Career question

[Juddog]

I have a potential career choice coming up.

The choice is this: continue where I've been working the past 6.5 years, where I have 3 weeks vacation built up, but work 45 - 50 hrs a week and benefits suck, but the company is doing great, so I know if I continue here I'll have a steady job waiting for me for the foreseeable future.

--or--

Take a risk at a new place, with better pay (about +5&#37 & benefits, steady 40 hrs, but back to 1 week vacation, and with a company that has only been around 3-4 years.

What Would anandtech OT do?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

How do the benefits compare?

 

[Capt Caveman]

1 week vacation? What industry is this? For a start-up, that's horrible. My current place has gone with an unlimited vacation policy.

 

[child of wonder]

1 week of vacation? Holy hell no.

Unless you can get the new job to bump your pay by a lot more than 5%, I wouldn't even consider it.

 

[Juddog]

Based upon the above responses it seems my direction is clear, unless they're willing to bump up my vacation.

What if the new place offers matched vacation, would it then be worth the risk of going with a startup?

 

[IndyColtsFan]

For only a 5% increase? No, unless the benefits are absolutely incredible and much, much better.

 

[Juddog]

How do the benefits compare?

Benefits are better at the new place.

 

[Juddog]

For only a 5% increase? No, unless the benefits are absolutely incredible and much, much better.

Well I would consider a steady 40 hr work week to be a benefit though; it's basically working 5-10 hrs a week less for a slightly higher pay.

 

[cuppkake]

I say go for the new job, but I am a risk taker!

 

[Capt Caveman]

5% pay increase and benefits > 2 week reduction in vacation time?

Opportunity for growth? Better working conditions?

Heck, I can't stop at the 1 week vacation. That's fucked-up. I've never heard of a place that only offers 1 week vacation unless it was a part-time position.

What industry is this again?

 

[child of wonder]

Benefits are better at the new place.

How much better?

You've really got to weigh the overall compensation package between both companies.

How is the work environment at your current job? Stressful? Laid back? How does it mesh with what you want?

Remember that the job you've applied for has put their best foot forward in an effort to attract you there. What are your gut feelings about their work environment? Manager personality? Company philosophy?

 

[dud]

OP, are you married? Is so talk to the wife first.

 

[purbeast0]

i would never work at a place i only get 1 week of vacation a year.

 

[blackdogdeek]

do you have a mortgage and kids?

 

[Juddog]

do you have a mortgage and kids?

^^ no mortgage or kids. Current work environment is hectic and stressful, but that's pretty much any job. The main reason I was considering the move was the reduction in hours to a 8 hr day from a 9-10 hr average day.

 

[SandEagle]

1 week vacation? What industry is this? For a start-up, that's horrible. My current place has gone with an unlimited vacation policy.

horseshit. let me see you take ten 10-day vacations next year.

unlimited vacation = you aint got a job

 

[SandEagle]

i'd take option 2. no mortgage, no kids? fvck it, take unpaid days

 

[blackdogdeek]

^^ no mortgage or kids. Current work environment is hectic and stressful, but that's pretty much any job. The main reason I was considering the move was the reduction in hours to a 8 hr day from a 9-10 hr average day.

no mortgage or kids is imo the ideal time to try out a startup. if i could get the vacation time bumped up to be the same as your current i would switch.

also, i found out the hard way, when i already had a mortgage and kids, that even the most stable-looking of jobs at the most stable-seeming of employers, is not any kind of guarantee that it is more stable than a startup. to wit, i turned down a job at a startup and took a job at an investment bank because i had just been laid off from a startup that went out of business and i had a mortgage and kids. 2 years later, that investment bank notoriously went bankrupt and the startup is not only still around, but growing rapidly.

 

[Capt Caveman]

^^ no mortgage or kids. Current work environment is hectic and stressful, but that's pretty much any job. The main reason I was considering the move was the reduction in hours to a 8 hr day from a 9-10 hr average day.

Factor that in the new salary and that would make it more than a 5% increase since you are now working 13-26% less hours per day also. Correct or have you factored that in already?

 

[Juddog]

Factor that in the new salary and that would make it more than a 5% increase since you are now working 13-26% less hours per day also. Correct or have you factored that in already?

Haven't factored that in; I was thinking more in terms of an annual pay, since I'm salaried I don't get paid OT at the current position.

If you consider the extra hours not being worked, the pay increase is closer to 20% on an hour per hour ratio.

 

[Juddog]

no mortgage or kids is imo the ideal time to try out a startup. if i could get the vacation time bumped up to be the same as your current i would switch.

also, i found out the hard way, when i already had a mortgage and kids, that even the most stable-looking of jobs at the most stable-seeming of employers, is not any kind of guarantee that it is more stable than a startup. to wit, i turned down a job at a startup and took a job at an investment bank because i had just been laid off from a startup that went out of business and i had a mortgage and kids. 2 years later, that investment bank notoriously went bankrupt and the startup is not only still around, but growing rapidly.

I will try and see about the vacation next time I'm at the bargaining table in the next day or two; still mulling everything over in my mind.

 

[Capt Caveman]

horseshit. let me see you take ten 10-day vacations next year.

unlimited vacation = you aint got a job

And you're an idiot like usual. If you need to get approval and obviously, abusing it is frowned upon. But we have people that go back to India or China for 5-6 weeks at a time. My boss has already taken 4 one week vacations. I've taken four weeks already this year and plan to take another two. But I've also worked til 5am in the morning so nights and worked complete weekends.

Obviously, your little brain can't comprehend the concept. Here's a little education - Flexible vacation policies are here to stay

Based on your threads here, we can assume you're an ignorant moron who can't even pay his credit card bill, so obviously, a company with such a policy would only want to hire people that are productive and who they can trust. You wouldn't even pass the first interview.

Our Time Off Policy:

An Innovative Approach to Time Off – With no limits, Time Off is XXX's flexible approach for U.S. employees to take time away from work when they need it. Any employees working 20+ hours/week are eligible.

 

[SandEagle]

And you're an idiot like usual. If you need to get approval and obviously, abusing it is frowned upon. But we have people that go back to India or China for 5-6 weeks at a time. My boss has already taken 4 one week vacations. I've taken four weeks already this year and plan to take another two. But I've also worked til 5am in the morning so nights and worked complete weekends.

Obviously, your little brain can't comprehend the concept. Here's a little education - Flexible vacation policies are here to stay

Based on your threads here, we can assume you're an ignorant moron who can't even pay his credit card bill, so obviously, a company with such a policy would only want to hire people that are productive and who they can trust. You wouldn't even pass the first interview.

so you have to work early mornings and weekends to make up for vacation? unlimited vacation = frowned upon = fired. typical of you to resort to personal attacks as it shows the true nature of your character. i would not be surprised if you are a janitor at walmart. i has MBA fyi

 

[LookBehindYou]

Vacation time is the easiest thing to negotiate with the a new employer. You should be able to get 2 weeks minimum, I'd try for 20 days and you'll probably settle for 3 weeks.

 

[Capt Caveman]

so you have to work early mornings and weekends to make up for vacation? unlimited vacation = frowned upon = fired. typical of you to resort to personal attacks as it shows the true nature of your character. i would not be surprised if you are a janitor at walmart. i has MBA fyi

LOL. And came in today at 9:45am and plan to leave by 5pm with a hour lunch and 15 minute nap in one of our quiet rooms.

Did you buy your Macbook Air with the credit card you don't pay? And yes, to diverge other threads, having a Masters in Business Adminstration and a Facebook account landed me this position.