I am currently a contractor. I'm liked by the clients leadership and have been there for a couple years. My organization is somewhat volatile and will be going through a re-org soon, but I am good at least through September, if not 3 years. Besides, I am senior on the staff, and there are people below me to let go first.
My job is pretty laid back (which makes me enjoy not dread coming into work ), and I get a lot of time off, and have a lot of time to get certs, learn new technical skills, etc.
The offer I have is for a similar job with a local government agency (read that, more stable, pension, lot's of paid time off, etc.), but it is more stress. There is some promotional opportunity, while there is none where I am now.
I really want to move into management next, and have been focusing my certs and training on that while also keeping up technical skills.
My options are to take the job and keep looking if it ends up sucking, take and stay at the job, or stay where I am and hold out for the management gig I want.
Here are some questions I asked myself that, in my perception, make the obvious choice to stay where I am at:
After additional thought on the subject, I'm inclined to agree with this. Here are the questions I decided to ask myself. Would you agree it is best for me to stay where I am at?
Do I intend to stay at this job more than a year? No.
What is it that I want to do instead? Management.
Can I get interviews and offers for management regularly? Yes, I have recently even.
Why do I want to go into management? FTE instead of contract, and higher pay.
Will I have opportunities to go into management at this job? Yes.
Will those be the highest paying opportunities? No.
Where are the highest paying management opportunities? Private sector.
Does it make more sense then (since you want more $) to work in the private sector? Yes
What about the pension? 401K provides you the same but better, because you can take it with you everywhere easily, and it is in YOUR control.
What about vacation time? Can be negotiated during the offer phase.
What about job security? Job security is an illusion. Studies show gov workers are just slightly less likely (5% or so) to be terminated, and the only job security are your skills and a savings account to tide you over.
What about maintaining your technical skills by taking on new projects? Even though work is slow, I still have a lab to maintain my skills, get certifications, etc. Besides, after moving into management, technical skills won't be as important as soft/people/management skills.
After asking myself these questions, I think the obvious best choice is to stay, and take my time to find the right management gig or even one to get my foot in the door and move around to move up from there. Thoughts?