I am off to a job interview this morning. Oh, don't worry, I still have my current job. And, to be honest, things are going well. The deal here is that I am interviewing for a job with the Department of Corrections. Or, as most in our field say-Department of Cash.
Now, there are a whole bushel of reasons not to take this job, should it be offered; ridged inflexibility that comes with working for any government job, a philosophical approach to counseling in which I have little training and even less experience, and a 5 day work week.
My current job is very flexible; if I get a case of cabin fever while working on my paper work, I can go for an hour walk to calm myself, I have 4 day work weeks (though the 10 hours cuts into family time), I work with wonderful people, and I actually have a fair amount of experience, and self-education, with their philosophical approach to counseling.
However, the biggest draw back to my current job; lack of secure financial viability. The company is small, it relies on the insurance industry for most of it's revenue, and it is intimately affected by the economy.
So, the question is: Do I take an economically secure job that offers little in the way of joy and relaxation, or do I take an economically insecure job that offers quite a bit of enjoyment and flexibility?
Of course, most of this is an exercise in futility, since I am just going for an interview, and have not even been offered a job. Still, it does not hurt to weigh the pros and cons.
Now, there are a whole bushel of reasons not to take this job, should it be offered; ridged inflexibility that comes with working for any government job, a philosophical approach to counseling in which I have little training and even less experience, and a 5 day work week.
My current job is very flexible; if I get a case of cabin fever while working on my paper work, I can go for an hour walk to calm myself, I have 4 day work weeks (though the 10 hours cuts into family time), I work with wonderful people, and I actually have a fair amount of experience, and self-education, with their philosophical approach to counseling.
However, the biggest draw back to my current job; lack of secure financial viability. The company is small, it relies on the insurance industry for most of it's revenue, and it is intimately affected by the economy.
So, the question is: Do I take an economically secure job that offers little in the way of joy and relaxation, or do I take an economically insecure job that offers quite a bit of enjoyment and flexibility?
Of course, most of this is an exercise in futility, since I am just going for an interview, and have not even been offered a job. Still, it does not hurt to weigh the pros and cons.
Why don't you ask something simple, like curing world hunger.
I spent a decade on civil service and was never so happy to leave a job, and that includes the Air Force.
The thing is, the paycheck was there, it wasn't the greatest, but it was there and I could do some planning and budgeting. I got my life in order and paid off a lot of things before I went out on my own.
In the current conditions, I don't know if you can count on the job being there. The state is probably going to be required to make some cuts, and if you're last hired, you're the first to go.
I can't honestly say that this is the time to make any employment changes. You may be better off paying off as much debt as possible and getting some money in the bank if you can, because the next couple of years is going to be rough.
Without knowing what the condition of the state is, and what the condition of your current employer is, it's impossible to make a definitive call. Things are really iffy, and I wouldn't make changes unless I had to.