What job would you take????

After a long nine months of job searching this last month I have had some luck and have actually been offered not one but two jobs. Both have good things and bad things. Both are in retail managment, pay is about the same.

Job 1 positive:
100% Health Bennies for me (huge)
2 or 3 weeks? of vacation plus personal holidays. (huge)
It is a mile from home. (huge)

Job 1 negative:
Brand new, not stable, and the funds are not there to keep it going if it does not make money or break even. (feels risky)
Location is not ideal, and at least $7000 / month in overhead means selling alot of used toilets. (It is kinda like a Goodwill for construction)

Job 2 positive:
It is more stable.
Room for advancement
More structured.
Large Corporation

Job 2 negative:
Travel at least a hour to a hour and a half a day.
1 week vaca after a year.
Health bennies would be about $400/ month.

When it rains it pours. What is a guy to do?

Opinions please…..

I’m a risk taker by nature but for me the stability and room for advancement of job #2 makes it an easy decision as the construction business is very tough right now and I don’t know of anyone predicting a major upswing in the near future. All the great bennies don’t mean much if the upstart biz doesn’t make it and you find yourself back looking for a job again.

Tough call, though security is probably the utmost important to me (my family),

I’d also consider the options to move to lessen the commute.
If that’s not a choice, consider gas prices and wear and tear, not to mention days with bad weather and traffic. Some insurance companies also charge more for miles driven to work.

I guess I say go by your gut, and which one you really want more.

Good luck

Goods and bads to both yes…IF you said you were looking for a month and found these then I would suggest taking the more risky start up biz since there are more possitives. However,, since it took 9 months to land an offer I think you really need to consider the safe option (mayby you can negotiate a few more days of vaca??)

I’m in the finance biz and my company works a fair amount in construction. It’s tough to say what a new biz like that can do but I will tell you not many guys are doing much of anything. If they’re busy then sure, great idea. But the commercial construction really took a hit in the past 12-15 months and it looks like it could take a long long time..

Good luck with everything and congrats on the offers!!

Ryno- Job 2 all the way. Stick with the safe bet in todays job environment. Pay a little for the healthcare, no big deal. Make the money you can. Oh and by the way our President promised us we don’t need to worry about Health Insurance anymore isn’t that right? Good luck and take the stability.

Just my 2 cents.

John

Take stability and keep looking for a better fit.

If you are married job 2.

If single job 1. Work your tail off to make it work. Start ups offer rewards to those who can help them succeed. There is no substitute for enthusiasm with new start-ups and employee’s.

Quote:

---

If you are married job 2.

---

I would say job two unless you are a single guy with room to move and know you can survive for a little while if it goes to heck.

Of course this is coming from a guy that drills holes in the ice and changes toilet bags for a living.

I think I would take job #1 and maybe keep looking. Job #2 is going to cost you $4800 a year for insurance, another $1500-$2500 a year for commuting and not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle, plus another 300+ hours a year of your life sitting in your car in traffic. GOOD LUCK in what you decide on!

Quote:

---

I think I would take job #1 and maybe keep looking. Job #2 is going to cost you $4800 a year for insurance, another $1500-$2500 a year for commuting and not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle, plus another 300+ hours a year of your life sitting in your car in traffic. GOOD LUCK in what you decide on!

---

I second this response. Take the closer job, health benefits, and keep looking for possible upgrade while working. Commuting back and forth that far is going to wear you down and your family (Married??).

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I think I would take job #1 and maybe keep looking. Job #2 is going to cost you $4800 a year for insurance, another $1500-$2500 a year for commuting and not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle, plus another 300+ hours a year of your life sitting in your car in traffic. GOOD LUCK in what you decide on!

---

I second this response. Take the closer job, health benefits, and keep looking for possible upgrade while working. Commuting back and forth that far is going to wear you down and your family (Married??).

---

x3

Get a feel for your first line supervisor and factor that in. Driving an hour is a pain in the rear.

During my working life I learned to adopt the idea that “this might not be the job I want, but it’ll do till the one I want comes along.” Take the one that pays the best, has the best bennies and keep looking. Sooner or later the one you do want will come over the horizon jerr

X4
but Im in the car business so Im the risk taker

#1 X5 construction is in the dumps so if you can make a go of a new business you stand to be in a better position come a better economy. The bennies and gas alone should make the decision on top of the 3 hours a day on the box!

I am a carpenter STAY AWAY FROM CONSTRUCTION! nuff said

Married, one kid, and another one in May…

Thanks for the responses! Keep em coming!

I vote Job #1 because in this current state of affairs no job is any more secure than the next. COMMUTING SUCKS!!!! Plus, you got another baby on the way, you need to be home, not sitting in traffic. Don’t worry about health-care, I hear that’s getting fixed soon. (tongue in cheek)

From what I’ve read and heard I would not want to bank on the construction industry for my paycheck this year. It will come back and I hope it does soon for all of you work in the industry, but I would not want to bank on it quite yet.

I hope soon! Sounds like I will be sitting the rest of Feb and all of March! But the Crappies will pay!

It’s actually easier to start a new business right now than to find a job…and just about as the same level of risk either way.

The only ones hiring with any consistency appear to be government employers.

It’s a very tough market.

Can you stand another 9 months off work if job #1 goes away?

If you turn down job #2, do you burn any bridges? Could you go back to the company offering job #2 later, or would the fact you turned down a job with them earlier prevent you from getting another offer?

If you end up with job #2, is moving closer an option?

Answering these three questions should push you one direction or the other.

I would think job #1 stands a decent chance to get off the ground. If it’s really used construction products, why wouldn’t it make it? I am looking to cut costs anytime I can without giving up too much when it comes to home repairs. A friend who does mainly remodels dabbles in this, he claims he is making just as much reselling used cabinets, windows, doors, etc. as he is installing the new ones. Good luck making your decision

That’s not an easy decision.

I would lean toward #1. Keep your family happy with you being close to home. It sounds like you will save more money in the long run between health care costs, commuting, etc.

Looking at your job #1 info, it appears that company may be doing better than you think…that’s a good chunk of health coverage and vacation/holiday benefits.

Give it all you’ve got!

Quote:

---

Quote:

---

I think I would take job #1 and maybe keep looking. Job #2 is going to cost you $4800 a year for insurance, another $1500-$2500 a year for commuting and not to mention wear and tear on a vehicle, plus another 300+ hours a year of your life sitting in your car in traffic. GOOD LUCK in what you decide on!

---

I second this response. Take the closer job, health benefits, and keep looking for possible upgrade while working. Commuting back and forth that far is going to wear you down and your family (Married??).

---

Add up the time for the commute and it comes to almost 10 WEEKS per year spent in the car. Take this job and keep looking for another job with the extra 1.5 hours per day you’d be traveling.

Ryno,
Based on the information you posted, Job 1 has some pretty significant advantages. At the end of the day, do you believe in their product (especially with the construction industry or lack of construction industry)? Do you have a sense of how long ownership can last if not profitable soon? How long have they been in business? Are they well funded (rich owners)?

If I didn’t have confidence in this company (with a wife and kids dependent on you), I would take the job with the large corporation with room for advancement. Good luck and congrats on the offers.

I would have to say neither. Working is for the birds…

2 offers, Congratulations! I’m jealous

Honestly, I’d say job number 2 seems like the better option. The job security and opportunity for advancement from my prospective outweighs job number 1’s pros. Not to mention, 1-1.5hr in the car every day really isn’t ‘that bad’. Do you have the good gut, warm and fuzzy feeling at either places?

That’s just my opinion, however… coming from an unemployed college grad

Pete