as tax write-offs for
the bigger salary. As for any other incentives, I would ask for double your salary and then once they counter,
come back with some of the benefits your old job has.
But my final note, if this isnt the field you want to be in, and it wont make you happy: dont do it! period,
dont even think about it. Nothing is worse than being unhappy in your career field. Do something you
enjoy and everything else will follow with some drive behind you. -
pham0329
Member Posts: 556
You're going to be doubling your salary and you're worried about them not paying for your cert? Do you plan on getting 40 thousand dollars worth of cert/training every year?
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computer g33k
Member Posts: 149
It looks like the pro's outweigh the cons. You get a better salary and exposure to new technology. Maybe your new company will pay for certs/training if you convince them that the training will make you a more valuable employee.
Currently Studying: Anything & Everything/Cisco Networking Academy For CCNA. (on hold)NetworkVeteran wrote: »There's room for those who want the easy work and those who want the challenges. You will, of course, generally be compensated in proportion to what you shoulder.
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NOC-Ninja
Member Posts: 1,403
the difference in working at a corporation is you will really have to work! Contractor job in the govt has a lot of employees that does half ass work and nobody gets in trouble if they are lazy. -
cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
My question is, why are you looking to make a move? What is the driving force? Is it money, getting out of desktop support, a new challenge? -
reppgoa
Member Posts: 151
Well, money is always a factor. I am not at a point where I need to make more money right now, but it would be nice. I am just tired of desktop support. My day is very mundane and I am not learning anything new, at all.
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cyberguypr
Mod Posts: 6,928 Mod
Well, money is always a factor. I am not at a point where I need to make more money right now, but it would be nice. I am just tired of desktop support. My day is very mundane and I am not learning anything new, at all.
I am a big believer in moving on when the job stops being fun, which it seems happened a long time ago for you. As pham0329 mentioned, the lack of training dollars may be offset by the generous salary increase. In addition, remember that everything is negotiable. When the time comes and they present an offer you can leverage your current employer's benefits and see what they can offer.
Having said that, although the Sys Eng title sounds nice, my main concern would be the assigned duties. Make sure you understand in detail what the position entails. It would suck to get bored or feel unchallenged 6/9/12 months down the road and be in what I call the "high salary but hate my job" conundrum. -
Everyone
Member Posts: 1,661
I agree with what everybody else is saying, pros definitely outweigh the cons here. Also you said "as far as I can tell"... You may find out that your boss is willing to pay for some certs or training as long as they are related to your position. The experience you'll get will probably be far more beneficial to you than any new certs or training would. -
Xcluziv
Member Posts: 513 ■■■■□□□□□□
You're going to be doubling your salary and you're worried about them not paying for your cert? Do you plan on getting 40 thousand dollars worth of cert/training every year?
That's the same thing I was thinking....cert price will be miniscule to the extra income you will be bringing in. Ultimately, aside from the salary, would you be happy and content in the environment you will be going to opposed to the one you are currently in. Money is important, but not if you are not pleased with your working environment since you will be there week in and week out -
Ryan82
Member Posts: 428
the difference in working at a corporation is you will really have to work! Contractor job in the govt has a lot of employees that does half ass work and nobody gets in trouble if they are lazy.
This. And I'm tired of it. -
reppgoa
Member Posts: 151
I guess. I think I would take it merely on the fact that I hate contracting.
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12334
Member Posts: 46 ■■□□□□□□□□
That's the same thing I was thinking....cert price will be miniscule to the extra income you will be bringing in. Ultimately, aside from the salary, would you be happy and content in the environment you will be going to opposed to the one you are currently in. Money is important, but not if you are not pleased with your working environment since you will be there week in and week out
agreed 100% I live this philosophy everyday.... -
12334
Member Posts: 46 ■■□□□□□□□□
Hey all,
So I could potentially be getting a job offer from a pretty well established (from my research) security company. I wouldn't be doing actual security work, rather supporting their security product, Netwitness. The position title is Sr. Support Engineer, and I would be coming from Tier 2 desktop support tech, so its a decent bump in title. I have read some good things about the company, and they were very recently purchased by RSA, the security division of EMC. All in all the company looks solid from that perspective.
Where I am having a problem is the salary/benefits. The salary range is 80-103k a year which is fantastic considering the low end is almost double my current salary. The real stickler is the benefits. Where I currently work, I have awesome benefits. $3000 a year tuition reimbursement, unlimited technical certification reimbursement, 1 training event per year (this year I am going to attend the week long GSEC course, on company time... so that's about 5k), decent medical, 401k, and pretty good vacation time (15 days per year, that's sick and vacation in one, plus federal holidays), and fun company sponsored events that I really do enjoy (weekends with small groups of the company doing team building exercises like camping and rock climbing, fully paid for). All in all its a great benefits package. For salary, I make about 55k a year with bonuses. Base salary is about 46k, so the lowest end of the bracket for the new job would be almost double (not sure if they offer a bonus structure), and I am thinking I can pull 85-87k out of them.
From what I can tell, the benefits where I would be going are not quite as good. A bit more vacation time (23 days a year, that's sick time included), slightly better tuition reimbursement ($5500 a year for undergrad, 10k a year for masters), as far as I can tell NO certification or training at all (huge sticking point for me, I love getting certs and going to week long training), and its also quite a bit farther commute (45 minute drive, traffic gods willing, as opposed to 20 minute bicycle ride).
A few other things that might help. My current job is with a gvmt contractor and I HATE being a contractor. The new job would be with the company, but still customer facing. With the new job, I would be getting a lot more exposure to Linux and overall more difficult tasks, but I doubt I will get much exposure to anything outside of their product and maybe simple networking experience. My current job, I get no exposure to anything new at all, ever. I solve simple windows and mac issues all day, every day, 9-5. Another thing is the new job will have some shift work, 4am to 8pm are the support hours I believe.
I am just so on the fence right now. I don't know whether its worth moving to a new company that is a farther commute, in my opinion less benefits, and still not doing what I want to do (security) for that salary jump. I am sure there are going to be people that are like, "omg double your salary", and I get that, I really do. But if I have to pay for my own training and take my vacation time to go, it starts to eat into that "bigger" salary. As well as adding commute costs, about 350 a month from what I can tell.
Let me know what you guys think, don't hold anything back
I work in the DC area with no benefits but pull 50/hr. Last job paid 75k with full benefits. Tried to get reimbursed by boss for Sec+ cert. he kept "losing" the paperwork and getting mad about it. I paid for the cert myself and took a position paying me 29k more with lots of room for advancement. Yeah I don't get paid time off but if I want to take it then it doesn't hurt my wallet much. I buy my own health insurance etc..deductibles and copays are higher but the premium is actually lower and at least I have more choices.
I need money, my financial situation is more extreme than yours but is still relevant. I LOVE contracting though...used to hate it but now I love not being tied down.
When asked why I hop around so much they answer their own question before I do..."oh contract" they often say. -
kurosaki00
Member Posts: 973
lol wow 80-100k salary
woooow
I dont know what would I do with so much money lol
I know I would probably find expenses and get raped by gov tax
but... waaa so nice
I hope someday I can get there
on the thread side
Even if the pay was the same, I would still consider it, since is new technology, new adventure etc etc
and you say you feel "stuck" in your current environmentmeh -
tpatt100
Member Posts: 2,991 ■■■■■■■■■□
the difference in working at a corporation is you will really have to work! Contractor job in the govt has a lot of employees that does half ass work and nobody gets in trouble if they are lazy.
I am out of government contracting and government work now and am so GLAD lol. -
reppgoa
Member Posts: 151
I have decided that I am going to stay put for now. I am going to cert up, graduate with my BS, and then look to make even more money doing exactly what I want, where I want. Thanks for all of the input guys!
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kenoo
Member Posts: 27 ■□□□□□□□□□
Job market is extremely tough right now and I would jump on the huge salary increase.. you may not get the opportunity to again
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pham0329
Member Posts: 556
Geez, DC must have some high paying jobs! A Help Desk 2 with only CompTIAs certs is turning down a 6 figure job
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reppgoa
Member Posts: 151
Geez, DC must have some high paying jobs! A Help Desk 2 with only CompTIAs certs is turning down a 6 figure job
Well, thats because I have quite a few certs in the pipeline. I am taking GSEC training in october and taking the cert by early november. I am about to take my linux+ at the end of this month. In December I am going to red hat training for my RHCSA. In addition to those certs, I just changed my degree in a way that will get me MCITP:EA, CCNA, CCE, and C|EH. All in all, the next year to year and a half is going to be packed full of cert training and studying, and then I graduate in fall 2012 with my BS in Computer networking and security.
I am not that worried about money right now as I am milking the GI bill. In effect, I make almost 95k a year with that. Yes, the money would be nice, but at my current job, I have other benefits that I would not have at a new job. For me, it just makes sense to wait for a year and a half, and then go for even more money doing exactly what I want to do. -
Mishra
Member Posts: 2,468 ■■■■□□□□□□
Job market is extremely tough right now and I would jump on the huge salary increase.. you may not get the opportunity to again
DC is really expensive to live. Almost New York like.
Also, Northern VA/DC has the lowest unemployment rate in the country. -
12334
Member Posts: 46 ■■□□□□□□□□
Unless you do a serious commute like I do. 60 mile commutes can be like 3 hrs each way yet half of DC does it! Can't wait to leave the area and live out in the boonies with a low cost of living and drive 60 miles to work in 45 minutes!DC is really expensive to live. Almost New York like.
Also, Northern VA/DC has the lowest unemployment rate in the country.
