And how is that working out? I wanted to avoid job changes in case it didn't work out, but after two weeks of not being sure and analyzing it to death I just decided to send an email I had put together weeks ago. At first it felt liberating. Then I felt like I made a mistake. Now I am not sure. :-(
If it wasn't for my current contract job getting better over the years, I would have made the decision easily, because it would have been the same headaches but with more money, a lot more PTO, and more job security.
But alas, if it doesn't work out, I will just have to find another job. At that point, depending on how bad it is, I might even take a pay cut to take an IT management gig somewhere (been getting offers making 30-45K less per year than I make now for MOST positions. It's unlikely my company will take me back, let alone at the same pay, because I've waffled on this and a couple other positions so many times, but at the end of the day, I'd just keep moving forward to the next gig.
So in short, I accepted the offer, withdrew my acceptance, then reached out to them again asking if it was still available, passed on the opportunity, and here I am two weeks later accepting it again. My only hope is they are tired of this nonsense (like I am) and don't accept it.
A big part of the reason I accepted it is because I was in a similar boat 5 months ago and followed the exact same pattern: accepted it, withdrew, reached out but it was already filled (didn't reach out until 4 months later) and ALL I have done since then is kick myself for not taking it, and looking back at it, I think I rationalized reasons to turn down the job. Looking back at it, I turned down a 135K a year job with A LOT of PTO, excellent benefits, and international travel opportunities to exotic destinations...because I was hesitant to leave a job where I am basically turning lazy. :-(
So the way I'm thinking about this government job is, I don't want to kick myself months down the road (as I am now), and in reality, if I don't like that job, I will just move on to another one. Yeah, this job I have now is gravy, and yes I am building wealth off it, but I didn't get to this level of income or skill by never taking risks. In fact, I was in a similar situation about 5 years ago, and almost didn't leave my job, even for a huge pay increase. I ended up leaving anyway, and yes, I hated my new job, worked there for 3 months, hated the next job, worked there for 3 months, BAM, found a place I liked for 2+ years until it turned to crap, then found this place which I've been working at for 2.5 years. I guess the moral of the story is, you might have to jump around if things don't work out, but you can keep jumping until you find a place you like.