Long term thinking about your career
by: Craig Redding
Before 401k plans existed, offers of employment for engineering undergraduates were quite simple to evaluate. One question and one answer - "How much?" and "Show me the money!" No agents were necessary, just a B.S. in engineering, one suit and what I thought were clever interview skills. My first job was the opposite of a government contract - take the highest bidder. Not a complete mistake. I rode the wave of a redeveloping petroleum production industry - and entered into pipeline design. It was the highest offer I received; yet it was only 12% different than the lowest offer. As a bonus, the company work week ended at noon on Fridays and they offered three weeks vacation from the start.
After a year, I changed jobs finding something more fitting including a 15% increase in pay. I liked the work and was able to apply much of my education in areas of interest. The company was a small consulting engineering firm so I got a quick course in selling services, proposing and managing projects. When a new company bought out the consulting company, I wasn't happy with the opportunity presented, although it included a respectable increase in salary. I explored several opportunities with other companies, one which was project engineering related (offer 'A'), one which was technical R&D type work (offer 'B') and moving up as a project manager for a new development in the new company (offer 'C'). The offers did not all provide equal satisfaction towards my career goals (which, had changed since I was recently engaged to be married). The level of detail each company provided in its benefit package was very different, prompting me to ask for additional information. I thought long and hard about each opportunity, examined the benefits that I thought were important. I re-evaluated over and over for days (and nights). It was hard to sort and identify my goals, and weigh how each job rated against those goals. Finally, I drafted a chart, assessing each of these parameters and ranking each company on a scale of 1 - 5. The descriptions below show key dilemmas each offer presented.
|
Offer 'A' |
Offer 'B' |
Offer 'C' |
| Salary |
10% increase with overtime pay |
10% decrease in pay |
10% increase in pay |
| Retirement |
401k matching 0.5% for every percent up to 6%. |
Contribute 3% and company contributes 9%. |
Matching of 0.25% for every percent up to 4%. |
| Healthcare |
Average |
Lowest premiums paid by the employee, dependent coverage. |
No assistance in paying the premium for dependents and minimal life insurance. |
| Job Location |
Houston, Texas Close to Family |
Houston, Texas Close to Family |
San Antonio, Texas 3 hours away from Family |
| Long-Term Career Goal |
Manage exciting projects, from pipeline design and installations to offshore platforms. |
Provided opportunity to work in a variety of areas, exercising more analytical capabilities, and working with a large group of technically advanced degree post-hole diggers (Ph.D.'s). Encouraged advanced degrees in continuing education. |
Provided interesting development and testing of a tool which seemed right up my alley; the job required a fair amount of travel overseas to see the project through. |
| Overall Happiness in Life |
Highly stressful |
Able to work towards an advanced engineering degree. Challenging work environment to keep me stimulated. |
Highly stressful |
| Time with Wife and Children |
N/A |
Conducive to enriching home and work life. |
N/A |
The scoring was very arbitrary, based on my perception, and other facts I gathered while interviewing. While investigating my options, I discovered that next to job location, salary ranked at the bottom of the chart. I realized I needed to stop looking at the before-tax salary offer and consider take home pay, which included reduced compensation from the healthcare costs. Retirement and healthcare were next up from the bottom, in that order. Both ranked in the middle, close to the same. At the top of the chart was overall happiness in life and time with my immediate family. I wanted a job that would get me home as soon as possible, wouldn't have surprise travel or 'unexpected' weekend work requirements. From the interviews, it was clear that Offer 'B' would win hands down, in a category of it's own.
I've envied colleagues who were enjoying the continued upward slope in the petroleum industry (thanks to high oil/gas prices) and making 30% more than I (before taxes). While my colleagues are sitting in traffic waiting to get home, I've got my little girl jumping on the couch next to me, and a baby tugging at my pant leg; both excited to see me home. So remember, evaluate your life long-term goals, not just your career. You'll probably find too, it's not all about the money! |
