Sacrifice low paid permanent job for 6 month contract?

isushi

Hello,

Just hoping to get some advice from a different perspective.

I did an MA and decided that I did not want to pursue a phd and entered the working world.

I am currently in a permanent job for a local council where I work 30 hours a week with an annual salary of £13,000 (incl. unsociability pay as it is evening admin work). I have been there for two years & while it has been a great place to work the reality is that there is going to be little chance of career progression or more hours.

This is despite making supervisors aware that I am interested and taking on extra responsibility. What also concerns me is that rather than being in a position to take on more complicated tasks the role has changed to do a lot of "simple" tasks. So instead of being responsible for answering one phone... I now answer 5 different phones, do more paperwork, inputting, etc. all for the same rate of pay.

While I am not the type of person to shirk work it annoys me that because of the amount of "simple" tasks I now do there is no chance of being able to volunteer to do more complicated work in order to get more hours or have a job evaluation for a pay increase.

In fact previously I did have a job evaluation and the more complicated tasks I took on that the managers admitted could warrant a pay increase... were taken off me afterwards despite being praised for how well I did those tasks.

Anyway, because of the above I did some voluntary work and decided to start applying for other jobs.

I applied for a job at another local authority that pays around £20,000. It was originally advertised as permanent, but then at the interview I was informed because of changes internally it is now contracted till the end of June 2012, with only the possibility of extension or leading to a permanent job.

I got the job :j

But given the current economic climate I am not sure what to do.

For financial stability should I carry on the £13,000 permanent job and carry on applying?

Or should I take the £20,000 job? Even if it does not turn into a permanent job I can use the experience gained as a stepping stone and hopefully get a job at a similar or better pay.

Advice?

whitewing

If you have only yourself to consider then I would take the new job, and bear any hardships that may arise at the end of the contract.

If you have dependents and a strong relationship, I would also take the new job.

hcb42

I would also take the new job.

Years ago, I took a risk and went from a perm job paying about £14K to a temp one, higher position but paying about £15K.

By the time I left that company 6yrs later, I was earning more than 4 times that. Was worth the risk!

Nirvana9

Go for it. If there's no chance of this job going anywhere then you need to go somewhere yourself.

And how 'permanent' is any job anyway (particularly today)? Within the first year of employment you can be fired at the drop of a hat (probably soon to be changed to two years) so any 'permanent' job is probably just as much of a risk as a temp contract.

ses6jwg

You have a good education and real world experience by the sounds of things, so I would be tempted to go for the higher paid job.

If at the end of the 6 month contract they cannot offer you anything, there are still jobs out there and your education and background should make it easier for you than for most to secure another job elsewhere.

As an example of this, 6 months ago I considered moving from my current job. I am 23 with a 2:1 degree and 3 years work experience. Of the 5 jobs I applied for I got invited for interview for 4 of them and got offered a job for 1.

isushi

Just wanted to say thanks for the advice!

I have decided to take it and handed in my notice today. Fingers crossed that the risk pays off.

t0rt0ise

Good for you. I also turned down a permanent job earlier this year in favour of a better temporary one with the hope that it leads on to something else. If it doesn't, at least I'll have experience to show other potential employers. It's a risk but I'm glad I took it.

mmikailian

I did the same years ago and was a single parent at the time and it paid off I then got my a perm Job then my Bosses job and then moved on to another depsrtment was worth it was made redundant but have since found another role in another LA earning similar money as before so you will be fine its just taking the risk I think?


Good Luck!!!

whitewing

It may be worth just living off your old salary in the new job to give yourself a cushion for when (if) the temp contract ends.

Good for you in a new start for the New Year.

InsideInsurance

As you have been at your current place for 2 years it is worth considering a little more as you do have some job security there were as not only is the new contract 6 months but they could dismiss you without reason with minimal notice at the new place. In the current market job security does count for something especially at the salaries you are talking about. You also need to factor in any benefits you may sacrifice.

When I made the decision to switch from being perm to temp (in my case contracting/ consulting) I had only been with my employer 6 months and so had no job security anyway. For me it was a gamble but with no kids, no mortgage and an offer to almost double my take home pay I couldn't refuse and to date the gamble continues to pay off.

If you do decide to take it you should certainly save up some monies to cover finding a new job if the contract expires. If you decide to do temp/ contracting work long term you generally should aim to have 6 months living expenses in the bank to cover gaps.