Massive conundrum... not the countdown variety!

Discussion in 'Employment & Jobs' started by Fanatical, Aug 8, 2007.

  1. Fanatical

    Fanatical Byte Poster

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    Ok, So as I said a bout 3 weeks ago I landed an IT helpdesk position with a company in Basingstoke for 16K a year. All good beans as it was the first interview I went to so was chuffed not to have to stick out waiting for the first step on the ladder.

    One of the other jobs I have applied for is in Eastleigh (which for those not in the know is a lot closer to where I live in southampton and would mean a massively quicker commute) and pays 18.5K a year but is shift work inc. 2 weekend in every 5. There is a open/test day in two weeks for the applicants that make it through the shortlist (which I'm going to do as this is the 2nd time the job has been offered around and i made it first time). trouble is this will be after I start the new job in Basingstoke.......

    The Basingstoke job is a small team of 4 people, the tech support operate near by and are happy to let the Helpdesk with builds etc during slow periods. This would suit me and I think look better on the CV than straight Helpdesk.

    The Eastleigh job is a large team (20 people) on a busy helpdesk just taking calls with a little fault resolution. But it pays more and would save me roughly £300-ish per year on petrol plus I'd not have to negotiate the M3 on a daily basis.

    Now, do I risk upsetting the new job by taking time off immediatly to go to this open day and possibley get a new job without having worked a month with them? Do I just stick to my origianl job as this is guarnteed and I may not even get the other job? Is the Basingstoke job actually "better" for my career in the long run if I stick it out 3-6 months?

    Halp.....
     
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  2. hbroomhall

    hbroomhall Petabyte Poster Gold Member

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    A bird in the hand....

    As long as you don't show a loss because of the commute costs I'd stick with the job you have.

    And very short periods of employment on a CV usualy raises eyebrows!

    Harry.
     
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  3. Fanatical

    Fanatical Byte Poster

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    I see your point about the short periods of employment but I guess that if I got the Eastleigh job then I'd just never put down that I had the Basingstoke job. I'd just say I took a holiday after leaving my current job.

    The Commute would leave me with probably about the same money I'm on know, taking into account wear and tear on my car and petrol which isn't ideal....
     
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  4. Theprof

    Theprof Petabyte Poster

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    If you feel like its a better job for you then give it a try so that at least you wont have regrets. However if its just out of curiosity then I would recommend to stick the one you already have.

    I know money wise it pays more but its not that much of a difference. I know when I finished school I had to start a stage but at the same time I was offered a job at this other place and I turned it down only to find out 2 months later that I got a job at another place that is better then the previous. The good thing is also that I dont have regrets.
     
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  5. grim

    grim Gigabyte Poster

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    get both jobs and rotate between the 2 with sickies and hey presto £34.5k a year :)

    grim
     
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  6. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    To be honest, the experience you will gain as part of a small team being able to assist and learn from the technical support guys could prove to be invaluable... and could mean more for your long-term career goals than an extra 2.5K per year.

    When I was a systems admin, I was blessed to have a network admin who allowed me to assist him with the configuration and administration of servers, firewalls, and routers. Without that real-world experience, I'd have never have advanced as quickly as I did. Right place, right time.

    Fortunately, the job that sounds like it will provide you with that sort of opportunity is the job you've already landed. 8)
     
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  7. Sparky
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    Sparky Zettabyte Poster Moderator

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    The first job sounds good mate, after a year you might get a pay increase if you put the work in so it’s all good.

    Helpdesk jobs (corporate helpdesks that is) tend to have a little opportunity for pay increases as the nature of the job doesn’t evolve over time.
     
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  8. stuPeas

    stuPeas Megabyte Poster

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    I think I'd have to agree with Boson. The smaller team will probably be better and more conducive to learning more valuable skills. There is also the fact that it is easier to overlook somebody for promotion in a larger team. And anyway, there would be more people in the queue in front of you waiting for advancement.
     
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  9. Fanatical

    Fanatical Byte Poster

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    good points guys, I may have a look at this other job just in case it actualy is a gem, I'm sure I can swing one day off my new job. I'm leaning towards sticking with it for the reasons Boson said....
     
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  10. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    Please, call me Michael... Boson is my "family" name. :biggrin
     
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  11. hippy

    hippy Kilobyte Poster

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    I thought it meant you worked for boson :P
     
  12. BosonMichael
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    BosonMichael Yottabyte Poster

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    That *is* my family. One of them, anyway. ;)
     
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  13. wizard

    wizard Petabyte Poster

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    The same as "mafia" name? :D
     
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