Author Topic: Which Job offer do I accept?  (Read 2636 times)

YoungMoneyMillenial

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Which Job offer do I accept?
« on: May 29, 2018, 12:25:38 PM »
Hello everyone! I am in a great dilemma but was looking for some outside opinions as I try to come to a decision.

I say I am in a great dilemma because as a junior in college (2 years left due to one year of grad school) I have one full-time job offer from a firm I recently completed an internship with and I have an internship offer with a different company next summer.

Company 1 - The full time offer

I recently completed an internship with this company and at the end of the internship, they offered me full-time employment starting when I finish college. The pay is around 53k a year with decent benefits. As I stated earlier, I have two more years of school left because I have to complete one year of graduate school. However, this company would allow me to find a balance between working and doing grad school in the afternoon so I could start making money next year instead of waiting two years.

The downsides are that this job offer is in my hometown and does not call for much long-distance travel. The cost of living in my hometown is lower than most metropolitan areas, but I feel if I don't try to leave that I may never leave my hometown.

Company 2 - The internship offer

This company has given me an internship offer during the summer of 2019. The company is very prestigious and would allow me to work with some of the brightest people and companies in the US. This internship does not guarantee me a job offer, but I am optimistic (from talking with employees at that office) that I would get a full-time offer. The pay for starting salary would be similar to the other company(maybe 5k more). The cost of living is going to be higher for this town because I would have to relocate and to a more expensive area. A big benefit of working for this company in my mind is the opportunity to travel frequently (collect airline miles and hotel points). I enjoy traveling and this would allow me to fulfill that until I become tired of being a nomad. If I accept this internship offer then I effectively decline the other offer.


I think my biggest dilemma with both options is that I do not see myself working in this field for more than 10 years. I am not extremely passionate about my major, but it provides me a lot of flexibility to do all kinds of business work in the future.

I would love to hear the communities' opinions on my situation and I hope this is enough information! I am enjoying reading all of the blog and forum posts and hope to start my journey on Financial independence.







mozar

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #1 on: May 29, 2018, 12:33:50 PM »
Company 2. If you care about prestige an future opportunities it's a no-brainer. You can't know what you'll be doing ten years from now, you have to make a decision based on what you know today.
You might also be able to negotiate part time work with company 1. It's worth asking.

thd7t

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #2 on: May 29, 2018, 01:40:39 PM »
I would go with company 1.  If you're not looking to stay in this field, you should do the job that keeps you available more and seems more flexible.  In addition, business travel is not like personal travel.  It's mostly unpleasant.  Finally, cost of living and payscale differences aren't clear, but a bird in the hand, and all that!

Apple_Tango

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #3 on: May 29, 2018, 01:45:39 PM »
Company 2. I think the "traveling" is not a benefit at all! I love traveling...but not for work. It's stressful and very tiring. However, I would still go with offer 2. If you want to move out of your hometown, now is the time to do it. Plus having experience of 2 different internships will be good to expose you to different aspects of the field.


UNLESS. are you taking on a lot of student debt right now? If so, then do Company 1. You'll make more money overall and be able to pay off debt.
« Last Edit: May 29, 2018, 01:47:52 PM by Apple_Tango »

slappy

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #4 on: May 29, 2018, 01:50:50 PM »
But Job 2 doesn't start until next year? What would you do until then?

TheExplorer

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #5 on: May 29, 2018, 01:53:38 PM »
Can you say what industry this is?

Hirondelle

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #6 on: May 29, 2018, 02:02:06 PM »
You mention travel as a benefit of option 2, but what kind of travel would it be? If you're just hopping from one place to another for short conferences, you won't be "traveling" - you're just going from airplane to hotel to airplane to hotel. That's not the fun kind of travel nor would I call it "being a nomad" (to what extent that's a fun thing is a completely different question). Or did you mean that you'd be working to save up money + all the airline/hotel points and then go for a long trip? That does sound like a good travel-hack plan to me.

If your work would allow you to take of some extra days on each trip or would generally provide you with a lot of free time during work travel it's a better prospect. Just don't fall for the "but you can travel on this job"-trap. Jetlags and hotelstays aren't that much fun (to me at least) :).

maginvizIZ

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #7 on: May 29, 2018, 02:42:50 PM »
What are your chances of landing a job at company #1, if you take the internship with company #2?  After internship #2, couldn't you just apply to that local job once you graduate?

I would do company 2. If you show promise... company 2 will offer you a full time gig. too.  Even then... The experience would be awesome.  I wish I could work 3-6 months per company, to keep it fun. :) I'd rather be in a new job every 6 months, than one job every 3 years, even if it paid less (I just enjoy learning and new things).

Traveling for work is surprisingly not glamorous.  Traveling for a week at a time, you might be able to swing to stay for a weekend to make it worth while, but a Monday through Friday conference is lame. Not trying to burst your bubble... Oh and all my hotel & airline purchases are through the business credit card.  I don't get any points :(


YoungMoneyMillenial

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #8 on: May 29, 2018, 06:11:14 PM »
What are your chances of landing a job at company #1, if you take the internship with company #2?  After internship #2, couldn't you just apply to that local job once you graduate?

I would do company 2. If you show promise... company 2 will offer you a full time gig. too.  Even then... The experience would be awesome.  I wish I could work 3-6 months per company, to keep it fun. :) I'd rather be in a new job every 6 months, than one job every 3 years, even if it paid less (I just enjoy learning and new things).

Traveling for work is surprisingly not glamorous.  Traveling for a week at a time, you might be able to swing to stay for a weekend to make it worthwhile, but a Monday through Friday conference is lame. Not trying to burst your bubble... Oh and all my hotel & airline purchases are through the business credit card.  I don't get any points :(

Thanks for the response! The chances of landing a job are very slim with company 1 if I take an internship with company 2.

The work would be somewhat varied at both companies so it would be enjoyable on both levels. The travel could definitely get old, but I am more thinking about the added benefit of all the points I would get for the travel so I could go to other places! I am pretty sure I just expense everything so I should get all of the points.

YoungMoneyMillenial

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #9 on: May 29, 2018, 06:13:05 PM »
Can you say what industry this is?

It is the accounting industry

JCGreen

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #10 on: May 29, 2018, 08:06:41 PM »
I don't think you can go wrong with either job choice, but keep in mind, no matter what job you choose, you can always get another one. I think the decision will come down to what you value more. Just from what you have written, below is a minor analysis.

Job one:
Offers more stability
higher cash flow
Co-workers you know/get along with
Close to family and friends?

Job two:
Offers More travel
Very Prestigious place to work

Keep in mind, that this will probably not be the last job you ever get. Stability may not be important to you if your young, have familial support, and want to travel. Prestigious jobs do not always offer the best quality of life, but they can open doors.  Depending on benefits, you can always travel for vacation. I personally have never had any trouble leaving my home town, but if that is something that worries you, take it into consideration.

Me personally? I would take job one, because being close to family is more important than travelling to me, but you seem to be very interesting in travelling and leaning towards job two, which could work out very well for you. I would do with the job that has the most important attributes to you, because if your priorities change, you can always get another job.

Good luck and congratulations.

Papa bear

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #11 on: May 29, 2018, 09:39:35 PM »
Is this a choice between small CPA firm or Big4 firm?  Because the choice is to go Big4. It writes your ticket to anywhere else you want to go. 




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wbranch

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #12 on: May 30, 2018, 10:31:49 AM »
I know a lot of people that went to Big 4 or national/regional CPA firms and thought that work travel could be fun/interesting. They changed their minds quickly.

Papa bear

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #13 on: May 30, 2018, 12:55:28 PM »
I know a lot of people that went to Big 4 or national/regional CPA firms and thought that work travel could be fun/interesting. They changed their minds quickly.

Oh it was horrible! I went through 1 busy season before I was out. But if accounting is what you know what you want to do, having Big4 experience is far superior to anything else from a recruiting standpoint. It is an often requested requirement for a lot of accounting/financial positions.


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jpompo

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Re: Which Job offer do I accept?
« Reply #14 on: May 30, 2018, 01:43:04 PM »
Piggybacking on what others have said, work travel =/= fun travel. The excitement & joy of flying to Omaha where they put you in a room all day before you get to retreat to the Courtyard by Marriott each night at 8.

Let's say you fly 100k miles per year, that's enough for 4 domestic round trip flights.

 

Wow, a phone plan for fifteen bucks!