[Lindsey]

Okay.... that guy was REALLY convincing. He was very friendly, and we recognized each other from a course we had both taken together about 2 years ago.

He got right into it... basically saying he's sorry for the resume mishap and that he called the recruiting firm and gave them heck for throwing mine out before sending it to him. He said my resume is better than 90% of the ones that came through to him. He is having trouble finding ANYONE with my experience with this program. So he really really wants me there.

They have offices EVERYWHERE and I can request a transfer anytime and it's no problem. They're just opening an office in Perth, Australia, and he said "If you want to go work from Perth for a month, we'll send you there" and I said "I don't think I'd complain about that!" Hours are very flexible after the probation period is over. I could work any hours I want as long as I got in 40 hours a week. Also, after a certain number of years I could request to work from home. I could be home with my kids all day, or I could decide to move to a small town to raise my family, and still have a job with the company.

My position would be lead civil designer, so I would be responsible for the whole civil aspects of a project from start to finish. Junior people around the world would be working under me, and I'd be in charge of making sure everything gets done on time and on budget. I would actually be designing my own stuff, and engineers would just be doing calculations. I would come up with everything myself. That's something I haven't been able to do here, although I constantly ask for that kind of experience.

The downside is that I will NOT be getting a raise. Scott is at the top of his pay bracket there, which is 3% higher than my current salary. Where I am now, my minimum raise in January will be 3% (if not more). Since I've been here, I've never gotten the minimum raise. My first year was 20% and last year was 10%.

So my choices are:
Stay where I am, possibly make a lot more money with a lot less stress. I have seniority and can take time off anytime I want. Nobody cares if I'm a few minutes late in the morning or leave a few minutes early if I have something to do. When I'm not busy I can be online, on 4WT, on Facebook, as long as I'm available if work is needing to be done. And I'm never expected to leave town for work. BUT I'm pretty much as far up the ladder as I can go in this company.

OR

Go to the other job, gain a lot of experience and knowledge, with opportunities to move without having to find a new job, but don't make as much money. Stricter rules and regulations. MUCH bigger workload and more stress. I would be required to travel up to northern mines for 3 days at a time maximum to stay in a camp. But the benefits are a bit better, and it's got the cool vibe of being right downtown in a high-rise building. I'd have to take the bus to work, but it's cheaper than starting my car every day (especially in winter!).


What to do, what to do...

An offer is coming in the mail and he said it's as simple as saying yes or no to him.