Which job?

[Elsiebear90]

I need some help picking which job I should take, I realise I’m in a lucky position to have these options, but having too many options it’s making it harder to pick and they all have their pros and cons. I’m currently band 7 in the NHS clinical, but not nursing. I have good qualifications (masters degree, plus career specific qualifications) and I work in a niche area with a shortage of staff and a shortage of highly qualified experienced staff, so this is why I have this many options.

Job 1 NHS band 7 at a hospital I used to work for and love:

Pros:
I know I love working there
Know all the staff very well and like almost all of them
Highly regarded hospital and staff
Complex varied work
Ability to do further training in a very niche area which means I could work abroad for a high salary
Very short commute (10 mins)

Cons:
Would have to do oncall 3 x a month
Lack of flexibility (want kids in the future, unlikely to be able to reduce hours)
Not many opportunities for progression as not many people leave
Large department, politics and a few not so nice people

Job 2 is in a hospital I already locum at one day per week and I like working there, also band 7

Pros:
No oncall
Flexible
Small department, friendly, relaxed atmosphere
Already work there so know I enjoy it
Two of my close friends work there

Cons:
Long commute (50 mins)
Work is not complex (worried I may deskill and get bored)
No opportunities for progression or to learn additional skills

Job 3 is manager of department at private hospital opening soon:

Pros:
Big step up career wise
Will learn lots of extra skills
Complex varied work
No oncalls
Very short commute (10 mins)
Better pay

Cons:
Lack of staff benefits compared to nhs
Stress (a lot more responsibility)

Lastly my other option is to locum for a while, which is my wife and my family’s preferred option for me.

Pros:
Double take home pay £50 an hour vs £25 (big big positive)
No on calls
Flexibility
Can leave easily and quickly if I don’t like it
Currently do it and I know I like it, have done it before full time for a few years and enjoyed it a lot
Less politics, just do job then go home
Less stress
Lots of locum positions available in the area where I live due to staff shortages

Cons:
Lack of stability
May have longer commute depending on hospital I work at
No pension/sick pay/ holiday pay (can work around these as double salary would mean I can save a lot and get income protection insurance and would only locum short term e.g around a year as I want to be in permanent employment when I TTC).

Which option would you pick?

Job 1, although I know how difficult the decision is as I'm in a very similar one!

For me commute is a big factor, especially as you intend in having children at some point.

My current commute is 50-70 minutes depending on traffic, I love my current role but I've been offered another role (not so nice) a 10 minute commute, same salary, same perks etc, same department (civil service), I also know the role very well.

I have young children and the pull of a 10 minute commute is huge. Especially regarding childcare in the future and work / life balance.

Try and look at the next 3-5 years rather than short term, it might help.

Good luck!

Job 3, the downsides seem less - especially as better pay will somewhat compensate for a loss of benefits. A big step up career wise normally comes hand-in-hand with stress but now is the time to do it, before children.

Probably job 1, someone higher up might move on/take early retirement. Does everyone in that team do on calls, is there a possibility of reducing them/ditching them down the line.

Job 3 might be okay, but if it’s not right it might be difficult to return to nhs role. I did something similar a few years ago (I might be in same profession as you!) and really enjoyed the role. Then I had children and completely change so now I just do part time private clinic work.

I agree with others that try to think about the 3-5year plan. Having children completely changed my career trajectory, although I’m hoping to get back in that 5 years on.

good luck

The thing with job 1 is that the manager is 28 so unlikely to retire and there’s a lot of people there who have been band 7 for years and years and are incredible at their jobs so they would be next in line, I would be almost bottom of the pile. Absolutely zero chance of getting out of oncalls and they’re quite brutal, you don’t get much time back and are expected to work the next day, I would work ten hour days get called in 1am-3am then have to work 8-4 the next day. Often I would work 8-6 have to stay over doing a complex case until 2am then be back in work at 8am, I don’t see how this is compatible with having children. If it wasn’t for this I would definitely pick option 1. It’s the only main drawback for me.

In that case you've got to decide between 2 & 3, which seems better options long term if you want a family

Oh how I don’t miss those oncalls! (Pretty sure we are in same profession) I was thinking of returning to nhs work recently until a colleague pointed out I’d have to do on calls weekly or more. I couldn’t do the oncalls due to childcare, as hubby also in nhs and ALWAYS at work.

So maybe try for job 3, you can always go back to nhs if it doesn’t work out. Do check the mat leave cover though. NHS may leave is great elsewhere not so good.

Do you work in cardiology?

Yes, they are awful, our standby rate is £12 a night as well, so it’s not even like I gain financially from it! Im not even joking when I say the iPhone ring tone triggers me because of the amount of times I would be woken up to that sound in the middle of the night and told I need to get to work in 30 mins because someone is dying. I can’t even begin to think how I would manage with children.

No not in cardiology, so perhaps not, but similar experiences of having to get in quickly due to pt distress/possibility of dying.

yes the ring tone was triggering for me. I changed mine on days I was oncall

good luck on your decisions

Thank you, I think other than job 3 none of them are right long term, so I may locum for a while and wait for something better to come up unless job 3 is offered (I’ve been headhunted and have been offered an interview, but it’s not guaranteed). I really could do with the extra money over the next year as I want to finish house renovations and do a bit of travelling before I TTC.

Here you have to consider all the factors in this choice. It would be best not to always go where the salary is higher. Perhaps the high wage is because management has no plans to increase the salary in the next three years. Whereas in a company with lower pay, there are opportunities for continuous professional growth and an increase in income. Spending more time looking for a more exciting and profitable option is better. I, too, am currently looking for a job on the Govt Jobs job board. A qualified person like you will quickly find a good job.

I was a biomedical scientist for years, doing on call regularly and if i were you I'd probably keep temping until you had a family.

I was going to mention the European work time directive as I wasn't allowed to work over a certain amount of hours and had to have the day off before and after on call but we aren't in the European Union anymore are we 😁

Good luck with whatever you choose