Son's dilemma

ka7e

My son (24) is currently working as a Housing Benefits Advisor, earning £20k pa. He has had this job since leaving Uni (with a 1st class degree in I.T.) but is finding his work very stressful and there are now no routes for promotion, with recent cutbacks.

He recently applied for a job as an editorial assistant with a magazine he greatly admires, which would entail him writing about a subject he loves and possibly meeting some of his personal heroes!

When he applied he was asked to give his salary expectations and he wrote £17-18k - the job would mean relocating to a much more expensive area, but he was prepared to take a drop in salary for this job. If he took the job his living expenses would double whether he commuted or had to move.

He was initially thrilled to be invited for an interview, but shocked to discover the salary on offer was only £15k! He is in two minds whether to even go to the interview now.

So should he stick with his relatively well-paid, stressful job or go for the interview and hope that, if successful, he can negotiate a few thousand more out of them?

Jac0b

I would go to the interview just to learn more about the job but i would not have high hopes in the pay increasing. These are hard times.

But saying that stranger things have happened so why not try.

cmw1212

So your son is in a job he doesn't particularly like and has an interview for what sounds like a dream job, ok practicalities aside this could be the only opportunity he gets for a job with this magazine or anything related- it is very a popular industry. I suppose what I am saying is that this sounds like an amazing opportunity it would be a shame for your son to be saying "What if?" in 5 years time. It will also be good interview experience even if he doesn't get/take the job.
On the money side could he not get a pt job or freelance?

UnderPressure

I would have to say in these current times stick with the money!

By all means he could go for the interview and sell himself, if it goes well and they like him he may be able to re-negotiate the salary but 5k a year drop is a big chunk of money I would not entertain it at all.

With an IT degree surely there are other better paid jobs he could be looking for? There must be he could do with seeing a careers adviser of some sort to see what his degree will get him into, seems like an awful waste.............

Best of luck to him

kwaks

At 24 he should go for the dream job, no point in sticking with a job he doesnt like ending up sick of working before the age of 30. Only young once.

teabelly

He should go for it and see what happens. They may not even offer him the job and he doesn't have to take it if they do. See whether they would entertain him working from home a few days a week to cut commuting costs. He could also get part time work or find other ways of making up the difference in salary. You can't put a price on doing a job you actually like. There are no safe jobs out there either. With public sector cuts in the offing I'd say it was highly likely he could get a salary chop anyway.

purplepardalis

Dream job all the way! For the sake of a few thousand pound now it will be worth it if her ends up with a lifetime of job satisfaction and eventual better pay.

Limana68

I would say go for it, but it all depends on his financial situation, does he still live at home or does he have his own place with bills etc to pay? If he still lives at home then it may be worth the risk, if he has his Mum to fall back on if things dont work out!

getmore4less

Definately go for the interview, salary expectations have allready been established so there should be room for negotiation if they really like him.

If the pay becomes a sticking point he has a foot in the door to ask for some freelance writing on the side, they may even sponser(pay) for him to attend suitable events.

Oldernotwiser

Would there be opportunities to progress in this new job?

Does he currently work in local government and is his job likely to be secure?

Certainly go for the interview - he may not even be offered the job which will save him the difficulty of wondering "what if?".

lucinad

i would be advising my son to go for the dream job i would rather he was in a job he loved doing than hating a job he does everyday, he was expecting minimum 17k well it is 2k less than expected, but maybe he will have lots of opportunity for promotion and wage rises he should go to the interview and at least find out what the opportunities are in the future

just my opinion tho