Anxiety Over Career Opportunity and Potential Consequences
Hi, everyone:
I feel like I am in a very stressful position.
Let me start from the beginning... I graduated six years ago with my Master's degree yet couldn't find a job that matched my credentials or experience. I have come close to many, but have not yet been successful. Since then, I have been working as an administrative assistant at a good and reputable organization. Its mission is somewhat related to my field, but there are very few opportunities for growth if you don't have training in its main mandate. The benefits are also very attractive. Still, I have been underpaid for someone with a Master's degree and I have often times felt frustrated for the lack of growth and being underchallenged. I have stayed in the job because I found ways to make my duties relevant to my long-term goals.
However, two weeks ago, I received a job offer from my dream organization, a very high-profile company. I didn't apply for this particular job... I had put my credentials in a recruitment pool and they got back to me months later with an offer. The pros include it being a couple of grades higher than my current job, so that means its higher pay (actually one year's pay at my current job is equal to half a year with this opportunity); it actually recognizes my advanced education; and the experience would be invaluable. The major con is that it's only six months. Plus, it's an international assignment based in East Africa, which I don't really mind since the location is pretty safe. But I would be wary of spending a super extended amount of time abroad (more than a year).
Extensions are not guaranteed, but possible. I have spoken to folks that have held similar contracts globally with this organization and they say they were able to move on to over contracts within days or weeks of the end of the previous ones. Still, nothing is guaranteed.
Do I leave a stable job for something uncertain?
I have lived in my current city for ten years... I went to grad school there and then found work there. Do I leave comfort and familiarity for the unknown?
Perhaps I've played it too safe these past years. Comfort has stumped my growth. Maybe taking this risk is the exact thing I need to get ahead and move forward?
Ideally, I would take the opportunity and work for this organization for the six months and get another opportunity afterward so that all together I have a year or year and a half's worth of exerience. I hope to be able to move back to this city. It's a place of positive growth and full of opportunities--even though I had years of struggle trying to find a more suitable job. Maybe it was just my luck. In any case, I am hoping somehow this experience abroad will help land better opportunities in the future.
This has been the most difficult decision I've had to make. I feel like I would not only be giving up a stable job, but my apartment (I won't be able to sublet and would have to pack up and put my things in storage), and a city filled with good friends. I leave comfort for the field.
The majority in my trusted circle say go for it. My bosses even encourage it. They even said they would hire me back if needed (as long as there were vacancies). I am 30 and don't have kids. I do have a great (and supportive) boyfriend; and although my family is miles away, they too back me in whatever I decide.
I still worry though... what if I can't secure an extension or another position after the six months? I could always pass, hoping that another opportunity would come, but that also is a risk. You would think that having been in this city for ten years, I have built good networks and contacts to ensure I could return with a job and be able to rebuild. But how do you explian the difficulty I had the past five/six years trying to find a better job? What is six months going to change? Will the brand name of the organization and its intense duties be enough to propel me to security?
I wish I could be more excited and certain about this opportunity, but because of the uncertainty related to the duration, I still a great heaviness.
Thanks for reading!
@selfdisciplinedWatermelon5388
Is the new position doing what you most enjoy doing? What sort of health care options are available while you are there if you think you'll need them and how will your current health plan change if at all by leaving for an extended time? Do you have unemployment Insurance or will you have accumulated a few months of it by the time the new job ends? Is there anything you'd like to see while you're in that part of the world? What is rent/living expenses like in the area you'd be living while you're there? These are all the questions I'd be asking myself if I had an offer like that making a list of all the pros and cons about the whole trip.
@selfdisciplinedWatermelon5388
Even if it's not guaranteed to be long-term, I think it's a great opportunity that you should take anyway. This is one of those risks that if you take, you know you're not doing any harm to your future at all - your bosses even said they'd hire you back :) If anything, do it for the experience. Who knows what could happen during those 6 months?
what will happen if you don't accept the position?
I understant theres a lot to think about. If this is your dream organization and its related to your field, I think that even just 6 months would look great in your CV! Its good that your current job encourages you and left an open door. At least you would have left in good terms. East Africa is a different world but if you like the idea! I think a lot of companies value foreign experience: it'll help you stand out from the average person thats always worked in the same place. More interesting stories to tell at a job interview xD. Its just my perspective, hope it helps :)
