Stay with current job or leave? (employees, job openings, applying, average)

[crescentwish10]

Hi everyone,

Good morning!

I'm Andrew, a computer science graduate and I would like to ask for your opinion regarding my current predicament.

I used to be a software engineer in an IT company. I was a functional support of a certain system. I left the company to pursue another career which was a programming career. I overestimated my optimism and thought I could easily land a new job but failed. I went freelance for one year. I know, I made a very wrong decision about this but I learned my lesson.

Now, I'm working as a database encoder in a healthcare company (current salary is about 25% lower) for about 3 months now. My Aunt is friends with my boss here so I couldn't reject the offer to work and I thought it's better to have a regular job (even if it pays lower than my previous job) than doing freelance work.

My job title is an encoder but I'm actually doing some sort of technical stuff here since I'm the only person in the department with a technical background (everyone here is either management or nursing graduates). And my boss made me the leader of the encoding team. I usually automate processes in excel by creating macros and any other technical related stuff they want me to do. Actual encoding job is done by my team members.

While I highly appreciate the way my boss takes care of me and builds me up so I could move up the ladder (she talked to me and told me that the president of the company is eyeing me to be the lead of a new business unit they are planning to create) ,my current pay is not really enough to get by smoothly. I couldn't have savings at all and literally live on an equivalent of $2/day. I want to apply for another IT company which will guarantee me at least a 50-75% increase in pay but of course, promotion or movement up the ladder is not guaranteed and there will be heavy competition which is normal for an IT company.

If you were in my place, would you stay in your current job with a small salary in hopes of having a higher pay once you get promoted (promotion will be easier but isn't guaranteed when, and how much the increase will be), or leave as soon as you land a new job on an IT company which definitely will pay higher (though competition for promotion will be tough but of course chances of promotion will be there always)?

Honestly, I don't really like my current job (i dont hate it too, it's just that I think I'd be happier working in an IT field) but what matters to me is the pay since I need money to live because I support my family (bills, food, and medication).

I am open to all sorts of opinion be it negative or positive.

Thank you so much!

[sware2cod]

Leave asap as soon as you get a decent technical gig(see disclaimer below). If you stay in the current 'low level' job much longer, you will have a hard time working your way up into good technical gigs. Because your most recent experience/job is what most employers are looking at - and comparing that experience to their job opening.

**Disclaimer: If your current job is at a large or medium sized company that has IT/Develoment work, then try to transfer into that area. Such is if it's a Fortune 500 company that has lots of job openings and you could transfer.

[Sage 80]

First things first. In your current situation, moving up the ladder should not be your primary concern--increasing your salary is.

Your present goal should be to increase your salary asap in order to support your family and meet your obligations.

1. Apply for the other job and interview for it if they contact you. In your situation, a pay raise of 50-75% is an opportunity that you cannot afford to miss. You would be getting a significant raise from even the original job you left. If you get offered this job, take it.

2. In the mean time, find out what kind of duties and salary increase you could expect if you were to get promoted into the new position at your current job. They say they are "planning to create" this new business. How long will that take? Will the salary offered match the one you could get at the other place?

3. Take whichever one pays more and/or allows you to start sooner.

[crescentwish10]

Originally Posted by sware2cod

Leave asap as soon as you get a decent technical gig(see disclaimer below). If you stay in the current 'low level' job much longer, you will have a hard time working your way up into good technical gigs. Because your most recent experience/job is what most employers are looking at - and comparing that experience to their job opening.

**Disclaimer: If your current job is at a large or medium sized company that has IT/Develoment work, then try to transfer into that area. Such is if it's a Fortune 500 company that has lots of job openings and you could transfer.

Hi sware2cod,

I agree, if I get stuck here for a longer period of time, future employers will most likely believe that I'm not fit to work in a software engineer/IT-related posts since my recent experience is far from what I'm applying for.

Well as far as I know, this healthcare company is not that big, and not a Fortune 500 company. It isn't the leading healthcare company in my country as well. And yes, there is an IT department but no actual IT work. What they do is give employees their computers, apply restrictions in the system, fix the internet if the connection is lost, etc. No actual software engineering work, while the company that invited me offers the job that I need.

Thank you for your response!

Originally Posted by Sage 80

First things first. In your current situation, moving up the ladder should not be your primary concern--increasing your salary is.

Your present goal should be to increase your salary asap in order to support your family and meet your obligations.

1. Apply for the other job and interview for it if they contact you. In your situation, a pay raise of 50-75% is an opportunity that you cannot afford to miss. You would be getting a significant raise from even the original job you left. If you get offered this job, take it.

2. In the mean time, find out what kind of duties and salary increase you could expect if you were to get promoted into the new position at your current job. They say they are "planning to create" this new business. How long will that take? Will the salary offered match the one you could get at the other place?

3. Take whichever one pays more and/or allows you to start sooner.

Hi Sage 80,

You're right. Raising my current salary is the priority and promotions should be thought of later once I'm in the new job.

In my previous job, I was getting paid an equivalent of $500/month (gross). That's an average pay here in the country but I can get by with a saving. Now I'm getting paid $350/month (gross). My math was wrong, I actually lost 30% that's why I'm struggling.

Regarding the duties, they haven't explained what the actual work is but my boss told me that I'll be like the middle person between the departments. Like a representative of the department though I still don't know what the responsibilities and how much the increase will be. Still not sure how long but I bet it will be at least a year. I don't want to sound picky or ungrateful but I couldn't stay that long.

Thank you so much for your response. I've been leaning towards leaving the place but I'm afraid to make the same mistake I did with my previous job that's why I asked here. Now it's clear to me.