Monday, November 01, 2010

Should I take this job or not?

I'm thinking of doing this again, but I'm not sure of a theme or anything. Right now I'm pretty focused on trying to find a job, so maybe my dilemma du jour will entertain.

Here's the thing.

A friend has offered me a short-term, part-time job at his company doing stuff I'm about 10 years and a degree overqualified to do, for $15/hour. He thinks it will be about 20 hours a week but could be more hours. The company is located in Berkeley, which is about 90 miles and at least a 2 hour morning/evening commute each way. They are also expanding, though honestly they don't really do anything I'm interested in professionally.

Here is my pros/cons list. Please read and tell me what you think I should do in this situation.

Pros:
* It's a job. It's money coming in, though granted, not a whole lot of money
* I've been told that I can consolidate it into two weekdays and so I can just stay at a friend's house or my sister's house for the in-between night, saving myself 2 commutes. Or I could drive down on a Monday evening, work Tues/Wed, and drive back up Wed evening.
* There's a possibility of somehow finagling it into a full-time job for the company
* My friend is going out of his way to help me find work

Cons
* It's 90 miles and 2 hours each way. Even with an overnight stay or two during the week, that's still 180 miles or nearly half a tank of gas plus bridge toll and wear/tear on the car a week.
* An overnight stay or two means I'm away from home, Dan, and kitties for one or two nights a week for a job that's probably a dead end
* That's two fewer days a week I can spend looking for a full-time job that I want to be doing
* If I do get offered a full-time job, especially if soon, that means I'd be kind of screwing my friend over

Our ultimate plan is to move down to the Bay Area as soon as one of us gets a full-time job, but there's no way we could swing a move, let alone rent and everything else on $300/week, so the option of us moving for this job is not on the table.

7 comments:

Yank In Texas said...

I vote no. The cons outweigh the pros. While it's a job and your friend is awesome for offering this, it doesn't seem like it would be worth the $$. There's no real benefit to you.

jive turkey said...

I vote no as well, especially if you're not yet at that "MUST HAVE INCOME NOW!" point. If it was closer, it might be more feasible, but since it's not even something you're interested in & won't lead anywhere worthwhile for you, it doesn't seem worth the hassle. If you're only making $300/week, I have to imagine a large chunk of that will end up going to gas/food (since you would potentially be away from home on overnighters).

It was really awesome of your friend to find this opportunity for you, but I'd pass it up if I was in your shoes.

Sara said...

Nope, unless this could likely and ultimately turn into your dream job or something.

Very nice offer; not realistic for you guys right now.

Crafty Mama said...

My vote is no, too. You have your sanity to think of! That kind of commute will take it out of anyone. Plus, being away from yor family (human and furry) on a regular basis like that will get old really fast. Especially since it's not what you want to do, and for less $$$. Hold it out if you can. :)

Super Sarah said...

I vote no too. I agree with Yank, the cons outweigh the pros and the risk of taking advantage of a friend's generous offer and then having to backtrack when your dream job turns up, well its just too risky. Hold out for the dream job!

Anonymous said...

That is quite a tough dilemma! But as others have said unless the money is essential, I say keep looking. Although I can understand the appeal of taking a JOB, any job. I personally tend to hate the job hunt phase of things.

Hillary said...

I don't know. A job is a job but the cons seem to outweigh the pros (at least, for me they would.)