OliverJDragon
Structural
- Mar 29, 2010
- 41
I have two good job prospects. No written offer (no one seems to want to do that till I tell them theirs is the job I want), but I shouldn't assume one will fall through and relieve me of the obligation of making a decision.
This is the kind of thing that only I can decide for myself, but thinking "out loud" may help.
Background: I live in a really great city, known for its vibrant arts scene. But before I moved here, I spent most of my life in a different region, and this great city has never felt like home. As a result, I haven't formed the kind of social ties I should have. I've wanted to go "home" (home being defined regionally, not a particular town) for a long time. Meanwhile, I've become increasingly frustrated with my job, which makes for one less reason to stay.
So I started looking for other jobs in other places. Unfortunately, the kind of job that seems best for me at the moment isn't located in the kind of place I want to live. So the "go home" motivation has completely backfired. But I'm too far down the path of leaving to change my mind and stay.
So...here I am.
Job #1 is in an area known for agriculture, industry, the Great Outdoors, and a couple of minor branches of the state college. Not exactly a cultural mecca, and nothing any better within commuting distance. There is a major city that is pretty decent, but definitely not "home", within visiting distance (hour and a half). They recruited me, I said I didn't want to live there, they insisted, I went for an interview, here we are.
Job #2 is in the region I call home, but in the middle of nowhere. But at least it's home-flavored nowhere, with a small liberal arts college town within commuting distance, and I like living in small liberal arts college towns. Strong likelihood of promotion to a less nowhereish location in a couple of years, which would still be an hour and a half from a city, but the cities in question are the cities I was aiming for from the start. If not for the looming presence of Job #1, I'd be very happy with it.
Job #1, as a job, is far superior. It's an executive-level job, managing managers, direct report to the CEO. Job #2 is a bottom-level manager, the kind of manager that Job #1 would manage, and even the next level up is a position that does double-duty as bottom-level manager of the facility at the HQ location and as manager of the holder of Job #2. And even that next level up is still a level down from direct reporting to the CEO.
So...it's coming down to location vs. job level.
Job #1 is lots better, location #2 is somewhat better. Further in the "warm fuzzies" department, my first professional mentor would be in my chain of command at Job #2, and I know and like a lot of people at that company. On the other hand, my predecessor at Job #1, also someone I know and trust, will be sticking around in a reduced role for the next year to train and help me, which is a huge stress-reducer.
But here's another twist. Job #2 can't match the salary of Job #1, but they can get close enough that if location #2 were ideal, it would be worth it. Which means that what Job #1 has to offer comes down, in essence, to more authority. Well, that and managing managers is easier than managing at ground level. A lot easier. But I think, consulting my inner shrink, that what I'm really being tempted by is the authority rather than the convenience of not having to deal with floor-level disciplinary issues.
Why is authority in itself enough to tempt me to go live someplace that I find, quite frankly, depressing? And if I couldn't bring myself to settle in here, in this great city, what makes me think I could do it in location #1? (Part of an answer to that last question is that I didn't come here intending to stay; I came thinking it was temporary and just never got around to leaving, and that probably has a lot to do with why I never settled in.)
People in my industry don't seem to move around a whole lot, so it doesn't feel right to approach this with a "try the job and see how it goes" mentality. I want to be able to go in assuming that I'm playing for keeps, even if in reality something else may come up that changes that plan.
Okay, someone wave their magic wand and tell me what I want to hear.
OJD
This is the kind of thing that only I can decide for myself, but thinking "out loud" may help.
Background: I live in a really great city, known for its vibrant arts scene. But before I moved here, I spent most of my life in a different region, and this great city has never felt like home. As a result, I haven't formed the kind of social ties I should have. I've wanted to go "home" (home being defined regionally, not a particular town) for a long time. Meanwhile, I've become increasingly frustrated with my job, which makes for one less reason to stay.
So I started looking for other jobs in other places. Unfortunately, the kind of job that seems best for me at the moment isn't located in the kind of place I want to live. So the "go home" motivation has completely backfired. But I'm too far down the path of leaving to change my mind and stay.
So...here I am.
Job #1 is in an area known for agriculture, industry, the Great Outdoors, and a couple of minor branches of the state college. Not exactly a cultural mecca, and nothing any better within commuting distance. There is a major city that is pretty decent, but definitely not "home", within visiting distance (hour and a half). They recruited me, I said I didn't want to live there, they insisted, I went for an interview, here we are.
Job #2 is in the region I call home, but in the middle of nowhere. But at least it's home-flavored nowhere, with a small liberal arts college town within commuting distance, and I like living in small liberal arts college towns. Strong likelihood of promotion to a less nowhereish location in a couple of years, which would still be an hour and a half from a city, but the cities in question are the cities I was aiming for from the start. If not for the looming presence of Job #1, I'd be very happy with it.
Job #1, as a job, is far superior. It's an executive-level job, managing managers, direct report to the CEO. Job #2 is a bottom-level manager, the kind of manager that Job #1 would manage, and even the next level up is a position that does double-duty as bottom-level manager of the facility at the HQ location and as manager of the holder of Job #2. And even that next level up is still a level down from direct reporting to the CEO.
So...it's coming down to location vs. job level.
Job #1 is lots better, location #2 is somewhat better. Further in the "warm fuzzies" department, my first professional mentor would be in my chain of command at Job #2, and I know and like a lot of people at that company. On the other hand, my predecessor at Job #1, also someone I know and trust, will be sticking around in a reduced role for the next year to train and help me, which is a huge stress-reducer.
But here's another twist. Job #2 can't match the salary of Job #1, but they can get close enough that if location #2 were ideal, it would be worth it. Which means that what Job #1 has to offer comes down, in essence, to more authority. Well, that and managing managers is easier than managing at ground level. A lot easier. But I think, consulting my inner shrink, that what I'm really being tempted by is the authority rather than the convenience of not having to deal with floor-level disciplinary issues.
Why is authority in itself enough to tempt me to go live someplace that I find, quite frankly, depressing? And if I couldn't bring myself to settle in here, in this great city, what makes me think I could do it in location #1? (Part of an answer to that last question is that I didn't come here intending to stay; I came thinking it was temporary and just never got around to leaving, and that probably has a lot to do with why I never settled in.)
People in my industry don't seem to move around a whole lot, so it doesn't feel right to approach this with a "try the job and see how it goes" mentality. I want to be able to go in assuming that I'm playing for keeps, even if in reality something else may come up that changes that plan.
Okay, someone wave their magic wand and tell me what I want to hear.
OJD
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