Tough Decisions Ahead

Hey TW, most of y'all know me for my obnoxiously loud truck and love of NASCAR. I am seeking some serious advice from those who have been where I have a chance to go so to speak. So For background, I have 4 years Land Surveying experience and a B.S. in Civil Engineering from Kennesaw State with a focus in Surveying and Hydrology. I currently work for a small company (5 employees) as basically the head guy in the field/lowest in the office. I make 19/hr and love what I do. The company atmosphere is great amd my coworkers and Boss are top notch to work with/for. However, I am at the low end of the pay scale for what i do, and there are no benefits. Ive worked at this company for 3 years, and have been loyal and turned down several offers in order to stay there. Here is my dilemma: My uncle who i live with has basically hooked me up with a construction manager position which I will hear the monetary offer for in the coming days. (Expected to be around the 50-60k price range with full benefits). I feel like I am spinning my wheels (so to speak) at my current job due to lack of money and benefits, but do not want to screw over my current company by leaving. There is nobody below me who can move into my position and my company has had a difficult time finding new employees period, let alone anyone with my abilities and experience. My question is this, do I take the new opportunity (please explain how to present this to my current boss, as he will be devastated) or do I stay where I am to not screw over the company? (Please excuse typos as I am on mobile).

 

reserved for additional questions that may arise.

 

This is easy. You have to come at life as your own boss, and by that you need to think about you.
Yes you have put in time, and yes they appreciate that. But you have to allow yourself to move on and upwards my friend that is all part of living.
And we all deserve a good living that put in the time. So with that being said, all you do is listen to the offer presented to you. When it is in fact a real offer, gonto your boss and tell him straight up that you have enjoyed your time working there, but an offer has arisen and it’s too good a pay increase not to take.
They will understand, if your current company is able to keep you they will counter offer.
Simple. If they offer double or more with benefits added.
Think about benefits, as that is more than huge these days. You get messed up in some way, it can break you. Hope this helps and ask away. Start thinking about your future, and your families... it will take you far.

 

Go for it, if you want it.

 

Would it be possible to have a longer transition period between jobs (say 4 weeks instead of the standard 2) so you have time to train someone else?

 

Looking to the future is exactly where I am at. This is how I feel like I'm spinning my wheels at life, I cant get ahead to where I want to be with my current pay and we are too small for benefits. The only downside to leaving is ill have basically screwed up their business and it would be tough for me to sleep at night if they went under because I left. That's where it makes this decision so hard for me. The new job has a potential to take me exactly where I want to go in life a lot easier than where I am now

 

It would be possible, but the guys under me would need ALOT longer to be trained to do what I do. They would basically need to hire someone with experience outright in order to replace me

 

I think you know your decision already. Go with your gut, your skills have taken you thus far. Allow them to take you further.
Your position at the other company will be filled, or to be honest they probably won’t last long.
Businesses have to be prepared for just this thing. People come and go.

I would not be where I am in life if I let others decide my fate. oh that sounds good, for that reason I am quoting myself lol! Using bold and Italic

 

Tell your boss your situation. Come at him with some stats about how you’re on the low end of the pay grade for your job. You seem to like what you’re doing...be honest and tell him that, but if you’re going to stay, you’re going to need more money and/or benefits (if they offer them). Tell him you’ve got an offer with more money plus benefits, but you wanted to give him the opportunity before you left him high and dry

 

Sounds like it's not a well run business. Any good manager and/or owner of a business should be able to handle employees leaving and be able to reasonably backfill them. That's an essential part of their responsibility.

 

That's the thing, I dont know if they are prepared, they have modeled much of the company around me but like you said its not taking me where I need to go

 

Either ask for a raise.... sounds like you are in the catbird seat there.
Or if you are looking to do something new, take the new job.
At least go and talk with the boss about your position and give them a chance to counter offer. Just because they are nice people and a nice company doesn't mean your hands should be tied.

 

On the serious. Get a real offer, go into your boss. Let him know ASAP that you have an offer, let him know what it is.
Sounds like it may be too far out of scope for a counter, but I will tell you from experience one never knows.

To give you an idea. I changed my job as a special fx designer for films and TV almost every two years.
I had the chops and I wanted to get paid for it. That’s how you separate the sheep from the wolves, now go get that job so you can afford the Mods you want.

 

They dont offer benefits and I SERIOUSLY doubt they can come close to the money in fixing to be offered in the coming days

He may have a contingency plan, but from what I see of the company they have a lot built around me and can never get people to come in and interview with experience

this new job is essentially what ive been trying to get my boss to start bidding on and getting work doing, I dont think it would surprise him if I told him about the offer.

 

JaCado is correct. Be professional about this. Allow them to counter, but do not allow this to get personal.

 

This is one thing I struggle with. How do you not let it get personal when doing such a thing? My boss is like a 2nd Father to me, but business aside I can't make the small money like I do with the experience and degree I have.

 

I wanna afford that double wide to live in Mod with land and a 5th gen SS camaro to go with my truck.

 

So think of it this way. A father only wants the best for his son, even though he knows their relationship is about to change. For better or worse this is what life is about...change, and opportunity to move forward and experience something new. Might as well put yourself in a box early if your not gonna live the life given to you. What ever you do, just be calm. You speak and let him speak. Do not cut him off with yada yada. In fact make it short but to the point. This will make you stronger Kyle.

 

If he is like a 2nd father and has respect for you, then he will understand he is holding you back.

 

I think you answered your own question. You mentioned you were at the low end of the pay scale for what you do and they would not be able to find anyone else with the experience, knowledge, etc. To me that means you should be looking to get paid as everyone else in your field is and that your current company is not paying you your due. They can’t have their cake and eat it too.

I understand that you like them, but you can’t accept lower pay forever. Especially without benefits. I’ll take benefits over pay in many scenarios, especially when it comes to retirement benefits. But never low pay and no benefits.

I can see staying with them another year or two for experience in the field, but you should be looking for a payday doing the same job elsewhere. Construction management may not be the best route, so I think the biggest factor for you is whether you want to prepare yourself to work in your preferred field or a different field in 5 years.