Looking for a bit of career advice.
Currently I have a very stable, technical, facility-lead position. Not a facility supervisor but I run the operations of the facility on a day-to-day basis half of every week. 1 other guy does the same thing. We have relevant journey-level and above certifications. We work in a field and at a facility that are at the forefront of the industry in technology and legislation and this is where the industry is headed in general. What I do will never take 100% market share of the industry; it can't due to laws of physics. Within my company, it's a 5% share and in planning/development to be 10% in the next 10 years. Considering the complexity and regulatory issues with what you we do as well as the necessity to humanity, this is pretty exciting.
My job is already pretty high paying. Beyond normal COLA increases, I could potentially get a 10% raise & promotion to "senior" level in the years to come as expansion dictates the need. I do the work that employees at the "senior" level with similar job functions perform but there is currently (arguably) no administrative need for me to be a "senior." A new facility is being planned to be built now that would necessitate "senior" positions and given my experience, I'd be a shoe in.
The new facility will almost certainly be 24 hour operations though, meaning rotating night shifts. That means more money on top of base pay but night shifts are brutal! I'm currently attending school to get an AA then a baccalaureate degree. Between the physical/mental toll and school night shift is pretty undesirable. Also, DW is pregnant, due end of Sept.
The new position I'm considering is a bit different. It's within the same company so stability and benefits would still be excellent. The base pay is what my current position maxes out at. In other terms, if I went straight from my current position to the new position, it would be $1300/month MORE (~$550 more than what I would be making if I were senior right now).
Instead of running a facility though I would be supervising a crew of technical operators but who have no certification requirements. Their work is critical to people who perform jobs similar to my current one at other facilities. The difference here is that the sector of the industry is not expanding, growing, advancing. It will always be there (you're saying "yea, right, ALWAYS." but seriously, it will always be there. There are things most people don't think about that are necessity everyday.) but it isn't the cutting edge stuff I'm doing now. It would mean more meetings and 1 extra day of work every other week. (5-4 days every week, alternating vs only 4 days/week now) But, it is closer to home and the days are shorter. It is generally a safer position (currently work in proximity to dangerous chemicals).
With either position I want to be out of this job in 13-18 years (I've got over 2 in and at 15 they pay for my healthcare in retirement; at 20 they pay for wife's too (80% in each case)) and am saving accordingly. I do intend to ER but at 29, have no idea what I really want to do with my life beyond cooking, surfing, outdoorsy stuff and spending time with friends/family.
TL;DR: current job would allow me to lead my field and go wherever I want as the industry expands. Would ultimately provide incredible opportunity for consulting work probably wherever I want in the world but means poorer working conditions. New job would be more money and better working conditions but kind of ends the process of technical advancement.
Thanks for reading! Looking forward to some mustachian input here.