Stay at current job or go back to old job?

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fizxman
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Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by fizxman »

I have a current job / new/old job decision.

Background/History:
  • Worked at company A for about a decade; part of a mass layoff in 2019 due to business conditions.
  • Worked at company B for about 4 months; laid off due to Covid.
  • Working at company C for almost 8 months.
Compensation Comparison:
  • Company A salary = x1 when laid off (MCOL); no bonus.
  • Company B salary = 0.93x1 when laid off (same COL as company A); potential 15% bonus; depended on mine and company performance; didn’t work long enough to get a bonus.
  • Company C salary = 1.37x1 (based on HCOL/VHCOL area and requires relocating to that area); quarterly bonuses anywhere between 5%-25% depending on mine and company performance (lower end since I’m new); haven't missed paying out a bonus ever or at least for a long time.
Company B reached out to me and would like me to come back over a year after being let go due to Covid. I believe this is partially/mostly due to someone else leaving Company B for another job. I was offered a new salary at Company B of 1.13x1. I countered with 1.24x1, but they came back at 1.13x1. I might be able to split the difference between the two. The job was fine, not great but not terrible. The same goes for Company C. Company B would allow me to remain where I am, while I’d be relocating to a HCOL/VHCOL area for Company C. (If anyone has definitions on LCOL/MCOL/HCOL, I’d love to know.) Currently, housing now is “x2” but after relocating it'll be “3x2-4x2”, assuming a similar type of housing. It could be more but probably won’t be less than that because our housing is currently very low for our MCOL area. The HCOL/VHCOL area is fine and I think I'd like it there it's just that it's so much more expensive and it's hard for me to come to terms with since we live well below our means. To put our frugalness into perspective, our current combined salary is about 45% greater than what we paid for our house 9 years ago.

A few other things:
  • Married, no kids nor planning on having any.
  • Ages, 41 (me) & 38 (wife)
  • Currently, live among all our friends and family; relocating would take us 5+ hours away. We do know a few people in the area so we wouldn't be totally friendless.
  • Company C is much more stable and I’m much less likely to be laid off again from Company C than B.
  • Company B is willing to give more notice in case of layoff. The amount of notice will be a few months instead of two weeks.
  • Insurances between the two are roughly equal.
  • Company C allows for mega-backdoor Roth while company B does not.
  • Company C will be going public in the next 2-3 years. I may or may not be able to participate, depending on my performance. The IPO will not be in the USA.
  • Vacation for both are equal; I would get an extra week at Company B before I would at Company C.
  • Company B is work-from-home; Company C has a very nice campus and partial work from home.
  • Company B has more travel; some of this travel is not ideal while other travel is very nice and I’d be looking forward to it (we refer to this travel as highly-subsidized vacations). Company C will have some travel but I don’t know what it’ll be like yet or to what extent.
  • Work-life balance is about the same for both.
  • Ideally, I would like to retire in 15-20 years.
What should I do?
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David Jay
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by David Jay »

Let’s start with the math - can you make the additional payment to live in the HCOL area of Company C on the difference in pay (1.37/1.13 = 1.21, so pay is just over 21% more with a company C). In my case, I would not move to a HCOL area if my additional housing cost was not covered by the difference in salary.

Then the second issue is your current network of friends. Do you want to stay where you are? Then go with Company B.
Last edited by David Jay on Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:01 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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anon_investor
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by anon_investor »

David Jay wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:44 pm Then the second issue is your current network of friends. Do you want to stay where you are? Then go with Company B.
This is very important, what does the wife want?
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rob
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by rob »

On this topic: I always go by the phrase... you can never go back.
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Afty
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by Afty »

Maybe it's my pride talking, but I wouldn't go back to a company that laid me off.
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AllMostThere
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by AllMostThere »

IMHO, with only 13% increase, I would not go back to old job. They laid you off, so if they really want you then make sure they share some of your prior pain (from layoff) in the amount of 24% increase. Nothing in you post suggests it was a great job, so hold firm to the 24% and then use as a springboard for future job searches for even more monies. You are in the driver seat here, so use to your advantage.
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Fat Tails
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by Fat Tails »

Afty wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:36 pm Maybe it's my pride talking, but I wouldn't go back to a company that laid me off.
+1, OP, if you go back and there is another downturn in business and they lay you off again how would you rate your decision to go back? And like another poster said, you cannot go back, i.e., it will not be the same.

Cheers
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fizxman
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by fizxman »

Thanks for the feedback, I really appreciate it.
David Jay wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:44 pm Let’s start with the math - can you make the additional payment to live in the HCOL area of Company C on the difference in pay (1.37/1.13 = 1.21, so pay is just over 21% more with a company C). In my case, I would not move to a HCOL area if my additional housing cost was not covered by the difference in salary.

Then the second issue is your current network of friends. Do you want to stay where you are? Then go with Company B.
When I take my wife's salary into account, our total household income increase would be 12% if I stay at Company C and we move. This number would hopefully get larger if/when my wife would find a new job in the HCOL area. Our combined salaries are enough to live comfortably in the HCOL area, it's just that we live so far below our means where we currently are and we wouldn't be able to do so anymore, or at least not as much. Basically, we'd have to spend more money and we'd rather not if we didn't have to.
I'm an introvert and I don't want/need to make new friends. My wife is the opposite and she'll want to make new friends. Regarding our current friends, they all just had kids so our relationships with them aren't going to be the same going forward anymore anyway.
anon_investor wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:53 pm
David Jay wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 10:44 pm Then the second issue is your current network of friends. Do you want to stay where you are? Then go with Company B.
This is very important, what does the wife want?
She doesn't know either. She likes the idea of moving and living close to a big city. She won't be a huge fan of the climate, even though it won't be too much different than where we currently live. She likes the job security Company C provides. However, she likes the travel offered by Company B. It's a type of travel I did for Company A (sorry for being vague) and we both really enjoyed it because we've traveled the world. So going back to Company B would allow us to do that again because work would pay for me and she can tag-a-long.
rob wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:11 pm On this topic: I always go by the phrase... you can never go back.
I would normally agree, but does this apply to a place you only worked at for a few months and was let go because of a global pandemic?
Afty wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:36 pm Maybe it's my pride talking, but I wouldn't go back to a company that laid me off.
Fat Tails wrote: Mon Jul 26, 2021 1:46 am
Afty wrote: Sat Jul 24, 2021 11:36 pm Maybe it's my pride talking, but I wouldn't go back to a company that laid me off.
+1, OP, if you go back and there is another downturn in business and they lay you off again how would you rate your decision to go back? And like another poster said, you cannot go back, i.e., it will not be the same.

Cheers
I don't fault them for laying me off. It was a global pandemic and I didn't have seniority. I imagine most businesses would have done the same thing. However, if things turn for the worst again, for whatever reason, and I were to be let go again, I would be devastated for making the choice to go back.

I think I'd be happier at Company B because we'd get to stay where we are, save more money, and travel. However, I wouldn't be unhappy at Company C plus I'd be much more secure at Company C. And having been laid off twice in a short amount of time, that's big for me. We still need to think about it a little more.
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fizxman
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Re: Stay at current job or go back to old job?

Post by fizxman »

Thanks for everyone's help.

My wife and I chose to move for the job I currently have instead of going back to my old job and staying where were are. The old job did come up to my originally requested salary but we felt job security was more important than not having to move. Financially it may be a wash (higher salary + higher bonus - HCOL = lower salary + lower bonus - lower cost of living) so we felt it came down to doing the right thing vs. the thing I want to do. The right thing was to choose job security over staying put. Time to start packing and purging stuff.
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