Maxumizing income vs. job security

[Whale]

Just hoping to get a few thoughts from you... 

My job is going away and I have a couple options (Thank GOD!).

Job A being a very stable job that won't be greatly affected by average economic changes.  It has a great retirement plan associated with it and good benefits.

The other, Job B, would be pretty strongly effected due to economic changes. The benefits are okay but not great.

Of course the rub is that the Job B pays over 25% more than Job A and Job A involves more 'on-call' time which would make it difficult, not impossible, to get an additional job.

Do I go with the secure and stable but less money Job A or make hay while the sun shines and go with Job B.

Thoughts?

TIA,

Whale

[Stein]

I would go for Job A if I could swing it.  Benefits are more valuable every year and I would rather do with less than need to make more. 

The key question is whether you could live comfortably on Job A salary?

[Whale]

The key question is whether you could live comfortably on Job A salary?

Define comfortably! 

We should be able to get by okay.  We are currently in the process of adjusting our lifestyle anyway.  We are, however, still on Baby Step 2 and sure could use the extra money to get us to a safe place.

One of the benefits of Job A is a company truck and fuel.  That seems to be a big benefit right now!

Whale

[ElyasWolff]

Play it safe. I worked for years in the automotive industry, and I was laid off.
I am working on starting a new career now...

[DeltaEchoVictor]

The key question is whether you could live comfortably on Job A salary?

Define comfortably! 

We should be able to get by okay.  We are currently in the process of adjusting our lifestyle anyway.  We are, however, still on Baby Step 2 and sure could use the extra money to get us to a safe place.

One of the benefits of Job A is a company truck and fuel.  That seems to be a big benefit right now!

Whale

Comfortably is relative.  Obviously we all have our preferences, but there is something to be said for beneifts & longterm stability.  The idea is to prep a little at a time so you don't have to go broke getting to a "comfortable" level of preparedness.  Do not disrupt your life for the sake of preparedness, live your life in a prepared state as much as you can.

Something my wife keeps saying to me after she listens to the podcasts is "I feel like I need to get all of this done right now".  She doesn't, & neither do you.  Just do a little extra every week & one day you'll look around & you'll realize you're in good shape.

Define your priorities & then make the decision, but do it after you've decided what's the most important to you.

[waterart]

Today I sent out about 10 resumes.  I am not being fussy about what job I take.  I just need a certain amount of money.  If they pay decent insurance benefits then I can cancel my current expensive policy.

Here is a list of web sites that I have used to find jobs:

   1. Probably the best source is this site:  http://www.providentliving.org/employment/find/1,10689,2476-1,00.html It is free for the employers and employees, so you get a lot of opportunities.  Click here for some resources and tools to help you interview and create resumes. It's all free and they show you how to come up with money for retraining or whatever you need to get employment.  It is sponsored by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.  Everyone is invited to use their resources.
   2. Here are jobs offered by the US government: http://jobsearch.usajobs.gov/
   3. If you have a physical or mental disability that is keeping you from working or keeping a job, there is the Vocational Rehabilitation people.  Here is the site for Utah. http://www.usor.utah.gov/
   4. Here is another Utah site that is sometimes helpful: http://www.xmission.com/~sswope/newsrch.cgi
   5. Also Utah state government jobs are sometimes easier to land:  https://statejobs.utah.gov/
   6. monster.com is a great site.
   7. If you want temporary computer programming or graphic design jobs, try rentacoder.com.  There are some other sites like them.  I signed up with rent a coder and bid on some jobs.  I didn't get the bids because I bid too low and I didn't have a decent portfolio yet.  I should try again.   They have it set up nicely so that you get paid for sure when your project is completed.

I need to read up on how to clean up my resume and send out a better cover letter.

I think the most important thing is to get in front of the guy who does the hiring and don't act like an overly nervious whimp.  I have interviewed people for jobs and there is one guy that I interviewed who stands out as a really nice shy nervous whimp.  And now that I am being interviewed, I am just myself and forget about being nervous.

[Whale]

I think the number one reason I have 3 jobs to chose from is friends.  On 2 out of 3 I had a friend come to me and say, "Hey, I saw that so and so is hiring" or "We're looking to hire someone over where I work."  Networking is a powerful search agent.  Don't be afraid to talk to your friends about openings they know about.

I can't post links yet ( don't think) but I really liked;

http://www.indeed.com/ (consolidated job search)
http://www.simplyhired.com (another consolidated job search integrated with Linked-In)
http://www.careerbuilder.com/ (works a lot with local newspapers and you can find jobs you don't normally see online)
http://www.dice.com/ (If your in IT/IS)

I also searched USJOBS daily as well as my State job website.

That being said, it's all back to "Which job will be more stable when TSHTF?"  A graphics printing company? A company that produces seeds for farmers, fertilizer, ethanol, etc? A railroad job?

How much is worth the risk? If there is a $50K /yr difference between the most stable and most risky, do I take risky and make hay while the sun shines?