Job question

[markgm]

I've been at my current job since November. It's not very challenging, though I may be able to move up through the ranks over time.

Job A: The current job, can work from home when I want to (I do it once a week), I can set what time I get into work each day (though I'm always in at 7:00), 4+ weeks of vacation, 15 miles from my house. Work with a friend from my last job, don't know many other people there yet.

Job B: On-site gym, I think I can set the time I get in, 3-4 weeks vacation, 50 miles from my house, 28% pay raise keeping all my investments the same, and if the bonus stays the same as in previous years, it'll be a 50% raise, work with friends of mine from my last job who've moved to this company.

Which job would you work? I feel bad moving on after being at a place for ~6 months, but on the flip side, it's a good increase in salary. On the flip flip side, it would add at least an hour of sitting in my car everyday. I might sell my house and move closer, but houses in the area of job B are three times more.

 

[Looney]

I'd go with B, even though i hate commuting.

 

[HaxorNubcake]

The "50% raise" should more than offset the extra amount of time you spend commuting

 

[Captante]

I'd stick with A because peace of mind is worth more to me then money.

 

[dullard]

Is your goal in life to (A) maximize the quality of your life or (B) maximize the amount of time you are working so you have more money?

Answer that and it'll answer your question.

 

[goatjc]

Hate commuting. So, I'd stick w/ A.

 

[LS20]

A, commuting sucks.. not worth 28%

IF you were in an apartment, i would move for B

 

[Strk]

B and I'd move

Commuting sucks

 

[markgm]

Thanks for the replies. I think about either selling my place or just renting a place closer, but both options aren't ideal.

 

[JEDI]

Originally posted by: markgm
I've been at my current job since November. It's not very challenging, though I may be able to move up through the ranks over time.

Job A: The current job, can work from home when I want to (I do it once a week), I can set what time I get into work each day (though I'm always in at 7:00), 4+ weeks of vacation, 15 miles from my house. Work with a friend from my last job, don't know many other people there yet.

Job B: On-site gym, I think I can set the time I get in, 3-4 weeks vacation, 50 miles from my house, 28% pay raise keeping all my investments the same, and if the bonus stays the same as in previous years, it'll be a 50% raise, work with friends of mine from my last job who've moved to this company.

Which job would you work? I feel bad moving on after being at a place for ~6 months, but on the flip side, it's a good increase in salary. On the flip flip side, it would add at least an hour of sitting in my car everyday. I might sell my house and move closer, but houses in the area of job B are three times more.

it;'s not really a 28% pay raise since $/hr is lowered with the longer commute.

you have to consider $/hr from the time u leave your house to the time u go back to your house.

plus selling a house is a pain. all those real estate fees.

 

[markgm]

I thought about the $/hr for the commute (I'm dangerous with a calculator or a spreadsheet with these things!) It comes out to an 8% raise an hour if I figure I'm working 9.5 hours a day vs. 8 (saying somehow I could get paid for 9.5 hours vs. 8 hours at my current job.) This almost makes it seem more like I should take job B because I get an 8% raise and can get paid for an extra 1.5 hours of work.

I think about moving anyway because my house has gone up in value about 100k since I bought it, so I kind of want to sell it, buy something cheaper, and add the money to my retirement fund.

Edit: I'm not sure if the first part makes any sense. As an example, job A pays 80 a day (10/hr@8 hours) and that job B pays 102.60 a day (or 10.80/hr@9.5 hours.)

 

[markgm]

Bump for the working crowd.

 

[LS20]

IF you wanted to sell the house anyway, if you really want to live at the new location... only if

dont sell it just to be closer to work.. and dont work just because your new house will be closer to it

 

[Chewy]

Originally posted by: Strk
B and I'd move

Commuting sucks

I second this.

 

[Descartes]

There's no way I'd take a job 50 miles away. I used to live 17 miles away from the office and it'd still take me 1.5 hours to get there. If you have any traffic at all, that 50 miles will be ridiculous.

That's a pretty nice pay raise, but not worth the 8% you calculated after expenses. I agree with what a lot of others said: Take B only if you feel like you can move.

 

[pontifex]

50 miles is about an hour-long trip with no traffic one way. thats 2 hours out of your day gone.
what would traffic be like? if a lot, turn that 2 hours a day into 3 or 4, just sitting in your car.

 

[markgm]

The commute would likely be 50 minutes one way on an average day. I live 2 stoplights from the interstate and I think work would be two lights off of it.

I'm not a huge fan of commuting, but I'd imagine it would only add 30-40 minutes a day onto my commute because now I drive to the city where I sit in traffic for the last 10 minutes of the drive in.

 

[AnyMal]

I'm not sure how you calculated 50% raise but you probably left out $ for your time + extra gas + extra wear on the car. Even if you work only 40 weeks out of the year that'll put ~ 14k EXTRA miles on your car annually. Assuming gas in your area to be $2.50/gal and your car averaging 25mpg on the highway you're looking at ~ $1,400 in gas alone extra of your AFTER TAX income.

 

[pontifex]

Originally posted by: AnyMal
I'm not sure how you calculated 50% raise but you probably left out $ for your time + extra gas + extra wear on the car. Even if you work only 40 weeks out of the year that'll put ~ 14k EXTRA miles on your car annually. Assuming gas in your area to be $2.50/gal and your car averaging 25mpg on the highway you're looking at ~ $1,400 in gas alone extra of your AFTER TAX income.

damn, i want 2.50 per gallon gas. its 2.75 here

 

[Kadarin]

Instead of just thinking about it in terms of the present, I'd ask which job has better career potential. If job B will give you the needed experience and responsibility to step into job C a couple of years from now at a further 50% (or whatever) raise, then it could be well worth the commute and inconvenience.

 

[VTHodge]

Something else to think about is how well you are living on your current salary. If you are paycheck-to-paycheck right now, the raise is a bigger factor than if you are living comfortably now.

Also, what is the potential future salary at these two jobs? If job A is a dead-end, now might be a good time to jump to job B for a better future.

 

[habib89]

i live about 50 miles from work, it's not so bad, but i don't mind commuting.. so i'd go with B.. i guess it really depends on what point in your life you're in.. right now, i just want all the money i can with good experience.. but if you don't need the money, then stay close to home..

 

[purbeast0]

i'd go with A and look for another job closer to A if I needed more pay. No way in hell I would want to be on the road for 100 miles a day.

 

[markgm]

I'm leaning towards B... Time to work on my resume. Thanks for the advice everyone, it's great to hear the different opinions that I didn't think of.