# In which RNATB turns down a job **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [April 9, 2018, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092 "2018-04-09T17:24:02Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Kimballkid](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/b5a626/32.png) [@Kimballkid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kimballkid)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 7:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/21 "2018-04-09T19:13:51Z")
1-877-cash-now ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/22 "2018-04-09T19:20:07Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Wouldn’t making more money now allow you to retire sooner? Some people like their job and like working and aren’t only working in order to retire ASAP. ---
**Author:** ![Slash1972](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slash1972/32/6461_2.png) [@Slash1972](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slash1972)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 7:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/23 "2018-04-09T19:23:03Z")
> [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](#): > > Some people like their job and like working and aren’t only working in order to retire ASAP. Well, that’s just crazy talk. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/6bbea6/32.png) [@Living\_Well\_Is\_Best\_Revenge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Living_Well_Is_Best_Revenge)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/24 "2018-04-09T19:47:36Z")
> [@Slash1972](#): > > Well, that’s just crazy talk. > > 😉 It does kind of sound crazy reading that back, haha. ---
**Author:** ![Doctor\_Jackson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doctor_jackson/32/32_2.png) [@Doctor\_Jackson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doctor_Jackson)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 7:47pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/25 "2018-04-09T19:47:43Z")
> [@Bone](#): > > I’d shoot kittens out of a cannon in a heartbeat if you paid me $500K. The only question would be if I could work overtime. Hell, for that kind of money I’d figure out how to shoot cannons out of kittens. ---
**Author:** ![Sunny\_Daze](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunny_daze/32/438_2.png) [@Sunny\_Daze](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunny_Daze)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/26 "2018-04-09T20:02:51Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > I’m currently a fairly senior person in information security at a private company. I just accepted a job as a university professor. It’s a big pay cut. But I’m gaining so much scheduling flexibility and free time. I have two small kids, so that will be so nice. The pay I’ll be getting isn’t bad at all. It’s plenty, just not the stupid money I’m getting now. I think it’s the right decision. Congrats **Bayard**! > [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > The hours would actually have been _better_, though I’m mostly free to come and go as I please now; I could work from home most of the time if I wanted to. No kids; we’ve been “thinking about talking about it” for most of our eight-year marriage. > > 😃 It wasn’t quite that bad. I probably would have found it more rewarding in terms of whether I was Helping People (right now, I represent large faceless corporations and in the other job I’d be representing the little people on the other side), but it’s not practicing law so much as negotiating settlements all day. That doesn’t appeal to me. Congratulations on making a good choice for you and your family. It’s a wonderful thing to be able to see work/life balance and understand its importance and impact on other parts of your life. I’ll just make 2 comments If you two are serious about kids ever, you should have that conversation. It gets harder to accomplish the longer you wait (voice of experience). Also, speaking from experience, the world can always use more honest and dedicated people negotiating for the little guy. It sounds like this firm may not match that description (or maybe I’m just naturally skeptical of large firms that advertise on tv), but if you have the opportunity to take up for the little guy in the future, we’d appreciate it. > [@Bone](#): > > I’d shoot kittens out of a cannon in a heartbeat if you paid me $500K. The only question would be if I could work overtime. I don’t know about kittens. Can we make it rats? ---
**Author:** ![Defensive\_Indifference](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/defensive_indifference/32/6502_2.png) [@Defensive\_Indifference](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Defensive_Indifference)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/27 "2018-04-09T20:07:19Z")
> [@Sunny\_Daze](#): > > Congrats **Bayard**! Thanks! By the way, I’ll be using some of my newfound scheduling freedom to spin up that consulting business you helped me with. 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Gray\_Ghost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c0e974/32.png) [@Gray\_Ghost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gray_Ghost)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 8:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/28 "2018-04-09T20:20:34Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > …I don’t like the idea of the work I’d be doing at the new place, and I didn’t want to fuck up the cushy gig I have now. Do those seem like valid reasons? You’re a happy lawyer, actually practicing (and not stuck in say, doc review hell), with enough money to meet your needs and goals, and you’re questioning whether you should change jobs?! There’s a reason why lawyers are near the top of polls for job dissatisfaction, alcoholism/chemical abuse, and suicide: it’s because a lot of the practice of law sucks. Often, the people in the profession are shit, the clients are shit, the hours are shit. You’ve beaten the odds on the profession, and you’re wondering whether you should throw your winning lottery ticket away? Yeah, I think you made the right decision. Congratulations! With one possible caveat: are you continuing to grow and be challenged in your present position. If “No,” then I can see wanting to try something else. ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/29 "2018-04-09T23:19:06Z")
If it is one of the PI firms I’m thinking of, the biggest benefit you get to not working for them is that you will never have to hang your head in shame when you say “I work for Chase & Boscalo/The Cochran firm” ---
**Author:** ![MareIt](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/ea666f/32.png) [@MareIt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MareIt)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/30 "2018-04-09T23:23:53Z")
oh, and I’ve turned down three $$$ jobs in the last 8 months (one of them was $$$$). All would’ve forced me to join the Borg. Instead, I get to wake up and decide what I think is the most important thing for me to work on. This week I’m flying to HQ, because I accidentally discovered a major hole in a process that will be best resolved by having all of the relevant parties in the same room. This problem has absolutely zero to do with my actual day to day job, but instead of being told “Not your Job” I was told “That isn’t your job, so you can either spearhead it or hand it off to someone else”. Given my options on who I can hand it off too, I am spearheading it. And that? That is why I’ve turned down jobs with some of the biggest in my field. ---
**Author:** ![ElvisL1ves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/5daacb/32.png) [@ElvisL1ves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ElvisL1ves)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/31 "2018-04-09T23:30:54Z")
If the offer was from the For the People firm, haven’t you told us before how precarious job security is there? If you need to think long term and stable, that isn’t the sort of place to go. So, you’re not asking for concurrence but you have it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![JohnGalt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johngalt/32/184_2.png) [@JohnGalt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnGalt)\ **Post date:** [April 9, 2018, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/32 "2018-04-09T23:57:49Z")
> [@Bayard](#): > > Good for you, **RNATB**. That’s a tough decision, but it sounds like you made the decision to prioritize life over money, which is often hard to do. > > I’m currently a fairly senior person in information security at a private company. I just accepted a job as a university professor. It’s a big pay cut. But I’m gaining so much scheduling flexibility and free time. I have two small kids, so that will be so nice. The pay I’ll be getting isn’t bad at all. It’s plenty, just not the stupid money I’m getting now. I think it’s the right decision. I wasn’t very high up at a large computer company, but the workload was getting insane. I was laid off, and instead of going back to work in industry, I fortunately landed a job teaching at a community college. It’s a commute for me, but beyond that, the freedom of running a classroom, summers off, and better hours made the pay cut desirable (although the side benefits are great). So **Bayard** - good for you! ---
**Author:** ![Ludovic](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7ab992/32.png) [@Ludovic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ludovic)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 12:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/33 "2018-04-10T00:11:11Z")
I too was wondering if it was the famously double-named company (which used to be three) and have wondered what conditions were like for non-name people at famous firms. ---
**Author:** ![Nava](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/da6949/32.png) [@Nava](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nava)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 5:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/34 "2018-04-10T05:29:12Z")
> [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](#): > > But ultimately, I didn’t want to move (it was only an hour away, so I could have commuted for a year), I don’t like the idea of the work I’d be doing at the new place, and I didn’t want to fuck up the cushy gig I have now. Do those seem like valid reasons? I think they’re perfectly great reasons. I work in Business IT Consulting: the “dream retirement job” for us airport warriors includes a paycut, but the lower pay comes with less travel, less stress (not so little you feel like dying at your desk) and more time to enjoy your family and friends. More money is only worth so much of less life\*. - Is perfectly fine grammar too! ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [April 10, 2018, 2:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/35 "2018-04-10T14:32:10Z")
> [@ElvisL1ves](#): > > If the offer was from the For the People firm, haven’t you told us before how precarious job security is there? If you need to think long term and stable, that isn’t the sort of place to go. So, you’re not asking for concurrence but you have it anyway. > [@Ludovic](#): > > I too was wondering if it was the famously double-named company (which used to be three) and have wondered what conditions were like for non-name people at famous firms. It was. This is a bit different from what I’ve described previously (good memory, **EL** ), because it’s a satellite office and I’d basically be running a separate practice. No TV guy wandering in at 8 a.m. asking why I’m not wearing a tie, etc. I know a lot of their lawyers, and most seem at least reasonably happy (at least, they haven’t left, and the last 12 months have seen a hiring bonanza in this field because of changes in the law). But still. ---
**Author:** ![DesertDog](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/desertdog/32/11503_2.png) [@DesertDog](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DesertDog)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 4:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/36 "2018-04-13T16:37:44Z")
> [@Chimera](#): > > My one management job offer back in the 90’s: Required to be there 6am-6pm, wearing a coat and tie at all times, warned that this time will be all management meetings and work and any time needed to actually manage my team would be over and above the 60 hours of mandatory meetings. That makes no sense. What kind of management style is all planning and no doing, to say nothing about requiring the _worker bees_ to be there after 6pm when you finally stagger out of your all-day meeting? It must be an intricate plan, indeed. ---
**Author:** ![Chimera](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/8e8cbc/32.png) [@Chimera](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chimera)\ **Post date:** [April 13, 2018, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/37 "2018-04-13T17:53:19Z")
Yeah, it was an extremely stuffy company. Contractors like I was were also required to wear ties at all times. I stopped after the first day and my manager was never around to tell me to put it back on. 😃 I was also making $32 an hour working 25 hours a week (7am-noon), eating lunch in the free company cafeteria every day and then going home (and then being on call in the evenings from 6pm-9pm). So basically $40k, this back in the mid 90’s. The manager salary offered was $75k, which was a low but not bad salary for the position. But working mornings for $40k or working more than three times those hours for $75k? Nope. Considering that I had a physical breakdown in 2001 and retired from the business for over 10 years, it would have happened a lot faster had I taken that position and I might not actually be alive today. ---
**Author:** ![septimus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/septimus/32/410_2.png) [@septimus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/septimus)\ **Post date:** [April 14, 2018, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092/38 "2018-04-14T20:58:46Z")
I’m reminded of [Ryan Gosling in _Fracture_ who “didn’t work this hard to stay where he belonged”](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XQgevcKhdng), but eventually passes up the high-paying job at Wooton & Simms, in order to keep putting bad guys in prison. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/in-which-rnatb-turns-down-a-job/812092.md?page=1)