Real-Life Decision Making -- Solution
You take the pay cut for better benefits and expanded experience.
Not one to jump to conclusions, you listen to the offer that was given
for the new job. Then you ask for some time to think about it before answering.
The company is happy to give you a couple of days to make a decision.
The first thing you do is to average out the savings that you would have
because of the lower cost of health benefits with the new job. It turns out
that the new plan only costs about half as much as what you're paying
now -- and the benefits you have now aren't as good as they are on the
new plan. That difference will save you nearly $3,000 a year.
That savings reduces the amount of money that you would actually lose if
you take the new job. The value of the benefits turns out to be much better
than you first imagined. At the same time, the thought of new experiences
and using skills that you learned but haven't put to use makes the offer
very attractive.
You decide to take the new job. It turns out to be a good move for you.
You find yourself more invigorated by your work. For the minimal amount of
money that you lost, you find that the job is worth it.
"I loved the design work, and the types of projects I was doing with my
first job were great," says Amy Johnson. She is an irrigation specialist.
"But I made the move to the second company because I wanted to see how other
companies worked and I wanted to broaden my knowledge. It's still based
within irrigation, but there are lots more things to do with this company.
I love what I do."