A nice dilemma to be in but...

[equationgirl]

How long do you tend to stay in a job? Are long term prospects that important within a company if you change roles every 3-5 years anyway?

The travelling lots thing would not be a selling point for me. Plus it would mean less doggy time

 

[spanglechick]

I like the sound of number 1 best. but maybe that's cos i assumed 'lots of travel' was a plus point til everyone started slating it.

 

[Manter]

I like the sound of number 1 best. but maybe that's cos i assumed 'lots of travel' was a plus point til everyone started slating it.

depends on whether its Slough or Singapore I guess….

 

[spanglechick]

depends on whether its Slough or Singapore I guess….

yes. i was imagining more along the latter's lines...

Also, though, career progression. i hate job-hunting with a passion. it makes me feel sick, the whole thing. so somewhere with a limited shelf life like number 3 is a big turn-off.

 

[sleaterkinney]

I'd steer clear of any consulting firm myself, they are all the same anyway.

 

[Pingu]

depends on whether its Slough or Singapore I guess….

could be either. i am well used to travelling, my last role took me all oiver the place and i have been travelling with work for the past 20 odd years - it kind of goes with the type of work

had a good talk with mrs pingu tonight and am no closer to a decision with the exception that no 2 would probably have me leaving within 18 months. 1 is going to be much more interesting but 3 would be a nicer place to work. am going to see if 3 will reduce the gap in salary a bit and then decide.

 

[Manter]

could be either. i am well used to travelling, my last role took me all oiver the place and i have been travelling with work for the past 20 odd years - it kind of goes with the type of work

had a good talk with mrs pingu tonight and am no closer to a decision with the exception that no 2 would probably have me leaving within 18 months. 1 is going to be much more interesting but 3 would be a nicer place to work. am going to see if 3 will reduce the gap in salary a bit and then decide.

Oh, I know. I've worked in the Empire State Building, and in a nissen hut on a decommissioned MOD base outside Faslane…
what about the people? what I mean is, when I last interviewed, there were some people I met who I thought 'ooh, I like you, we could get drunk together' regardless of how nice or not the company itself was. my company isn't exactly soft and cuddly- though we're at the cuddlier end of a very non cuddly industry, I guess- but the people are brilliant, and that's why I stay

 

[Pingu]

1 is huge.. have met nice people who work for them and total bell ends. have a big thing about being ethical with various awards... (this imo depends HEAVILY) on the definition of ethical being applied... but the thought is there and they are genuinely innovative in the area i would be working in.

co 3 has more of a "family" feel to it and i know a lot of people who have worked there for a long time (unusual in my industry). i already know a fair few of them and they are ok.

know what you mean about locations. mine have rabged from Disney in florida to a prtacabin in the middle of a field (MOD again)

 

[Manter]

a colleague of mine was flown to California first class for a presentation, then sent to a sewage treatment plant outside Swindon for 2 weeks… he resigned soon after.

Though the winner of crap assignment is probably a colleague trying to instal electricity in post-Soviet Georgia in the early 90s who had 3 clients shot dead in the year he was there….

 

[weltweit]

For me travel is overrated, I travelled plenty in the UK and abroad, now I prefer less, much less.

 

[Cloo]

I'd say one sounds best in terms of opportunity... sounds like you're in a not dissimilar career stage to my other half (he's 'delivery manager' for a medium/small software consultancy, up from project manager previously) and he put a lot of emphasis on career development, even though he was without a permanent job when he was applying for his current role. Some good leads he turned down if it wasn't taking him in quite the right direction, so I think whichever you choose, think about whether it takes you in the long run, as that seems to me like they key thing for you at this stage.

 

[weltweit]

Still, great position to be in, 3 to choose from. I assume none require relocation or anything like that?

 

[FiFi]

No 3.
But I value people over profits, and have worked in the NHS for nearly 30 years so what do I know!

 

[equationgirl]

a colleague of mine was flown to California first class for a presentation, then sent to a sewage treatment plant outside Swindon for 2 weeks… he resigned soon after.

Though the winner of crap assignment is probably a colleague trying to instal electricity in post-Soviet Georgia in the early 90s who had 3 clients shot dead in the year he was there….

Our engineers get sent overseas a lot - one told me about a USSR trip when someone was shot near their hotel. He reckoned South Africa was worse though, but not by much.

Isn't Faslane fab ?

 

[Manter]

Isn't Faslane fab ?

um, I'll take that under advisement

 

[Pingu]

south africa is both awesome and scary at the same time. i have been there several times and recently its worse than it was. last time i went i stayed in a "gated compound" and we travelled in armoured land cruisers with armed guards to the place we were working and then straight back in the evening. it was like being in dodgier parts of the middle east...

 

[equationgirl]

I like the sound of number 1 best. but maybe that's cos i assumed 'lots of travel' was a plus point til everyone started slating it.

I've had travel I've enjoyed and travel I've not, so it really depends on the company policies (business or economy on longhaul, for example), if you're expected to travel on short notice (less than a week) and the accommodation you're expected to put up with. My last job sent me business class to Chicago on a brilliant course for my job, and although I spent a year split between Aberdeen and Glasgow, I was put up in the Malmaison down the road from the office because it did a corporate rate that was really good. This job I've had to fly economy to Seoul and when we go to HQ we get put up in a hotel that is ok but not great, and we're expected to get the bus to the office. Makes me not want to go anywhere unless I have to.

 

[equationgirl]

south africa is both awesome and scary at the same time. i have been there several times and recently its worse than it was. last time i went i stayed in a "gated compound" and we travelled in armoured land cruisers with armed guards to the place we were working and then straight back in the evening. it was like being in dodgier parts of the middle east...

One of our engineers pretty much refuses to go there now, and he spent months out there in the 1980s and 1990s.

 

[Pingu]

I insisted on my own weapon when they were going to send me about 12 months ago. they refused so i did too. shame as its a beautiful country with some wonderful people

 

[Sapphireblue]

i would go for option 3, but i'm in a place now where i want a job that i'm happy to stick with for the foreseeable and value the benefits package and people more than the rest. i would still ask for more money first though.

if you're happy to job-hunt again in 2-3 years then pick one of the more exciting ones.

 

[pogo 10]

Dont know why, but option one seems to be sticking out. Good luck, and peace be with you when you make the final choice.

 

[gabi]

Is job title seriously that big a deal? If it is, tell them to change it to what you want. A mate of mine did that. He became 'Senior Executive for the Americas' Wanker.

Personally I dont give a flying fuck about my title altho i spose i should.

 

[Yelkcub]

In this vein, just been asked to name my price to stay consulting for my client, rather than taking up a directorship, with MD in waiting implications, elsewhere.

/not real urbans.

 

[gabi]

Yeh its not real urbans but then half the threads on here are now about babies, and not even eating them so i dont know what real urbanz is anymore.

we should do a patrick bateman business card thread.

 

[DownwardDog]

They all sound like boring wank so just do whatever pays the most.

 

[ViolentPanda]

I like the sound of number 1 best. but maybe that's cos i assumed 'lots of travel' was a plus point til everyone started slating it.

For pingu, travel would probably hinge on whether the hotels he was booked into had a hot chocolate-making machine.

 

[Pingu]

For pingu, travel would probably hinge on whether the hotels he was booked into had a hot chocolate-making machine.

a very good point. I shall contact them and get their policies on hot chocolate. I contacted them all and said i wanted to take the weekend to make my mind up.

 

[Bob_the_lost]

Go for the place that will make you happiest in the short term. In the long term it'll probably be the place that kept you happiest. Once the money is up to 'never needing to worry about your mortgage again' levels it's not that important really.

 

[Yelkcub]

In this vein, just been asked to name my price to stay consulting for my client, rather than taking up a directorship, with MD in waiting implications, elsewhere.

/not real urbans.

I went for a massive pay rise over the MD in waiting job. Since my son was born I'd rather have cash now than a future opportunity.

 

[Pingu]

have gone with 3.

on balance i wanted to spend more time at home wit mrs pingu and my dogs