wow i cant believe im writing this but here goes... right now i have to make a decision between two jobs and how i should basically start my career. i graduated a year ago from a decent university in texas with a BBA in MIS, and worked a 10 month contract with a big telecom company that ended last month. now, this week, i was offered a job with a small telecom company that prob has about 30 employees in the north houston area. i would be assisting the IT director and basically be the first person in a new IT department that they are creating. they have medical and dental but no 401k. being able to do what i love right away and learning a lot would seem like a great opportunity to be in but.. i have also been offered a job but this one is with a huge banking/financial company as a entry level customer service rep. now they have all the benefits there is (med/dent, 401, stock options) since theyre such a huge company. now i would be starting off as a peon for now but potentially in the future just move on up in the corporate world. both positions are basically equal pay starting off. ive asked all my friends and family about what i should do and its still a tough decision. i jus wanted to know how other people would feel about it. what do you guys think?
What you should try to calculate, in my opinion, is the true dollar/hour salary. 70 hour weeks versus 40 hour weeks makes a big difference. If that is just about equal, I would then look at stability. If both jobs are stable, I would then pick the big pond because you have room to grow, more resources, greater learning opportunities, and more benefits. And when you're done, you'll have plenty of small ponds to pick from. All that being said, their is a lot to be said about the little pond because by the end of it you'll feel like you've actually made a difference and feel better about your work life. But I've always said to myself, who cares about work life anyway. I try to focus on my personal life first.
Which one would look better on your resumé after a year's worth of experience there? You might get burned out and end up hating either one, so if you need to change jobs again, which would help you most in that regard? I'd personally go for the smaller company because of the lesser amount of rungs above you. That's good for several reasons, in my opinion.
Throw $$$ considerations out and think 'which job will be more fun'? Which one will actually be more entertaining? Which one will you be surrounded by more entertaining people? I swear you will be haapier as possible if you work somewhere you love. My $$$ goes on the Big Fish Small Pond scenario.
It's a no-brainer for me - big fish in a small pond. You will have more opportunity to grow and you will be appreciated if you work hard. At the big company, you will be just another customer service rep. They will not have much appreciation for you and they will throw you away without any regrets if they need to cut costs. Also at the small company you could make yourself indispensable - as long as they are reasonably stable, that makes for better job security.
I got out of school a few years ago also and work in the IT field.. I picked a smaller company here in Houston, when I came on they didn’t have Dental or a 401K, but I knew after a few months I could own this place and have the run of the IT department. Over the last year I have watched this company grow and grow and grow... We now have full benefits; I have been able to travel to Europe and Asia. I get to work in the corporate office of only 12 people which makes it feel more like a family rather than a company.. My point is you need look at 1. Is this the job I would like doing? 2. Is the company going in the right direction? 3. If the company is going places will I move up? You are in IT also, I know these were a big one for me.. 4. Will I learn anything new while working here and if I need to learn will the company pay for me to take a class or buy the books/software? 5. Make sure if you pick a small company that you know their licensing practices currently and in the past. The last thing you want is to become the fall guy. Also, why would you even think of taking a job being a banker or a C/S rep when you have a degree in MIS and the pay is almost the same? I know the benefits aren’t, but still.. do what you got your degree in and start your career not working towards your first job in your career.. Good luck and let us know what you pick..
Im from the Bay Area and after the dotcom busy I decided on the Small Fish (Big Pond) scenario and have come to regret it. Just because its a bigger company doesnt guarantee you stability or opportunities. I like the idea of a smaller company (at least if its financially stable) because it gives you more opportunities to learn and grow. As the company grows it usually provides more opportunities for career advancement as long as your management is aware that is what you want. If I could do it over.. I would go to a smaller company learn as much as I can and move up and quickly as I can. Once you move into a senior or management position you can put that on your resume. J
If IT is what you love, that's what you should do. It sounds like the only reason you'd be thinking about the job as a customer service rep would be for the greater money/financial stability. I think there are a few reasons that I personally wouldn't take the rep job. 1) It is so hard to distinguish yourself as a customer service rep and it would take years of grinding and office shmoozing to get anywhere. You would have to deal with people who hate their dead end job and are just as willing to cut your throat as you would be to cut theirs to move up. 2) Is a little more money or dental benefits really worth it? You spend more time in your place of work than you will with your family in an average week. Do you really want to spend that large of a chunk of your life doing something you don't like? I made a choice not totally analagous but similar to yours. Out of school I could kill time in a grad program or work for an insurance broker while trying to decide what I wanted to do. I chose the company for the $$$. Problem is that the office is the most depressing place I've ever been. Thankfully no one bothers to try to train me so I spend my entire day surfing the BBS, listening to sports talk radio, and working on my JET appplication. If you have to get a real job, just make sure it's something your happier doing.
You would be surprised that more and more hot girls are going into the IT field. I know a couple and they work for Accenture and good gawd are they hot . Of course being the IT guy myself, i woudlnt have a chance
It depends on if you like controlling your own destiny. Last year, I switched from working at a company of over 40,000 to a company with less than 10 employees, and it was the best career decision I ever made. I left a sinking boat about a year before it hit an iceberg, which I knew was coming. Most people didn't share my negative outlook. Large companies have the same downsides as small ones. You can get laid off or have salary cuts shoved down your throat. Office politics, while essential wherever you work, can be very tiresome at large companies (especially when you see people who are less deserving get promotions instead of you). If you work an internal position at a major company, they own you. You are hidden from the outside world. That is unacceptable for anyone today, even less so if you are just starting your career. I was fortunate because I had an "outside" position that gave me great visibility within my industry, and when an opportunity came up, I knew about it and capitalized. Small companies aren't perfect either. A lot depends on the owner and how much he cares for employees. Of course, a lot depends on how successful the small business is. One thing I like a lot is that I have a significant and direct impact on our success. Not so at the old job. I'll add this: There are lot's of people at small companies who are miserable because the work environment is terrible. Be careful. A jerky boss or an intimidating owner at a small company can be worse than anything you get at major corporations, which have policies and procedures in place that can protect you. Some people are better off at big companies because they want predictability. If that is you, go that direction. While big boats do change direction, at least it's slow. If you are a "go getter", above average in your field, and the small company you are considering offers good visibility and learning opportunities regardless if they make it long term, I say take it. If possible, try to speak with someone already there or someone that knows about the company. Since you are just starting out, it may be hard to have industry contacts already. Be honest with yourself about what you are looking for, make a decision and don't look back.
thanks for all the advice guys, it helped me a lot. pretty interesting how things have turned out. i was so close to going with the big pond even to the fact that they were already assuming i had accepted the offer and that im supposed to come in and fill out paper work tomorrow (thursday), but tonight i read everyones responses (i agree with yobod's), talked to my brothers whom im close with, talked with my girlfriend, prayed about it (im a christian), and in the end ive decided to go with the small pond. i forgot to mention also that my father has been with the big pond for a long time and i've already gotten some heat for my decision from some family members. but everyone knows the saying "im a grown ass man" and this is what ive decided and i need to go ahead with full confidence. thanks again for the input! i start on monday.
When I left my 40,000 employee sized big pond for the 8 person small pond, I got nothing but heat and puzzled looks. No support at all from anyone. Good luck guy! Wish you the best and give us an update in a few months.
big pond is never better. In a 30 EE company you will know the owner who will likely be a no-sh*t straight shooter. In a Fortune 500 company, your second line manager (who manages 30 EEs and thus is equivalent to the 30 EE owner) is likely to be a 100% BS kinda guy who will sacrifice you in order to save his own *ss.
Gee, imagine that... good looking women working for consulting firms. When I worked with people from PriceWaterhouse and Arthur Andersen, they seemed to be everywhere. Straight out of college, making hardly any money, but very nice looking nonetheless...
HAHA.. one of the best looking girls I have ever seen just started with PWC in Dallas this year.. what are the odds??
I guess you missed all the little ponds that dried up after the dot com/telecom boom. It all depends on what you want out of life. No 401k would be a big deal to me. I don't know how much you'd be making or how inclined you are to save, but consider what happens when you don't save $14k a year at 8-10% interest year after year. That's a fairly massive hit. I mean let's face it - most of us work so we won't have to later. That being said, the best time to take risks is when you are young because you have time to recover from your mistakes. Your chances of being successful and "climbing the corporate ladder" seem better at the small company. Your responsibilities seemingly will be larger and maybe your chance to learn will be better. All of this matters for the future. Well, it does to me, anyway. If I were your age, and if I understand your situation correctly, I'd snap up that small company job in a heartbeat. Oh yeah, and my first real job in IT after I dropped out of college was working for a company with 19 people in it. I got paid next-to-nothing but worked my butt off to learn the field. It's paid off. It was also possibly the most fun I ever had at any job.
