Needing help with making a decision about a job

gallagherak

Hey all,

So here's the situation.
I'm in school, no experience in the IT field. I have ajob, I make about $17.80 an hour. I hate it though and feel like I'd be much happier with an IT job. The fact that it's a secure field with good growth and can be done anywhere is very appealing to me and needing to provide for my family.

I applied, and now have an interview, for a deputy fire marshall position with my state. It pays much much more than I earn now, about double my current pay. It's very exciting to even think about getting it due to providing better for my family. However, this happens to be a position where I may not be able to go to school and still finish on time/quickly at all. What would you do? Go for it and forget IT? Go for it and slowly get into the IT field? Forget about it, stay on track, and go IT because sooner or later you'll be earning way more and able to climb ladders faster than waiting for people to retire or otherwise leave higher up positions?

This field is unfortunately one of those where you get hired based on who you know, what you know, and what you can do/experience. Upward mobility only happens when there are vacant jobs...but the money is calling to me right now and I need either a good slap in the face sort of wake up call or some input regardless.

Thanks for reading.

kriscamaro68

If I where in your position I would take the Deputy Fire Marshall position but thats because it seems like it would be cool. I would also bet that the benefits for that position are great. It would take you a very long time if starting from scratch in I.T. to get to that kind of pay/benefits. If it is something you would enjoy doing I would go for it all the way.

NetworkVeteran

Doesn't $35/hour x 40 hours/week x 52weeks/year equal $73k? According to Salary.com, $73k in Anchorage, AK equals around $95k in Los Angeles, CA. That's a respectable salary. I would make the decision based on what you enjoy doing and where you want your family to live. A role in the fire department is a respectable position within most communities.

[Edit: In fact, if I were in your shoes, I'd almost certainly take the fire marshall position. That's because providing for my family is very important to me. If you totally love tech, you could always do it on the evening and weekends as a hobby. I'm a mercenary!

You may never make $95k in tech. I know experience people who don't. Even if you are the sort who can, you're looking at a few years before you achieve it.]

paul78

I also echo the same sentiments as @kriscamaro68 and @NetworkVeteran.

You mentioned that IT is a secure field with good growth. That probably is true on a global basis. There are definitely pockets in the US where skilled IT individuals can build a great career. But I'm not sure if Alaska is necessarily one of the areas where there is a lot of IT.

As for getting hired based on who you know, the reality is that who you know also applies in the IT field. It doesn't mean that you can't get hired but career advancement is significantly enhanced based on relationships.

YFZblu

I would go ahead and take the job, while self-studying for the technology I want to eventually work with. I assume you'll be working for the government, correct? That could eventually be a really nice "in" for a nice government IT job.

Yes, the money is important - But waking up every morning and loving what you do is equally important.

NotHackingYou

Take the fire marshall job!

N2IT

Fire Marshall Bill for the win!

Patel128

Here is another vote for take the job. Like others say you can always do i.t. work on the weekends and such.

tpatt100

Take the job and make IT a hobby.

the_Grinch

Take the job and slowly work through you education. IT will always be there, but a good paying job to provide for your family might not be. Good luck!

Tackle

I'd say take the job as fire marshal. You can always do IT on the side if you desire. Fire's aren't something that will go away, cannot be outsourced, the benefits are super and you'll get early retirement.

Keener

My initial vote would be to follow your heart and not your wallet. Since I have changed direction to follow what I want to do versus a paycheck, things have gotten better mentally for me. That is me, though. Some things to ponder.

1. Are you "comfortable" financially right now? Meaning, if you stayed at your current salary/wage, are you staying afloat?
2. What are the starting IT salaries/wages in your area? Would you have to take a big pay cut to get into IT? If so, can you afford to take that cut?

If your heart pulls you to the Fire Marshall position or putting your family in a better position, go for it. If your heart pulls you towards IT, go for IT. Either way, as others have said, you can still do IT. Even set some money aside and come back to IT later in life. Nothing says you have to stick with just 1 thing.

I have been in jobs that I couldn't leave fast enough. I have seen people stay in jobs that they hate with a passion. It eats at you and can affect your health. Make a decision based on your heart and not your wallet. If you take a better paying position, be smart and don't just raise your expense column as I have. It will bite you later.

Best of Luck!

ptilsen

I agree with Keener. If you are comfortable right now with what you're doing, I think doing what you want to do is easily worth the loss of income. However, if things are financially unstable, it seems like too good of an opportunity to pass up.

Legacy User

I'll say take the fire marshal gig and finish your schooling get your B.S. then your M.S if you like. At that point finishing your schooling will help you to get back in the tech world if you ever choose to come back of course. But I know people who work as firefighters and in that sector really love what they do.

zrockstar

Yeah I am going to have to jump in with the minority here and say go with where your heart is. If you are dedicated to it that much, after a few years you can make the same amount doing what you love. I basically did the same thing, I left a good job with the government to go back to school full time. I would sit at work not happy and look over the program and think how exciting it would be to study IT and work in that field, and although I haven't finished yet, so no job, I am 100% happy with my decision. If you are in school for what you love and still making $18 an hour, it should be a no brainer to stay right where you are at.

RouteThisWay

I commend all of the "follow your heart" morality speeches here. It is very heart warming and uplifting.

But you lost that option when you got married and had children. You said you are excited about the fire marshal job. Take it if it is offerred to you.

Right now, you only know of IT on the outside looking in. Same as the guy above me who told you to sacrifice providing the best possible life for your family for "potentially making more/as much/being happier". For all you know, you may get into IT- and it isn't as glamarous or exciting as you thought (trust me- it isn't for most people).

I'm not trying to rain on your parade- just being honest. Your family comes first before your hopes, wishes, and desires. And that job provides a comfortable lifestyle, opportunity to save enough to pay for your childs education, etc. IT is the "green pasture" for you- it is the great unknown.

kgb

It's pretty simple.

If it's a job you want to do, you'll enjoy it and you'll be a better employee. If it's a job you don't want to do, it can be miserable. While that is a decent amount of money, it's not an amount I'd consider to give up on my dreams/desires for. It's one thing to suffer through a job if after a couple of years you can retire or have an insane amount of money. But, you are talking about working the rest of your adult life in a field that if you don't enjoy, well frankly, odds are you will regret making that sacrifice.

Now, if you and your family are in the position that you need that salary, well the decision is already made and this post wasn't needed. So, I assume the more $ would be just that, more $.

I vote for pursue what you want to do, not just a increase in current pay.

What's to stop you from taking that job and doing online school in the field you think you want to pursue and go from there?

Devilry

Family first, period. All of us with families at some point have made hard decisions like that, make the right one. In IT it might take you another 5 years to achieve the same salary/stability/benefits. Make IT a hobby, open a side company, or later on apply for an open position within IT for your department. You could even save a portion of your new funds, intern and volunteer like crazy in IT and make the switch later down the road a little softer.

Zartanasaurus

For all the people saying follow your heart, OP only specified that "he thinks he'd be happier in an IT job". No experience, although I'm assuming he's in school for IT now. It's a good chance he won't even get an IT job matching his current salary, and there's no way he gets an IT job making $75K. There's a lot of people who think they want to be in IT who aren't cut out for it. Take the $75K and don't look back.

Keener

There have been a lot of good points for both sides on here. Has this helped you, gallagherak?

astrogeek

It sounds like you're only thinking about money, which is never the only reason you should make a career change. You need to factor in all other aspects as well, how many hours will you be working as a Fire Marshal? I highly doubt that is a 9-5 job, so you likely won't see your family as often than in an IT career.

Some jobs pay a lot because they demand a lot, (time, stress, dedication, etc.). All high paying jobs have their downsides, I'm not so sure you've really looked into what those are.

Akaricloud

Zartanasaurus wrote: »

For all the people saying follow your heart, OP only specified that "he thinks he'd be happier in an IT job". No experience, although I'm assuming he's in school for IT now. It's a good chance he won't even get an IT job matching his current salary, and there's no way he gets an IT job making $75K. There's a lot of people who think they want to be in IT who aren't cut out for it. Take the $75K and don't look back.

Don't you think this way of looking at it is quite short term? -He could easily break 100k+ later in an IT career netting him more overall in the long run. There's also a good chance that if he loses this $75k job that he will never find anything like it again and won't have the experience necessary to find anything that pays well. There will always be plenty of IT jobs, plenty of ways to advance and plenty of money that follows.

If you're really passionate about IT then stick with it and you will succeed.

Legacy User

I understand the whole fact that over time he can break the 100k mark. Main thing you have to understand its not like he's working in i.t. already. He is still in school and working a job that pays $17.50. He mentioned not being able to finish school quickly.

We don't know how much time he has left to complete he may be a freshman for all we know. Why can't he milk the fire marshall gig as long as he can while finishing school instead of working at his current job paying $17.50. So what if it takes an extra year or two to finish hell with the extra money he could pay for school out of pocket. I don't understand what the back and forth is about.

Akaricloud

dmarcisco wrote: »

I understand the whole fact that over time he can break the 100k mark. Main thing you have to understand its not like he's working in i.t. already. He is still in school and working a job that pays $17.50. He mentioned not being able to finish school quickly.

We don't know how much time he has left to complete he may be a freshman for all we know. Why can't he milk the fire marshall gig as long as he can while finishing school instead of working at his current job paying $17.50. So what if it takes an extra year or two to finish hell with the extra money he could pay for school out of pocket. I don't understand what the back and forth is about.

He also mentioned not being to finish school at all. A job like that isn't likely to allow him time to finish and could quite easily end his IT career before it even gets started.

kgb

Akaricloud wrote: »

He also mentioned not being to finish school at all. A job like that isn't likely to allow him time to finish and could quite easily end his IT career before it even gets started.

I don't understand why he won't have time to attend like for example WGU. If you are saying there's a good chance he'll be working long hours, then making $75k really isn't that great at all. You start working past 40hrs a week and NOT get paid OT, that starts to really destroy your hourly rate.

bdub

I have to agree with those saying to take the Fire Marshal job. Personally IT was not my first choice for a career, I put a lot into photography and was on my way to becoming a full time working professional photographer while working my first IT gig. Then my wife (girlfriend at the time) got pregnant and I had to make a decision about how I was going to provide for a family and I chose IT. I would definitely have been "more happy" as a photographer if I look at it from just the perspective of enjoying what I do, but I would have been miserable trying to provide for my family as photography does not pay well unless you either have a lifetime of experience, are very fortunate to have some great connections, or you just get lucky.

Money doesnt buy happyness but it sure does buy piece of mind and allow you to provide for a family and give your kids opportunities. Being able to be present in my kids life and not have to spend every weekend shooting photos and having to travel for long periods of time makes me pretty happy. To me, having a job I like is not just about being passionate about the actual work being done but rather the quality of life I have for my family.

This isn't to say I dont like IT or my job but sitting a cubicle all day is definitely not my first choice of job.

Also, regarding the whole making over 100k thing, while that is certainly possible in IT its not a guarantee and it is definitely not an average salary.

gallagherak

First I want to thank everyone for your input, I really appreciate you all taking the time to read through my post and those of others and to offer your take on the situation. Every post has helped in some way or another. Thanks to those reminding me to follow my heart, this of course includes taking care of my family, that's my number one dream and goal. Secondary to that is accomplishing my first goal in an arena I would love. To be completely honest, my wife and I would both love to open and run our own bakery/cafe/candy shop...but that is so hit or miss with a growing family that we've decided to wait awhile on that dream...but that's not the original concern so I'll get back to topic. I also want to thank those who spoke honestly and frankly, it was kind of a reality check. Both sides were incredibly helpful.

That all being said, let me answer some questions...to those wondering what entry level tech is like in Alaska, I can find that out if I know what some examples are of entry level. I know there are administrator jobs out there that start at over $20, almost $30 an hour...and according to the current postings on the 5 job sites I'm constantly on, that's pretty normal. Now let me ask you, I know a guy with about 6 years experience in computer and network security, has a lot of the certs in that area. A lot of that experience is in ethical hacking and has his CEH...he now works in California pulling in over 100k...most of his experience is from the military also. That's a similar route I want to go and not just due to the money, although it's a plus, I like the picture he paints from even his air force pay days. Is that not normal in analyst jobs, security jobs, or ethical hacking jobs? The research I've done, albeit not as much as I should have done, says it would take time, determination, and experience but it is very possible.

I've met with my academic adviser who teaches and brings in the security courses at my school about the path to go with my studies. I also talked with the program director of the bachelors degree because it's basically a choose your path kind of degree. I've decided to go with business emphasis because I already have business classes under my belt and would be the route that will easily allow me to finish the degree in a slightly shorter time frame as well as offering me a little wiggle room to take those cisco and security courses. This will allow be to get my basic certifications, my cisco certs, and security certs. It's going to take awhile only going half time, but I believe it's worth it. I've had a very diverse background in jobs but never tech and never a career where just the description of such a career excited me so much, so I do believe that says something.

As far as our plan? I have an interview for the job on the 22nd. If offered, I will be taking it and doing tech later, that was decided before reading about half of the posts here, I definitely agree with those opinions. My school offers this degree mostly in person. There is an online route, but for now I think in person is better due to no experience and doing it hands on will really help me learn a lot faster than sitting at a computer and reading about everything.

I make enough to make ends meet right now, but more money would be very helpful in putting my mind at ease with bills, eduction, and setting my kids up for success. It's a state job, there are good benefits, not as good as government though. There are better plans out there so benefits are far from my mind right now. It's an important part of the puzzle, but not for staying with the state.

We'll see how the interview goes and I'll definitely update you all when I hear back from that.

Thanks again everyone, I really appreciate your help.