Well, in the next couple of days I have two choices.
Keep the engineering job I have which I enjoy but don’t get paid regularly at because the company has been waiting for funding for two years. Good things seem imminent. (But we’ve heard that before)
Take a job offer in a position radically different from the one I’m in currently. This is something I might enjoy, but don’t have a lot of experience in so I can’t tell. This company seems small but well funded and stability would not be an issue.
Pay and benefits are comparable and I wouldn’t have to move.
Anyone have a really big coin I can borrow?
Take the stable job. I’ve been in a similar situation before, and believe me, you don’t understand just how important stability and benefits are.
My situation was that I really liked the environment of the company I was in, and believed I was doing something I really loved, but they were always low on funding and promising that better days were just around the corner. They weren’t. The company went under, and my “loyalty” just found me out of a job and with no money (because I’d gone without pay for several months).
When I got my new job, I didn’t like the work as much, and I didn’t like the company as much. But I had never realized before just how much I’ve been stressing out about money all these years. Since working here, I haven’t had to think about money once – I’m not rolling in it, but I’ve got enough that it’s just always there when I need it. And that has made a world of difference.
Why? Do you think if it met his or her business needs your employer would feel guilty about firing you? Employees need to get over the outdated concept of “company loyalty.” Employers got over it long long ago.
Ain’t that the truth! Your employer (unless you’re like a relative or something) would drop you like a hot potato if it meant more money in his pocket. As it is, he’s taking advantage of you. Are you over 40? I find that the “over 40” crowd thinks in terms of loyalty more than the younger folks. That attitude will eventually make you feel like shit about yourself.
Well, first, make sure that the new company * is * well-funded. Are they actually selling stuff, or are they existing on venture capital?
What’s the work environment like at each company? I’m guessing that esprit de corps is pretty low at the one you’re at now. Even if people are highly motivated, the continual disappointment of waiting for that ship to come in can really have a draining effect.
Just how screwed will you be if the current company never gets funding? Will you be out of cash immediately? Have to move?
What’s the upside? Do you have equity in the current company? If their ship does come in, will you then spend the next 50 years sleeping on mattresses stuffed with 100 dollar bills? To some extent, at 25 you can stand some risk. So if there’s a significant potential payoff, then it’s maybe worth sticking around.
I agree with you. Except that on a resume, anything less than a 6-month stay at a company will raise eyebrows. And while sometimes you can get away with skipping that on a resume, I’ve had at least one friend who was fired the second day of his job because HR found out he failed to list a job he held for less than a month a few years ago. He wasn’t fired or didn’t quit or anything. The company folded. But the current company had a blanket policy regarding such things and if you’re caught misrepresenting your employment history — even in an innocuous case like this — you’re out.
Thanks!
Not nosey. Just ravenous for news perhaps.
I’ll spend the next couple of weeks sort of mixing and matching days. I need to balance finishing a project I’m working on now and getting trained by the guy I’m replacing.
I just walked into the boss’s office and told him what was going on. There wasn’t any surprise or anger. (see above) I wish I could have stayed around a couple of more months to see what happens, but I’m tired of worrying about money.
I say take the new job. It is a new adventure and may be something you like, with the added bonus of getting paid regularly. If you hate it, you can always start looking again…
