good neighborhood, or better job?
good neighborhood, or better job?
(OP)
I've got a great neighborhood. The commute is long-ish to my office (25 mins in the am, 45 mins in the pm) but there are about 30 neighbors who get together on a regular basis for social activities - we've got lots of kids the same age - and 5 or 10 of us hang out nearly every evening to have a beer or two or excercise while watching the kids. We'd definitely miss the neighborhood. My current job position is a bit demotivating for a variety of factors, and there are few realistic advancement or lateral paths internally in this vicinity.
Semi-official rumor says my next best opportunity is 1100 miles away, starting in about 6 months (same company). It's not a done deal, but more than one manager has mentioned it (it was first brought up 6 mo ago, and discussed more concretely over the last couple of weeks, including target dates). It would be a promotion to a supervisor role w/reporting engineers - the first of two hard jumps before being a "manager" in our internal parlance. This is a bump that some people try to get for 10 years (or even 30 in some cases)... and my manager has already explained that I shouldn't count on "walking" into the role (will have competition), and I should not try for it if I'm not going to take it when offered - then I could count on not getting another one. A big positive is that the supervisory experience would make me more portable in case a need arises in the future (the axe cut deep and missed me narrowly last year).
Wife isn't happy about it, but is willing to pack up and move again (we've only been in this house 26 months)... and we've got another kid due at about the time of the move - the neighborhood "support" would make the whole newborn thing much more manageable. (vs wife home alone w/newborn and older kid, and no nearby friends).
It's a tough one. Do I take the shot while I've got it, and give up the great outside life, or do I postpone any upward aspirations indefinitely to maintain my comfortable living situation?
Semi-official rumor says my next best opportunity is 1100 miles away, starting in about 6 months (same company). It's not a done deal, but more than one manager has mentioned it (it was first brought up 6 mo ago, and discussed more concretely over the last couple of weeks, including target dates). It would be a promotion to a supervisor role w/reporting engineers - the first of two hard jumps before being a "manager" in our internal parlance. This is a bump that some people try to get for 10 years (or even 30 in some cases)... and my manager has already explained that I shouldn't count on "walking" into the role (will have competition), and I should not try for it if I'm not going to take it when offered - then I could count on not getting another one. A big positive is that the supervisory experience would make me more portable in case a need arises in the future (the axe cut deep and missed me narrowly last year).
Wife isn't happy about it, but is willing to pack up and move again (we've only been in this house 26 months)... and we've got another kid due at about the time of the move - the neighborhood "support" would make the whole newborn thing much more manageable. (vs wife home alone w/newborn and older kid, and no nearby friends).
It's a tough one. Do I take the shot while I've got it, and give up the great outside life, or do I postpone any upward aspirations indefinitely to maintain my comfortable living situation?





RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Sounds like you've got great neighbours but I can't tell you which way to jump.
Have you considered moving to another company so you can get better working conditions and advancement?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Think about the kids. Will the new neighborhood be good for them? Is the work site as good or better than the current one?
How is the new work site, is it possible to be purchased or merged (or closed) in the near future?
If you have not been to the new place, take a quick trip there before your decision.
If you like it, go for the position.
Good luck!
Chris
SolidWorks 09 SP5.0
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Do you really have upward aspirations, or only think you do, or think you should? Personally, I've not found that much satisfaction in managing a team, but your mileage may vary.
Just on the face of it, the fact that you're asking about what appears to be a good opportunity means that you're not terribly hungry for it, despite what appears to be rational reasons for wanting it.
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Usually life is better when she is happy.
Go there with the family for a weekend and see what you all think.
Try not to get railroaded into a decision by the 'once in a lifetime' talk.
Personally I probably wouldn't do it with another baby due.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
An expert is a man who has made all the mistakes which can be made in a very narrow field
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
You stated that the axe just missed you too. Where would you and your family be if if did not miss?
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
Motto: KISS
Motivation: Don't ask
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
the move would be from Houston suburbs to a small farm town in the Midwest... I'd go from >30 neighbors in 2 minutes' walk to no neighbors in 2 minutes' walk, and people there tend to be more "private" (or less friendly, to be blunt) so there is no guarantee that I'd be able to get the new neighbors to say hi at all. I've lived in small towns in the midwest off-and-on for the last decade, but this one would be the smallest yet.
A positive would be that my lawn size would most likely go up 40x or more, which my dogs would like.
I've actually been thinking that it's been a few years since I have been happy with my job... that a step backward (away from leadership and back into the "direct contact" design/analysis/test work) might make me a lot happier. The supervisor role might be enough of a change that I could be surprised by it & like it. I'd spent a couple years in marketing before my current position, and I'd really liked some aspects of that job too. If I could advance in a marketing role, I could move up in my current location... but the marketing managers are strongly prejudiced against people w/engineering experience, which makes it much more difficult.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Aside, I was recently headhunted for a job where we'd definitely have to uproot (>1000 miles) and my wife told me the same as always..."I'll go wherever you want to go". For me though, it's about the financial freedom while I can get it so my child can get the best upbringing possible that we can give him. But I would move for the job, not for the money.
drawn to design, designed to draw
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
If you truly want to supervise or manage, most paths to those jobs are much, much shorter than that. I'm not sure I would uproot my stable and happy family for such a nebulous potential in a smaller division that could be sliced and diced when times get tough (and they will again, probably somewhere near 10 years from now, considering history).
Houston is a big job market...yes, it is suffering like other places at the moment, but when the recovery is farther along, you'll have much more opportunity to parlay your talents into something more lucrative and rewarding...without the trauma of a family move.
Good luck. It sounds like you have a great family life and support system. Be thankful.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - Robert Hunter
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
It seems to me that having a great nieghborhood and living in a city where the job opportunities are normally plentiful is an ideal situation.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Fortunately I've had a great job for a long time now, which unfortunately is now at the outer limit of my tolerable commute. It's gotten worse and worse due to increasing traffic from the city to the suburbs- when I started it was easy! I deal with the commute by shifting my hours and telecommuting as often as I can. Yeah, I still need to do a lot of driving, but I bought a fuel-efficient and comfortable car which makes it more tolerable. Where we live, the rest of the family doesn't need a car- that's a bonus.
Do you work to live, or live to work? If it's the latter, does your family feel the same way about YOUR work? Of course you need to move if there's no other way to earn an honest living, but for "career advancement"?! Is that a need or a want on your part? Best to make a list of wants versus needs in your life and figure that stuff out, as nobody else will do it for you.
I LOVE my job, but I wouldn't displace my family to suit the needs of our business, period. That's just me, though. Others LOVE moving around- they thrive on the variety of experiences, meeting new people etc. etc., and more power to them! To each their own. As to the kids- some kids would thrive on the same things I talked about above, while others benefit from the stability and comfort that a home which is truly "home" offers to them.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Living in the suburbs of Houston, we didn't know any of our neighbors. Sure, we'd wave while cutting the grass, stop for small talk, etc...but nothing to keep us around. I think it was just too stinkin' hot and humid.
I moved to a small town in the Midwest and within one week we're invited into neighbor's homes for dinner, parties, knew all the kid's names by the second week. Real friendly place.
______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Have we lost something in translation here?
It sounds like the only role of the husband/father is to provide the income, which is obviously not true.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
I've firmly decided that family is first, and all things serve the family. Kids are job #1. Everything else is support. Sacrifice? Hardly! Putting my energy into the things which are most rewarding and will continue to be so for a long time to come.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
When you have no job, regardless of the surroundings, the family goes into a tailspin. It all hinges on your ability to bring home the bacon. Chicago for me always provided some kind of professional employment. As I approached retirement, there was an opportunity to relocate to a job with more pleasant surroundings, and we always went on vacation in Michigan. I live there now thanks to a job offer late in my career.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
The 3 months I spent studying for the FE were rough on my wife, but the upside was, I didn't go crazy from being unemployed, and have documented professional achievements (EIT, Entry level Photovoltaic Installer).
Bon Chance, at least you'll be trying.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Peter Stockhausen
Senior Design Analyst (Checker)
Infotech Aerospace Services
www.infotechpr.net
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
In my case that was a blessing, and a necessity for my sanity.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
So, my manager's manager said, "So what's the problem, you can always get another wife."
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
26 months is not a lot of time to sink deep roots.
Is the current neighborhood typical or special? What's life like a mile or so away?
- Steve
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
it's amazing how short a time it has been... but we only lived in the last place for 32 months, and 46 months in the one before that. Still keep in touch people from each place, although none have come to see us in Houston. If you never stay anywhere, you never sink any roots. We're off to a good start here... why transplant again?
What's life like a mile or so away?
They're all deadbeats who drive too fast and hate small children and pets.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
So don't.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Arlen, TX?
We'd definitely miss the neighborhood. My current job position is a bit demotivating for a variety of factors, and there are few realistic advancement or lateral paths internally in this vicinity.
You could go redneck, like Khan did:
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
We are north of the tornado belt [I hope], west of the hurricane belt, remote from earthquake zones, and removed from any megalopolis. We have nice cool summers and tolerable winters.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Where's the fun in that. I live in Oklahoma and tornados are entertainment here. Some of us even chase them once in a while, though I've never caught one.
-Kirby
Kirby Wilkerson
Remember, first define the problem, then solve it.
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
TTFN
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?
Find Electrical Engineer Job listings
http://www.electrical-designer-guide.com/
RE: good neighborhood, or better job?