Hello all,
I'm in the midst of an interesting work situation and thought this would be a constructive place to use as a sounding board while I kick things around in my head.
I work in the power industry as an engineer/consultant, for a ~25 person consulting firm. I love what I do and am good enough at it that I should be able to keep myself busy no matter what happens with the firm, but I often have the problem of having too much work (especially lately) and sometimes find myself working too much even though I try hard not to. I am also slightly worried about the future of the firm since there are some organizational hurdles that will need to be cleared in the next 2-3 years to remain successful. I am thrilled by the high pace and high mental requirements of my job. It certainly allows me to push my mental capacity on a daily basis, but the counterpoint is that the rest of my life sometimes isn't as full or is far busier due to the effort I put into it.
My wife and I have decided that we love the small/medium size town we live in (~50,000 people) and do not want to leave since it provides us with an awesomely mustachian super high quality lifestyle. In the past, job offers have been easy to politely turn down because they would require us to move.
I am currently being recruited by a local utility to work as an engineer for them. The job description reads like a list of my interests and the pay would be equivalent or slightly higher than my base pay now (but no bonuses at a utility). Working for a utility likely means a slower pace, good for my marriage and social life and hobbies, but I am afraid I won't love it as much because of the slower pace and the fact that I may get bored. It would also be rock solid in terms of job stability.
Now that I have multiple good opportunities in my hometown I feel obligated to vet everything and make sure I am making the best decision for myself. My wife has a good job here too, and both of us can easily find new jobs at the drop of a hat if we desire to leave our current town -- but finding a job in town at the drop of a hat is trickier due to the smaller size of the town. What's the best way to go about making a decision?
Private consultant VS. public?
higher earnings potential, some potential instability VS. good earnings and rock solid stability
Choose my own hours (finish the work) VS. Set hours
Answer to no-one but clients VS. set structure and hierarchy
Edit: One last item. Our FI date will be in 2022-2023 most likely, but we currently desire to continue working both on a half-time basis thereafter.
