Topic: Which Job Should I Choose?

[blackdiamond]

I realize that it's rare in today's economy to have two excellent job opportunities to choose from, but that's exactly the situation that I find myself in.  I'm currently working as an structural engineer in a Navy shipyard and primarily do maintenance work on submarines.  I'm one of three leads under my boss (branch manager) and I'm responsible for assigning and reviewing all repair jobs that we prepare for production.  The work environment is great for the most part and my boss great to work for.  The downside is that I have no interested in advancement in my current department because it would require taking a job that is high stress, a lot of overtime and generally pure chaos.  The environment in the engineering is stupid metric driven and many days I feel like I'm herding cats.  My workload varies from not having much to do on one end to the 200 hours of overtime I did the first three months of this year.  I wasn't looking for another job, but received a call from a division manager in the quality assurance department looking for a branch manager.  The job would be no overtime, low stress and I'd be in at the foundation of a rebuilding process.  I've talked to the current division manager, that has been in the job for less than 6 months, and the previous management allowed the division to become nearly obsolete and useless over the past ten years.  His goal is to turn things around in the next 3 to 5 years and then move on putting the new branch manager in line to be the division manager.  He's a very driven person and admits to being a bit controlling, but I'm sure I'd get along with him and he also values family time (partly why he took this position) and having a good work environment.  The majority of the workers will be retiring in the next few years providing the opportunity to hire all new people and start from scratch.  The downside is the day to day job will likely be less rewarding and I’d go from an engineering job to being a quality manager.  Being a Dilbert fan, that’s a difficult transition.  The new position would be far less stress, more money before overtime and almost no chance of ever having to work more than 40 hours a week allowing for a better family life.  I’d be leaving my current boss in a crunch and it would be very difficult to undo the change if I didn’t enjoy the new job.  The difference in pay will probably be about $8,000 per year which isn’t significant since I would make some of it up in overtime in my current position.  I’m 32 years old so this would be a very early transition into management.  If I wanted to move up to being the division manager in 3 to 5 years I’d be a GS-14 employee and under 40 years old.  Not many people achieve this pay grade that early and management has never been my goal.  It just seems like a job that I’d be good at and could be an excellent opportunity that I shouldn’t pass up with the future in mind.

What would you do and why?

[kneedownnate]

I hate stress, drama and bs, so it kinda sounds like the new job is a no brainer, it it were me...

[blackdiamond [OP]]

I hate stress, drama and bs, so it kinda sounds like the new job is a no brainer, it it were me...

My biggest fear with taking the new job is finding out that management isn't for me and possibly not even enjoying the work that the people working for me do.  It's one of those things that I can't really know without giving it a try, but the promotion makes it a real challenge to get back to "the working level."  I know my current boss would take me back, but it'll screw him pretty badly if I leave.

[abnormaltoy]

Cleaning it up a bit...one of my main tenets in life is "Life's too short to do crap that sucks".

Stress is a killer in all respects...from making Mr. Happy not work right to heart attacks.

[Rocksurfer]

Never thought I was management material but have been doing it for well over 20 yrs. now. Has its ups and downs but at least now I can assign myself out of the dirty work.

[BUDDERS]

Just keep in mind that if you do take that manager position and the head boss does not like what you are doing with that department, he's gonna ride you hard or give you the boot (and it doesn't even matter if things are out of your control).  I've seen it happen a dozen times at the dealerships I've worked at.

[blackdiamond [OP]]

Just keep in mind that if you do take that manager position and the head boss does not like what you are doing with that department, he's gonna ride you hard or give you the boot (and it doesn't even matter if things are out of your control).  I've seen it happen a dozen times at the dealerships I've worked at.

Being a government employee, the risk of actually losing my job is about zero, that's a great benefit for people that work hard and a terrible thing for the people that take it for granted.  I have no doubt that I can handle the job, the problem is knowing if I'll enjoy the work.

[blackdiamond [OP]]

Here's another small factor to consider: http://board.marlincrawler.com/index.php?topic=74877.0

[BLACKDOG]

Cleaning it up a bit...one of my main tenets in life is "Life's too short to do crap that sucks".

Stress is a killer in all respects...from making Mr. Happy not work right to heart attacks.

  However, he did mention the potential of the job being less rewarding. 

My job is very high stress, but also extremely rewarding, and I really enjoy it.  That is something to consider as well, because if you don't enjoy your job, that is going to have negative health effects as well as stress in a job you enjoy.

[BigMike]

I say go with the less stressful job + better work schedule for improved family life. As for your engineering degree/mechanical experience, remember you can still apply that to your hobbies! I understand its important to enjoy your work, but if you're able to have more time for yourself and your family, maybe that will make up for it...?