Work question for you all!

[Carnivore_Plant_Mom]

 
Rant:

So I moved back to my home state for a two year IT internship.
After 6 months of employment I was contacted, by the big boss I had never met before, and told that my position was being eliminated due to 'budget cuts'. Well I was the last of 4 data miners left on this huge project.
Three days later the big boss realizes how valuable I am due to my skills and calls me up about the possibility of a 'full time tester position' with no other specific details. I informed my boss that I am actually applying to grad school that would start in the winter and really want flexible hours to study and crap. My boss mentions that I already have a degree and don't need a masters to work for them.

Well no shit Sherlock. After all the bad management I have observed however, I really don't want to ever have a permanent job with them. I do have an offer for a student position with the other side of the joint project, but it would be for ~$10/hr less and no health insurance. Mind you this would only be for 6 months till grad school starts.

So should I bother to try and bargain for the stuff I want ie: pay/health insurance. Or should I just say screw them and take the lower paying job with the flexibility I want???

I am so pissed with them right now, but I feel I have the stronger position. I am so thrilled to have a large FU fund!!

End rant

What do you all think?

[sisto]

Try to get what you want from the company you are currently with and if they won't do it, put in notice and take the other job.

[MDM]

Try to get what you want from the company you are currently with and if they won't do it, put in notice and take the other job.

+1

Why pass up the chance to get exactly what you want, especially given you have a fallback position?

[nereo]

You are in a position of strength.  Use it.  You can bargain for what you truly want with no fear of what will happen if you don't get it.

[Guesl982374]

I love leverage. Use it.

[G-dog]

Why not try to get more from the other side as well. You may not get another $10/ hr, but you might get $5. You would also see how they operate, and it may open a continued or another opportunity during or after grad school.

You have two suitors - may as well be talking to both before you decide.

[hybrid]

I work in IT and in my experience a good IT worker usually has some leverage. It's simple supply and demand, there is always a shortage of good IT workers in Richmond. Emphasis on good.

I would agree that a masters degree is probably not the most helpful thing in the world. Once you get past a certain point it's a matter of what you know, not what you learned in school. Most of the best IT technicians I know self-study for their certifications anyway.

My son is almost 20 years old, not ready for college yet, but got his network plus certification a few months ago. It did not take long for him to land an entry-level IT job. If he works hard and continues to get certifications he can write his own ticket. If he does not work hard he will probably always make somewhere between 10 and $15 an hour.

[Cougar]

 i disagree with fu money, unless youre fire; you dont have fu money but thats just me.

 however, you do have leverage and i agree with others that a masters doesnt do much for you. i'd get more but be reasonable and if they give you static remind them they cut you first and could have had you at the same or less if they kept you on and you moved on. it shouldnt cost you that they didnt think things thru.

[nereo]

 i disagree with fu money, unless youre fire; you dont have fu money but thats just me.

you do not need to be retired in order to have FU money (which is the "R" in FIRE).  I also disagree that you have to have enough money already saved last you the rest of your life (i.e. ~25x expenses) in order to say that you have FU money.  Likewise, there's not a single FI level or line or dollar amount; your financial independence increases with your savings.

My wife and I both work, but we know either one of us could quit and we'd be fine, or we could both quit and not work for several years, living off our savings and rental income.  That's FU money - at any moment we can say "F-you" to our current situation and not worry about paying the bills.

also, see: http://jlcollinsnh.com/2011/06/06/why-you-need-f-you-money/

[Digital Dogma]

Whatever you chose (to stay or to go) it is certainly best to do it with tact so you can use this job and the people you worked for as a reference when you decide to work elsewhere.

If it were me I'd lay out the days I could dedicate to the job and stick it out if they wanted to keep me. Then when I had another position lined up I'd give my 2 weeks notice and gladly say goodbye and thank you. A paycheck is a paycheck and you'll never retire on appreciation from your boss alone.

[OneDollarAtATime]

I know this is mostly a forum about money -- but sidenote:  I've never understood why management does things like this.  Watch the bottom line, lay everyone off, then scramble shortly afterwards to fill everything so nothing misses a beat. 

They've been doing it in my job area (offshoring -- and they are very upfront about it) but with the 'pre-notices' for layoffs, people jump ship faster than management would like, so there's no training for the 'offshore' person.  You can imagine how well that's going over with the rest of us 'onshore' folks right now -- trying to cover the jobs, reports, figure out who did what roles, who you're supposed to send things to, etc.

They did this to a former co-worker of mine in a prior job, too.  Loaded her up with work, had her train new people under her, drove her to quit (by offering someone way below her / newer more than she was making), then immediately called and tried to make a better salary offer to come back.  She declined -- said the fact that she finally got to stop taking anti-depression medication was worth more than the mini-raise.

If you've got the skill where they NEED you to stay around, use that leverage.  Keep in mind, they (mgmt.) probably just saved a boatload of money from salaries, benefits, etc. so it's not like they're short on cash.  See how bad they need you, then decide if you want to stay.  Keep in mind, the more you ask for, the longer they'll probably expect you to work (at which point I guess you can just leave on your terms).

[MidWestLove]

use the leverage, get much higher pay and conditions you want - key word with them is flexibility around employment. and if they can not be flexible, would you do a contract  with them? you pay me 75-125 per hour, I will take of my own insurance (health, liability, errors and omissions, etc) , standard 1099 stuff...

[Zamboni]

Good advice here about using your leverage.

I will offer a counterpoint to those who say a masters degree is basically useless in IT:
At all of the places I have worked, one simply cannot get into the "higher level" technical management positions without some kind of graduate level degree. Some places simply won't allow people without a graduate degree into the highest salary bands, no exceptions. Salespeople seem to get more leeway since they get so much of their pay from commission, not salary. More than one friend has been saddened with the blunt news of "we can't promote you any more because you don't have XYZ degree." I know not every place operates that way, but many big places do and you should keep it in mind.

[BlueHouse]

I would use this opportunity to ask for something completely different. Tell them you'll accept a contract position for 6 months at $125-$150/hour. That way, everyone knows what to expect about the next time they have to reduce the workforce. And that way, they can hire you back for short durations during the school year if it works out for both of you.
Also, as a contract position, you generally determine how and where you work and the client tells you what they want done - more flexibility for you as well.

[MDM]

At all of the places I have worked, one simply cannot get into the "higher level" technical management positions without some kind of graduate level degree.

Interesting.  I've not seen this for management positions as much as for the higher positions on a technical ladder - and even then only in pure R&D positions, where sometimes neither the BS nor Master's is "good enough" - it has to be a PhD else the candidate is "obviously not worthy."