I currently have the opportunity to take a different position at work. This position is one much more suited to my skillset and personality and would make me more employable in the future for similar jobs. I would enjoy doing it.
It would be a pay cut but that’s actually irrelevant. The catch is that it would be funded out of temporary monies - the position would essentially be created for me. It is highly likely that one year later I would be out of a job - they’re not going to fire my replacement and let me move back into my current position.
Though I’d be more employable, positions in the new field are relatively rare and I’d still have “on paper” deficiencies. I could begin taking some graduate courses next year to mitigate those deficiencies and, though I wouldn’t finish anything, it would still look good to show progress.
I am an extremely risk-averse human being. My current position pays well (for the field) and has great benefits. Beyond that, I do Very Important Work and the moral obligation to do it well has always weighed strongly against moving on to anything else.
Taking the new position would make me happy in the short term and position me more strongly for the long term, but it also creates a ton of risk. I may find myself out of work and unable to get hired elsewhere.
Anybody here ever in a similar position? What did you do? How did it work out? Please feel free to sugarcoat the hell out of it.