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Job and $$ question, what would you do ?

The straight to the point question.

33% More money, not happy at the job.
33% Less money, loving the job.

What do you chose ?


Below this line is more personal.
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I am an I.T. guy in Montreal, about 10 years experience.about 4 years Jr. Network administration and 6 years now for small consulting companies.

I can do a great job for Small and PME businesses, 4 to 100 workstations with Windows Server, local or hosted exchange. Plan, build and support.

Also very good with VOIP servers such as Trixbox, Freepbx and Elastix.


At my previous job, we were a small team of 4-5.
Me - Team leader
2 great techs (with a language barrier)
1 developer who is just awesome.
1 Big boss who is also like your best friend.

It was a rough start with odd stories co-renting with a competing company, we moved out and we were in our final stages of re-structuring to give a good push and grow the business.

And in the middle of it all,
I got recruited by another business, bigger and "higher end"
I was offered a huge increase in salary... basically an offer I couldn't refuse.

I am now on my 4th week, and I still can't stop thinking of my previous job.
And I still HATE my new job. I hate to waking up in the morning...

Yet it's very weird. Everyone is nice to me. My co-workers are all great and the bosses are nice guys...

I just hate the structure.... 140$ an hour support, and we have no ticketing system and I have to magically be at least 85% billable...
[email protected] goes to everyone and we reply to all "I got it", or ''I can't take it"... I have to sort billions of emails a day... and be 85% billable... The structure is sickening and my suggestions aren't going anywhere.

I used to be a team-leader, I would figure solutions to company needs and apply them, I would build networks with Windows server and Exchange...


Now I am bottom of the line tech in a world full of IBM AS400's and Lotus F***ing notes and we only resell Cisco PBX's that seem to suck next to the Elastix servers I used to setup.



I try to be optimistic but since day 3 I have been on a downwards spiral... I sometimes think I should give it more time, but it's my 6th I.T. job and I never felt this lost... I loved every other job right off the start and learned a great deal...

Would you keep the job and be more persistent or go back to your old job with well about 33% pay cut (yet potential to partner up and make more after 1-2 years (in other words, a huge gamble))
 
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If you're thinking about this then the salary of the "not good" job clearly isn't high enough ;)

I can suggest two other things to take into account: hours and benefits.

Consider the benefits.
If one job offers more vacation, better health care, better retirement plans better bonuses, thats something to factor in as well. For example, better health care may mean decreased out of pocket expenses for the pediatrician or specialist. A matching 401k may mean less cash you have to devote to saving for retirement, and more to use for monthly expenses.


Consider the hours. This has greatly affected my career choices in the past.
For example:
Job A: 40 hours a week - 50k
Job B: 50 hours a week - 62,5K

Seems like job B really has a 25% greater salary right? You can almost smell the cold hard cash,imagining what you'd do with the money.... but you're working 25% more hours. I recall that you just had a new child recently. In this light, life is short and is being away from your family worth the extra money?

Also, respect. 1/3 more pay might actually not be enough to compensate for the lack of respect you will receive at this position.

There's nothing in the world that makes being miserable at your job worth it.
 
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The new job has the better benefits, health care, long term disability...
The old job has nothing... too small of a business for the moment.


Old job is a gamble on future income, but I rather wake up looking forward to my day, and getting home in a better mood.

Both jobs have excellent security.

Thanks you for hearing me out :eek:
 
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Unless you're so hard up that the extra 33% could be the difference between keeping or loosing your home and car, then i'd suggest the old job.

Money just doesen't buy happyness, having it doesen't hurt, of course, but it's not worth a job you hate, far to much of our lives are spent at work for that to be a good trade.


And on the topic of perks and benifits, they are great to have, but it's worth remembering that if you work a job every day that makes you misserable, then you are also far more likely to need them, constant stress and missery does not do your health any favours.
 
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From reading your posts, you keep mentioning your old job and it seems like you really loved it. I think you may have already made up your mind. More money is nice but if you don't "Need" it then perhaps you may be better off in your old job. You said your new job has better benefits, how was your quality of life(Before you got said new benefits)? Were you able to get by ok without financial problems/stress?
 
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Unless you're so hard up that the extra 33% could be the difference between keeping or loosing your home and car, then i'd suggest the old job.

Money just doesen't buy happyness, having it doesen't hurt, of course, but it's not worth a job you hate, far to much of our lives are spent at work for that to be a good trade.


And on the topic of perks and benifits, they are great to have, but it's worth remembering that if you work a job every day that makes you misserable, then you are also far more likely to need them, constant stress and missery does not do your health any favours.

Pretty much this unless you really needed more money than the old job, or you are sure this will lead to better things.
 
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Pretty much what everybody else said.

My Dad had a saying..."I'd shovel sh*t with a spoon if it paid enough." Well, not I. I hope I have impressed upon my kids (one in her last semester of getting her Masters, the other in his jr year of Mech Eng), if you can, find a job that you are passionate about. If you hate your job and hate going to work, it ain't worth it.

Having said that, in this day and time, if you need the money you may not have any choice.

One other thing that comes to mind...Why not approach your boss/manager with a better way to do things? While you're contemplating your job choices, why not put together a package or presentation with your ideas and present them to the person most likely to understand them and take them further up the corporate ladder? Could be win/win/win. You make the job more pleasant. You get to keep the money. You get recognition and perhaps a raise or new job position.....
 
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33% Less money, loving the job.
If you love youre job you will be the happiest person in the world
I want to become a concept artist for video games and film yeah i know lol and i wont make huge amounts of money (maybe i will) but if i manage to get a job as one i will be very happy
 
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Again thanks for hearing me out and indeed I have already made up my mind.

I am not strapped for cash at all, and even if it is a 33% increase, it doesn't show as 33% in the paycheck due to higher federal tax bracket.... Still a good 250 extra on 2 weeks... but it's a 250 I can pass on... or simply make out of personal jobs...

I will be resigning from my new job in about 2 weeks. The team leader of the support department is an amazing guy, extremely hard working and has a serious family related personal challenge; He is taking his vacation at the end of the week. I don't want to screw him out of it...

For now I will try to make the best out of it and motivate myself to push some structure or at least redo the atrocious client documentation out of some internal wiki or something... (When there is no support that is)...

Again, thank you all for the kind words and the time you gave me :)
 
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Again thanks for hearing me out and indeed I have already made up my mind.

I am not strapped for cash at all, and even if it is a 33% increase, it doesn't show as 33% in the paycheck due to higher federal tax bracket.... Still a good 250 extra on 2 weeks... but it's a 250 I can pass on... or simply make out of personal jobs...

I will be resigning from my new job in about 2 weeks. The team leader of the support department is an amazing guy, extremely hard working and has a serious family related personal challenge; He is taking his vacation at the end of the week. I don't want to screw him out of it...

For now I will try to make the best out of it and motivate myself to push some structure or at least redo the atrocious client documentation out of some internal wiki or something... (When there is no support that is)...

Again, thank you all for the kind words and the time you gave me :)
Good luck!
 
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yeah Permo marker, I'm finding myself in a similar boat. 4/5ths done a computer science majors with Co-op option and I drudgingly get up every morning to go to work. ( only a 4 month co-op term ).

I know what my passion is, it may end up paying less or more ( Entrepreneur / Inventor ).

Make an attempt to correct the serious errors at your current workplace and if they dont listen then give them the two week notice, you can only work against your passion for so long before it just empties and drains you; I speak from experience here as I realized about 1.5 years ago that comp Sci was not my passion... ( hobby yes, passionate enough to work 8 hour days at it... fFFFFF noooo)
 
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well if you think like me. you have 3 sections of ur day.

8hours= work
8hours= sparetime
8hours= sleep.

1/3 of ur day is spent at work. hating your job. is like hating 1/3rd of your life.

and what is sparetime?!? well then you do whatever you want. so if you like to be cranky cuz you hate 1/3rd of your life. so be it! just remember this will also destroy your sleep rythm aswell!
 
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you looked into the abyss and the abyss looked back at you.,.. :D

go back or start annew...33% ...who cares.... ;)

Beign in good moods after wakeing up and go to work is more valuable than other things that are of materialistic matter...

*been dere, done that, no regrets*

*edith* no ticket tool ? oh my , what you guys do ? excel it up all day ?
 
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