[Anonymous]

I have to choose my future by EOD tomorrow. I received a job offer, but not sure if I’m going to follow through. Here are my options:

Currently working in Finance at a mid size public company, I’ve been with the company 4 years and I transferred to finance from a reporting role earlier in the year. The manager and director that I originally interviewed (I really liked both) with are both leaving the department. I’ll be reporting to a new manger and director that are known for riding their employees pretty hard. I was told that “it will be a sprint until December.” They’ve put their eggs into my basket and have given me a lot of responsibility and autonomy, but both like to micromanage when they feel anxious. We have weekly status meetings that take more time than it should and the Director is known for getting into shouting matches and screaming at his reports. Overall, I feel anxious in this role and have dreamt about leaving it behind. Total compensation is ~150K.

On the flipside, I just received a financial reporting position offer from a rapidly growing start up, that I’m sure most of you have heard of. They are very close to my house, a ~20 bus ride away. The benefits are crazy good (caterers 24/7, gym, phone etc) but they expect you to work. Some of my friends work there and I’ve heard of 12 hour days (9 to 9) and work at home on weekends. Every Glass door review says the company does not have work life balance, but many seem to enjoy working there. I’m not opposed to working longer hours, but I want them to be “smart” hours and not dumb meaningless hours. For sure I will be working more, it’ll be an intense environment. They’ve offered me roughly the same package as my current work, but the equity upside is high if they go public within the next few years.

In my former reporting role, I think I was spoiled. I worked *really* hard for 2-3 weeks during the quarter, while the rest of the time was 10am-5/6pm, but I chased money & ego instead of happiness as I was making ~130K with no Senior title. I kind of regret switching to Finance. Sometimes the grass is not always greener..

Anyway, those are my two options. Have to make my decision in 24 hours.. to stay or leave. Any advice is appreciated.

[Anonymous]

I think what it comes down to is how busy is your life outside of work and how much do you value work/life balance? I can tell you that 12 hour days in a high-stress environment are VERY tiring. Right now I'm taking a 5-10 minute break out of my 12-hour high-stress day to eat some Ramen (hey, it's good, even if it's cheap!) and get on here to relax for a minute. For me, our month or two of FYE 12-hour days are about enough to kill me and if I had to do them year-round, I'd have no choice but to quit. However, I have some health issues that run in my family that make our long-term stress-threshholds lower (adrenal gland issues – not sure if they're really hereditary, but my mom, sister, and I all have them), so I know some people can do 12-hour days with no problem.

Just make sure you're OK with longer hours in the longer term. The job you have now sounds like a rare find to have great compensation, great hours, and a relatively low-stress environment most of the time. Don't count on being able to get something like that back if you take the new job; plan to be working long hours to maintain compensation for the next several years.

That being said, if you're fine with the hours and don't have too many obligations outside of work (spouse, kids, etc.), then it sounds like it's an opportunity with potential for putting you in a better spot 10 years from now.

[JohnWayneIsGod]

It's all about what works best for your life. Either way, it sounds like you are going to be in a sprint and working a lot of hours. If it's a start-up, it will be a sprint and a marathon. But the key thing that stands out to me is that the sprint at the start-up sounds more enjoyable than the sprint at the current job since you will be around friends. However, I wouldn't exactly be thrilled with either option as I don't like the idea of work consuming my life even if I enjoy it. There is so much more to life than always reaching for that brass ring. But how I see things may not work for you as we're all unique. My advice: Ask yourself how long hours will affect those in your life and how they will handle it, and which job will make you happiest as your attitude towards your job can affect everything and everyone else in your life. From there, pick the job that will lead to the most enjoyable life for you and everyone else that you care about.

FAR - 80

Courage is being scared to death, but saddling up anyway.

-John Wayne

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the advice Lilla.

You’re right, I’d probably have to work a few years to maintain the level of compensation with the new job. (1 year cliff vest on initial stock grants). My current job is relatively low stress, but it’s really an unknown with the new manager and director coming in, but I seem to get along with both. Both have told me that they are happy I’m rolling up under them now.

I’m recently married, but no children. Although kids maybe in the cards down the road.. I told my wife about the realistic amount of time I’ll be working at the new position and she is supportive. But not sure how long that will last after a year of constant working..

[SaveBandit]

What's the equity like at the current place vs the new place? What's the exit strategy at the startup? Almost all startups are looking to get bought, eventually. And when you get bought, and you have options, you make some serious, serious cash. I just came from a startup and you wouldn't believe what some people made on options from such a small company. That being said, make sure they are moving in the right direction financially before you said yes.

As someone who has worked for both huge public companies and small-nobody companies, I would take the small place all over again. You'll have to put in your hours, but there are usually fewer policies & controls so you can just do whatever you need to do without having conference calls and attending pointless meetings, and all that other pointless crap that comes along with large places. Having just moved from the startup to a large company, I forgot about all the pointless crap that comes along with working for a big place. There is also nothing worse than having a micro-managing boss, let alone two. I'd rather do something I dislike and love my boss than the other way around. But that's just me.

Best of luck.

4 for 4

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[tidus808]

My only advice is that since you are recently married is to seriously talk it over with your wife. Longer hours mean less time to spend with her and time together is pretty important to maintain a healthy marriage.

AUD: 69, 86
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Licensed on June 8, 2015

[Missy]

It seems like you've covered all the bases as far as doing your homework. So for me personally the decision would come down to their employee retention. If the place is a bunch of short timers, I'd hesitate.

Oh and let your wife get a housekeeper once a month or a landscaper if you're going to be pulling those hours 😉

Licensed Massachusetts Non Reporting CPA since 2012
Finance/Admin/HR Manager

[Anonymous]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I’m getting about 50% more equity at the new place, although I’ll have to wait an additional year to see any of it, due to the 1 year cliff vesting. But then it vests every month after that (pro rata). These are RSU’s, no exercise price and will not need extra capital to invest. Annual bonus is also mostly equity and if you're a top performer, you get 90% of your base in the form of equity and 10% in cash. Regular performers get a 40/10 split and bottom 20% get nothing.

From what I can tell, the end goal is for this company to go public. Their valuation is extremely high, and I’ll be honest, the business model is a bit risky with lawsuits being thrown at them. I’ve probably given enough information that you can guess what company I’m talking about. I don’t think they’ll be bought, but that’s without looking at the financial health of the company and my own speculation.

Also, most people at the company have only been there 6 months to a year. The “old timers” at the company have only been there 18-24 months. Although from what I’ve heard, not a lot of employee churn, it’s just that they’re growing at an astronomical rate and increasing headcount.

And yes, there’s lots of autonomy and not a lot of hand holding at the new job. They definitely are not going to babysit me. But it seems that it’s frowned upon if you leave before your boss. It’s an open work area, so everyone can see what you’re doing. Kind of a downer, but I guess increases productivity. (And I probably won't be able to visit A74 as much!)

Also, thanks for the advice with the wife. Happy wife, happy life right? We recently bought a house and although we don’t have a front yard (in the city) our backyard is definitely looking disheveled. We definitely need a landscaper..

[Anonymous]

Just out of curiosity, how do I get a job paying that much??

[mw798]

@Audit_This you beg for a corporate job at Uber.

[Author]

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