Job choices

[amy g.]

Dh went to lunch with a friend, and ended up getting a job offer for $40,000 more than he makes now.

The problem is that he loves the job he has. He loves his boss, and he's really happy, even though the company has done away with the pension program, and we pay more and more for health insurance each year. He has great job security, but not a lot of room to move up.

Dh told his friend that he was open to hearing more details, and meeting privately with the person who was leaving the job.

I feel really torn. I know that is a lot of money, but it seems kind of foolish to leave a job where you are happy. His boss, and even his boss's boss can't match the offer. The company has policies about what they will pay, so most people leave when they get a better offer.

I guess I'll just pray about it. Can you tell that I have hang-ups about money?

[Peek a Boo]

similar issue cropped up here a few months ago:

dh is a pilot. he flies charter jets. rich cats to resorts and such ;)

It is only recently [starting in 2007] that he had a regular schedule. previously he was "on call" 24/7, w/ MAYBE 4-5 days "off" a month, but those days were at the company's discretion. Not too many ops to plan for family stuff.

Granted, he didn't fly all the time --he might be at home 4 days a week, gone over the weekend, or gone for 14 days straight. Homeschooling was great for letting the kids do stuff w/ him when he WAS home!

His current position offers a Very Nice salary --he gets paid whether he flies or not. But when their 3d pilot quit, that left teh company back in the position of having two pilots on call 24/7: schedule scrapped.

They asked him if he would consider taking a salary increase of $2,500 *a month* if they could simply keep the "no schedule- on call 24/7- 4-5 days 'off' a month" w/ the two pilots and not bother hiring a third pilot.

He *hated* never having a schedule and getting jacked around by the company ["since you didn't fly yesterday, let's call that your official day off, 'k?"]-- that was a source of bitterness for YEARS!!

So here I sat dumbfounded as some wacko wife that looked and sounded suspiciously like ME started counseling him to NOT accept this unless he could be GRATEFUL for the extra money and HAPPY to fly at a moment's notice. It was almost an out of body experience, wanting to scream "shut up lady and let him accept the money!!"

Yeah-- it's wierd to be turning down more money than some families MAKE in a whole year, and even wierder to do so confidently!

As it turned out, they ended up giving him that increase while they were in the process of looking for a third pilot, so hopefully it will be a short term win-win kinda thing.

If you have any hesitations about taking the offer, i would suggest either NOT taking it, or asking for a substantial "sign on" bonus that you can sock away to live off if the job doesn't pan out. We're putting the extra money into the "next time dh is unemployed" fund, lol. That seems to happen every few years... ;)

Good luck!!

[amy g.]

That is very helpful advice. Thank you so much.

[Queen_Zarga]

Gosh, Amy, that's a tough one. On one hand, there is something to be said for a job that is familiar and safe. But $40K is a lot of money!

What are your dh's career goals? You say he doesn't have room to move up in his current job. What will that mean for him 5, 10, 20 years from now? Does he want money, fame and glory? more or fewer responsibilities? a comfortable and familiar job environment or new risks and challenges?

Please understand also that job security is a myth. NO ONE is safe anymore-not a manufacturing job, not a computer job, not a housing job, not even a government job. All companies-big or small-will let you go when it makes financial sense for them.

One thing to consider is along the lines of what Peek said-with the higher salary, you could sock all that $$ away in case the new job didn't work out. And if he did take the job and it didn't work out, that doesn't mean it wasn't meant to be-it could just be a different path to a fantastic job down the road.

It's not an easy decision. Good luck!