Ok I got a new job offer

I have been with the first company straight out of Mechanical engineering since last may. They gave me 52K for a process engineering job. The job is boring, I haven't worked on any projects since I got there I tend to sit behind a desk all day and do nothing. The 401K pays 50 cent on the dollar up to 8% and I get 2 weeks off with 12 holidays.

The new job is a project engineer with a company that does modular units that goes to construction sites and also we would do the footing and site work for them. I really want to do construction engineering work so this is everything that i want. They offered me 54K, With 401K no matching and no vacation days for a year then 2 weeks after the first year and 7 holidays.

Again I am dying at my current job I have to be at work at 7am and my days seem like they take forever. The new job I will have to be in at 8:30 am and plus it is 8 minutes from my house compared to 30 minutes to my current job.

So what would you guys do?

1/10/2008 4:57:42 PM

negotiate with the second job

i wouldnt go to a job that wont match any 401k contributions and wont give you any vacation when you start

1/10/2008 4:59:38 PM

You'll feel much better doing something you love.

1/10/2008 5:00:16 PM

I'd take the new job. You ain't from lumberton are ya.

1/10/2008 5:00:21 PM

^

Quote :

"Hometown : Pembroke"

Close enough

I'd negotiate with the 2nd job, get what you can, and then take it. But obviously, don't let them know you intend to take it.

1/10/2008 5:02:16 PM

^^ yeah

1/10/2008 5:03:53 PM

No vacation days for a year? Is vacation unpaid or they don't want you to take it at all?

For any job that requires a degree I would expect 2 weeks paid vacation to start.

The 401k shortfall you may be able to make up in other ways (more $$$, signing bonus, etc). Def go for a job you love but make sure they know you want to get compensated what you're worth.

I just moved from a public company to a private one and negotiated a much higher salary because I won't be getting stock grants any more. I let the new company know I was looking at the total compensation package and was not interested in changing jobs unless they could up the ante with their offer.

-- Dave

1/10/2008 5:31:06 PM

if you take the extra 2k and put that in your 401k, it will practically make up for the match from the other company. also keep in mind you may not be vested (entitled) to all of the match from the first company for several years anyways. so if you hate the job and dont see yourself staying anyways, you may get nothing or only a % of what they promise you from the match. check the provisions of your plan.

1/10/2008 6:16:12 PM

I am going to tell them that money isn't the issue but vacation def. is. I didn't get a day off last summer because of being new to the plant and having to wait 90 days before I could take a day off so I know I am not going to miss this summer without a few days off.

1/10/2008 7:34:25 PM

I would ask if you can spend a work-day or half work-day with the team you'd be working with. That way you can see more what its like and talk to your potential co-workers to see how they like it. We had a lot of people do that sort of thing in one of the labs I worked in last year. If its a job worth taking, they would be very open to a "shadowing" day.

[Edited on January 10, 2008 at 8:16 PM. Reason : add.]

1/10/2008 8:16:15 PM

Quote :

"For any job that requires a degree I would expect 2 weeks paid vacation to start."

1/10/2008 8:18:11 PM

^ Bingo. Tell 'em to shove the no vacation bit.

1/10/2008 8:47:37 PM

don't knock the value of a job you enjoy and a short commute

1/10/2008 10:13:37 PM

both of these jobs sound like they suck. keep trying.

1/10/2008 11:52:11 PM

no vacation for a year? that is ridiculous. tell them 2 weeks minimum right off the bat.

1/11/2008 6:25:35 AM

take money out of the factor - no reasonable amount of money can make you happy at a sucky job.....and or the 2k difference, just take 2 weeks off unpaid.....its probably a business where people can take time off when the times are slow or no big projects are going on

1/11/2008 7:52:01 AM

There is an old maxim about not changing jobs unless you get at least a 30% pay increase. Sounds like you are low balling yourself.

1/11/2008 9:25:50 AM

Well if his work conditions improve enough then it's totally worth it. Don't forget he'll be saving money on gas as well, which is no minor expense.

I do agree that he should get the vacation time guaranteed first.

1/11/2008 9:27:19 AM

He's saving maybe a $1000 in gas. big damn deal. The new job is absolutely worse in total compensation.

1/11/2008 9:35:07 AM

Quote :

"There is an old maxim about not changing jobs unless you get at least a 30% pay increase. Sounds like you are low balling yourself."

while that may be true, there is also the thought that you should find a job you enjoy doing, and that is more important than a few dollars.


but i don't see anyone being happy with no vacation days.

1/11/2008 9:38:54 AM

Switch to software engineering where they dump buckets of money on you if you can do a good job.

1/11/2008 9:40:42 AM

Software Eng FTW!

Quote :

"For any job that requires a degree I would expect 2 weeks paid vacation to start. "

1/11/2008 9:54:03 AM

Quote :

"There is an old maxim about not changing jobs unless you get at least a 30% pay increase. Sounds like you are low balling yourself. "

Well I would agree but I have only been out of school 7 months. If it was two years or so then I would agree. Also the money is not what I am looking for just happiness and also a way into some type of construction engineering.

[Edited on January 11, 2008 at 10:10 AM. Reason : .]

1/11/2008 10:09:01 AM

30%??? what kind of dream world are you people living in?

1/11/2008 10:13:12 AM

^

The one where i've gotten lots of 30% raises.

Quote :

"It's good to be king?!"

1/11/2008 10:15:57 AM

Yeah, I've never heard that before either. Besides, there are many other variables to consider.

1/11/2008 10:16:06 AM

Being extremely valuable and surrounded by people who can't do your job helps a lot.

One of my best friends was in that boat and when a very large software company bought the company he worked for he got 10% equity of the sell.

1/11/2008 10:21:50 AM

I'm not saying it's not possible. I'm just saying you shouldn't not entertain new job offers just because the salary isn't 30% more.

1/11/2008 10:26:54 AM

Go with the job you'd be happiest. It's horrible coming home everyday feeling unfullfilled.

The vacation day thing is kind of trite, isn't it? If you're only 7 months out of school, I'd personally just be grateful my first year to get over 50k and have a job I enjoyed.

1/11/2008 10:27:02 AM

Quote :

"no vacation for a year? that is ridiculous. tell them 2 weeks minimum right off the bat."

1/11/2008 10:27:52 AM

^^

Yeah I know, I can't remember what the rule is, and really none of that applies if you're unhappy.

^

Yeah sometimes it's hard to even get someone to spit on you for $30K. From what I've seen $50K out of school is great.

1/11/2008 10:29:08 AM

Quote :

"no vacation for a year? that is ridiculous. tell them 2 weeks minimum right off the bat."

its one thing if there is a period of time in which you can't use it but still accrue. but no vacation for a year is pretty bad. if thats how they feel about vacation, what are their other policies going to be like?

1/11/2008 10:32:17 AM

Was this ever answered?

Quote :

"Is vacation unpaid or they don't want you to take it at all? "

1/11/2008 10:35:52 AM

They said that after a year I can get 2 weeks paid vacation. I am willing to do the 90 day period with no time off but a year is crazy. My current jobs is the first 90 days without time off.

1/11/2008 11:14:30 AM

Quote :

"The vacation day thing is kind of trite, isn't it? If you're only 7 months out of school, I'd personally just be grateful my first year to get over 50k and have a job I enjoyed."

no its not, you get burned out quickly even for working for 50K/yr if you have no time off other than for weekends and 8-11 holidays

1/11/2008 12:50:41 PM

only the weak get burned out.

1/11/2008 12:53:25 PM

similar situation for me, second job in mechanical engineering since graduating last may, except the vacation went from 2 weeks to 4 weeks a year.

1/11/2008 12:54:28 PM

Why is $50K still the magic number.


$100K is the new $50K.

1/11/2008 1:07:54 PM

ok, we get it. you make a lot of money.

1/11/2008 1:09:51 PM

50k is a lot of money if you have little to no debt and are single with no kids. Plus not having any experience is the big limiting factor.

1/11/2008 1:13:10 PM

I think with inflation and other factors it's becoming less and less a lot of money. It also depends on what hobbies you have and how much like like to eat out/drink out (that can be more expensive than kids).

1/11/2008 1:19:45 PM

Make a full list of pros and cons for each job. Then, weight each entry according to what's important to you--for example, a short commute might be more heavily weighted since you posted it.

This method will help you get clear on what's really important to you. Then, base your decision on the list. If it turns out that you made the wrong choice later, at least you will know that you gave the move a lot of thought and that your decision was the best one for you at the time.

Good luck.

1/11/2008 1:34:49 PM

dont even hesitate

do the one that you want more

you wont regret it

this is coming from someone who went from being exactly where they wanted to be to someone who is in job-hell right now, and on paper this was the better decision, but it really wasnt

1/11/2008 1:47:49 PM

Quote :

"I think with inflation and other factors it's becoming less and less a lot of money. "

The avg american household income is < 50K A single guy making 50K can have a pretty high standard of living in this area.

1/11/2008 2:11:58 PM

dont forget to factor in whether or not youre going to be working overtime, and how that is paid. You can get a 10k or more bump in salary just from that.

1/11/2008 2:48:57 PM

go for what you enjoy otherwise you will die early

1/11/2008 2:50:36 PM

Quote :

"negotiate with the second job i wouldnt go to a job that wont match any 401k contributions and wont give you any vacation when you start"

you should be able to get both, i mean i can understand no vacation for the first so many days, but a fucking year?

1/11/2008 3:01:46 PM

it might be that its earned over the course of the year

my current company requires that you bank the hours as you go, i.e. you get 3 or 4 hours of leave per pay period...but you still start out with a couple freebies just in case of emergencies etc

1/11/2008 3:03:09 PM

^^ That's been standard at a lot of companies for a number of years, but the vacation benefit obviously varies depending on position, industry, company, and so on. And times change, so this may be more important to twentysomethings.

I mean, I just think it looks kind of bad if you're so concerned about taking a vacation the first year. Vacation time in the first year would be a very low or nonexistent item on my list.

1/11/2008 4:37:07 PM

Not me. To go from being in college and having a ton of time off to having a whole year with no time off would be a tough transition that could easily burn someone out.

1/11/2008 4:39:37 PM