OliverJDragon
Structural
- Mar 29, 2010
- 41
...and once again, I've pretty much already made up my mind but it can't hurt to get others' opinions.
Also I am once again debating choices that don't officially exist yet, but I may need to made a decision about one possibility before the other possibility is ready to make a decision about me.
So here goes.
A. Lower-level management in a regional office of a consulting firm. I am told about 1/3 of the projects will require my engineering expertise; for the rest it will be primarily personnel and resource management. I am not sure what that translates into in terms of % of time spent on technical matters. I didn't look very seriously into this sort of position during my last job search because most of what I'd seen them do was more admin/management and less engineering, but my contact assures me it's not all like that and there will be plenty engineering to keep me happy as long as I am willing put up with the projects that are just admin.
It is in a city I do not like, with possibility of being able to wrangle my way to a city I like better over the next few years, or maybe wrangle my way to a remote, like my predecessor is currently doing. I am being recruited by someone who will be moving up in the firm and is looking for his replacement.
Those who have memorized every line of my saga till now will find some things familiar. Being recruited by my future predecessor--part of the reason I'm on the job market now is because my previous predecessor ended up never stepping aside to let me do his job. Also I took the last job in a place I didn't like with the idea that in a few years I could wrangle my way to a remote, and all that ended up meaning was I had a miserable job without even quality of non-work life to make up for it. (This place would be better than the last place but that's not saying much.) I am also leery because there are aspects of this job, on the business/management side, that I have never done and don't know if I'd be any good at it, and I really can't afford another failure. And, finally, the company has recently been acquired by another (which is part of why my potential predecessor is moving up). Part of the problem last time was the company "in transition" and the battle between old guard and new guard. I am being told now that nothing of the sort is going on this time around, and while I don't think I'm being lied to, maybe my contact doesn't know what's coming either. (Then again, last time my contact was also someone I'd known for a long time and trusted, and he turned out to be a conniving bastard. This time I've known the contact not as long, though I've had closer dealings.)
But it should pay well, and I will like a lot of it. I am told I will be able to, over time, shape the position to match my skills and interests. But that will require feeling enough confidence to make demands, and after my last job my confidence is shaken and there will be enough unfamiliar territory in this job that I will probably have plenty of insecurity to hamper me. Also I would not be directly reporting to my predecessor so who knows how much of what he's saying would stay true. Also I have a different specialization than my predecessor, so if people out of habit come to me with the same kind of questions they used to take to him, I will fall flat on my face. Presumably the change in specialization would be addressed in some way, but I'm feeling paranoid.
I am scheduled for an interview next week to meet everyone else in the office; the guy recruiting me says it's his call, and he's not really looking at anyone else very seriously, and it comes down to whether I'd be a good fit with the other folks. Which is definitely no guarantee. Also who knows what other wonderful candidates he has turned up in the meantime. So I'm taking nothing for granted, but it's a definite possibility.
B. Consulting (via Small Independent Company I know) to another company I know in Foreign Country I Like. The job would be stuff I've done before, all technical, no management (maybe a tiny bit of supervision but probably not). Foreign Company's client, where the occasional visit would probably be required, especially toward the end of the project, would be in City I Like. And the project is cool.
You can probably tell by now which way I'm leaning, emotionally. But my guess is it pays a lot less. And although I have been dying to go back to Foreign Country I Like, and it would be just about the right duration (a year), it certainly isn't getting me any closer to the whole reason I left my first long-term job, which is to get back to my home geographical region and settle down. (Though neither does Option A.) Also, although I'd be salaried, I'd be subject to layoff at the close of the project. I'm told by Small Independent Company there would be other projects, and Small Independent Company seems interested in keeping me on beyond the duration of this job (even though they did not try to recruit me the last time I was on the market, a year ago).
Another potential pitfall is that the owner of Small Independent Company can be difficult (mostly because of poor social skills rather than outright malice but sometimes I have to remind myself of that distinction). Other current employees seem to be happy, and I have a history of getting along better with said owner than many others have, and my role would be relatively independent, but ya never know.
I guess it comes down to how much pay and security I'd be willing to give up to do something way cool. And how much I value globetrotting vs. settling down like a grownup. I was starting to feel the toll of relative social isolation in my first job, which is why I wanted to come "home", and this certainly won't help me there.
Option B is not formalized (Small Independent Company seems all for it, Foreign Company is very interested), but once agreement is made they want to hit the ground running--I would barely have time to put my affairs in order. They may not be willing to wait till I hear whether I'd have Option A, so I may not have the opportunity to truly weigh two complete options. (I'm hoping I can get tentative salary info from A around the time of the interview so I can at least be able to compare the finances.) Also, Option B, because of the foreign move and tight timetable, means I'd have to give up a bunch of things I was planning to do over the next couple of months. And if the whole thing goes bad (and after my last experience I expect everything to go bad) I will have given up all those things in addition to whatever other job opportunities I may have, for nothing. (As opposed to Option A, where I will have given up other job opportunities but without giving up the other stuff on top of it.)
If Option A goes the best possible way, eventually I will be like one of their other tech-only people only with better social skills and thus more (and better) client interaction, and will have moved to City In Target Area. If Option B goes the best possible way, it will eventually transition to my being able to pick and choose a better balance of travel vs. home, and maybe a gateway to completely independent consulting (which I'm not prepared for now but always figured I'd do eventually).
So...what am I failing to think of?
sleepless OJD
Also I am once again debating choices that don't officially exist yet, but I may need to made a decision about one possibility before the other possibility is ready to make a decision about me.
So here goes.
A. Lower-level management in a regional office of a consulting firm. I am told about 1/3 of the projects will require my engineering expertise; for the rest it will be primarily personnel and resource management. I am not sure what that translates into in terms of % of time spent on technical matters. I didn't look very seriously into this sort of position during my last job search because most of what I'd seen them do was more admin/management and less engineering, but my contact assures me it's not all like that and there will be plenty engineering to keep me happy as long as I am willing put up with the projects that are just admin.
It is in a city I do not like, with possibility of being able to wrangle my way to a city I like better over the next few years, or maybe wrangle my way to a remote, like my predecessor is currently doing. I am being recruited by someone who will be moving up in the firm and is looking for his replacement.
Those who have memorized every line of my saga till now will find some things familiar. Being recruited by my future predecessor--part of the reason I'm on the job market now is because my previous predecessor ended up never stepping aside to let me do his job. Also I took the last job in a place I didn't like with the idea that in a few years I could wrangle my way to a remote, and all that ended up meaning was I had a miserable job without even quality of non-work life to make up for it. (This place would be better than the last place but that's not saying much.) I am also leery because there are aspects of this job, on the business/management side, that I have never done and don't know if I'd be any good at it, and I really can't afford another failure. And, finally, the company has recently been acquired by another (which is part of why my potential predecessor is moving up). Part of the problem last time was the company "in transition" and the battle between old guard and new guard. I am being told now that nothing of the sort is going on this time around, and while I don't think I'm being lied to, maybe my contact doesn't know what's coming either. (Then again, last time my contact was also someone I'd known for a long time and trusted, and he turned out to be a conniving bastard. This time I've known the contact not as long, though I've had closer dealings.)
But it should pay well, and I will like a lot of it. I am told I will be able to, over time, shape the position to match my skills and interests. But that will require feeling enough confidence to make demands, and after my last job my confidence is shaken and there will be enough unfamiliar territory in this job that I will probably have plenty of insecurity to hamper me. Also I would not be directly reporting to my predecessor so who knows how much of what he's saying would stay true. Also I have a different specialization than my predecessor, so if people out of habit come to me with the same kind of questions they used to take to him, I will fall flat on my face. Presumably the change in specialization would be addressed in some way, but I'm feeling paranoid.
I am scheduled for an interview next week to meet everyone else in the office; the guy recruiting me says it's his call, and he's not really looking at anyone else very seriously, and it comes down to whether I'd be a good fit with the other folks. Which is definitely no guarantee. Also who knows what other wonderful candidates he has turned up in the meantime. So I'm taking nothing for granted, but it's a definite possibility.
B. Consulting (via Small Independent Company I know) to another company I know in Foreign Country I Like. The job would be stuff I've done before, all technical, no management (maybe a tiny bit of supervision but probably not). Foreign Company's client, where the occasional visit would probably be required, especially toward the end of the project, would be in City I Like. And the project is cool.
You can probably tell by now which way I'm leaning, emotionally. But my guess is it pays a lot less. And although I have been dying to go back to Foreign Country I Like, and it would be just about the right duration (a year), it certainly isn't getting me any closer to the whole reason I left my first long-term job, which is to get back to my home geographical region and settle down. (Though neither does Option A.) Also, although I'd be salaried, I'd be subject to layoff at the close of the project. I'm told by Small Independent Company there would be other projects, and Small Independent Company seems interested in keeping me on beyond the duration of this job (even though they did not try to recruit me the last time I was on the market, a year ago).
Another potential pitfall is that the owner of Small Independent Company can be difficult (mostly because of poor social skills rather than outright malice but sometimes I have to remind myself of that distinction). Other current employees seem to be happy, and I have a history of getting along better with said owner than many others have, and my role would be relatively independent, but ya never know.
I guess it comes down to how much pay and security I'd be willing to give up to do something way cool. And how much I value globetrotting vs. settling down like a grownup. I was starting to feel the toll of relative social isolation in my first job, which is why I wanted to come "home", and this certainly won't help me there.
Option B is not formalized (Small Independent Company seems all for it, Foreign Company is very interested), but once agreement is made they want to hit the ground running--I would barely have time to put my affairs in order. They may not be willing to wait till I hear whether I'd have Option A, so I may not have the opportunity to truly weigh two complete options. (I'm hoping I can get tentative salary info from A around the time of the interview so I can at least be able to compare the finances.) Also, Option B, because of the foreign move and tight timetable, means I'd have to give up a bunch of things I was planning to do over the next couple of months. And if the whole thing goes bad (and after my last experience I expect everything to go bad) I will have given up all those things in addition to whatever other job opportunities I may have, for nothing. (As opposed to Option A, where I will have given up other job opportunities but without giving up the other stuff on top of it.)
If Option A goes the best possible way, eventually I will be like one of their other tech-only people only with better social skills and thus more (and better) client interaction, and will have moved to City In Target Area. If Option B goes the best possible way, it will eventually transition to my being able to pick and choose a better balance of travel vs. home, and maybe a gateway to completely independent consulting (which I'm not prepared for now but always figured I'd do eventually).
So...what am I failing to think of?
sleepless OJD
