Personal Development for Smart People Forums - View Single Post - I'm at a crossroad. Think about my life or career?

bantone · 02-25-2008, 11:58 AM

The sales engineer job I had I was making 45K a year in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I am 24 right now so considering the fact that I have not completed my degree yet and many of my friends come out of school making 35 - 40K it was good money for me.

The thing is with the company with my mom's friend is the fact that it is 1) a start up and 2) there is only one satellite company in that part of Quebec and he has got a deal with that company to install satellites for them. The thing is initially he will not have many people working for him to do the job (10 - 15 people at most) so that could explain the salary workout. I COULD make more than that but is it at the cost of working 40+ hours a week compared to my other job behind a desk? I don't know.

Career options, well I could go somewhere else such as northern virginia or atlanta and start at 50K+ potentially or more and it would be a linear path into what I want to do in the IT field...fill sales engineer and/or systems analyst type jobs. I might also have options in this area to get a security clearance which would give me a LOT more job options in the future.

The option of me taking the job in Montreal could potentially sidetrack me from my career path...but I actually envision myself going back to school before I am 28 and having a job to support me at the time. The perks are, from a job perspective is, becoming bilingual, learning to work in that type of environment, and potentially more technical experience.

My mother's friend also told me if I find a better job up there he would be willing to sponsor me to make me eligible for residency since acquiring a work visa only grants me to work for his company.

The cost of living in Montreal, I heard, is lower than most north american cities so that might offset the pay drop.

This is really killing me at the moment because logically I know that my decision to move up there might not necessarily be the best decision for me when it comes to looking at my career BUT I know my heart wants to go up there which is causing an internal battle.

02-25-2008, 11:58 AM	#2 (permalink)
bantone Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Posts: 2	a little background... The sales engineer job I had I was making 45K a year in the Hampton Roads area of Virginia. I am 24 right now so considering the fact that I have not completed my degree yet and many of my friends come out of school making 35 - 40K it was good money for me. The thing is with the company with my mom's friend is the fact that it is 1) a start up and 2) there is only one satellite company in that part of Quebec and he has got a deal with that company to install satellites for them. The thing is initially he will not have many people working for him to do the job (10 - 15 people at most) so that could explain the salary workout. I COULD make more than that but is it at the cost of working 40+ hours a week compared to my other job behind a desk? I don't know. Career options, well I could go somewhere else such as northern virginia or atlanta and start at 50K+ potentially or more and it would be a linear path into what I want to do in the IT field...fill sales engineer and/or systems analyst type jobs. I might also have options in this area to get a security clearance which would give me a LOT more job options in the future. The option of me taking the job in Montreal could potentially sidetrack me from my career path...but I actually envision myself going back to school before I am 28 and having a job to support me at the time. The perks are, from a job perspective is, becoming bilingual, learning to work in that type of environment, and potentially more technical experience. My mother's friend also told me if I find a better job up there he would be willing to sponsor me to make me eligible for residency since acquiring a work visa only grants me to work for his company. The cost of living in Montreal, I heard, is lower than most north american cities so that might offset the pay drop. This is really killing me at the moment because logically I know that my decision to move up there might not necessarily be the best decision for me when it comes to looking at my career BUT I know my heart wants to go up there which is causing an internal battle.