Okay, i'll try not to cherry-coat the situation any. But I'd like to get an outside perspective. I MAY be seeking a new job or not, would like your opinon on whether you think I should stay where I am at or go to the new place.
My Current Job:
I currently work as a technical illustrator (drafter). This is a contracting position for the federal government. While it has been a stable job in my department, other departments close to mine have been hit with multiple lay-offs. When I first got this job over 5 years ago there were roughly 35 technical writers. There are now 20 or less. They have decided to close out positions as people have left as well. No drafters have left for quite sometime, we are now one of the largest group with 16 people as the writers are split into 3 groups.
There are also rumors that the government side wants to go to a Siemens or Lockheed Martin type system where they hire on temporary basis as projects come in. This concerns me because they are not refilling positions, and i'm concerned that a rift may come through as they do every couple of years and take out 8-9 people where it would likely hit our department with us now being the largest.
In essence, i'm somewhat worried about job security. Even though i've been here 5 years, i'm still one of the lower guys in terms of being here the longest. My boss has been here 22 years, several people over 15 years.
Perks:
1: Federal Holidays off paid leave
2: Not a stressful job
3: Pay is pretty good for a drafter and I likely wouldn't be able to come back to it if things didn't work out elsewhere.
4: They are paying 100% of my college which i'm taking a couple of courses per semester.
5: Flex time - I'm able to take a day off then make it up b yworking 10 hours the other 4 days of the week.
6: I do not have to travel much.
7: Basically if i'm tired one day, i don't have to work, i just have to meet deadlines which are very easy to meet. Essentially, I show up and I get paid, even though I consider myself to have a good work ethic.
8: Great Insurance
Negative Things:
1: Job Security is in question.
2: I'm getting tired of the type of work i'm doing and not what I envision myself doing in another 10 years.
3: I'm at the max in terms of advancement opportunity.
4: No incentive to work hard (no bonuses, or raises in the near future)
5: The corporation is huge, we are merely a number and the company that took over the contract is extremely stingy even though we were one of the most prosperous contracts they have.
6: I'm stuck in a cubicle behind a computer all day. I'm a people person and like to associate with people.
The Job I would like to go for:
The job I want to go for starts out at the same pay i'm making. It is what I want to do and along the lines of Architectural rather than Mechanical. It does have regular bonuses based on work performance. I can't give many perks because I don't know all about the job until I get into it.
But it is a smaller family owned company with less than 150 employees. I do not know about job security there either, but it is what I could see myself doing 10 years from now as long as I believe I could advance there.
The negative things are basically that I probably wouldn't get all the government holidays off or have the flex time. It would be a standard 8-4:30 job, but I would imagine I would be more excited about going to work than I currently am. I would also have to drive a bit further to work everyday. And to top it off, I doubt the company would pay for any of my college starting off. I really want to get a degree and think it would help in terms of advancement.
I'm pretty certain with my resume that I could get the job as it is pretty unique and fairly in line with what they are seeking. What do you guys think?
My Current Job:
I currently work as a technical illustrator (drafter). This is a contracting position for the federal government. While it has been a stable job in my department, other departments close to mine have been hit with multiple lay-offs. When I first got this job over 5 years ago there were roughly 35 technical writers. There are now 20 or less. They have decided to close out positions as people have left as well. No drafters have left for quite sometime, we are now one of the largest group with 16 people as the writers are split into 3 groups.
There are also rumors that the government side wants to go to a Siemens or Lockheed Martin type system where they hire on temporary basis as projects come in. This concerns me because they are not refilling positions, and i'm concerned that a rift may come through as they do every couple of years and take out 8-9 people where it would likely hit our department with us now being the largest.
In essence, i'm somewhat worried about job security. Even though i've been here 5 years, i'm still one of the lower guys in terms of being here the longest. My boss has been here 22 years, several people over 15 years.
Perks:
1: Federal Holidays off paid leave
2: Not a stressful job
3: Pay is pretty good for a drafter and I likely wouldn't be able to come back to it if things didn't work out elsewhere.
4: They are paying 100% of my college which i'm taking a couple of courses per semester.
5: Flex time - I'm able to take a day off then make it up b yworking 10 hours the other 4 days of the week.
6: I do not have to travel much.
7: Basically if i'm tired one day, i don't have to work, i just have to meet deadlines which are very easy to meet. Essentially, I show up and I get paid, even though I consider myself to have a good work ethic.
8: Great Insurance
Negative Things:
1: Job Security is in question.
2: I'm getting tired of the type of work i'm doing and not what I envision myself doing in another 10 years.
3: I'm at the max in terms of advancement opportunity.
4: No incentive to work hard (no bonuses, or raises in the near future)
5: The corporation is huge, we are merely a number and the company that took over the contract is extremely stingy even though we were one of the most prosperous contracts they have.
6: I'm stuck in a cubicle behind a computer all day. I'm a people person and like to associate with people.
The Job I would like to go for:
The job I want to go for starts out at the same pay i'm making. It is what I want to do and along the lines of Architectural rather than Mechanical. It does have regular bonuses based on work performance. I can't give many perks because I don't know all about the job until I get into it.
But it is a smaller family owned company with less than 150 employees. I do not know about job security there either, but it is what I could see myself doing 10 years from now as long as I believe I could advance there.
The negative things are basically that I probably wouldn't get all the government holidays off or have the flex time. It would be a standard 8-4:30 job, but I would imagine I would be more excited about going to work than I currently am. I would also have to drive a bit further to work everyday. And to top it off, I doubt the company would pay for any of my college starting off. I really want to get a degree and think it would help in terms of advancement.
I'm pretty certain with my resume that I could get the job as it is pretty unique and fairly in line with what they are seeking. What do you guys think?
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