Caught between 2 jobs

Ok, I'm currently a network technician for the government. I make $35k a year and my position is a career ladder (meaning this time next year I get a mandatory upgrade to $42k). However, the career ladder ends at $42k. And I'll be stuck at $35k a year another year before the upgrade.

A huge IT company offered me a position today doing contract work for a client of theirs. It pays roughly $44k a year , however it's a contract job. So it ends after 9 months (also no benefits in that time). I DO have the possibility to be hired full time afterwards however. The advantage here is that I would get my "foot in the door" with this huge IT company. If, at the end of the contract, they like me. They can hire me as their own employee. They offer full benefits and a lot of money to their regular employees.

The advantage my government job has, is of course job security. I dont want to be a lifer working for the government though. The "big" IT company is state of the art. But like I said, it's a contract type thing. It also worries me that a technical recruiter (from the big IT company) is the only contact I had with that company. She didnt even really screen me. Just saw my resume and set up an interview with the client.

I need to make a decision by wednesday.
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TeKniques

Go to the interview and call in sick for work on Wednesday. See what they have to offer and hear it from the people giving the interview. Do not commit until you know what you want to do, but I would definitely go to the interview.

my 2 cents

viper75

Well, IMO...I'm not a big fan of contracted jobs. There's a 50\50 chance that you may not have a job after (X) time...in your case 9 months OR you might land a good job. It's a big gamble to me.

I would probably not take job and wait until something better opens up. If you can afford to take that gamble then I would say take the dive and hope they hire you at the end of your contract.

I've been in similar situations before and decided not to take that kind of job even though it sounds good. There a lot on the plate when you gamble with this type of situation.

There are three things that you can do:

1- Wait for another opportunity to open up. (I recommend)

2- Listen to your inner-voice (Do what you feel is best for you).

3- Take the dive and hope for the best.

I hope I was some kind of help. Good luck on what you decide to do...and let us know what your final decision is.

lazyart

I'd stick with the government job unless a guaranteed perm position opened up. Too risky in this job climate to toss away 35k for a contract. I believe some companies will tell the potential contractors that perm is a possibility to get them to work more like employees and less like contractors (plenty of you know what I mean by that).

Do what you feel of course. Personally I wouldnt feel comfortable doing it, but sometimes you gotta take chances. Good luck!

keenon

for me working a permanent job is really a hard commitment. ( i got burned a few years back thinking that it would survive and keep my needs. however this was not the case. at that moment i realized that i work for me and i have to make the choices for me b/c if i don't someone will.. and i may not like it)

now well this is a hard call.. for me this is a no brainer i would take the contract job

now in your case if you are feeling stable at your current job (don't feel safe)
i would stay only if i were gaining alot of experience that could be used (generate more money if you decided to leave or they choose to make you leave)

now that brings me to the possible job offer go to the interview, see what they are talking about ( they offered more money starting out but will you be gaining new experience that can generate more money)

obviously your overall goal in your career path should determine your next step b/c taking chances are apart of the game

mobri09

Definitely Goverment Job!

tahjzhuan

it sounds like a gamble and I can tell which one you're leaning towards

garv221

You say the contract job pays 44K a year but right now you'll only be working for 9 months. The point is you have a definant pay check now, why risk that for guranteed only 9 months? There are plenty of jobs out there, look around and interview but never quit a good job untill you have a better one. This does not seem like a better job. Just like Lazyart said - companies say temp to hire just to get employees with no strings attatched. Think how you would feel if you take the job & it doesn't work out?

Danh

Thanks guys. I spoke again with the company and they are saying there is a good chance I will be hired at the end of the contract. I've talked with a few guys from the company in the past. Their network support engineers make $80k+. These are guys only a few years older than me. I guess this contract could be a foot in the door. The first question they asked me in the interview was about the company (their employees are very gung ho about the company. Rightfully so I assume)

Anyway. Here's the scary thing. I will be the only IT person at this location (60+ users)

Right now I support 80+ users with 2 other people assisting me. Not sure if I will get any better experience at the contract job, as it is almost doing the same thing I do now. There's always that "i dont like the way you looked at me today YOU'RE FIRED" thing when you do contract work. But I guess that comes with the territory.

Thanks for all of the advice. You guys seem split 50/50 too! lol!
I'm going to think long and hard.

keenon

60 users isn't alot for 1 person to support it just means you'll be busy for about 2 months then it will become slow..

reason i know this is b/c i used to support 100 to 150 in 1 location by myself this was at my home location and i also had to support 3 remote locations.

garv221

Agreed. 60 users is not that much, I manage right now 110 users at 4 locations, all connected through VPN with 30% of them on Terminal Servers. Some days are hectic, but it comes with the territory, & with the territory comes experience.

viper75

garv221 wrote:

Agreed. 60 users is not that much, I manage right now 110 users at 4 locations, all connected through VPN with 30% of them on Terminal Servers. Some days are hectic, but it comes with the territory, & with the territory comes experience.

And with the experience comes $$$.

I agree 60 users is not much. I support 250 in two locations. Sometimes I don't even have time to take a lunch, but most of the time it's quiet.

keenon

i will say this much about it. depending on the technology that they are using and skills that you wouldn't get otherwise( or at your current job) i would take the contract

sab4you

alot of companies hire contractors to hire because they dont want to deal with the commitment if you suck or they dont like you.

If your a contact through an agency, they dont have to invest in you if they dont like you and cutting you loose is cake since it was pre-arranged to be gone in 9 months.

But, other companies only need you for 9 months - so I think its great you talked with them and learned what they want. It sounds to me that they dont want to commit on some clown, so they consider you a 'contractor' until they can determine if they really want to commit on you.

The choice is really a personal one and depends on the type of chances you are willing to take - neither is better.

Also you need to keep in mind, these are not the only 2 jobs available in the world

If you enjoy your current job and you feel it offers advancement, not just $ but learning - then sticking with it may be the investment towards yourself? But if it doesnt seem to be going anywhere, and you are the type who wants to keep growing/learning, then take your time - hone your skills until you feel you are ready to leave the nest, then start looking for jobs you feel comfortable taking.

Good luck with your decision and let us know how it all turns out!

Zraxniah

I just got a new job, outside of the government. I was a co-op (GS4 no special pay), and not a full government employee. My choice was a no-brainer, because I went from 25k to 32k with tution reimbursement (still in college) and free health care. However, my dept at the government catored to the stupid/incompetant, and basically made my life merisable (except for the few people I worked closely with -- being the lowest rung on the ladder made things even more frustrating, as I was doing a better job than thier technicians making 60k/yr while having to put up with thier **** at the same time). I was itching to leave because I hated my job, and I hated the people I worked for... if you're stuck in that boat too, I would recommend:

Take the contract job (get health insurance through a third party, it may run you 150+/mo), and continue looking for new jobs throughout the contract. If they like you, have them put something down after about 6mo, otherwise hope you have some other offers on the table

.

zrax

Drakonblayde

Unless you really like your job, I'd take the contract. You'd be making about 33% more right now instead of next year, and supporting 60 users? Heh, I'd kill to have my responsibility load reduced, I just got a hundred extra users dropped on me, bringing my total to ~400. And they're all lawyers, paralegals, and legal secretaries who want the impossible and want it *now* (litigators are evil evil people).

To spawn a tangent, what's the best way to go about getting a tech job with the US govt anyway?

PawNtheSandman

Zraxniah wrote:

(get health insurance through a third party, it may run you 150+/mo),

zrax

I'd like to know where you get health insurance for $150 a month. In NY, COBRA is $300 a month for an individual.