Need Career Advice

[AGENTTINFOIL]

I have got a lot of help here on several things with plcs, and now I hope you guys can give me some advice. I have been offered a new job. This job has a lot of good benefits salary, health and life insurance, 401k, paid relocation, 15% yearly bonus brokenup quarterly, 8000.00 sign on bonus, and the company takes care of my living expenses for the first 30 days, not to mention that all benefits are effective immediately, with a 4% salary raise Jan 1,2007. Here is the problem, the location of the job is almost in the middle of nowhere. The wife and I went to check out the area and we are not sure about what life would be like there. To me it does not matter much but I'm not sure if the wife could or even want to make a life there. Before we recieved the official written offer we had pretty much made our minds up that I would not accept if the offer was on the table. But now that it is,(and it was more than we expected) we are not sure. it is so easy to make a bad decision and I was just hoping for some input from someone that has been in this position before. maybe share some of your experiances, or just some advice. Thanks in advance for any advice.

[DL06]

I am in the same position, evaluating a move to another company. The more I go through things, the more I realize that money is only one part of the equation.

Obviously, you want to make sure that you do some research on the cost of living in the area (housing costs, property taxes, utilities, insurance, etc.). Personally, I do not want to take another job if I am making $10k more, but it costs me much more than that in increased living expenses. At the very least, they should be on par.

Now that that silly issue of money is out of the way, we can get to the important things.

What is it that brings you and your wife happiness in life? Do you like doing outdoor activities together (running, cycling, walking, etc.)? Do you enjoy the arts (theatre, museums, etc.)? Will you be further or closer to good friends? Will you be further from your inlaws (I'll leave it up to you to decide if that is a good or a bad thing)? If you have a family now or in the future, where would be a better place to raise kids? Which job will be more fulfilling for you day in and day out for the upcoming years of your life?

The list is really endless, but my advice is to not get blinded by the money. Hey, make sure it is there, that it is green (well...not necessarily the case in Canada), and that you get as much as you can. But also realize that you can be filty rich and miserable if you do not consider all of the important factors.

In my situation, as much as I would like this to be a spreadsheet analysis that spits out a 'yes' or 'no' answer, I can't figure out what value to put in the 'wife's happiness' column. I guess it's back to listening to the little voice inside...

[katratzi]

Hmmmm.... Agenttinfoil, since I do not know you or your wife, all I can say is how I would react to a job offer "in the middle of nowhere". As long as its not a sewer, location is not extremely important to me. I've found good and bad things every where I've lived. I actually prefer the rural away from it all lifestyle more than urban in-the-midst-of-it, but some people do not like this "isolation". This sounds like an incredibly good offer. I would say your wife will have to weigh her lifestyle change against the boost in income you guys will have. Extra money can provide its own entertainment . But money isn't the main thing, enjoying your life and your lifes' work are important. Will your new job be as interesting as the one you now have?

I have also recently gotten a job offer for slightly more money and better benefits, but it would be more of a routine, with less chance to learn new stuff and work with newer technology, so I turned it down.

Good luck with your decision, and if you decide not to take it, please post the job here!!

[marksji]

Sounds like they've made you a good offer. It also sounds like you've gotten some good advice so far. Now I have a few questions that should give you something else to ponder...

What do you mean by "almost in the middle of nowhere"?

Where do you live now? I assume its a well populated area, but are we talking 25k people? 250k people? 500k people?

How far is it from "almost in the middle of nowhere" to "somewhere"? Something a lot of people don't keep in mind is that living 100 miles from a decent sized city isn't really all that bad, 90 minute drive, tops to "go to the city."

To be sure Kansas has a whole lot of nowhere, and I've only visited a little part of Kansas (Pratt to be exact), and it was f'n cold while I was there, and it was a small town, but the people were friendly.

[elevmike]

I know sombody who turned down an excellent offer in Boise ID. She seemd to regret it but then after the flood, she was assured that she made the right decision...

I speak from personal expireance on the following: Dont do anything your wife is not behind 110%, or get a divorce right now. There's nothing worse then comming home EVERY night to an unhappy woman....Be sure she's really with you and not just saying it..

There's more to life then a few bucks...

[AGENTTINFOIL]

Pan handle of Oklahoma. Currently I live in Park City, which is a suburban of Wichita(population 500,000). The town in Oklahoma is quite abit smaller which really is not a problem, but there is absolutely nothing there. the company that has made an offer is pretty much the largest employeer within a 150 miles. The town is quite ran down, and there is really not even no place to shop( a small Walmart, one clothing store,and a small grocery store). I am very familiar with Pratt, it is small town but most of them are in Kansas. I guess the other issue that I am a little concerned with, the town is 2/3 hispanic, not that I am prejudice but I am worried about my kids fitting in.

[marksji]

OK, now I've got a pretty good idea of where you're going (location wise). There really isn't diddly out there... I've driven through the pan handle of OK, but I don't even remember seeing a gas station, much less a Wal Mart. On the up-side Amarillo is a 2 hour or less drive and a decent enough city.

I think Mike probably gave you the best advice (especially after reading this to my fiancé) about making sure your wife is 110% behind you. I'll also say depending on your kids ages you need to have them at least mostly on board for that much of a culture shock (the older they are the more static you'll get if they hate it there).

On a similar note; anyone know of anywhere to stay in the Spearman, TX area? We've sold a lot of equipment to a new plant going in there and I already know I'll be spending a lot of quality hours (days, weeks?) up there this fall.

[geniusintraining]

It sounds like a very good offer, I think they are taking the location into consideration with the offer, that’s one reason its very good and obviously your skills have influenced this as well.

I would take it you only live once, I you and your family don’t like it you can move again, I know its not that easy but that is what it amounts to.

I was in the bay area (San Francisco) with a population of ??? lets just say a lot of people, moved from there 8 years ago to South Carolina, you talk culture shock and I change in life. But no regrets it was a great move on our part.

Next will be somewhere in the middle, not sure what where but, in middle USA (with out the tornado’s)

Remember this you and your family will hate it and ask your selves why in the hell did we do this for the first 6 months but then it will get much better (after the shock) and I agree with Mark it needs to be a family decision.

Good luck and have fun,