Job prospects or work/life balance.. WWYD?

[firebrand123]

So I'm in the really fortunate position - after MONTHS of job hunting - to have two offers. The first offer gives the best career opportunities and is also the industry and role I find most interesting but it is in London 3 days a week which means around 1.5 hours travel each way (fairly simple travel though, drive to station and then sit on the Tube all the way to right near the office). The second offer is still a good role but probably not as interesting as the first offer and the industry and organisation don't have anywhere near the same prestige. The benefit is it's 2-3 days in the office and 45 mins-ish drive each way.

WWYD - choose the job that you find most appealing and deal with the travel, or go with the closer to home option?

For further context I have 2 children, one will be in year 6 next year and the other is a teenager. I have split custody with their father so the travel/office time will only really impact my time with them on one of the 3 days. The bigger impact is likely to be on my running/training - one of the 3 days is my rest day anyway and I'll have less time to fit my hobby in on the other 2 days.

I would take the interesting job, but only if it’s a ‘stepping stone’ type thing rather than something you would essentially do forevermore. 1.5 hours is a lot but it’s manageable for a couple of years if it leads to something equally well paid/interesting that you could do closer to home?

Thanks @MaryMaryVeryContrary !
I should also have mentioned offer 1 pays more. Offer 2 has a much better bonus but according to Glassdoor reviews, bonuses haven't been paid or have been low since the pandemic so I can't rely on that.
I'll likely always have a challenge with travel due to where I live. If I want to stay closer to home it will almost always mean lower pay. But maybe I could use this as a stepping stone to a role with less office days, even if not a better location....

Job 1, hands down.

Job 1 without question if it was me. You only have 1 life - so I'd spend it doing the more interesting one! Also I'd rather a longer commute where you can nap/watch Netflix/read than in traffic.

Thanks @SquishyGloopyBum and @Toomuch2019 ! I'm definitely leaning that way. It will cost me a fair bit in travel vs the fuel to job 2 so if I could get job 2 to offer me the same salary I could be slightly financially better off (a lot better off if they paid out the max possible bonus, but that seems unlikely), that's really the only thing that's having me still hesitating...

My gut instinct is job 1. After you have your feet under the table, you might find that you'll get more flexibility, eg another day from home, and I'm thinking a longer lunch break to fit in your hobby etc. Well done on getting both offers though, bravo!

Unless you're already loaded OP I'd go for job 1.
Your children are older, university etc is expensive and as a single parent surely you need to be building up your pension

I would go for job 1

You may well find they will be more flexible on office days once you've been there a while

Thanks @blitzen and @SuncreamAndIceCream , it's a good point that things may be more workable in reality than it first sounds.

@sixpiacksally just to confuse matters, job 2 have essentially said they'll confirm they'll match the job 1 salary if I agree I'll accept which would mean I'd be better off there once you consider travel costs and their slightly better pension (7.5 vs 10% employer contributions). If.. IF... they paid the potential bonus I'd be even better off but that sounds doubtful from my research. But, I think opportunities to progress over the next 10 years are better with job 1. So it's almost short term vs long term. I'm not a single parent though, I have a partner.