Job Advice please

[Knoxville]

Currently I am working for a company as a Process Engineer over plastic extrusion. I started straight out of collegel. I live in Kansas. For right in this area, average starting salaries are 33,000$. Cost of living here is really cheap. However, when I started, they made me an offer of 38,000. I took it and thought I was doing alright. Now I have kind of ran into a dead end. I have been here a year and had my annual review. I got a raise, a whopping 3% increase (most ever given was 4.2). This amounts to about 30 dollars a check (2 week) or 50 cents an hour, or $1100 a year, however you want to look at it. I called a few of my friends I graduated with and asked where they are at now. Most are in the mid 40's range. I went to an interview a week or so ago, and now they want me to come back for a 2nd interview. I know this is good, I have to talk to the president of the company and some other small details. Salary being one of those. I told them that I would like to see my salary in the mid 40's, and they said that is well within their range.

Now for the negatives:
45 mile drive there and back.. for now.
I would have to drive every day, now I drive 3 days a week, ride 2
The job is for a manufacturing engineer, I am a plastics engineer
Everything is slow paced, annual sales is 12 million compared to 150 here

Positives:
about a 6,000$ raise
work an hour less a day
No being called in at night, only one shift worked
Joplin, MO is an awesome town, lots of strange running around
Benefits are just a little better
Entire plant has AC


I feel bad about leaving here though. If I leave, am I doing the right thing? I'm just looking for input, or I hope confirmation that switching is the right thing to do.

Knox

[ROCKETW19]

the only thing that sucks is the 45min drive but if you work a hour less like you said it works out. youll get paid more no going in at night. shit thats a no brainer bro dont feel bad you must live life for you not you job. good luck in what ever you decide.

[Knoxville]

I drive 35 mins now, but only 3 days a week. I carpool 2 days a week. I can break out my Dad's old Honda 750. I could probably save enough in gas driving a bike to use the money saved in gas for a payment on a Harley. I could stretch the payments way out and get them down to probably 150$/month... Hmmmmmmmmm I have an 03 Silverado SS, that would be a cool pair to have.

[Puddles]

I would go on the 2nd interview and if they hire you, then go back to your current job with a proposal of a decent raise if you want to stay there and see what they say, otherwise just take the new job.

I was once offered a shitty raise and when I told my boss that I thought I deserved more, he asked how much. I got what I asked for. :)

[GreekTank]

Extra money is always better, but you have to decide what's right for you

[BBAddict]

My only advice on interview for jobs is to do everything possible to get a job offer and then decide. I've never turned down an offer for an interview and have always done all I could to sell myself to get an offer. It can't hurt, so why not? After I get the offer is when I really decide whether or not I want the job. Then the compensation, job details and everything comes into play. One question I had was whether this new job is the same type of position as the old job and, more importantly, does it advance you in your long term career goals? I've made the mistake of taking more money to do something that wasn't really what I wanted to do and regretted it later.

[Shibby]

You're not doing anything wrong. You're not thier "friend" you are an employee if it were to come down to it. It's just business.

[Primal Instinct]

Whatever you decide, consider the long term stability of the company before you make a final decision. If you can, check out their stock profile, company website and corporate PR announcements, sales trends, etc.


You stated some clearly sizable sales differences. You just need to be careful about leaving a possibly secure (as secure as they can get in this economy) position for a position in a company that may or may not have a very outstanding performance record. My friend went through a similar thing. He opted for the money but the new company went out of business 7 months later. He then reapplied to his former company and they hired him at a lesser rate than when he left. He lost his seniority, vacation time and pay grade with nothing to show for it but a few dollars more for a few months. Weigh these things carefully.

[hlcn8]

sounds like a no-brainer regarding the short-term benefits you mention (well-okay, AC is a long term sort of thing, and if you're in MO you DEFINITELY need it in the summer), if the long-term benefits are equally beneficial (potential advancement, growth, etc) take it. if not, keep looking. eventually you'll find a branch that grows to the top of the tree without stopping.
unfortunately the long-term benefits are often the hardest to verify or visualize in the first place, so think long and hard about it, and know that sometimes the best thing you can do in life is take a chance!

[BBAddict]

Originally posted by Primal Instinct
My friend went through a similar thing. He opted for the money but the new company went out of business 7 months later. He then reapplied to his former company and they hired him at a lesser rate than when he left. He lost his seniority, vacation time and pay grade with nothing to show for it but a few dollars more for a few months.

Do I know you?!! That's exactly my story except the new company went out of business 8 months later! I'm back to where I started with my original company but it took a year to get back to the pay scale that I was at before I left. Stable companies are important!

[Lmg2701]

I like what puddles said, if the new company wants to hire you and offers you the job, I'd go to the original company and ask them for a raise, if they deny you then I would tell them good luck and take the new job.

[BBAddict]

Originally posted by Ace0419
Here's what you do...

Go purchase a decent-sized handgun that is kind of shiny, then, go kidnap a small child. Go back to your old job with both the kid and the gun and demand a raise. If they give you a raise, shoot everyone there - except for the kid - and leave. If they don't give you a riase, shoot everyone there and leave.

It worked for me. I make 7 figures.

WTF?!! You need to get off whatever you're sniffing or shooting!

[bonebreaker]

Originally posted by Puddles
I would go on the 2nd interview and if they hire you, then go back to your current job with a proposal of a decent raise if you want to stay there and see what they say, otherwise just take the new job.

I was once offered a shitty raise and when I told my boss that I thought I deserved more, he asked how much. I got what I asked for. :)

Yeah, that sometimes works, but how long before you'd get another raise, if ever? If they could pay you that much difference after the other job offer, why wouldn't they have paid you that to start with? If they made the counter offer, surely they thought you were worth it, but were just underpaying you because they could? Sounds like a company who don't care too much for their employees. I'd split. BB

[bad14u]

Re: Job Advice please

Originally posted by Knoxville
Currently I am working for a company as a Process Engineer over plastic extrusion. I started straight out of collegel. I live in Kansas. For right in this area, average starting salaries are 33,000$. Cost of living here is really cheap. However, when I started, they made me an offer of 38,000. I took it and thought I was doing alright. Now I have kind of ran into a dead end. I have been here a year and had my annual review. I got a raise, a whopping 3% increase (most ever given was 4.2). This amounts to about 30 dollars a check (2 week) or 50 cents an hour, or $1100 a year, however you want to look at it. I called a few of my friends I graduated with and asked where they are at now. Most are in the mid 40's range. I went to an interview a week or so ago, and now they want me to come back for a 2nd interview. I know this is good, I have to talk to the president of the company and some other small details. Salary being one of those. I told them that I would like to see my salary in the mid 40's, and they said that is well within their range.

Now for the negatives:
45 mile drive there and back.. for now.
I would have to drive every day, now I drive 3 days a week, ride 2
The job is for a manufacturing engineer, I am a plastics engineer
Everything is slow paced, annual sales is 12 million compared to 150 here

Positives:
about a 6,000$ raise
work an hour less a day
No being called in at night, only one shift worked
Joplin, MO is an awesome town, lots of strange running around
Benefits are just a little better
Entire plant has AC


I feel bad about leaving here though. If I leave, am I doing the right thing? I'm just looking for input, or I hope confirmation that switching is the right thing to do.

Knox

Sounds to me like the positives outweigh the negatives. And I wouldn't feel bad about leaving the current job...they were lokking for somebody when they hired you, they can find another person. If you don't look out for yourself then no one else will. Business is business and if the money is right, go for it. Who has the better benefit package...insurance, retirement, dental, investment options? Look at the big picture. I could leave my job now and go make more money per check...but for benefits...no one can match what I have now!

[Knoxville]

Originally posted by Ace0419
Here's what you do...

Go purchase a decent-sized handgun that is kind of shiny, then, go kidnap a small child. Go back to your old job with both the kid and the gun and demand a raise. If they give you a raise, shoot everyone there - except for the kid - and leave. If they don't give you a riase, shoot everyone there and leave.

It worked for me. I make 7 figures.

If you make 7 figures, it's not because you are smart. That sounds to me like a quote out of a 18 or 19 year old punk, thinking that he is being funny. HA HA. Happy? One more thing, a "professional" who makes 7 figures, would not put their birthday down as 4-20. It's possible that it really is the date of your birthday, but I think it's more likely that you are incenuating that you smoke pot. Therefore, you probably do not take life serious, and everything revolves around the dope smoking. Impress me and I'll have a different opinion. Otherwise, shut up! :ghey:


KNOX