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So OP, what decision would you say your leaning toward?
It depends on the money. $5k-$6k just isn't sufficient. If it comes back in the low to mid $70k range, then I'm leaning toward it. If the job was in the suburbs, I'd be much more willing to consider it. I've never worked downtown in a major city, and Nashville's traffic is horrendous compared to Indianapolis, Raleigh, and even Charlotte.
Quote:
Originally Posted by RamenAddict
The problem is that OP is in a fairly small town with limited job opportunities and it is hard to find jobs remotely. At least if he goes to Nashville, he will have access to other opportunities in Nashville that might also be in cities of interest to him. He is not going to have that in Johnson City. He needs to take this step now or he might not have opportunities in the future. Sometimes we have to take a step back in order to take two steps forward.
Keep in mind that I don't need something immediately. While I see "storm clouds" on the horizon, I'm not going to rush to the first thing that comes along. If this was a private sector opportunity paying $66k in Nashville, I wouldn't even be considering it.
I want to go to Greenville, SC, Raleigh, or Charlotte. If I'm sitting in Nashville, it's going to be even more difficult for me to get a job in the Carolinas. I'd rather be closer to the east coast than the interior of the country. I can be to the SC border in about an hour and a half from my current office in TN.
I'm not convinced that simply being in Nashville will increase my chances of getting a job in a city I'd rather be in.
^^ Yeah, but quality of life is also in part about your general happiness.
The OP has other considerations......
-- the job is in a city -- or even general area -- where s/he doesn't want to live
-- it's a job that's "OK," but not something s/he's really anxious to do
Don't get me wrong I'm all for getting any level of government work, at any level.
But if the job isn't where you want to live, NOR what you want to do, I can see why a person would have second thoughts about that.
OP, perhaps get a city. county, state or fed job in the city where you want to live? (which can be harder when you're not in the area already.)
Part of the problem is that I really have no idea what they are looking for. The interviewers mostly read from a script. If they need a pure BI/data person, I probably don't have enough experience in the field for that. If they need someone with a clinical background, I don't have that experience.
I'm definitely going to start looking at government employment with the state of NC, SC, and in the cities I am considering.
If it was a fed job I'd go for it. State govt jobs not as much. Living in Illinois I have no faith in the pensions here so I would have to value the job as such that the retirement plan is less than worthless, not eligible for social security, no 401k match, I seriously doubt the future of pensions here and the overall salaries can vary but given the proceeding I wouldn't go for a state/local job in Illinois.
The simple fact is I would trust a crack addict with my retirement money more than the politicians here.
I agree to TAKE IT! Pensions are becoming rare and it's a fantastic benefit to have!! Not to mention more PTO! Plus, it sounds like you could be out of a job where you're at soon.
Is it possible to NOT live in Nashville, but to move to a suburb so the COL would be lower?
I don't know how old you are, but I am 23 and would rather get myself comfortable in case of medical emergencies or something than worry about my future 40 years from now. The pension is great if you stay for a long time, otherwise it's hard to justify the heavy contributions so young in life. Let's say I stay here my whole working career, I am looking at approximately 80% return on my salary if I stay til 65 (and they take your highest earning five years where I work). I can retire at 55 with full pension benefits, but the percentage won't be as high (can't remember what it was, 65% if I recall correctly). And that's for life. It's a big benefit worth having but again, if you *know* it's going to be a short-term job, it may not be worth it. I don't know how it works in Nashville, but where I am if you leave employment with one of the agencies that contribute to the pension (most city, county, and state government where I am are in this pension system, so basically leaving public sector here) before five years you have to withdraw and pay all its taxes on it when you do the lump sum. If you stay for a minimum of five years, you can leave the money in the system and then withdraw it later on your real retirement. Again, I don't know how the pension works in Tennessee, just commenting on what I know here.
Others have commented on the fact that moving to a big city and building connections might be worth it despite this coming from a small town. I might be inclined to agree here. I couldn't imagine doing my job in a rural town with no coworkers or backbones for support. I also don't know how it is in your field. You might meet that person who can get you somewhere in North Carolina, who knows. Your chances are going to be higher in Nashville.
My negativity on the pension is hoping to get mostly the rest of the forum to take off their rose-colored sunglasses regarding government employment. There are many pros to it if you have the right personality for the job. The key factor is is that government employment either suits you or it doesn't. You can't tailor it to how you operate, you have to tailor yourself to the job. People expect the worst of you, "big bad government" and will do everything they can to make sure you don't challenge that view (believe me on this one, the public is downright awful to us a lot of the time).
I know if I were in your shoes I'd do it, mainly because I wouldn't want to be stuck in a small town. But maybe small towns are your thing.
I understand your concerns about jobs in small towns. I'm in that boat. Keep in mind this is my hometown. I know the landscape here very well. While the job market here is limited, it's a town of 65,000.
The pension doesn't vest until five years. My current employer's contribution doesn't vest until four years, and I've been here for two. I don't have a single penny yet from my employer's contribution, and I've been contributing for nearly two years. To me, that's the biggest concern.
Quote:
Originally Posted by CGab
I agree to TAKE IT! Pensions are becoming rare and it's a fantastic benefit to have!! Not to mention more PTO! Plus, it sounds like you could be out of a job where you're at soon.
Is it possible to NOT live in Nashville, but to move to a suburb so the COL would be lower?
I've never lived in Nashville, but have driven through the area where this office is and it's a mess even on the weekends and off-hours. I wouldn't want to be driving in from Hendersonville or something. I need to ask that question on the local forum. The bottom line is that if I move further out, the traffic will be even worse.
After ten or fifteen years of service, it turns out to be like five weeks vacation, twelve sick days, eleven holidays, pension, etc.
If it was a fed job I'd go for it. State govt jobs not as much. Living in Illinois I have no faith in the pensions here so I would have to value the job as such that the retirement plan is less than worthless, not eligible for social security, no 401k match, I seriously doubt the future of pensions here and the overall salaries can vary but given the proceeding I wouldn't go for a state/local job in Illinois.
The simple fact is I would trust a crack addict with my retirement money more than the politicians here.
C'mon, you can't compare Illinois' corruption to the rest of the country! Illinois is a fiscal mess! So I agree, don't take a job there, but as long as Tennessee is fiscally sound (and I think they are) then the OP should have no worries.
And my understand is that if you leave before vesting date, the percentage of salary they took from your pocket to pay for your pension -- you never get that back.
So basically you lost that 2, 3, 4% of your pay -- never got it, won't get it.
OP, nothing is guaranteed in the private sector, we know that.
You say you're 2 years into a 4 year vesting period with your current employer.
And, you say the divisions of your employer where RIFs and job cuts have taken place -- are NOT YOUR division or department.
Possible considerations???
1) If you stay at your job another year, then you'll be THREE years into the four year time you need to vest. Would you leave that close to vesting? Or at that point stay just to lock in the vesting.
2) Why not stay and see if you ARE RIFfed. You may not be. Then again you may be....and you'd get a severance right? IF the are holes RIF you right before your vesting period you may not get the vesting benefit. But is that a chance worth taking.
I don't think the downside of staying until you vest is that big a deal. But that's just me. Only YOU know how much you want to leave where you are. AND there's the very, very slight chance that if they RIF you they could sweeten the post for those leaving....like if you're just 3 months from vesting, give you that three months into the system. Likely who knows. But your entire scenario has all kinds of future unknowns, to be redundant.
Location: RI, MA, VT, WI, IL, CA, IN (that one sucked), KY
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Quote:
Originally Posted by fumbling
The 10% pay increase is not what you should be focusing on, it's the pension that may be equivalent to $500,000 or even $1 million worth of assets that it would take a private sector person to accumulate to generate the equivalent retirement income. Even if the pay increase is offset by increased commuting costs, there are still significant benefits like the PTO and ultimately the pension.
Well, not sure about TN, but in my state, the employees are footing that bill. In fact, the state pays less into the pensions system than they would if they were contributing the employer's share of social security.
C'mon, you can't compare Illinois' corruption to the rest of the country! Illinois is a fiscal mess! So I agree, don't take a job there, but as long as Tennessee is fiscally sound (and I think they are) then the OP should have no worries.
Almost all the states are having increasing problems meeting their pension obligations. They simply don't work which is why the private sector got out of the pension business almost completely. Illinois is the worst but NJ, NY, CA, CT and many other states all have major problems.
And my understand is that if you leave before vesting date, the percentage of salary they took from your pocket to pay for your pension -- you never get that back.
So basically you lost that 2, 3, 4% of your pay -- never got it, won't get it.
OP, nothing is guaranteed in the private sector, we know that.
You say you're 2 years into a 4 year vesting period with your current employer.
And, you say the divisions of your employer where RIFs and job cuts have taken place -- are NOT YOUR division or department.
Possible considerations???
1) If you stay at your job another year, then you'll be THREE years into the four year time you need to vest. Would you leave that close to vesting? Or at that point stay just to lock in the vesting.
2) Why not stay and see if you ARE RIFfed. You may not be. Then again you may be....and you'd get a severance right? IF the are holes RIF you right before your vesting period you may not get the vesting benefit. But is that a chance worth taking.
I don't think the downside of staying until you vest is that big a deal. But that's just me. Only YOU know how much you want to leave where you are. AND there's the very, very slight chance that if they RIF you they could sweeten the post for those leaving....like if you're just 3 months from vesting, give you that three months into the system. Likely who knows. But your entire scenario has all kinds of future unknowns, to be redundant.
If I were to leave today, I keep everything because I've received no match at all so far.
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