Would you take this job?

[Hardhats]

I posted on a different board but thought I should post here to get advice as it’s the right forum! I recently got offered a job and trying to decide next steps! Should I take the new job or hold out?

Current job: Civil Service, Senior Leader in data. £45k

Pros: Security, I suppose.

Cons:
Awful job. I regularly work over contracted hours due to team being in bad place. Think grievances, employment tribunals. Quite possibly a case of leaving before I make my own tribunal claim ie seriously bad. I regularly travel across country, middle of nowhere types of places.

New job: similar role as a contractor in different government agency; £12k pay rise.

Pros:
Same level of seniority/line management but get to be more technical vs dealing with significant HR issues. This aligns with my career goals of being a senior data professional. Hybrid working pattern, office is local.

Cons:
lack of job security, 1 year contract, loss of employment rights, possibly things I’ve overlooked that comes with contracting?

any advice appreciated

What happens with your pension? And what happens after the year? Does the contract get renewed? What are your options if not? What is option C i.e. a job in another organisation?

I started contracting in 2010 and was concerned about the lack of job security. I have never been out of work since and I have worked eight jobs since then. I do understand the risk though - did you ask at interview what the likelihood of the contract being extended is? I know nothing is set in stone, but they should have been able to outline the likelihood of the role carrying on beyond a year. Does your pension move with you given it's another government role? Honestly for my peace of mind I would be looking to leave as your current situation sounds so untenable.

I'm surprised you're not paid more frankly but then I suppose it's the CS. That said, a lot of jobs in the private sector still have their challenges, unpaid o/time as standard and mean travelling to the arse end of beyond, especially in project management.

I wouldn't give up a permanent job voluntarily for a temporary/contract unless you're in a really good place financially.

Take a look around the private sector and see what a similar role offers if you really loathe where you are though.

What happens with your pension?
I assume my CS pension is banked to date, then I’d need to make my own pension contributions as a contractor? I’m in my 20s, I admittedly haven’t given much thought to pensions and could be wrong.

And what happens after the year? Does the contract get renewed? What are your options if not?

The contract could be renewed or I could apply for a role there, however ideally I’d like to use this role to leave government completely.

Ideally I’d like to get a normal employed role in private sector eg a senior data scientist at a tech or finance company. I would be paid more than the contracting role.

The contracting role gives me more hands on technical experience as opposed to government specific firefighting in my current role ie dealing with policy doesn’t necessarily translate well to private. But I think I could highlight those skills more in the contracting position.

Option C is definitely seek work elsewhere, I haven’t stopped the job search now. I had an interview with a large tech company recently but it’s multiple stages and I wasn’t sure whether to wait it out or just take this contract.

I'd take the job, unless there is another role within CS you could side move into which is a different team, better pay and WFH?

Ahhh thanks. I don’t think the pension transfers across but I haven’t received all the paperwork (as I haven’t accepted the offer yet.) I’m glad it worked out for you.

If I’m speaking purely pragmatically, I understand why the role is being offered as a contract as the department is publicly going through recruitment freezes/money issues. I’m totally happy to keep applying for roles with the view of the contract not being extended. I’ve only been applying for new roles for a month, it’s possible I could secure something else! But yeah, I’m absolutely trying to escape current role.

Given the job market at the moment, I’d be very wary of taking a fixed term contract. But having said that, I don’t know your skills and experience.

@AgnesX well the £12k payrise is welcome. I can already cover my bills on current income so that would pad savings out.

I would say that the CS isn’t competitive on pay for data science type roles. It’s possible I could secure permanent employment elsewhere if I kept looking, but I guess my current environment is untenable so I don’t feel I have that luxury.

@ShesTheAlbatross I have a maths/computer science degree and previously worked as a data scientist, working my way up to a managerial role now. Almost 10 years of technical experience although I’m not very technical in my current role.

So far, I’ve had 3 interviews since looking for roles. I feel my sector is in relatively high demand if I can showcase the right tech stack… the contracting role would get me there. At the moment by biggest barrier is evidencing my technical skills as I’m a leader/oversee now.

I would say go for it. It will give you the skills and experience you need to progress in your career plus a 12k pay rise. I would save as much as I could during the year just in the case when the fixed term ends you have nothing else lined up. You say your current job is awful so why stay. It's always risky leaving a job where you have been for a long time and start again but you need to make the move at some point and this appears a good opportunity. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I'm very risk averse and have had similar thoughts of giving up secure FT work for contracts (why are the roles that look good always FTC?!) but have ultimately stayed put. Difference being I don't have a horrible FT job.
In your situation I think I would be leaving.
However I would bank the £12k pay rise into savings and ensure I had at least 3 months of living costs to one side before I started spending any of it, so that should the contract end and it was a struggle to find anything else I had a buffer.

If you’re using it to up skill /get better experience to help with future career development then I’d say go for it.

And save the salary difference so you have a buffer when the contract ends.

Ahhh new employer has chased for a decision. They emailed wanting permission to seek a reference and asked if I/they can negotiate an early exit to start sooner.

The issue I have is that I haven’t been given an offer of employment yet as it’s contingent on references, so I feel worried about giving notice in the first place.

Also given the issues at work, I’m not entirely sure a reference would be timely or accurate, I think my immediate management would be pissed I didn’t tell them I applied for new roles so if it falls through, things would get worse at work. Fuck