Certification

>>> David Brown (HAVEAJOB@AOL.COM 04/02/98 09:47am>>>
<<Snip>>
> she felt that a 10% raise was not worth her making a move.  Oh
> well....

>>> DAsmussen <DAsmussen@aol.com> 04/02/98 07:01pm >>>
>Doooh!  What is _UP_ with this??!!  Is the "6% increase warrants a
> job change" rule no longer in force?
<<Snip>>
> Why the _HECK_ did you get into this business, then?  
<<Snip>>

Well, I'd say it depends on the "business" you're in.  IF, in this
industry, one wants to pursue the real money and varied technical
challenges, one obviously chooses to be a consultant.  At that point,
I'd have to agree with you - constant travel is the norm and why the
heck would one turn down a full year contract (presuming you were
offering market values in terms of cash)?  

But, if one expressly chooses the warm & comfy security blanket of a
permanent position, then other things start to factor in. I've
personally twice turned down offers from outside employers for
more than 10% increases in salary.  The reasons are varied and not
limited to simply "I like the security of 8-5" (which isn't even
guaranteed anyway - I get my share of "HELP THE NIGHTLY BATCH JOB
PUKED" calls @11:00 pm :))  Other things weigh in too, like A) I like
where I live - my family moved a lot so I never spent more than 1
year in any place growing up 'till I was a teenager...I'd kinda like to
spare my kids that constant uprooting; B) I get exceptional bennies
where I work...6 weeks paid time off, very nice health care for me &
my family, employer paid pension AND matching dollars into the
employee investment plan, etc...those are worth a lot even in
absolute dollar terms; C) I've built a certain reputation in my office
as the resident "propeller head" which gives me both the respect of
my co-workers as well as a pretty broad purview for interesting
assignments (such as they are - we ain't exactly bleeding edge here :))
- I'd have to rebuild that somewhere else. 

Anyway, point is, it's not always strictly "money .vs. time at home" - if it
was, I'd quit here, start my own business and work from home - then
I'd have the money AND be home 100% of the time, see the kiddies
every day, etc.!  Now admittedly, there's no guarantee that I won't
change my outlook some time - being a cube dweller isn't all THAT
exciting.  But right now, looking at all the factors, someone'd
probably have to offer REALLY big % increases (or some NFL team
would have to decide they needed an slightly old, slightly
under-sized, slightly un-talented nose tackle :)) - to get me outta
here.  Thus, it make perfect sense to me that "10% just ain't
enough..." to switch permanent positions and definitely isn't enough to
jump into the consulting area.  At least not for me, maybe not for
David's client, and maybe not for a lot of people.  It's a "sellers"
market for IT talent these days, and people can afford to be
choosey, especially if they're not in all that much of a hurry to bail
out of what they're currently in.

FWIW
Scott Cornell
Mercy Information Systems
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