October 13, 2015 at 3:59 pm
I am in a situation that I cant make my mind up, I havent slept for 3 nights and would appreciate some advice by all the experienced people on the forum.
I graduated 4 years ago and joined a healthcare company as a developer, after few month I decided to take the database role and became sql server developer. When i started my salary was 21k after 2 years 23k and recently 24k, so yeah the progression in a small company is very slow.
I have recently been applying for jobs and have got 2 offers and I cant decide which one to choose from.
Company A - IT Specialist role with one of the leading supermarket which is growing by 15% every year, a lot of flexibility to move around in different departments such as application and reporting dept. Around 100 people in the IT department and planning to set up a data warehouse team soon. Salary 28.5k, 3 months probation. In the contract salary scale mentions: Year 1 - 28.5k, Year 3 - 32.4k and year 5 - 39.7k
Company B - Application support role (2nd line support) in a Payroll company, pays around 85000 people every month, its not completely sql based role, also involves learning and supporting lot of different technologies and role can include some pressure at times. Not much flexibility to move around in the company but they are offering 35k for the role and 6 months probation.
Now i am in a situation that im finding it very hard to decide which company to choose as I dont have much experience with jobs, this will be my second job in my career. I am very tempted to take the role offered by company B because of high pay as i would like to take out mortgage and settle down but the flexibility and the role title offered by company A is much better and it is a big growing business. Obviously i want to make the right decision so I dont regret later. So guys please point me to the right directions. What shall I do?
Best Wishes
Max
October 14, 2015 at 7:35 am
maxlezious (10/13/2015)
I am in a situation that I cant make my mind up, I havent slept for 3 nights and would appreciate some advice by all the experienced people on the forum.I graduated 4 years ago and joined a healthcare company as a developer, after few month I decided to take the database role and became sql server developer. When i started my salary was 21k after 2 years 23k and recently 24k, so yeah the progression in a small company is very slow.
I have recently been applying for jobs and have got 2 offers and I cant decide which one to choose from.
Company A - IT Specialist role with one of the leading supermarket which is growing by 15% every year, a lot of flexibility to move around in different departments such as application and reporting dept. Around 100 people in the IT department and planning to set up a data warehouse team soon. Salary 28.5k, 3 months probation. In the contract salary scale mentions: Year 1 - 28.5k, Year 3 - 32.4k and year 5 - 39.7k
Company B - Application support role (2nd line support) in a Payroll company, pays around 85000 people every month, its not completely sql based role, also involves learning and supporting lot of different technologies and role can include some pressure at times. Not much flexibility to move around in the company but they are offering 35k for the role and 6 months probation.
Now i am in a situation that im finding it very hard to decide which company to choose as I dont have much experience with jobs, this will be my second job in my career. I am very tempted to take the role offered by company B because of high pay as i would like to take out mortgage and settle down but the flexibility and the role title offered by company A is much better and it is a big growing business. Obviously i want to make the right decision so I dont regret later. So guys please point me to the right directions. What shall I do?
Best Wishes
Max
There is no way anybody else can tell you what is the right choice here. You and you alone have to make that decision. It sounds like you have looked at this objectively. Now it is up to you to decide which path you take.
_______________________________________________________________
Need help? Help us help you.
Read the article at http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Best+Practices/61537/ for best practices on asking questions.
Need to split a string? Try Jeff Modens splitter http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Tally+Table/72993/.
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 1 – Converting Rows to Columns - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/T-SQL/63681/
Cross Tabs and Pivots, Part 2 - Dynamic Cross Tabs - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/Crosstab/65048/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 1) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69953/
Understanding and Using APPLY (Part 2) - http://www.sqlservercentral.com/articles/APPLY/69954/
October 14, 2015 at 7:44 am
It's very hard to give an advice. There's no right answer. I could tell you to for Company A as you'll get a great chance to develop yourself by knowing a large business. On the other side, Company B would be a good choice if you need the money now. The support of different technologies can make you valuable in the market as well.
We don't have much information on your background or the offers you've got, so I can only wish you the best.
October 14, 2015 at 7:50 am
Wow - I've never been offered a job where my salary in five years' time is written into the contract!
Sean's right - it's your decision to make. But make sure you consider whether you'll enjoy what you're doing, whichever one you take. The salary's important, but it's not the only thing. If you're doing something you enjoy but the salary is lower than you'd like, it's much easier to move to a higher-paid role when the opportunity is right.
John
October 14, 2015 at 7:57 am
I have to agree with Sean - nobody can tell you the right path to take.
Have you considered what you like to do? I can tell you from personal experience that if you enjoy what you do, the days are a whole lot easier. I know money is always a temptation, but sanity should also be in the picture. There are plenty of things in life worse than going to work at a job you hate. I'm fortunate in that I actually enjoy my job.
Also, I don't know where you are in the world, but the anticipated salaries might not be guarantees. You also don't mention anything about increases over time with Company B. Just something else to consider.
October 14, 2015 at 8:07 am
Go with whatever job sounds the most promising in terms of your interest, opportunity to learn new things, and where the organization has big plans in the works. That's the path that is most likely to lead an IT professional to happiness and wealth.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
October 14, 2015 at 8:21 am
My advice would be to take the better paying job right now. no doubt.
once you are at a higher rate, it is very , very doubtful that you would find another job and slide down to a lesser rate. you'll always find an equivalent or higher rate if you look again in the future.
IT based roles average less than a two year stay, before moving on. five years from now, who knows what would happen. a promise for higher pay int he future is the same as saying "i'm going to win the lottery"...it means nothing until it materializes.
doing the math for right now, even if you stayed at the same rate: you'd be 14K ahead and only see a difference in year five.
select 28.5 + 28.5 +32.4 + 32.4 + 39.7 = 161.5K
select 35 * 5 = 175K
that's something like 500 dollars a month more than the other job for four years straight.
Lowell
October 14, 2015 at 8:43 am
After talking to some friends and work colleagues I think I have made up my mind now. I have decided to go for Company A because:
1. Flexibility - Better chances to move around in the IT department unlike Company B where I will be working with a team of 5 application support members every day.
2. Progression - Its a fast growing company and the progression seems to be very good compared to my current company.
3. They are creating a data warehouse team and I would definitely like to be part of that.
4. C# training course and trip to the origin country of supermarket - all paid for.
5. The title IT Specialist would definitely look better on my cv compared to the Application support title.
6. Will get to increase my knowledge and learn a lot from experienced team members, analysts and directors who have been with the company for over 10 years.
7. Support jobs can be stressing at times when you get loads of work dumped on your desk in very little time frame and I dont think I will enjoy that at all.
I think I have made a wise choice for going for a job with less money but better flexibility, stability growth and progression. I will wait a few more years before I step onto property ladder but will focus on building my career for now.
Thank you for your advice guys, really do appreciate it.
Best Wishes
Max
October 14, 2015 at 8:46 am
Lowell (10/14/2015)
My advice would be to take the better paying job right now. no doubt.once you are at a higher rate, it is very , very doubtful that you would find another job and slide down to a lesser rate. you'll always find an equivalent or higher rate if you look again in the future.
IT based roles average less than a two year stay, before moving on. five years from now, who knows what would happen. a promise for higher pay int he future is the same as saying "i'm going to win the lottery"...it means nothing until it materializes.
doing the math for right now, even if you stayed at the same rate: you'd be 14K ahead and only see a difference in year five.
select 28.5 + 28.5 +32.4 + 32.4 + 39.7 = 161.5K
select 35 * 5 = 175K
that's something like 500 dollars a month more than the other job for four years straight.
The fact that young IT professionals tend to switch jobs more frequently is all the more reason to ignore the starting salary and go with the job that promises the most learning and resume highlighting opportunity. For someone a few years out of university, you should be collecting skill sets and projects, anticipating a big move up in 5 years. An "application support" role doesn't sound very interesting, even if it does pay somewhat more to start.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
October 14, 2015 at 8:46 am
Hi Lowell,
Thank you for your advice.
I agree with you that once i have crossed the 35k mark it will be easier for me to get equivalent or even higher salary but then again it will be harder for me to get a job in the development sector after few years when I want to move on from the Company B which is offering me Application support role.
In my mind moving from my current job title which is database developer to a application support title will be a downgrade for me. Not just the title but the support role doesn't involve any development or reporting work, its just providing 2nd line support to the clients, fixing bugs, managing payroll and keeping your bosses happy.
However the title IT specialist by Company A will stand out on my CV and being part of reporting services team, application development team, data warehouse team will give me bigger exposure in the IT field and from there if I do decide to move on to another company in future, I will have several choices to move onto like - database developer or BI analyst etc.. I hope you understand the point im trying to make. I know it will take me a few extra years to get to that 35k mark by taking the Company A route but then my career and progression won't stop there and hopefully i will be able to progress even further in future. Please do correct me if im wrong?
Best Wishes
Max
October 15, 2015 at 7:24 am
maxlezious (10/14/2015)
Hi Lowell,Thank you for your advice.
I agree with you that once i have crossed the 35k mark it will be easier for me to get equivalent or even higher salary but then again it will be harder for me to get a job in the development sector after few years when I want to move on from the Company B which is offering me Application support role.
In my mind moving from my current job title which is database developer to a application support title will be a downgrade for me. Not just the title but the support role doesn't involve any development or reporting work, its just providing 2nd line support to the clients, fixing bugs, managing payroll and keeping your bosses happy.
However the title IT specialist by Company B will stand out on my CV and being part of reporting services team, application development team, data warehouse team will give me bigger exposure in the IT field and from there if I do decide to move on to another company in future, I will have several choices to move onto like - database developer or BI analyst etc.. I hope you understand the point im trying to make. I know it will take me a few extra years to get to that 35k mark by taking the Company A route but then my career and progression won't stop there and hopefully i will be able to progress even further in future. Please do correct me if im wrong?
Best Wishes
Max
More experience today (Company A) will logically lead to more opportunity and pay in the future. However, more pay today (Company B) does not logically lead to more opportunity and pay, neither today nor in the future. Company B won't give you meaningful projects to work on simply because they're paying you a higher salary. The extra money they're paying for the support position is because you'll be working long hours doing a job that others have walked away from, and they think that more money will help keep you chained to your desk.
So, if what you really want is to be in database development, then follow that path, rather than wasting your time following what you know to be a dead end.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
October 15, 2015 at 7:36 am
Hi Eric,
Thanks for your reply. I have made my mind up and have decided to sign the contract with Company A. Hopefully as I get more experienced in the field, I will get better opportunities in future. I really don't like the idea of being chained to my desk for 5 days a week so I have decided to go with Company A where I can move around within the company, get more experience, learn new stuff and get better opportunities in future.
Best Wishes
Max
October 15, 2015 at 7:57 am
maxlezious (10/15/2015)
Hi Eric,Thanks for your reply. I have made my mind up and have decided to sign the contract with Company A. Hopefully as I get more experienced in the field, I will get better opportunities in future. I really don't like the idea of being chained to my desk for 5 days a week so I have decided to go with Company A where I can move around within the company, get more experience, learn new stuff and get better opportunities in future.
Best Wishes
Max
Generally speaking, database developers earn more than support positions, even at the entry level, so this decision is not limiting your future earning potential at all. It's understandable that Company B wants to hire talent by offering a higher starting salary, but as we all know, throwing money at a problem is only a short term fix. You would eventually have gotten bored with the company and left. Also, Company B's end users deserve a support tech who is genuinely interested and in it for the long term.
"Do not seek to follow in the footsteps of the wise. Instead, seek what they sought." - Matsuo Basho
November 12, 2015 at 12:15 am
November 12, 2015 at 12:23 am
Viewing 15 posts - 1 through 14 (of 14 total)
You must be logged in to reply to this topic. Login to reply