der_kluge
Adventurer
*sigh* I don't know what to do.
Some backstory, I'm an IT consultant. I moved to Virginia last year because the job market in KC basically dried up, and the company I worked for was outsourcing their IT to IBM. In retrospect, the people that are still with that company, absolutely loathe being there, and most of the people I worked with there have left. So that was the right decision. Unfortunately, it meant moving my family over a thousand miles away from our families, since most of the jobs in my field seem to be on the East coast nowadays.
Initially, I'd gotten a two-year contract with a definite end-date. That is, after two years, I'd leave that assignment, and would have to find a new one.
So, 10 months into the assignment, I decided to leave, because I wasn't doing anything. I'd found a job within the government, since I thought it might have some long term potential. I started there in August. Going there was a bit of a gamble since government budget's end on September 30th. Some of the people who are there had been there for 6 and 7 years, so it seemed like a good bet. My consulting firm was waiting on a new contract to be awarded, and it would guarantee them a place there for the next 3-5 years.
That didn't happen. After September 30th, I was placed on the bench because the budget hadn't been updated, and then my consulting firm found out that they lost the contract. So, my firm started looking for me a new job. That was a month ago.
In the meantime, we bought a house - perhaps not the smartest decision I've ever made, but the reason was because we were having our second child. So we needed out of the apartment for the extra space. Plus, we hated renting. I also decided that I didn't want to be held hostage by my career, and I didn't want to worry about my job to prevent us from living in a house.
So, the timing has been great - we moved into our house, and we had our child, all while being on the bench. Being on the bench means that while my company actively looks for me a job, I continued to get paid. It's a great benefit, but one that obviously does not last forever.
So, Monday of last week, I got a call from my manager that they were giving me two weeks' notice. That, at the end of this week, they'd be cutting me off.
Then on Wednesday, they called me and wanted to know if I could go to New Jersey for a short (2-3 week assignment). I had woke up that morning having caught some virus, and had just finished vomiting when they asked me to go to NJ! Not good timing.
Before this time, I'd been actively talking with other firms in the area, and on Wednesday I was meeting with two, and had an interview with a local company set up. So, pulling myself together as well as I could, I went to those, and then decided that I could go to NJ even though I didn't really want to. I figured that since they'd been so kind to give me 6 weeks of Bench time, it was the least I could do, really.
One of the other factors was that my in-laws were in town (and are leaving today), and then my parents will be up for about a week. Next week, my wife would be home alone with a 3 week old, and a 2.5 year old. I'm afraid she'll just be overwhelmed trying to take care of herself and our kids.
The other problem I have is that while I'm here, I'm not able to really actively look for another job. At best, I can do a phone interview, and I had one last Friday. That job was something I could easily do, but pays about 13k less a year than what I'm currently making. Admittedly, what I currently make is a bit high for this market (there's a long story as to why that is; long story short, when I went to the federal side, the company played hardball to get me to leave, and they raised my rate, even though I was perfectly happy where I was). This is a 6 month job, but the consulting firm seems like a good one.
At any rate, I'm torn on what to do. On the way back home last week I had a conversation with someone at the Newark airport waiting to fly back to Richmond. He was experience at flying, and was discussing a delay. I asked him if he'd been doing this for a while. "Every week for the last 6 years". Whoa. I told him that this was my first week, and that I didn't care for it. He told me I was a whiner, basically. I asked him if he missed his family "No, my kids are grown, and I hate my wife", was his answer. Interesting.
So, I can't help but wonder if I'm not just being a whiner. Part of me says I should just suck this up, and work up here for the next few weeks. It will be hard on me, and harder on my wife, but we'll get through it. It *might* mean that my company could find something for me in Richmond. Although, given that they were unable to do so after 6 weeks, my confidence level is not terribly high. However, it does keep me at my current rate, so I'm still maintaining my salary.
And then I wonder if I'm placing too much value on my salary, and I should place my family first. If I call my manager and inform the manager onsite here that I just can't come back next week, there's a good chance my employer will come back and say, "ok, we're letting yo go then". There's a very real possibility that that could happen. Being unemployed isn't terribly appealing to me. Alternatively, I could see if I could get an offer for this 6 month job, and even though it pays so much less, it would be *a* job, and it would allow me to stay in Richmond, and the firm it's with seems like they would have more opportunities available for me down the line.
Conversely, taking this job now means that I risk foregoing some other job that might come around. I mean, my fear is that I would accept this job, and then tomorrow someone would call with a better job. This all takes time, though and no one is really moving fast enough. Consulting firms like to just sort of give lip-service to everything, but in the end you don't really mean much to them. So none of them really have any vested interest in me.
So, I'm not really sure what to do here. On the one hand, I could stay here, and let the recruiters in Richmond work for me to find me something new. It gives them more time to do that, and keeps me from being unemployed. On the other hand, it keeps me away from my family, and makes it harder for me to interview there.
Anyone have any thoughts?
Some backstory, I'm an IT consultant. I moved to Virginia last year because the job market in KC basically dried up, and the company I worked for was outsourcing their IT to IBM. In retrospect, the people that are still with that company, absolutely loathe being there, and most of the people I worked with there have left. So that was the right decision. Unfortunately, it meant moving my family over a thousand miles away from our families, since most of the jobs in my field seem to be on the East coast nowadays.
Initially, I'd gotten a two-year contract with a definite end-date. That is, after two years, I'd leave that assignment, and would have to find a new one.
So, 10 months into the assignment, I decided to leave, because I wasn't doing anything. I'd found a job within the government, since I thought it might have some long term potential. I started there in August. Going there was a bit of a gamble since government budget's end on September 30th. Some of the people who are there had been there for 6 and 7 years, so it seemed like a good bet. My consulting firm was waiting on a new contract to be awarded, and it would guarantee them a place there for the next 3-5 years.
That didn't happen. After September 30th, I was placed on the bench because the budget hadn't been updated, and then my consulting firm found out that they lost the contract. So, my firm started looking for me a new job. That was a month ago.
In the meantime, we bought a house - perhaps not the smartest decision I've ever made, but the reason was because we were having our second child. So we needed out of the apartment for the extra space. Plus, we hated renting. I also decided that I didn't want to be held hostage by my career, and I didn't want to worry about my job to prevent us from living in a house.
So, the timing has been great - we moved into our house, and we had our child, all while being on the bench. Being on the bench means that while my company actively looks for me a job, I continued to get paid. It's a great benefit, but one that obviously does not last forever.
So, Monday of last week, I got a call from my manager that they were giving me two weeks' notice. That, at the end of this week, they'd be cutting me off.
Then on Wednesday, they called me and wanted to know if I could go to New Jersey for a short (2-3 week assignment). I had woke up that morning having caught some virus, and had just finished vomiting when they asked me to go to NJ! Not good timing.
Before this time, I'd been actively talking with other firms in the area, and on Wednesday I was meeting with two, and had an interview with a local company set up. So, pulling myself together as well as I could, I went to those, and then decided that I could go to NJ even though I didn't really want to. I figured that since they'd been so kind to give me 6 weeks of Bench time, it was the least I could do, really.
One of the other factors was that my in-laws were in town (and are leaving today), and then my parents will be up for about a week. Next week, my wife would be home alone with a 3 week old, and a 2.5 year old. I'm afraid she'll just be overwhelmed trying to take care of herself and our kids.
The other problem I have is that while I'm here, I'm not able to really actively look for another job. At best, I can do a phone interview, and I had one last Friday. That job was something I could easily do, but pays about 13k less a year than what I'm currently making. Admittedly, what I currently make is a bit high for this market (there's a long story as to why that is; long story short, when I went to the federal side, the company played hardball to get me to leave, and they raised my rate, even though I was perfectly happy where I was). This is a 6 month job, but the consulting firm seems like a good one.
At any rate, I'm torn on what to do. On the way back home last week I had a conversation with someone at the Newark airport waiting to fly back to Richmond. He was experience at flying, and was discussing a delay. I asked him if he'd been doing this for a while. "Every week for the last 6 years". Whoa. I told him that this was my first week, and that I didn't care for it. He told me I was a whiner, basically. I asked him if he missed his family "No, my kids are grown, and I hate my wife", was his answer. Interesting.
So, I can't help but wonder if I'm not just being a whiner. Part of me says I should just suck this up, and work up here for the next few weeks. It will be hard on me, and harder on my wife, but we'll get through it. It *might* mean that my company could find something for me in Richmond. Although, given that they were unable to do so after 6 weeks, my confidence level is not terribly high. However, it does keep me at my current rate, so I'm still maintaining my salary.
And then I wonder if I'm placing too much value on my salary, and I should place my family first. If I call my manager and inform the manager onsite here that I just can't come back next week, there's a good chance my employer will come back and say, "ok, we're letting yo go then". There's a very real possibility that that could happen. Being unemployed isn't terribly appealing to me. Alternatively, I could see if I could get an offer for this 6 month job, and even though it pays so much less, it would be *a* job, and it would allow me to stay in Richmond, and the firm it's with seems like they would have more opportunities available for me down the line.
Conversely, taking this job now means that I risk foregoing some other job that might come around. I mean, my fear is that I would accept this job, and then tomorrow someone would call with a better job. This all takes time, though and no one is really moving fast enough. Consulting firms like to just sort of give lip-service to everything, but in the end you don't really mean much to them. So none of them really have any vested interest in me.
So, I'm not really sure what to do here. On the one hand, I could stay here, and let the recruiters in Richmond work for me to find me something new. It gives them more time to do that, and keeps me from being unemployed. On the other hand, it keeps me away from my family, and makes it harder for me to interview there.
Anyone have any thoughts?
).
