Considering a job offer – how to decide between a $54k and $55k salary?
#joboffer #careerdecision #salarycomparison #worktransportation
I received a job offer in my field of study. The job title is appealing, but the salary increase is only $1k more than what I currently make. Additionally, the new job requires me to be in the office, whereas my current job provides a work van and covers gas expenses. The new job is also an hour away from my home. Given the current state of the job market, I am leaning towards accepting this offer.
Factors to consider:
1. Salary comparison: Is the $1k difference significant enough to make a change?
2. Work location: How will the commute impact my daily routine and expenses?
3. Career growth: Does the new job offer better opportunities for advancement in the long run?
4. Job stability: Is the new company financially stable, given the current job market conditions?
That’s less than 100 more/month and you’d have to spend two hours a day in a car. No.
An extra 1k a year is 83$ a month. Besides a nice meal every month it’s not that much. I’d look at Quality of Life and Benefits between the 2 jobs and then make decision.
I’m not driving an hour and doing “office only” for an extra thousand a pay period
Fck that the 1 hour commute would get old af real quick
If you’re not getting at least a 15% pay bump I would ‘t entertain leaving a role I didn’t completely hate. If there’s a growth opportunity there for the future then maybe, but not exclusively for that kind of lateral move.
How quickly would the 1K be eaten up by commute/car-related costs?
So look at the pros and cons
Your current job:
They give you a work van and pay for the fuel which if you do it right, you can fuel up every single time and only have to use your own cars gas on weekends. I assume that you have the van because you can start and end work at home?
The other job:
Gives you $1k a year more which when you break it down, it isn’t a huge bump after taxes. Then, you are now commuting to work using your own personal vehicle to drive an hour there and a hour back. You’re going to burn through that extra $1k a year in paying for gas now
Smarter play is to stay where you are
Trust me, I did the “hour each way to work and back” every day for 17 years. It’s NOT worth 1K!
If it was a 10K bump, then MAYBE, but that 1K extra will be lost in gas within 7 months
New offer isn’t worth it.
Is a .50c increase worth 2 hour commute daily?
1 hour commute is going to be brutal and eat into your quality of life. I would consider the job if it was 10k more not 1k.
$1k more a year doesn’t sound like incentive to change *anything* that’s working for you.
Is the current job in your work field? If so, I would pass. If not, I might be tempted to pass and keep looking. Is 55K reasonable for an entry level position for the type of work you would be doing?
Either way, given the commute and loss of gas card it would end up being a pay cut.
Is this negotiable? If theyre asking, 55, id be asking 63 and settle for ~61k.
A 1k raise does not sound worth it
Definitely not worth it for $1000. Keep looking for better paying jobs.
How nice is the title?
The typical response to title-without-raise is to consider taking it and then shopping around at the new title in 2 years.
Does the new position have any opportunity for growth? 1k wouldn’t be enough for me to consider a 1 hour commute
Wait am I misunderstanding something here or are people overlooking the fact your current job has nothing to your degree. So it has no potential long term growth.
While this job literally is your foot in the door in the industry.
You obviously take the job even if they paid you less to get anything on your resume that matches what you want to do.
At the same time you immediately put it on your resume and leave out how long you’ve been at both companies. And start looking for another job with this on your resume. If asked just say it’s your first job and what you’ve learned/done/accomplished but don’t give the duration for how long you’ve worked there.
Frankly even 3 months in a job is enough of a training period to understand what companies would expect from you at your level of experience, and will help you interview and work better in your field.
Edit: saw OPs other post and apparently he already has a house? Meaning he already had experience? If you don’t need your foot in the industry or the job experience that yah time is money. It’s not worth 1k.
You will spend more to perform the new job so the raise would be negligible.
Counter with more of a raise that would be on parr with the higher title and the need for more money coming out of your pocket at the new place.
More money doesn’t make it a better opportunity, it just is more money. You could be in a much better workspace and work/life balance. Be very careful and counter the offer if you are able to.
one thousand dollars a year isn’t really all that much money
An hour drive is miserable
A 1k yearly difference in salary is not even worth mentioning. Throw out that factor and make your decisions based on the other circumstances of the situation.Â
To be blunt 1k isn’t shit. It is just a tie breaker between identical job offers.
$1K is $0.50 an hr. $0.30 after taxes – or about $2.40 extra per day. Is that really worth an hour drive?
You’re gonna be losing money after the first 1/2 gallon of fuel.
The cost of the vehicle, fuel, and the lost 2 hours a day are worth more than the 1K boost.
So assuming 55K, that;s ~26.50 per hour.
So, two extra hours of your time in commute, unpaid, means they are losing (26.50 x2 hrs/ day x 5 days a week) $265.00 of your time per week. You would still be making less money after less than one month.
Without even taking into account the gas (figure $8 a day for a 60 mile round trip) and vehicle costs. THe gas alone will cost you more than 1K after about 5 months.
This is in no way an improvement.
The other job is a tiny pay cut and a huge time cut due to the commute. The real question I have is – which is more likely to lead you to better jobs in the future – your first job or the second job in the related field.
Because if the second job will give you a network and an introduction into the industry you want to work in, then it might be worth the commute and the pay cut (gas money will definitely eat up the 1k increase).
It really depends on what your degree is and if your current job is in your field. The money and the commute is one thing but what are your career goals? That’s how you need to approach this. One job could by 60k but not be related to your career goals and one could be 45k but be in your dream industry/field/company in which case building experience that gets you closer to your goal is more valuable than the money or whatever perks you have. But right now, it’s become a money and commute question which is fair but is that all that matters?
The new offer has cons that don’t outweigh the measly pro. It’s further away and office based so you’ll spend more of your free non-working time travelling, it’s fully office based so you won’t have the flexibility of working remote which I assume from your post you’d prefer, and the extra £1k will be eaten up by your personal fuel costs. The only pro I see that might outweigh the con is that it’s in your degree related field which from your post your current job seems like it isn’t, and you might want to work in your degree related field and up. In that case, if this starting salary of 55k is up to industry standards for entry level jobs in your field, and your passion for working in your field outweigh the comparative comfort your current job proves you, then I’d take the 55k offer
Dang it’s crazy how that’s what you get with a college degree nowadays. I dropped out of college and I’ve never made less than $55,000. I got laid off from my $100,000 job in 2023. I got a $1000 raise at my current job so I make $56,000, $57,200 with the extra $100 they give us a month as a tech stipend and it’s remote for the most part. I’ll tell you that $1000 doesn’t make a difference. Considering yours is in office you’ll be spending it on gas. Choose the job that will make you happy.
So for a sub 2% pay raise you are working 33% more(always include the commute when figuring out your real hourly rate)
Only a sucker would take that job
Much as it may sound good to get into a field with promotion opportunities, those are not guarantees, and often the people who are the best at their job and work the hardest don’t get the promotion because their boss likes them where they are
Naw.Â
 I’m thinking career growth is good but like… Naw.
 I need money more than I need a job in my degree field.Â
However, if you don’t and you want to get experience in your field I’d take it even if it’ll suck for a bit.Â
1 hour back and forth ? Hell no
The loss of the company paying for gas and the added commute are not worth $1k/year, and you will almost certainly spend more than that extra $1k on gas.
Plus an hour commute each way will add an extra 500 hours or so a year commuting. I would need to go up to at least $60k/year before it is even worth thinking about.
Why would you take that? It sounds like you will actually make far, far less due to added expenses.
Only take the new one if that job is going to lead to better career path and better paying jobs in the future with that experience. The salary change and driving is not worth it otherwise.
Depends, go with degree related field if you have a higher earning potential 5 years from now.
If the earning potential is about the same, do what you enjoy more. The one hour commute will kill you, though, so consider moving closer. Also, you’ll really only be making like 20+ dollars more a check with that 1k extra
Which job has a bigger growth opportunity? 1K difference a year is almost meaningless so I would consider which job would give you greater opportunity 5 years from now
a 20% raise for 54k would be 64k. You don’t move for less.
Think long-term – does the new job lead to higher paying jobs while the current one doesn’t?
Also, you can always negotiate! Tell them that you “really want to work for them” but your current job has perks x and y and so you’d “really like if they could pay you $Z”. Worst they say is no and maybe you take it anyway.
The gas allowance is probably more than 1k.
Assuming your commute is 1hr roundtrip means you are spending 5hr per week or 250 hr per year. Another assumption, you actually take 2 weeks off per year. $1000/250hr is $4 per hour.
I don’t know what car you drive so will assume it’s okay on mpg and assume it’s $4/gal. You’ve now burned through a gallon of gas and assume you’ll need more than 1 gallons per trip not including the repair cost on car or wear and tear. So, now you are at a negative when it comes to the new job.
I would not be inclined to take it. This new job is a losing proposition and tbh you would be foolish to take it.
The raise is 1.9%….why would you go to a job for a more prestigious title where you are losing money not to mention other items on your dime?! Did you anger someone at your current work? Looking to bargain for a better salary?