Urgent Job Offer Advice Needed

busines4u

Greetings All,

I know there have been a lot of discussion on this forum about job offers so I apologize for creating yet another thread on this. I need to ask for everyone's advice on what they think. I currently have two job offers on the table and both of them have their benefits. I value everyone's opinion here and want to see if there is something I am not taking into consideration with these job offers. A brief background about me. I am currently CCNA:R&S certified, I have completed the SWITCH exam, working towards the ROUTE Exam now to hopefully wrap up the CCNP. I also have a couple of Windows Certifications, A+ certificate and SonicWALL Certified. The majority of my jobs have been a "Jack-Of-All Trades" type role where I do anything and everything from Networking installs/troubleshooting, server installs/troubleshooting, help desk support from Level 1 although through to Level 3. It seems like if it plugs into the wall I get a call to try and fix it. Now on to the job offers:

Job Offer #1:
Title: Computer Technician
Organization: School District with 7 different schools all within a 20 minute drive from where I live
Hours: 7:00AM to 3:30PM M-F, no on-call, 13 holidays, no summers off
Benefits: 2 weeks vacation after the first year, eligible for snow days, health insurance, dental, vision, 14% of salary is put into a retirement plan that is not taken out of my salary
Job Duties: Mostly a Jack of All Trades type role. I will be picking up more Network Administration given my certifications and background
Salary: This will be roughly $2500 LESS than I am currently making
Notes: I will likely be able to move up to another role or go to another school district when an opening is available. This would be a stepping stone and a "get your foot in the door" type job. I have to worry that the next role/job that will open up with hurt me salary wise because of the paycut I would be taking.

Job Offer #2:
Title: Network Engineer
Organization: A large company that is about a 45 minutes away one-way
Hours: I would work 80 hours in 9 days with every other Friday off. I would likely be on call, and if something were to break I would HAVE to go into the office to resolve the issue since due to company policy there is no remote access
Benefits: 2 weeks vacation, health insurance/dental/vision (not as good as the offer above)
Job Duties: This would be a pure networking job dealing mostly with Layer 2, and lots of technologies I do not have a LOT of experience with since I have not landed a job as such yet.
Salary: This will be roughly 15K more than I am currently making.
Notes: There will be a lot of extra hours put in with a lot of responsibilities. This job is a bit intimidating since I have not had the chance to work in a pure networking role.

I have already accepted offer 1, but I am having second thoughts now that this second offer has came to me after accepting the first offer. I know I will be challenged a lot at the second job, and fear that it may be too much and overwhelming. The first job I feel like I can do in my sleep since I have done that for many years now.

I appreciate any advice and feeback anyone can give

FloOz

Hmmm that's tough. Normally I would say to go with job 2 since the experience you would get would help you get better jobs down the line. However working 9 days and then only having a single day off is ridiculous. I would only take this job if they were paying very very well.

MSP-IT

If you're wanting to take a quick move in your career, I'd definitely go for job 2. It sounds like there would be a lot to learn there.

busines4u

FloOz wrote: »

Hmmm that's tough. Normally I would say to go with job 2 since the experience you would get would help you get better jobs down the line. However working 9 days and then only having a single day off is ridiculous. I would only take this job if they were paying very very well.

I would not be working 9 days in a row. On Week 1 I would work Monday-Thursday 9 hours per day. That Friday I would work an 8 hour day. Then the next week (week 2) I would work Monday-Thursday 9 hours a day and have that Friday off.

the_Grinch

Having worked for two school districts if you are banking on moving up I'd really think about it. I know where I was people had to basically die in order for you to move up.

cyberguypr

^ that is exactly the feedback I've gotten from several people in my network. That and multi-year pay freezes.

I haven't seen your other threads. What is driving you to switch jobs?

FloOz

In that case go for Job 2!

aftereffector

#2 seems like a clear winner here. You'll grow your experience base by working with new technologies, you'll get paid a lot better in the meantime, and it will set you up for a much better next job than the ISD would.

Death Dream

If you want to keep advancing in life and in the networking direction you are heading, take job 2. Stay there for at least a year and move off if you don't like it.

TheProf

I agree with what others have said in terms of specializing in one field (if that's what you're interested in). However keep in mind that even though salary is higher, you will be working a lot more so if you break it down to per hour, you'll see if the jump is worth it.

Aside from that, both opportunities seem to be good.

RouteMyPacket

You chose number one because it's "safe" and that is the exact (emotional) reaction you need to get rid of if you want to go far in this field. 90% of the wannabe IT gurus take what's "safe".

You aren't one of these people right so take #2, it's a no brainer and it has nothing to do with making $15k more a year. It's the opportunity that is priceless. This is the opportunity you NEED if you want to continue down the network path. You will learn more in your first few months there that you would working a year at job #1

You can always move closer to the job as well right? You're not in a house i'm assuming..again think 5yrs down the road..which position will move you forward towards your long term goal?

I'm guessing it's a no brainer for you when you ask yourself this question. You got this, this is YOUR opportunity.

busines4u

cyberguypr wrote: »

^ that is exactly the feedback I've gotten from several people in my network. That and multi-year pay freezes.

I haven't seen your other threads. What is driving you to switch jobs?

I'm looking for a new job because I am bored. Not with the stuff that I do, but because I literally don't have stuff to do while at work. This causes the time to go by very slow and is driving me nuts. Plus the technology here is pretty behind. Supporting Windows 98 and dBase is not going to help me get anywhere in IT.

busines4u

RouteMyPacket wrote: »

You chose number one because it's "safe" and that is the exact (emotional) reaction you need to get rid of if you want to go far in this field. 90% of the wannabe IT gurus take what's "safe".

You aren't one of these people right so take #2, it's a no brainer and it has nothing to do with making $15k more a year. It's the opportunity that is priceless. This is the opportunity you NEED if you want to continue down the network path. You will learn more in your first few months there that you would working a year at job #1

You can always move closer to the job as well right? You're not in a house i'm assuming..again think 5yrs down the road..which position will move you forward towards your long term goal?

I'm guessing it's a no brainer for you when you ask yourself this question. You got this, this is YOUR opportunity.

Unfortunately I just moved to another location (yes it is a house, and not a rental) that puts me about 35-45 minutes away. Where I was living before I was about an hour away.

busines4u

the_Grinch wrote: »

Having worked for two school districts if you are banking on moving up I'd really think about it. I know where I was people had to basically die in order for you to move up.

Do you still work in school district?

RouteMyPacket

busines4u wrote: »

Unfortunately I just moved to another location (yes it is a house, and not a rental) that puts me about 35-45 minutes away. Where I was living before I was about an hour away.

Ok, so in this situation the extra $15k comes into play and again, this should be a no brainer for you if you really want a career in networking.

simtech

Take #2. No brainer.