Would you take a new job if there was a decent chance you had to quit in 6-12 months?

Finance
1

I have been living in Switzerland with my gf for a little more than a year. My gf has been here for 3 years working as a postdoc. The time has come for her to move on and she is currently applying for several faculty positions, one here in country and the rest all back in the US. If she is able to land one of these positions, it would start in September 2018.

I am working for a large IT company with some legacy technology. The job is a job, nothing exciting, but it pays decent. I have a remote position and I try to keep a low profile. Whenever I have downtime at work, I focus on learning some of the newer technologies and getting some new certifications. My plan was to just stick it out with this job until I know what my gf is doing, and then find something that I actually like. Recently I started moonlighting for a US company, which works out perfect with the time difference. I can attend all of their conference calls without interfering with my day job. So far this month, I made about $3k on the side, and there seems to be plenty of work for me for the foreseeable future.

A few weeks ago, I had a consulting assignment, where we were assisting a client with a purchasing decision. I was asked to sit in on a vendor’s sales pitch, evaluate their offer and challenge their offer. It was a bit unconventional, as we are sort of a competitor to this company. After the meeting, the CEO of this company, who was doing most of the speaking, contacted me, and invited me out for a coffee. His company is focusing on new technologies in my field, but his customers want to integrate his technology with their legacy systems, and he is lacking a Subject Matter Expert on the legacy tech. He says they were looking for some time for someone, and he feels that I am a good fit for this position and he offered me a position that is a mix of Consulting and PreSales. The position he offered me is exactly the type of work that I would like to be doing. The company is small-to-midsize company and is rapidly growing. I have a formal interview tomorrow and after that they will likely present me with an offer.

My gf and I both love living here. If my gf was offered the Swiss position, she would take it over any of the US opportunities. However, there is a decent chance that her next job will be back in the US.

Here is my Pros and Cons list:

Pros:

  • a job that I would actually enjoy
  • better work environment, company culture, etc
  • a higher salary. While specifics weren’t discussed, but I am assuming that the salary offered will be a bit higher than what I currently make
  • great career move, allowing me to transition away from the legacy technology
  • no longer working from home. currently I feel fairly isolated working from a small apartment day in and day out
  • language. My german will improve very quickly

Cons:

  • it will look really bad on my resume if I end up quitting after such a short time. I had 5 jobs over the past 10 years. My last job I stayed at just 18 months. If I quit, I will have only worked 12-15 months and my current job, and the next one would likely be even shorter.
  • language. This is big. The company is a german-speaking company, and eventually I will have to communicate with everyone in German. For the short to medium term, english is OK, even when communicating with clients. However, I have been very aggressive about learning german, and in most everyday situations I can communicate my thoughts in german, although I make lots of grammatical mistakes.
  • no longer working from home. I will lose a lot of the flexibility that comes with working from home. My expenses will increase, mainly transportation and eating out.
  • I will likely have to cut back on my moonlighting

So what would you do in my situation?

3 Likes
2

If I understand your situation right, taking the new job will work out perfectly if your gf gets the Swiss position. If your gf gets a position in the US, you would have to quit the new job in 6 to 12 months to move back to the US with her. Correct me if I’m wrong.

If you have to quit the new job, your reason should be perfectly understandable to any future potential employers. If you get experience that your current job isn’t giving you, that might be a plus if you have to go job hunting again in the US.

4 Likes
3

Your understanding is correct

1 Like
4

If I were in your situation, I would take the position. It seems that it is more closely suited to where you want to go in life, so, even if you are forced to resign for a legitimate reason, you are still gaining experience in that sector. The one factor that might make me reconsider is that you likely would have to cut back on moonlighting. Would you have to cut back, or would you have to stop completely. If it means a considerable loss of income, then I would reconsider taking the new position.

2 Likes
5

take the position. pros as stated outweigh cons.

4 Likes
6

When does your girlfriend find out if she gets these jobs?

2 Likes
7

She can get eliminated starting early next year, but final decisions will not be made until May to June timeframe.

8

This opportunity has landed in your lap. Pay close attention to the people during the interview. Will they be good to work with? If yes, I would make the change. In all reality you don’t know for sure that your GF will need to relocate. So don’t pass this by on the off chance of a change in future circumstances.

3 Likes
9

Take the job. If you end up moving back to the US, you’ll have an impressive resume. In an interview you can explain why you didn’t reside at your previous job longer. It’s very understandable given that you are an American citizen with more personal ties here. Being in the tech industry short stints are far more acceptable than other careers.

Also, you must consider that you and your girlfriend may have a falling out. I know you don’t want to consider this but, it does happen.