ivymike
Mechanical
- Nov 9, 2000
- 5,653
I've got a great neighborhood. The commute is long-ish to my office (25 mins in the am, 45 mins in the pm) but there are about 30 neighbors who get together on a regular basis for social activities - we've got lots of kids the same age - and 5 or 10 of us hang out nearly every evening to have a beer or two or excercise while watching the kids. We'd definitely miss the neighborhood. My current job position is a bit demotivating for a variety of factors, and there are few realistic advancement or lateral paths internally in this vicinity.
Semi-official rumor says my next best opportunity is 1100 miles away, starting in about 6 months (same company). It's not a done deal, but more than one manager has mentioned it (it was first brought up 6 mo ago, and discussed more concretely over the last couple of weeks, including target dates). It would be a promotion to a supervisor role w/reporting engineers - the first of two hard jumps before being a "manager" in our internal parlance. This is a bump that some people try to get for 10 years (or even 30 in some cases)... and my manager has already explained that I shouldn't count on "walking" into the role (will have competition), and I should not try for it if I'm not going to take it when offered - then I could count on not getting another one. A big positive is that the supervisory experience would make me more portable in case a need arises in the future (the axe cut deep and missed me narrowly last year).
Wife isn't happy about it, but is willing to pack up and move again (we've only been in this house 26 months)... and we've got another kid due at about the time of the move - the neighborhood "support" would make the whole newborn thing much more manageable. (vs wife home alone w/newborn and older kid, and no nearby friends).
It's a tough one. Do I take the shot while I've got it, and give up the great outside life, or do I postpone any upward aspirations indefinitely to maintain my comfortable living situation?
Semi-official rumor says my next best opportunity is 1100 miles away, starting in about 6 months (same company). It's not a done deal, but more than one manager has mentioned it (it was first brought up 6 mo ago, and discussed more concretely over the last couple of weeks, including target dates). It would be a promotion to a supervisor role w/reporting engineers - the first of two hard jumps before being a "manager" in our internal parlance. This is a bump that some people try to get for 10 years (or even 30 in some cases)... and my manager has already explained that I shouldn't count on "walking" into the role (will have competition), and I should not try for it if I'm not going to take it when offered - then I could count on not getting another one. A big positive is that the supervisory experience would make me more portable in case a need arises in the future (the axe cut deep and missed me narrowly last year).
Wife isn't happy about it, but is willing to pack up and move again (we've only been in this house 26 months)... and we've got another kid due at about the time of the move - the neighborhood "support" would make the whole newborn thing much more manageable. (vs wife home alone w/newborn and older kid, and no nearby friends).
It's a tough one. Do I take the shot while I've got it, and give up the great outside life, or do I postpone any upward aspirations indefinitely to maintain my comfortable living situation?
