I've been having a bit of a dilemma for the last few days so I thought the community could probably help me out a bit :) I need to make a decision by this Friday.

My dilemma is that Company A is offering me £2k more than Company B but if my performance is consistent, Company B will offer me more in the long run (as in salary, benefits etc). Company A is in Energy and Company B is in Finance.

It takes me 1hour to get from my house to Company A but 2hrs30mins to get from my house to Company B. My intentions are to relocate but I will want to visit family every now and then.

I have some friends located in Area A (Company A Area) so relocating there wouldn't cause me any problems. Relocating to Area B won't be as easy as I don't know anyone in that area. I'm very sociable and make friends easily but would prefer to be around people that I already know.

Both companies offer similar benefits such as share incentive schemes, pensions etc and are relatively large organisations.

My long term goal is to become a qualified actuary so as soon as I find a company which is willing to pay for my study support with a decent salary, I'll most likely be out. It is very possible that this might not occur and that I might decide to choose a different career path in the future.

Taking all of this into account, which would you personally choose? Company A or Company B?

anybody?

A. It seems the only benefit in the OP for B is the potential to make more money in the long run. Would that happen fast enough though to make it worth it, especially since you have that long term goal?

No it wouldn't. B, however, is ranked as the #1 consultancy in the markeet and has relations with all the major retail banks opening up new opportunities. Do you think that would affect your opinion?

Energy is more stable then Finance, go A.
Pick the one that seems more fun to do.

B is a rapidly growing credit agency who plan to expand into East Asia. The banks provide them with customer data and they create the credit scoring system. They analyse the risk associated with lending for the banks.

I think I would enjoy both positions to be honest and I'm leaning towards A but while A may be more convenient, B obviously opens up more doors if I do decide not to become an actuary.

It seems you're more excited about what B is doing. Since you're still young settling for the more convenient option might be a bit early as well.
I don't know what company A does, but your description of B's plan seem to fit your plans to become an actuary.

Company A sounds like a clear winner.

A.

Far shorter commute

Energy seems to make decent money and return (even though it rips everybody off in the UK!), but the finance based industry is far too risky and untrustworthy I think.

Also, surely it would be better to be closer to friends and family, no amount of money could replace that. Even better that A pays more then.

Anyway, i don't know what an actuary is but, good luck.

Thanks :)

An actuary is an individual who uses statistics to identify the financial risk associated with things such as insurance, pensions and investments. There are also a number of exams that you have to do to become part/fully qualified and the average pass rate over all the exams is 40% lol