Many a time have I turned to this board for guidance in my life. Due to forces not understandable by man, I do so again, even though I should know better.
The situation is this: I have just completed the first year of a two-year university course in journalism. It was really hard to get into it and I was really happy to succeed. I’ve been doing well and enjoying it.
I have also recently been offered a job. I wanted this job for a couple of years before entering school but haven’t thought about it since. It concerns working with my hobby, which would, of course, be great. The salary is over 25% higher than the highest-paying job I’ve ever had before.
So, my choice is to stay in school and watch someone else get the job (I’m pretty confident that it’s mine if I want it), or postpone the final year of school to take the job. Even if I like the job, I’ll want to finish my course someday, and that day, it won’t be with the same people I’ve gotten to know and like over the past year.
Cast your votes - do I take the job? Do I go for the money?
I’m assuming you cannot take the job and finish your coursework correct? Would you make more money if you finished your coursework then took a different job? And what do you mean by postpone your coursework for a year? Do you mean you will only work in this great job for one year? *** I’d finish your coursework, then find work within your passion. ***
As a prof. I have seen students bump their school time to part-time instead of full, and end up never finishing due to a job. I’ve also seen students work their ass off on a fulltime work and school schedule and finish with a real sense of accomplishment.
However, I would highly recommend finishing your coursework now, and looking for work that enthralls you later. This is just IMHO…
You left some major gaps in the information you provided us, but from what you did give us I too would vote for staying in school. While this job may seem ideal now, it may not in five or more years.
The course, on the other hand, could open doors in the future.
Waht do you mean 'I’m pretty confident that it’s mine if I want it"? That is a thousand miles from having a job offer. Do not confuse encouraging noises and comments like “we can probably swing this” with an actual offer. And do not even THINK of walking away from your school plans without a specific offer.
Do you have to relocate for this job? If not, you’re in a pretty strong position to continue in school. If I were you negotiating for a job, I would try to negotiate in my staying in school and my employer paying for it. That is not at all out of the realm of reasonable possibility.
Take the job if all these things are true:
Your employer will begin to pick up your tuition costs as a job benefit.
You will be living somewhere where the training you want is available.
Your employer won’t so overburben you with overtime that you will actually be able to attend school part-time.
And not all the courses you need may be offered nights or weekends – check that out. Your employer may need to show some flexibility on letting you take some required daytime course. Or maybe the school’s program really does make a day job impossible.
It seeems to me then that it boils down to whether it is realistic to expect you to come back to your course work after a year and whether the time off will hinder you or help you. Sometimes a break can really energize you. Also, working in your second passion for a year can give you a new perspective on what you want as a career. Look at it this way. Your academic situation is a known; the job more of an unknown. Will you regret not taking it? Would a similar position be available if you stay in school? I’m leaning toward taking the job but then I didn’t finish college until I was 38 so maybe my perspective is skewed.
I’m pleased to learn you don’t face a hefty tuition, but your Swedish nationality makes me more reluctant to offer suggestions as my ignorance of your society is pretty complete.
But if it’s impossible to complete your educational program while working full-time, I suggest talking to your employer how real the chances of dropping below full-time six months or a year down the line.
Think about what kind of mechanisms are available to assist you if you take the job now, and leave it later to return to your education. In the US, there are all kinds of complications about receiving unemployment compensation while being a student. I have no idea whether this might be an issue in Sweden, but it would here.
I must say that I might cast my vote differently based on different factors in your life. For instance, if you are a young person who’s still persuing your education from elementary school through wherever you are now, I’d vote that you take the job so long as you’re reasonably confident you can recreate the necessary conditions to go back to school later. Having the job will be an education in itself. You say you’ve had other jobs, but does that mean you’ve been out in the workforce for a while and recently returned to school? In this case, I’d probably vote that you finish the program that you’ve already made a pretty serious commitment to.
I’m not suggesting that you reveal all kinds of details of your personal life, but be aware that the less we know, the less reliable our advice is likely to be.
I’d say to stay in school and don’t take the job. Only because you say the job is in your hobby. You have to be careful with that situation: once you go down that path, the thing you used to enjoy (your “hobby”), you start to associate with work. So you tend to bury yourself completely in your work and have nothing else to fall back on.
Yes, of course it’s possible to have a job doing something you love. But I say you should keep your job life and your recreational life separate.
Actually, I was doing quite well for a snot-nosed little kid with no education. In my new job, I’ll be making as much as my parents are in their mid-fifties. They aren’t rich, but they’ve managed to own a house and raise three kids on the kinds of salaries that are only now, with all three of us in our twenties, turning into what I could be making next month.
And money really isn’t that important to me. I know everybody says this, but it’s true: above a certain point, I don’t really care what my salary is. As long as I’m comfortable, can allow myself some luxury, and don’t have to worry about how I’m going to pay for the next bill that comes along, I really don’t care.
Well, it seems to be a moot point now. Apparently I cannot come back to my course if I leave it now, so leaving and coming back would mean re-applying and doing the first year all over again. Screw that. Better to finish the course.
On a brighter note, there is a chance that I’ll be able to wing it so I can get this job in a year instead of now. Here’s hoping.