Help me pick a job!

[PintOfCoffeePlease]

Hi all, hoping for some guidance from wiser minds than mine please as I'm stuck!

I'm very lucky that I've been offered two full time jobs this week (financial/insurance sector). My old workplace is closing down, so I feel very grateful to have any offers in the current climate. However I'm really struggling to pick one and have to let them both know by the end of tomorrow, so I'd really appreciate thoughts!

Job #1 is in my town, a ten minute drive away. It's not in my preferred specialist area, but it's an area that I'm interested in and have worked in before. I'll be promoted (a fairly big jump) within two years if I meet a set of reasonable milestones. They allow flexible working, e.g. longer but fewer days, and also working from home. However, the team has a reputation for high stress and a bad atmosphere.

Job #2 is in my preferred specialist area and it's a really interesting job. It seems like a lovely team, both from my experience at several interviews and by reputation. They are willing to commit significant funds towards CPD; they have promised to pay for a qualification which I don't need, but would quite like, and it would benefit me in future. However, there is no flexible working, no working from home, and a 90+ minute commute.

Other important information:

• The pay: Job #2 would be equivalent in salary to my current job. Job #1 would be a substantial increase even before the possible promotion.
  
• I'm equally competent in and qualified for both areas of work, just prefer one area over the other. I would probably enjoy both.
  
• Moving isn't an option.
  

And just to make it easier to keep track...
Yes = take Job #1
No = take Job #2

Bright ideas about where to get a teleportation device very welcome.

[gk6277]

Job 1, flexible hours, near home and good prospects, what's not to love ?

[peppapigisscottish]

Exactly what gk6277 said. maybe it is higher stress but so is a long commute.

[Skyliner001]

Job 1

[emmathedilemma]

Personally i would never take a job with a 90+ minute commute, no matter how good it was or how much they were willing to pay me.

[NotEverythingIsBlackandWhite]

i would have said job 2 as I consider the more interesting and fulfilling job better than more pay. However, travelling over 90 minutes each way would totally put me off.

I think it depends on what stage of your life you are at. Do you have a partner and/or children? If you approached it from the view of having that great interesting role for a few years where you obtained a professional qualification that would help you in the future, then job 2 is definitely worth considering. The rewards the qualification would bring you, not just monetary but including money, could far outweigh the difference in money at job 1 over time.

[Strongswans]

Yes job #1 close to home, flexible, interesting. That would be my perfect job!

[Lotsalotsagiggles]

90 min commute and no flexi time would be a no for me

[Suzanne12]

Job 1 definitely

[Jojobythesea]

1️⃣ definitely

[SorryImNotCreative]

Job 1. If it’s really high stress you could always leave after a year.

I spent a year doing a 1 hour each way (driving) commute and I don’t say this lightly - it really ruined my life at the time. It also makes the day stressful in itself.

[PintOfCoffeePlease]

Thanks for the replies so far everyone, quite a strong bias for Job 1 which is possibly what I need to hear!

@NotEverythingIsBlackAndWhite - great points, thank you. I do have a partner but no kids, and definitely take your point about working now to set myself up for the future. The qualification would be really interesting to do, although in fairness I could pay for it myself after a year with some of the extra money from Job 1 so perhaps Job 2 paying for it isn't quite the perk it seems.

I have spent about 10 years commuting at least an hour each way and working really hard (to the exclusion of everything else really), and I guess I'm wondering if it's time to prioritise life outside of work a bit more. I'm finding it really hard to stop though. My partner is also a workaholic and I do feel we aren't helping each other in that way sometimes!

[Unescorted]

Flip a coin.... if you are disappointed with the result then choose the other one.

[nanbread]

Your quality of life will be massively impacted by your commute.

[Merryoldgoat]

What does ‘bad atmosphere’ mean? Having worked in pretty toxic environments this would concern me.

[hammeringinmyhead]

I say job 1. Give it 6 months and move on if the team is horrible to the point of toxic.

I've just had to choose between an "easier" job with lower pay 10 minutes away and a busy job that would be better for my career but is an hour away (not great with a toddler). I chose 1 for the commute!

[december212]

Job 1. No idea how you manage the commute that you have at the moment, never ming the thought of a longer one - especially in the winter when the roads are bad and it's dark early.

If you do have kids, getting to them in 10 minutes if they took ill, etc., will be invaluable. So bear that in mind if you think this will be a long term job move.

[PhilTheGroundhog]

This is an absolute no-brainer to me.

[PurBal]

I don't think I could work somewhere with a bad atmosphere. I've turned down a 40% salary increase and a 25 minute (walk) commute because the company had a reputation for a toxic atmosphere. I think I'd punt at job 2. After you've been there you have a right as an employee to request flexible working. They may say no but I wouldn't rule it out.

[Minniee]

I wouldn't even consider a 90 minute commute. Fuck that on a cold icy February morning.

[Intastellaburst]

I’ve done a job with a 90 minute commute before for a few years and found it ok. Not driving though - public transport, so could read and relax a bit. And before I had children

[PintOfCoffeePlease]

@Minniee, I have often cursed myself for choosing long commutes on icy February mornings, so I hear you

It was genuinely worth it as I'm in a good position now because I did all that slog, but I think at some point I need to actually stop and not just keep pushing for the next step up. I have wonderful, patient and loving friends and family who have stuck with me while I got myself here, but I hardly see them (pre-lockdown) and I want a drastic change in my priorities. These responses are helping me figure this out, thanks.

[LittlePeepoToy]

Absolutely job 1.

[Grapefruity]

I don't really know how the voting works but I say Job 1. The commute would rule out the other job for me since they are level on everything else

[Whitepriv]

Is there negotiation on WFH with job 2 for 2 days a week given the lengthy commute? Most reasonable managers would be flexible around this to an extent given that otherwise you’d love the job.

[PintOfCoffeePlease]

For those asking about the bad atmosphere: apparently some people have felt very ignored and unsupported, and the stress level is definitely high there. However, I do far better when left to get on with it under pressure than when I'm micromanaged, so it's possibly not a problem...you never really know until you're working there though do you.