Need job advice.....
Okay, I figured were else could I get multiple people giving me honest advice except here.... I feel like people close to me would just tell me what I want to hear.
So, times are tough, we all know.....I work for a company that has numerous facilities around the state (and country). The particular facility I'm working at does not have a lot of new work coming in..... I'm still busy currently but that could change any day. I've been offered a position at a very stable site that happens to be 1 hr and 30 mins driving time one way (3 hrs a day driving)! SO....what do I do???!!! I value my time away from work very much and I think driving 3 hrs a day is the biggest waste of valuable time ever! Especially when paying $5/gal for diesel (I have a VW diesel) AND I would be very stressed out and unhappy driving in traffic and having zero time during the week for anything but work.
BUT, I have to have a job....with good health benefits.... if I didn't take this job I could get laid off in 6 months or sooner or maybe not at all. I don't want hubby to work more than he already does. He's a firefighter...he's been working a lot of over time shifts just to compensate for the increase in gas prices and food and everything else....if I got laid off that would be bad. Not to mention his health benefits SUCK and I have a lot of health probs which would just be a huge extra expense w/out my own, very good benefits...
I don't know what to do. I know what I want to do (NOT take the job 3 hrs a day driving) but I don't know what I should logically do :-\
Have you thought about moving closer to this new job, and your husband requesting to be stationed closer to it too?
Whatever you do, don't make the decision alone. Make sure you and your husband decide together and are happy with it.
Could you work doing your job closer to home? If so, is there a current market for your skill set? If so, have you networked with people so that you'd stand a chance in the interview process? If so, I'd wait to be laid off. I commute and the reality is that you wake up to get ready for work and get home to have one free hour before it's bedtime. You'll never eat a proper dinner. You won't want to waste your limited time home on making and cleanup after dinner.
Also consider how much you'll get paid versus the offset of travel expenses: gas, oil changes, tires, quicker car replacement costs, etc.
I'm not voting for don't do it. My vote is for cautious, realistic deliberation.
Pooh-
I work over an hour away from where I live and have been doing the commute for about 5 years now and it SUCKS! Like Humboldt said- there's time for dinner and that's about it. Dinner, dishes and a shower pretty much takes care of the night! I've gotten into audio books lately which makes the commute a little better, but it still sucks, especially with gas prices now, and they are only going to get worse. Not sure what type of job you will be taking, but my job is salary, which can mean staying until 7:00 - 8:00 PM on worst case scenario days.
My vote is that your precious time is worth more than any advantages the new job could have. I would only consider it if you could move closer to it. And with the US's oil problems, commuting such a long distance may not even be an option in the future!