Really Need Career Advice ASAP!!!

Well, not me exactly, my wife -

After toiling in a thankless job for a few years, she decided to apply to a few jobs recently - two of the employers are really interested in her, and each has some big plusses.

The first job is a floral designer job - this would probably be my wife's dream job, as she took floral design in high school and worked several shops afterwards. She had to stop working in floral design for medical reasons, which have recently been addressed and are no longer a factor. The job is flexible, pays good (she'll be making more than she does now) and the flower shop owners are well established in the community.

The other job is a personal assistant to a realtor - though she has no experience, they're willing to train her and she has the type of personality and drive that would suit the job well. This job would be sort of an 'instant career', as they have offered her money that would far exceed my salary (I make a pretty good living in IT) and significantly change our lifestyle. The job really has no set hours, as she would be expected to run out the door at a moment's notice. Her only guaranteed day off would be Saturday.

She has interviewed at both jobs, and basically has to decide by Friday which job she will take. Job 1 sounds like a solid sure bet, as she would still be able to attend college in the Fall and this is important to her. Job 2 gives her no such guarantees, however she could maybe work the job for a couple of years and then see where she's at by then.

So what do we do? Take the safe, modest sure thing, or go for the unknown with the big payoff? We're both young and have no kids, so if she's going to go for a busy job like #2, this would be the time to do it.

HELP!!!

Been there, done that.
Her boss is basically on call 7 days a week.
I'd go for the flower arranging.

I'm havin' trouble figurin' out why you need to ask!

It's the difference between making $25,000/yr and $75,000/yr, if that matters.

Is this not a glorified secretarial job?
$75,000?
Doesn't sound right to me.

She thought she was going for an office-assistant type job. She found out that this realtor is really looking for someone to learn the ropes (she would be required to get her realtor licence) because this realtor wants to be home with his wife and kids more often. His last assistant quit after 2 years to strike out on her own. While at the office, spoke with another agent who works for this guy, and last year that realtor made 150k. So it's a deal where the harder you work/more you get paid.

her boss expected a little something-something on the side, any time. He was Catholic and apparently so devout he'd never divorce his wife, but I guess hiring a secretary with bed-down-benefits was just fine by his moral compass. :eyes:

This was actually a good deal for my friend. Not a choice I'd make, but she's materialistic and insecure so money and a steady lay was just fine in her book. I'm hoping your wife wouldn't be into that, no matter the pay.

I don't doubt there are some RE assts who make $75K on the up-and-up, but I'm just saying...

Then, how would you feel if you got used to that fat paycheck and then the job folded? How far in debt would you be? And would she be able to make that kind of money again without a college degree?

And tell your wife not to worry about finding her dream career. They say the average American woman has 3 major career changes these days. I say nothing is better than having a job you love. Screw the money. You guys are young. Plenty of time to build a nest egg over time--no need to get rich quick. That's the American myth that leads so many of us into soul-sucking debt.

Good luck!

where's the question?

What does she want to go back to school for? Would she be upset if she never did?
How soon are kids coming?
Does she want a job or a career?
How does she handle stress? How do you, if you are both overworked?
Do you WANT dinner on the table at 6pm?

TWO different lifestyles.........must be considered.

She would like to go to school for Occupational Therapy, she wouldn't be terribly upset if she couldn't go, she's been in college a few years now trying to find her niche.

Kids? I don't see it on our horizon, however I'm 30 so I guess I could see kids in our future maybe within 5 years.

Job or career? Excellent question! That is where the sticking point is. She's almost 24, so a career wouldn't be out of the question - however, to this point, she has worked jobs to help pay the bills and school so the prospect of a career is both exciting and terrifying to her.

I think we both handle stress well, we are usually pretty busy already (I work full-time and run my own business on the side which eats up a few nights every week). Aside from that, we're both always running around doing something.

As far as dinner (and other household stuff), I've always been flexible and supportive and willing to pitch in so that shouldn't be a problem.


Thanks for bringing up some excellent points to consider, we're getting terrific feedback from everyone here! ;)

Sacrifice when you are young. The money she will make will make buying a house, having children and investing for the future easier. Sales is a wonderful profession and if she has the personality and drive she will never be out of a job. She can ALWAYS work RE after you guys have kids.Being in RE is like being self employed. The 'dream job' still has a BOSS!

Something else......We all have NO IDEA how this next 4 years will play out...Go for the money and DON'T spend it! The monsoon maybe around the corner.If I were in your position; I would LIVE on ONE salary and invest the other.

Money is a great thing to have, but there's nothing like wanting to go to work in the morning, smiling all day, and still smiling when you come home. There aren't very many jobs like that, and if your wife has the opportunity to get one, she needs to go for it!

We have several assistants in our office, i feel bad for all of them.

She's young, let her run around in some excitement.

And it's good money, as you said in another post.

Plus, I think it's a good thing to try something that ISN'T your dream job, and quite different from it, to fully reinforce that you don't want that kind of job, and to gain experience in an area you aren't necessarily so keen in. Plus, she might gain some valuable insight into realty. And she can work for a year or two, and save a shitload of money, and then go to college without fuss or muss about financials. Or, alternatively, you can live a dream life for a while in which money isn't such an issue and you can go on nice trips, eat expensive dinners, and buy some nice furniture.

Esepcially since your both still young and have no kids.

If it were me, I'd likely choose to go on the adventure.

high stress;
her life no longer being her own;
being on call at odd hours;
running interference;
dealing with people who are making one of the biggest financial and emotional decisions/commitments of their lives;
dealing with attorney's, lenders, title companies, termite inspectors and various other people involved in real estate transactions then I'd tell her to go for the real estate assistant job.

Real estate can be tough but it also can be very rewarding if she can handle it.

I never was on the realtor's side of the fence but since I represented the lender, I dealt with many an assistant.

and the thought of someone "owning" my time like that... uh uh. Does NOT sound appetizing.

On the other hand.... if you're intending it to be a short-term kind of thing, and you need the money, job #2 sounds like it might work. (But I would be willing to bet that those "no set hours" quickly becomes 12 to 14 hours a day.) Will she be paid hourly or a set salary, or a salary with overtime? If it's a set salary, calculate the pay by the max number of hours you think she might have to work (I would AT LEAST expect 10/day) and see if that's worth it.

I worked briefly in a reality office as a receptionist. Talk about uptight assholes! Of course not ALL realtors are this way as with anything, there are good people and funky people.

But the thing with the real estate position is this--yes, your wife could make some great money BUT she won't have much time to herself, for you or for school. If this guy wants an assistant so he can spend more time with his family--you can count on not seeing her much at all.

Real estate assistants generally make a percentage or 'commission' of their bosses overall sale. If this guy is a big producer, she could make big money BUT again, she will do all or most of the work!

Real estate is one of the biggest purchases many people will ever make. It is a huge investment, so it can also be very stressful for them. Many people buying need a lot of hand holding. On top of it there are huge amounts of leg work required. People will call at all hours, day and nights--weekends, etc.

So understandably, some of the realtors I worked with were assholes from the pressure they were under--others were just jerks in general.

If your wife LOVES floristry, flowers and being creative--she should go there. You never know where that could lead. She could start a business of her own and make more money eventually--designing for wedding, etc. She should go with what she enjoys. Life's too short to chase money--chase the happy! :)

HTH!
Bliss;)

Are there better benefits for one job then the other? If they are both small business owners maybe the benefits aren't an issue. Does either one offer health insurance? 401K? Sick pay? Vacation time?

I'd go with following my dreams. The money in the real estate job is nice but if she end up hating the job the money isn't worth it.

Naturally she should go to both interviews and wait for the offers.

Doing what you love is more important than money.

The dream job. She'll regret it everyday for the rest of her life if she turns it down. She can always switch careers down the line if she finds out that she doesn't want to do it anymore.

On call jobs truly suck