   Which job?
  This isn't completely hypothetical, I'm looking for some advice on a torturous decision.You have the choice between two jobs:Job 1 - Working for your dream company (literally), in a role that you're kind of only partially interested in.  You'd be using this to get your foot in the door in hopes that down the line you can transfer internally to a position that you're more interested in.  The reason you were selected for this position in the first place is that you actually have considerable expertise in the area, but it's just not really what you want to do anymore, and the skills you'd gain in said position are only partially applicable to what you really want to do.  The project itself is not one that lends itself well to what you really want to do, so it's not like a different position on the same team would satisfy you.  Eventually you'd need a position on a *different* team.  Although it's not uncommon to move around among projects at companies, working on a project that is more "indefinite" you wonder if you might run into hurdles down the line in that regard, especially if the skills you're gaining aren't really applicable to the type of position you do want.Company seems like it has a better "culture", and company is highly profitable.  Job 2 - Working in your dream role, for a company that you're only partially interested in.  Company has a history of layoffs, but the position you'd be taking is somewhat shielded due to the fact that it's a core position on one of the company's major cash cows.  Culture is not quite as good as Job 1, and company is currently not profitable.Advice appreciated :)   
  Regarding Job 1: Whether or not you can get an internal transfer probably really depends on what your job level is. Is your 'considerable expertise' a doctorate degree and 15 years or corporate research, for which you are being headhunted for a lead position, or is your 'considerable expertise' that you worked on a similar college project and are now being hired for an entry level position somewhat related to that.If the former is your case, I can imagine the company is not too interested in moving you into a totally different area. If you are still pretty young then your options are probably pretty wide open.   ;  Go to the library.Check out a copy of the book "What Color is your Parachute?".  (It is often considered the job-hunter's bible.)  Any edition will work.Skip to the end of the book, appendix A.There is an exercise called the Flower Diagram.It requires some serious soul-searching to do well.  Work through the exercises very carefully.  Expect to spend several days of introspection.  If possible, involve people close to you in getting their ideas and perspectives.If you are thoughtful when working through it, it can help you discover what you are really interested in, what you find satisfying, what kinds of people you want to work with, what conditions you want, and more.After you complete it and know a bit more about yourself, it should be much more visible which job fits your personal path to joy in your career.   ;Quote:Original post by karwostsRegarding Job 1: Whether or not you can get an internal transfer probably really depends on what your job level is. Is your 'considerable expertise' a doctorate degree and 15 years or corporate research, for which you are being headhunted for a lead position, or is your 'considerable expertise' that you worked on a similar college project and are now being hired for an entry level position somewhat related to that.By "considerable expertise" I mean about 12 years of experience in an extremely related (but not 100% identical) industry.The job offered at company 1 is somewhat related to what I do want to end up doing, but only tangentially, and I would not be acquiring skills directly related to the types of positions that I do want to end up in.  So part of me wonders if, down the line, would I be back at square 1, looking for a job in an industry which heavily weighs "game experience", for which I don't have direct experience?  Or would the fact that I simply worked for company X on something high profile make up for that?   ;Quote:Original post by frobAfter you complete it and know a bit more about yourself, it should be much more visible which job fits your personal path to joy in your career.I'll try it, but I'm not so sure.  I have an internal interest meter that if it were all the way on the left, it would be company 1 all the way, and if it were all the way on the right, it would be company 2 all the way.  It's right smack in the middle.  The set of pros and cons for each job are completely different, and when I weigh them all against each other, they each come out almost exactly the same.  So part of me feels like doing a dice roll.  Anyway, I was mostly wondering what other people would do in the same situation.   ;  If it would be fifty-fifty for me, I'd probably re-prioritize things like how much they pay, if a job is more fun or how closeby it is to your home or if you have to relocate etc. ... There are usually quite a few factors that count along the way.   ;Quote:Original post by cache_hitQuote:Original post by frobAfter you complete it and know a bit more about yourself, it should be much more visible which job fits your personal path to joy in your career.I'll try it, but I'm not so sure.  I have an internal interest meter that if it were all the way on the left, it would be company 1 all the way, and if it were all the way on the right, it would be company 2 all the way.  It's right smack in the middle.  The set of pros and cons for each job are completely different, and when I weigh them all against each other, they each come out almost exactly the same.  So part of me feels like doing a dice roll.  Anyway, I was mostly wondering what other people would do in the same situation.My flower diagram shows other items that are important to me.The specific culture is highly important to me.  The specific set of responsibilities is also highly important to me.  The actual product or specific company is not important to me.  The history of layoffs is only marginally important to me.  I would need more information, but if I were to chose based exclusively on that and everything else is equal, I would take #2 because I would have the work I prefer and a reasonably good culture, and would not care about the name on the sign outside the building. But that is me, not you.What is most important to you?  Have you evaluated your own tolerance of instability, tolerance of working in roles you don't like, and tolerance of working for companies you aren't really interested in?  Do you know what kind of people you want to work with, what kind of products, and what kind of tasks will allow you to flourish?Is it more important to you to be where you want at first (where you would prefer job 2) or more important to be with specific people or things (where you would prefer job 1).  Once you've figured out what is truly important to allow you to grow, those should be your biggest factors in evaluating the job.  Once you know them, deciding between the two should be much easier./Edit: Remove unfinished sentence.[Edited by - frob on April 13, 2010 6:09:05 PM];  That is an interesting question, man. Given that I'm young and I'm not sure if what I'm currently doing is what I really want to do, I would lean towards Job 2.   ;  I'd take job #2 -- life is short and you seldom get to have a job doing exactly what you want to do, so if you have that opportunity do it. With job #1 you're basically saying that in the future it might lead to a situation you like even better, but, you know, screw the future; things never turn out how you expect and you might as well be happy in the present.   ;  In this case, both are acceptable decisions so it really comes down to what YOU want.  My gut tells me that you know what decision you WANT to take but just aren't sure if it's right.There's an exercise you can do to help this internal dialogue.  Tell yourself that you will flip a coin to make the decision, if it lands on job #1 and you say to yourself "aww man I wish it would have been job #2 instead" then job #2 is what you should take, and vice versa.Personally, in your situation, I would look more at company fit/culture then job position.  If you know people that work at both companies I would talk to them and see if you can spot any differences.  I've done crap jobs before working for good people at good companies and enjoyed it more than having a good job working for an asshat at a company filled with jerkoffs.Never underestimate small things like commute time, dress code, attitude of coworkers, desk/chair/monitor/computer configurations, etc.   