Anybody willing to give me career advice?

[timberland]

I have a fairly easy job at a wastewater plant. Good pay for this area (about 50k), 20 yrs to retirement with state pension, good hours (7am-3pm, on call every third weekend). When I got the job 3 years ago I hit cruise control. In a three person department we are all the same age and will retire about the same time, so there is little chance of advancement. Will pay off my house in a couple years and have both kids into college. I have lots of free time and get to hunt a lot. Out West every year chasing something.
My Public Works Director is retiring in one year and would like to use that year to groom me (figuratively, not literally, though I need it) to fill his position. Pluses include bump in salary, maybe to 60K and the challenge of a new position. I am clearly the best candidate with my experience and education that currently works for the city and I have no doubt I can do the job.

I would give up (possibly) some of my free time. I would have to deal with the public and city council more than I do now, and that scares me a little.

Money is not everything and I live a pretty comfortable life. But I would hate to get stale doing the same thing every day for the next 20 years. Help me look at this at every angle. Has anybody dealt with career choices that they were uncertain about? Am I overthinking it? Is ambition that is driven by pride dangerous? Am I lazy to not strive towards another goal?
I appreciate any input so I can try to shake this thing out. I need to wade through my feelings and make a decision I can be comfortable with.

 

[bnsafe]

your gonna get lots of advise on this timber. i wont say much as i believe you are the only one who can figure this out, well, you and your family. but, rather you take the job of not, lazy has nothing to do with it. we get so caught up in if your not the boss your a failure, chasing the extra dollar, moving up the ladder. bottom line, do what makes you the happiest. it 50 years nobodies gonna care anyway so make yourself happy, either way.

 

[timberland]

well said, thank you.

 

[iccyman001]

Time is one of those things we take for granted when we have it and miss it when it\'s gone.

To me it sounds llike financially you are doing well and have no burdens. It also sounds like you have plenty of family time and fun time.

To me it sounds like you are living the dream.

I understand the lull of jobs. I\'ve been a very fast burner in my career in the military and I\'ve been in the jobs where I\'ve been so busy that I can never see my family and I\'ve been in the jobs where it\'s very simple, but I can hunt my face off and spent time with Alyssa and my dogs.

From my experiences so far, I enjoy the family and fun time more anyday. I am far from the definition of lazy and always am a go getter, so it\'s tough for me to hold these easier positions, but when it\'s all said and done: I\'m happy, stress free, enjoy time with friends and family, and life is good.


Maybe look at this as an opportunity to do something different.
Currently I am in one of the easier, more family fun time jobs.

I do my work, but to keep me busy I started another degree and I volunteer a lot. It allows me to stay as busy as I want to be without adding stress.


Expect if I am taking a math class. Then I am stressed.


I am not offended if you don\'t want to listen to a 28 year old, but having experienced both sides of this, I know what makes my family and myself happy at night.

 

[elky McElkerson]

right now..i vote you accept the \"grooming\". gather all the info and use it. there is ZERO harm with learning what is needed for the next step. i would go so far as to even take the promotional exam and maybe even take the test. you can ALWAYS politely decline it.

if your pension is anything like mine, you retire with your best salary. it would be nice to check out with a bigger number. the added 10k might not be attractive now..or even significant now. but after you retire, it would be fixed. fixed solid. (maybe slight cost of living increases?) the added percentage of the added $10k..to the end of your life is NOT an insignificant number.

i am in a similar boat. i told Dan about a big mistake i made at work. i elevated it, and fixed it. my boss LOVED how proactive i was. personally, i was ashamed of myself and really took it hard. my boss told me most folks in my position would have swept it under the rug. me? no way!! i was accountable. he also wants to groom me for promotion. (he made the same mistake early in his career and handled it just like i did). \"grooming\" is not really legal in my position. he is gonna camouflage it as \"leadership workshops\". i am touched..still embarrassed at my eff-up. but i\'m not silly enough to ignore a possible promotion. at least gather the info. the thoughts of supervising a bunch of public employees is not attractive to me. at all. you know it..we come in all colors, shapes and sizes..with respect to ethics. shiver!!!

 

[cnelk]

Barry
Elky made some good points. Get the training and then decide to take the job or not.

Im a single dad with 2 kids in college now and I am 3 years from retirement.
I have been in my current position for over 15 years. Another position for 6 years before that with the same company. I get lots of time off and salary is comfortable [Im pretty frugal too].

I have been ?groomed? for an upper management position only to succumb to the ?good ol? boy? system. At the time, it stung that I didn?t get the job, but now looking back it is a relief. I can see the top much more clearly now and I don?t want to go there. After all that, I really like my job. I have daily challenges and pretty my own self starter.

But?In my experience, anytime a new person starts in a position, the job itself morphs into something you never imagined. Sure? Your current boss can tell you what he knows about it now, but he also has a boss that may be looking to change things once someone else is hired.

To me, time with family and happiness is priceless. Time off is priceless. I work to live, not live to work.

Ya just never know.

If you like challenges, need stimulation, more cash, less time for you, this job sounds like it fits.

What does your ?boss at home? think?

 

[Ol' Arky]

your gonna get lots of advise on this timber. i wont say much as i believe you are the only one who can figure this out, well, you and your family. but, rather you take the job of not, lazy has nothing to do with it. we get so caught up in if your not the boss your a failure, chasing the extra dollar, moving up the ladder. bottom line, do what makes you the happiest. it 50 years nobodies gonna care anyway so make yourself happy, either way.

I agree with Scott... BE HAPPY, HAPPY, HAPPY.... :upthumb: :upthumb:

 

[cohunter14]

Barry, there is a lot of great advice here. I agree that I would at least look into the opportunity...who knows, you may love it! You don\'t want to end up having regrets on not at least looking into it. But as has been said, the biggest thing is to do what make you happy!

 

[bowhunter]

21 years ago I made a career change. I went from an industrial maintenance supervisor to a different company as industrial maintenance mechanic. I took a 6k cut in pay with way less stress and a much slower pace. I wasn\'t here 30 days and the offered me a maintenance supervisor position which I declined. I have had my times to shine and show my expertise. The new hours were much better and the benefits good. I was a bit bored at first but learned to slow down and enjoy my easy days. I have lots of free time at work for home projects and to scout for next years hunt on GE. I also spend most of my time on this site while, um working :lol:

 

[razorback]

I have been in your position somewhat. I served on active duty in the National Guard for 22 years. Positions were very competitive. I made rank very fast and for some reason was groomed to make even more rank. Within 9 years I was an E7 which was the minimum time to make that rank. The job required me to travel a lot and I worked 60 hours a week minimum. Within a year I was told I needed to be groomed for my next promotion. I was very content with the position I held as well as the position I held prior. I could read the writing on the wall, another promotion would likely mean relocating my family to the northern part of Missouri away from our families. To spare a lot of details, I found a good jumping off point and chose to take a voluntary reduction in rank back to E6. This move insured I could spend the rest of my career in Southern Missouri. The salary was adequate for my family, I traveled less and spent less time in the office. It was a trade off I was happy with. Some of my peers questioned me as well as some Colonels who I was friends with. I never looked back and am now retired. I have no regrets. Money has never meant a lot to me, it\'s time and family I value most. That\'s just how I view things. It may not work for everybody but in the end I don\'t want to look back realize I missed out on a bunch of stuff because of a dollar.

 

[cohunter14]

Money has never meant a lot to me, it\'s time and family I value most. That\'s just how I view things. It may not work for everybody but in the end I don\'t want to look back realize I missed out on a bunch of stuff because of a dollar.

That is great insight right there Steve. It\'s very easy to get caught up in the race to make more money and forget about the little things.

 

[Don K]

Lots of great advice here.

The only thing I would add is if your going another 20 years you need to \"enjoy\" what you are doing. Money does make the world go around, but it isn\'t everything..........

 

[elky McElkerson]

I wish I focused on retirement earlier in my life. That youthful exuberance I had where I thought life cruised on forever was utterly foolish thinking.

Choose the path that pads retirement better. Money isn\'t everything now. But I\'m afraid it becomes more important as you stop
Making it.


Sent via Jedi mind trick.

 

[timberland]

WOW, Lots of great advice.
The goal of this thread was to make me think about my career choices in ways I might have been missing. I get tunnel vision (my wife says obsessed) when a big decision needs to be made. I spent 4 hours a day for a week researching before I bought a lawnmower online. And when it comes to hunting...Whew!
I\'ve came to realize the ultimate goal is not the choice made, but being comfortable with whatever that choice is, and everybody that has posted here has become my support group, and for that I thank you.
The take away from this is God has a plan laid out for each one of us, and being excited and comfortable about what is going to happen next is one of the keys to a happy life. I am going to pursue this advancement a little more because it will give me more control of my destiny, while keeping a strong hold of my anchor, my family. All in all, I can\'t wait to see what happens next. THANKS, ALL!

 

[colorado russ]

Barry, in my opinion, you made the right choice. You can always take a step back later in your career if you aren\'t happy. I was a manager for 5-6 years with a big company and got my pay up along with 401K. BUT, it took a toll on my home life after a few years and I asked to step down. I moved into a less demanding role and it\'s been great.

Let us know how it goes!

 

[cohunter14]

The take away from this is God has a plan laid out for each one of us, and being excited and comfortable about what is going to happen next is one of the keys to a happy life.

Barry, you hit the nail on the head! Good for you on pursuing it and I wish you the best of luck with it :upthumb: