Advice Needed About a Job

In My Humble Opinion
1

My niece is in a predicament, and has e-mailed me looking for advice. Since many heads are better than one, I’m turning to Dopers, as I trust that I’ll get a variety of good opinions.

Anyway, my niece, let’s call her Beth, has been out of work for a little over two years after her last employer went bankrupt. She’s 28, single, no kids, no debts, and has always lived with her parents. I don’t know all of the exact specifics of the arrangement between Beth and her parents, but I do know that since Beth lost her job and her unemployment benefits have run out, she’s been getting by mainly on her savings and her parents have not (by Beth’s report and also to my knowledge) felt that Beth was inappropriately freeloading, so my guess is that she’s continued to fulfill whatever agreement they may have insofar as Beth’s contributions to household expenses goes.

Anyway, the pastor of a church in their community has offered Beth the opportunity to interview for the secretarial position at his church. At first she was enthusiastic, but then started to reconsider. Her reasons:

[ul][li]The job is part time Monday-Friday, which she found bothersome under the rationale: “If I’m only working 20-odd hours a week, I’d just as soon put in three 8 hour days, even if it’s Monday, Wednesday and Friday, than go in for a weird chunk of hours in the middle of every single day.” [/li][li]The pay is approximately 40% of what she was earning at her last job, putting her salary back to what she was earning 3 jobs, a number of crucial skills and a decade ago.[/li][li]The salary isn’t commensurate with her experience and abilities, nor (in her opinion) with the skillset she would be using to properly perform in the position. [/li][li]There are no benefits of any kind, insurance, vacation, sick time, nothing. Not even coffee.[/li][li]It was hinted that they’d like her to attend services at the church. Beth has her own church home of a different denomination.[/li][li]It was mentioned that the woman who most recently filled the position had returned 1/10 of the salary to the church as a tithe. When she has an income, Beth tithes to her own church, and while she’s not sure if the prior employee attended the church (or any church) she feels that it was mentioned in hopes that if she were to take the position, she’d do likewise.[/ul] [/li]
Lastly, and most importantly, in the time that Beth has been out of work, she’s begun writing and spends most of her time doing so. She’s written two novels which she’s currently refining for submission to agents. She’s also written several great short stories – one was published in a local magazine – and has brought in a little bit of extra cash doing editing work for college students and writing copy for brochures and sales documents for some local businesses.

She has decided that she wants to return to college to study English and creative writing, but that can’t happen until next January at the earliest. This new pursuit ties into her issue with the hours of the job – she’s enjoying the flexibility of being able to sit and write all day or late into the night as the inspiration strikes and feels that she’d become resentful if a big chunk of time had to be devoted to something else every single day of the week.

So, I ask you what Beth asked me: is it worthwhile (for anyone involved) for her to explore taking this job when she’s so very ambivalent about it?

Beth’s parents say that it is. But Beth says that’s because they’re operating under the principle that even a pathetic income is better than siphoning from her savings for the next nine months, though she can manage it if she’s careful and can continue to do a bit of freelancing as she’s been doing.

I’m leaning toward agreeing with Beth. Why pursue something that will ultimately make you unhappy for just a few (and trust me, very few) dollars if you’re not in a position in which you absolutely need that particular income? But the practical side of me tends to agree with her parents, that some money is better than decimating the nest egg she’s managed to put aside (money she could use to help finance college next year) and the working hours, service attendance and tithing issues seem like they might well be negotiable.

What say you, Dopers? What advice would you give to Beth?

2

I’m with you, and Beth: if she doesn’t really need it, and if she’d be happier without it than with it (which seems to be the case), then she should concentrate on something more productive.

All other things being equal, a bad job is waaaay worse than no job, and it sounds like this would be a bad job for her.

3

I’m in the other camp. Income is better than no income, and 20 hours a week shouldn’t interfere with much of anything. If she were to go back to school, when would she do writing then? As someone who has spent all of her adult life writing, I can say that you simply have to make time to do it.

Living off of her savings means she isn’t going to have a savings account for much longer. That may not seem like a big deal to her now, but every dollar she spends out of it is a dollar she doesn’t have in the event of an emergency.

Of course, I am very risk averse and very pro income, so that’s where I’m coming from.

Julie

4

I wouldn’t. I’m getting kind of a weird vibe. If you already suspect they want her in the church and titheing now, what’re they gonna do 2 or 3 months down the road?

Going in with hinted at expectations just gives you more expectations later down the road.

5

Imagine if Beth took the job. She then finds an exciting opportunity with another employer. They ask her what she’s doing now – and more importantly, how much she’s making. They will look at what she’s making now before they figure out how much to offer her.

This would be hamstringing herself in the long run. Sure, she hates living off her savings, but taking a job that is beneath her is not the way to go. It’s not going to look good on her work history and won’t help her get another job.

Plus, she might be pigeonholed into secretarihood, which is easy to do and hard to get out of. Ask my mother, who holds a master’s in business, and climbed out of the secretary niche only after years of constant fighting and effort.

Not that there’s anything wrong with being a secretary, when that’s what you want to do. But it doesn’t sound like Beth wants to do it. It’s much easier to turn something like that down than get out of it later.

6

I’m in the “wait for a job you can stand” camp. I’m currently at a temp job that I hate (see my Pit thread if you like), and I can vouch for a bad job being worse than no job. My job search is basically on hold until I get out of this temp job.

Your niece is looking at the long term, and that’s great. Maybe what she needs to find now is something that can be turned into a part-time job while she goes to school.

7

Well, I talked with Beth on the phone, and she’s not even going in to interview with the church board. She’s just cadged a few more freelance jobs and she’s not doing badly; turns out her savings are substantial (nicely paying jobs + an insurance settlement after a car accident + living at home) but she’s been playing it frugal which makes perfect sense.

She’s hoping to not have to work again until she’s done with school, as the combination of work and school is what led to her dropping out first time around. She sat down and enumerated her plan and, more importantly, her budget to her parents and they’re now pretty much on board with her ideas and goals.

Thanks for your advice, folks!

8

Budding freelancers – they’re so cute! Welcome to the fold, Beth!

I can guarantee you that that job would have been much more trouble than what little it was worth. Ray Bradbury once said something along the lines of, “You’ve got to jump off cliffs all the time – and build your wings on the way down.” Good on her.

9

**It was hinted that they’d like her to attend services at the church. Beth has her own church home of a different denomination.

It was mentioned that the woman who most recently filled the position had returned 1/10 of the salary to the church as a tithe. When she has an income, Beth tithes to her own church, and while she’s not sure if the prior employee attended the church (or any church) she feels that it was mentioned in hopes that if she were to take the position, she’d do likewise.
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This alone would be enough to keep from working there.

I have to commend her for not panicking and grabbing the first job that goes her way. she is a very fortunate circumstances to be able to hold out for that ultimate job while doing what she wants to do.

I really envy her infact.

10

It sounds like the downside is bigger than the upside. Is the money worth all the aggrivation?

I wouldn’t agree with some of her complaints (the days), but there are plenty of legitimate ones to make this seem like a bad deal. In any case, she should still be looking for a day job; writing is extremely difficult to succeed in.

If she needs suggestions about how to find a market for her novels or other writing advice, have her contact me.