Ever had that moment in your life when you knew: This choice will depend a lot about my future and I want to make the right one?! 

I've come before such a point.

I've been job-hunting for a steady job to go to after my studies. I've done a bachelor in Business-administration and a master in Management-consultancy. Now, I happen upon two awesome jobs at the same time, one I'm just hired on, the other close to being hired. The one I'm hired on is a traineeship for project-controller where you spent most of the time in project-groups or as interimmer. The one I'm close to being hired on (only one more interview to go) is a job as junior-consultant for a large and international firm.

Both have their pro's en cons of course.

The traineeship is an immidiate full-year contract, and you have classmates following this traineeship so you have a more closely knit team. In contents, the funcion is of course incredibly finance related and though not my specialty I have proven myself in this field. The job-description also lists this job as basically one level below mine which should make it easier all given and taken. I also know I can excell in this job, perhaps more so as in the other function I have open. Still, choosing this job might lead my career to a rather one sided affair - project controller for the government. Different projects of course but it would be all rather limited from what I heard.

The junior consultant job is of course a logical step into my career. It's actually what I have been aspiring to and getting a job into this industry is incredibly tough, making the final reward more the sweeter. The function is, however a lot more focussed on independence and an incredibly steep learning curve and this jagges up the difficulty a lot. In return the educational rewards are big. Free home-schooling with programs I can pick and chose, an educational budget and a training in America where I have always wanted to go. I also get a car on the business' expense. Return is that I get some harsh judgemental factors - I have to get my drivers-licence in a few months and finish my thesis in time. When it comes to the job, I'm on the cutting edge between strategy and ICT within healthcare and governmental organizations, the perfect branche for me. I'll be doing descriptions, testing of  systems, giving training and eventually, advise on the best business IT solutions. Which is quite well even though I have no experience in ICT-advice. Yet if I do this and I'm good enough, I'm set for life as a consultant which is still my passion.

Anyone ever had such an experience? It's a gamble of course and I don't expect anyone to make this choice for me. I was hoping for more people who ever had such an issue, what their choice was, what followed. And I just needed some place to write this down. Fucking luxery problem.

tl;dr - gotta choose between two awesome jobs and hope for some other peoples stories.

I was in a similar position. In college I was finishing up my bachelors in psychology, and decided I didn't want to become a psychologist... which basically left me with the option of Research psychologist. However, then I took a class in consumer psychology... it was amazing, interesting, fun.... when everyone else in the class struggled I seemed to succeed, it is a VERY cutthroat business that in fact is a consulting job. So in a way, I was in a position exactly like yours. One job that was safe, good money, comfortable... another that was risky as hell, involved a lot of self motivation and in general being amazing... but it paid ridiculously well.

I looked at my problem like this.

If I chose the risky route and fail... although it may take me longer... nothing prevented me from getting the safe jobs later.

If I chose the risky route and succeeded... well that would be the best outcome of them all!

If I failed at the safe job, no matter how unlike that was, I wouldn't of been able to succeed at the risky job either...

and If i succeeded at the safe job... well that's just my job, and i'll have never known.

I decided to go the second route, and started taking a bunch of business side classes that would help. Then personal issues with someone close to me happened... and really didn't get a chance to do either right away.

Afterwords, my girlfriend found a field she was interested in and I decided to support her instead, since really only one of us would be able to go to graduate school financially... and she cares a lot more about what she does for a living then I do... and after she gets her job, nothing is still stopping me from doing whatever I want. In fact, once she graduates i plan to try an even riskier move.


So, while I can't tell you if my thought processed worked or not... in a way, it's probably better I can't since it would just be anecdotal anyway. Either way, I don't regret it... yet I would have regretted it if I went the other way, because I would of wasted just as much time and would of been less happy wasting it.

I know what you mean Kasz. I am leaning to the consultant-job which is a lot more riskier. the problem is, the traineeship starts on april 1st and I have my interview probably at the start of next week so, afterhand chosing the safer job is not an option. I'd take a huge gamble by passing up the traineeship, then failing the final interview for the consultant role. I'm still pretty confident that I could get the job though. But, I need one either this month or the next or I'll have a problem paying rent etc.

Thanks for the advice and your story anyway Kasz. I lean towards your side. I also hope your ballsier move pays off!

Finding a job at all is difficult.

Good luck on finding one.

I have taken the risky route.. didn't really crashed and burned.. I was my own Design company for a while.. and then I settled with teaching and taking a job at a design company.. but to be honest.. while I'm a junior project manager.. I wish i still had my own Design company.. While it's much harder to succeed in that business alone.. it's far more fun, testing myself to become better and better.. experiencing far more then I do now... taking crazy jobs my current company doesn't do or has other people hired to do them.. from Posters to books and from videoclips to animations.. I did it alone.

You sound like a mate of mine. Currently a designer for a company but he feels that he is spending way too much time on things an intern should do because there is no suitable project. He's strongly thinking about starting his own company.

I think the Bureau wanting me for a traineeship is winning me over. They called today after I told them that I do have another offer running. They asked if they had to compete or let me sit on it. I said it was the second thing. They called me an hour later, wether i'm interested in a interim-function at a major hospital on one side fixing the menial administrative business but from what I heard and what I proposed is that I will try to revamp the whole department. Alongside the traineeship that is. An incredibly difficult yet exhilerating task which, if succesful enough should set me up quite well as a healthcare consultant/financial as well.

So now leaning back towards the traineeship. I got the interview for that job tomorow afternoon.

Unemployment for people with educations has gone down over the last 2 years, not up.

The huge unemployment issues we have now, is manufacturing and retail. Not office work.