What would you do?

[xospec1alk]

Ok, so im a consultant for Company A. Company B contracted company A for my services. I have been at Company B now for a little under a year. I just accepted an offer to leave Company A, and therefore Company B....for Company C.

Now currently at Company B im doing QA work. and at Company C it will be straight up developing. which is where i REALLY REALLY want to be, i don't feel i can grow doing QA.

HOWEVER...Company B just came back and extended an offer to be a straight up employee of their company. the pay would be substantially higher, and by that i mean about 1.5 times what Company C has offered(and i already accepted)

so what would you do?

do something you've dreamed about doing for roughly 45k

or do QA, not necessarily something i hate, but not something i would want to do for the rest of my life....for 60+?

EDIT: the offer came back...its 80k....the plot thickens..

EDIT 2: OK. so how tough is it to lets say...quit Company B in a year, and look for another company to do developement....this is with absolutely no real life experience with development. and 2+ years doing QA. Well, Automated QA...i write test scripts to automate the testing process....

 

[Reel]

What about if the QA job gave you some supervisory privileges? Do you think you could swing that? How about if you got some freedom in work description allowing you to put time in development as you see fit. It sounds like they really want you if they are counteroffering. If you communicate to them what you want, maybe they will work with you to get something more to your liking.

I figure you have nothing to lose if they say no. You already accepted the other job. If they say yes, then you may end up burning the bridges at the company you accepted at but you might also be happier.

 

[xospec1alk]

I dont think its a supervisory QA position. They just fired a Manager here, and honsetly I don't have the experience necessary to be a supervisor...And they have pretty strict separation between QA and Dev so i don't think splitting time would be possible. Im very flattered that they even extended this offer to me, as i was pretty sure that throughout my year here, they had a certain dislike towards me. who knows.

I'll definetely keep my options open i guess...

and 26 views and one response!? wtf!

 

[broon]

If you can afford the lower paying, I say stick with it. My experience is do something you like for less instead of doing something you don't like for more money.

 

[xospec1alk]

well beacuse im leaving compay A before my second anniversary of workin there, they are going to come after me for 5gs for "training costs" friggin. company C won't pay it, beacuse they are a small-ish company, but i can almost guarantee that company B would because they are a HUUUUGE company...sigh...

 

[osiris3mc]

It just depends on how much you want to do developing. I'm going into law, which pays very well, but I can't wait to get out because I don't like it. I'll be looking for something that I like better but will almost for sure not pay as much....

 

[xospec1alk]

why are you going into law if you don't like it? strictly for the money? wont that hurt your chances of getting something better later on? because your experience will be in law?

 

[ArmchairAthlete]

I'd rather go to work everyday knowing it's something I like rather than just pure WORK. I'd be willing to give up (some) $$$ for that.

Is company C the only place you can go? Of course not =). Maybe somewhere else has the work and the pay you want.

 

[Reel]

Originally posted by: xospec1alk
I dont think its a supervisory QA position. They just fired a Manager here, and honsetly I don't have the experience necessary to be a supervisor...And they have pretty strict separation between QA and Dev so i don't think splitting time would be possible. Im very flattered that they even extended this offer to me, as i was pretty sure that throughout my year here, they had a certain dislike towards me. who knows.

I guess my point was that if there was something that would make the job more enjoyable to you and convince you to stay, be open and direct about it. You have nothing to lose. If they fire you, you have another job lined up. If you get what you want, maybe you could have your cake + eat it too: higher pay and a job that makes you happy. You are in a good situation.

All other things being equal, you have to ask yourself which would make you happier though, doing the QA and having that extra spending money or doing the developing and enjoying your work more.

 

[frankie38]

QA work is less prestigious. Developers are higher on the food chain. QA work can be financially rewarding and is more stable.

What would your next step be at Company C?

What would your next job be at Company B?

Last Question: What are future plans in IT in light of outsourcing and slowing demand?

 

[xospec1alk]

Originally posted by: Reel

I guess my point was that if there was something that would make the job more enjoyable to you and convince you to stay, be open and direct about it. You have nothing to lose. If they fire you, you have another job lined up. If you get what you want, maybe you could have your cake + eat it too: higher pay and a job that makes you happy. You are in a good situation.

All other things being equal, you have to ask yourself which would make you happier though, doing the QA and having that extra spending money or doing the developing and enjoying your work more.

Oh..ok, i think i misread your original reply...yeh i guess i could see where you're coming from. See if they can give me what I want first. Yeh I think I will try that and see how that goes...

 

[jjones]

I usually recommend going for the job you like over the job offering more money. However, in this case, I'd say take the job with more money as it seems to offer several benefits. The amount of money is substantial, you seem to think they will cover your 5k training reimbursement, and as you said yourself, it is something that you like well enough but just don't want to pursue as a career.

Why not take that job and start to look for another developing job in a couple of years or so?

 

[xospec1alk]

my fear in doing that ^^ is that i have NO experience outside of school in devlopment, so my fear is that in several years, I'll be pretty much stuck in QA with no experience in dev, and no one would want to hire me for that position... and this new job is a junior programmer which is exactly what i am hehe.

 

[osiris3mc]

Originally posted by: xospec1alk
why are you going into law if you don't like it? strictly for the money? wont that hurt your chances of getting something better later on? because your experience will be in law?

I got into a really good law school while an undergrad. I saw the salaries and said, sure, why not. Of course it wasn't the smartest move, but I don't come from money so I figured the money made would be worth working in a career that wasn't my first choice (or 2nd, 3rd, etc.). At this point I'm just going to use the law degree as a springboard for something else. My plan is to work at a firm for a few years then transition to something else (finance, securities, etc).

 

[Patt]

Do what you want to do ... the money will come eventually, and you'll be much happier. I am now stuck in a support role that I didn't really sign on form, and miss the challenges of developing. I'm trying to change it, but 92% of my job is troubleshooting and facilitating rather than developing.

You'll be happier in the long run, which is more important than $$$ for me.

 

[J0hnny]

I like money, but if an extra 22K won't buy you happiness, then go with the development job.

 

[Argo]

Something is wrong with Company C if they're paying "straight up" developer only 45k.

 

[Drakkon]

I went from being QA/developer to being just a developer...i can't stand QA work and am much happier developing...and if your a good developer you'll hit that 60K mark soon enough. I say go for C...do what your happy doing...QA work sux

 

[xospec1alk]

Originally posted by: Argo
Something is wrong with Company C if they're paying "straight up" developer only 45k.

yeh well....its a small company, and i have no experience...so im not going to complain...

i could go back to them and tell them that company B offered me more money...which they will...

 

[alien42]

i say take the money

 

[Argo]

Originally posted by: xospec1alk

Originally posted by: Argo
Something is wrong with Company C if they're paying "straight up" developer only 45k.

yeh well....its a small company, and i have no experience...so im not going to complain...

i could go back to them and tell them that company B offered me more money...which they will...

I got 60k working for a small company straight out of college. I'm not sure what kind of development you'll be doing, I'm assuming it's c++/java. If that's the case I'd ask Company C to increase their offer (not even mentioning anything about B). If they didn't increase their offer I'd stay with B. 15K is a lot of money, and it's my feeling (from somebody who works in the field) that if they didn't offer you much to start with you shouldn't be expecting major raises either.

 

[Ramma2]

If C is more than what you're making now, and its what you want to do, then do it.

 

[DaveSimmons]

If you keep on doing QA for too many years it will get harder to get a development job, and the pay cut for moving to one will keep widening.

Right now you're choosing between experienced pay (QA) and entry-level pay (dev). If development is what you really want to do, you'll probably have to pay your dues with an entry level position at least once.

That isn't to say you can't go back to company C and try to get them to at least cover the $5K, and/or make sure they aren't thinking they can keep paying you only $45K after the first year.

Something else to consider is what kind of development C is offering -- is it something that sounds interesting?

 

[xospec1alk]

when they made the offer, i tried to get them to up it to 50k, but they said that since 45 was an 11% jump from my current pay, there was nothing they could do...

and its .net programming. mainly C# and ASP.net....

Dave: its not the most interesting development in the world, but it'll be internal applications and such i don't think its anything too fancy, but like you said, im going to have to pay my dues....and it will definetely be a great stepping stone if nothing else.

 

[Drakkon]

Originally posted by: Argo

Originally posted by: xospec1alk

Originally posted by: Argo
Something is wrong with Company C if they're paying "straight up" developer only 45k.

yeh well....its a small company, and i have no experience...so im not going to complain...

i could go back to them and tell them that company B offered me more money...which they will...

I got 60k working for a small company straight out of college. I'm not sure what kind of development you'll be doing, I'm assuming it's c++/java. If that's the case I'd ask Company C to increase their offer (not even mentioning anything about B). If they didn't increase their offer I'd stay with B. 15K is a lot of money, and it's my feeling (from somebody who works in the field) that if they didn't offer you much to start with you shouldn't be expecting major raises either.

I dunno how it is in your part of the country your coming from but offering someone 60K straight outta college with little to no experience is few and far between here in AZ,CO and NM I found. I was lucky to get in at a company that offered me 42K to start when i had 3 years experience and a degree...most were only offering me mid 30's...