Which job offer would you accept? Huge dilemma

[ViciousSquirrelSpotter]

I currently work 2 days a week from home in a job way below my skills level, but fits in with kids (I'm a lone parent) etc.

I've been offered a temporary six month job in London (I live in Kent) which is 3 days a week and which I could do alongside my current role. It would mean my income would go up by stacks (it's a manager role) but of course so would childcare and transport costs (about £900), to say nothing of stress. Then at the end, there's a chance it could go permanent and I could give up 2 day job, or it would end and I go back to 2 day job.

Now I've been invited to an interview for another job, based in Kent, 3 days a week, transport costs much lower, but wage also much less (though slightly more than currently so not much in it). Permanent job, sounds good and fun but not as senior, status and good on CV as temp job.

What would you do? Should I bother to go to the interview? (They might not offer me it anyway and if they do I'll have a horrible dilemma.)

How much does money matter?
How old are your children?
How do you feel about travelling to work?
Are you planning on staying working around your children for many more years or are the older so you are looking to progress? If progress take temp job, if not then I'd do the perm job.

go for the interview, definitely.
Then take stock - trust yr instinct and be guided by what's important to you - proximity/salary/prospects/status etc

Do you like the buzz of going into London or does it grind you down? Could you get childcare vouchers from yr London employer to reduce yr childcare costs? etc etc

oh and i@m kind of facing this dilemma myslef so will be really interested to see what you do and others' replies!
Good luck!

Yeh def go for th interview or you will always wonder what if........you could get there to find you hate it and it would never have suited you.

I really don't know if I'll like the buzz of going to London, or if it will feel like a faff...

This is so bloody typical, no jobs for years then suddenly several come along at once

Agree with RTTH .

Do the 6 month stint for the better job.

Even though your childcare costs will go up it's an investment in your children and family's financial future.
Also could they stay with their father for the 3 days a week you are in London and / or he pays for the childcare?

LOL not a chance

He doesn't have any contact (his choice)

Problem is, the London high status high pay job is only temp

The other one is perm

But it might lead to permanent and the permanent one may not last anyway.

Congratulations on being offered both of these jobs/interviews, you must be a little gem of a worker whatever you do. Pat yourself on the back.

Go for the interview for the perm job and see if you get it - don't not go at all. My saying is 'you lose 100% of the chances you don't take.'

Try the interview see if you get it.
then weigh up the costs of each of the two jobs and work out what you want more or less - long travel, more money, permanence or status/career satisfaction. Put them in to a list and make two columns, tick next to the ones that are most important and then go with the one that has the most ticks. And be happy with your choice, life is too short to have regrets.

Find out about childminders or family that could help with the kids or the nursery grants or even if the perm job will be flexible in start times at all maybe you can travel in later, drop your kids off yourself and then someone can pick them up for you?

Defn go to the interview - what have you got to loose? Then you can make a more informed choice - you might love/hate the people/environment, might find job role has potnetial to 'grow' quickly etc etc. Agree with saffy on the list thing (if you're a list person. You also need to decide what's really important to you at this stage (points for stating bleeding obvious) - imho, another fabulous job will come along at some point, if you're as shit hot as you clearly are!

Commuting all the way up to London sounds like a faff to me, but that's the lazy arse in me speaking

Thanks for all your advice it's really helped me think properly through this and I've decided to go for the interview for the lower paid lower status job.

I looked on entitledto and then did my budgets, and realised that once I'd taken into account the astronomical transport costs plus childcare costs, because the wage on the manager's job is much higher, the govt would give me far less CTC, so i would actually be better off with less than half the wage - to the tune of at least £50 a month. And I'd be working 3 days a week and not 5, and not having to struggle in to London. How mad is that?

That sounds like the right decision then. It's always best to work out all the sums.

Woohoo! Got the job! (The one I wanted.)

Thanks all - on Wednesday I almost rang up to tell them I wasn't going to bother going for the interview.

So glad I went, this job is so much better for me at the moment.

Ah the power of mumsnet...