Need Career Advice/To Vent

[Tedium]

As some of you may recall, I'm the Front Desk Manager at a hotel. I've been actively looking for new work for the past year or so. One of the things that I don't like is that I don't have any benefits in my position. I also don't get paid a heck of a lot. And, to top it all off, this job really interferes with my studies and any sort of volunteer work, because I never know when a clerk will call in and I'll have to cover the shift. If I can't plan my down time, I can't get a whole lot done, you know? It's been that way for the 6 1/2 years I've been working hotels. I have also reached a plateau when it comes to advancement. It's an independent hotel, and the next position up is general manager, and I don't see my current boss leaving anytime soon.

I took and passed the civil service exam in my state and have been applying to different state-level jobs since September. I even applied to jobs with an hour or more commute, to show you how badly I wanted out of the hotel industry. Well, I finally found a job in my town, and I have a phone interview scheduled at the end of the month. I am one of the 8 that got narrowed down from 54 applicants. If I do well, me and two other applicants have a face-to-face interview the next day. It's for an admin. coordinator position making $1.35 less per hour than I was making at the time I applied, but with full state benefits, a set schedule, PTO, and since it's at a community college, after a year I can get a 6 credit per semester tuition waiver for any community college in the state. Not that I'll really need the waiver with a BA, but it may be useful to take some business courses, if only just to help my overall GPA and take care of pre-reqs for graduate school. Plus, after 6 months, I can move to another job within the state system and there is forgiveness of student loans after 10 years. Sounds like a no brainer, right? Not so much.

Unknown to me, my GM surprised me for the new year with a raise of $2.50 per hour, because of the good job I'm doing. So now the salary difference is a little harder for me to swallow. $3.85/hour extra may not be a lot to some people, but it is to me. I can get on my wife's insurance, in March I believe, so that's not a huge issue. I was more in love with the state job because of the freedom it would afford me to get on with graduate school and my life in general. Seven years ago, the hours working at a hotel did not bother me, but they definitely do now.

So, I'm at a loss for what to do. Do I take this step back in order to move forward at some undetermined time in the future? I told my wife I didn't mind doing that because I could move around to other open positions once I got my foot in the door with the state, after 6 months. That was when the step back was not so far, though. Or do I suck it up for a while longer, wait for something better to come along so the pay cut won't hurt so much? Hospitality was always going to be a temporary industry for me. It just happens that it's taken me a long time to figure out where I want to go in life.

What do you guys think about all of this?

[davewill]

Take the job want, especially if there's room for growth. A couple of bucks an hour won't make up for a lack of job satisfaction.

[passit1]

I took a $5k pay cut to get out of my pigeonhole with no advancement opportunities. The pay cut hurt. The step backwards in my career is painful since I report to folks who are much less experienced managers than I was. However, I have learned things about operations I couldn't in my previous industry and I have the time to update my resume, apply to jobs and network. This meant I finally got the Amazon interview I wanted and it's scheduled for the end of this month.

If Amazon turns out to be what I'm looking for and I get the position, I'll be all like, "a tactical retreat is sometimes the best strategy" and if it doesn't I'll say " never give up, never surrender!".

It all comes down to calculated risk and how much risk you can take. But remember, without changing variables the experiment will always have the same outcome.

[dseminario1]

I think it really depends on your situation. If money is really an issue then the Hotel is a no brainer, but if that's not it...I think you should take one step back in order to take two steps forward.

It seems you are really passionate about the state job opportunity and you are really miserable at your current job...but it comes down to your current finances.

[cookderosa]

Hospitality, restaurants, hotels, service industry IN GENERAL will always welcome you back. Also, as you know, they'll use you mercilessly. It's a hard way to make a living. No matter the wage, the working conditions will always be the same, so you have to look big picture.

If you decide to stay- I have a few suggestions. Go with larger brands, especially those with more locations and internal management training programs like Marriott. These guys actually encourage internal promotion up and off the floor, so you could continue schooling online and still work your way to the top. In addition, you'd get benefits and have more opportunities for relocation if the desire arose. Of course it is still a million unpredictable hours a week dealing with guests and high hourly turnover.

That said, sometimes exit and reentry is the only way to earn a living in this field. You've probably already observed this- but someone gets hired for $35k and then each year the hiring wage goes up 3-5% to be competitive with industry. Employees already employed are instead getting raises based on standard of living or time served- maybe something like 2-3%. For an employee who stays put for 10 years, it's likely that a new hire will come in at a HIGHER pay than a long time loyal employee. The only way to beat that system is to exit and re-enter at a new job every 3-6 years (salary) or 1-3 years (hourly). I've had co-workers leave jobs for 25c more an hour down the street or a better title for the same money.

My point is- you have to be strategic in this field or you'll get stuck in a rut. I was the chef at a hotel chain when I went into a community college. It's an entirely different world, where people expect regular hours, consistent schedules, and benefits. If I can be honest, the community college atmosphere is a little whiney overall (maybe I'm more sensitive to it because there's no crying in hospitality- just do it) but I was happy with the change. I worked 18 years at the community college before I left to move with my husband across the country for a new job. He left the hotel/restaurant world to teach at a culinary university, we are on year 3. He logged 25 years before landing softly in higher education. It's a nice place to go after a lot of years on your feet- but it all depends on where you see yourself.

My overall advice is even if you stay in your industry, you have to be more deliberate in planning your future or it'll eat you alive.

[sanantone]

I took a pay cut when I went from being a corrections officer to a substance abuse counselor because I have to start at the intern level. Internships are much harder to find than corrections jobs, so I took the opportunity when I could. I had been searching for an internship for years. Another reason why I left the corrections job is because I was only interested in going through the peace officer academy and going on patrol. Once I found out that we had a bunch of miserable peace officers stuck working in the jail years after graduating from the academy, I looked for an exit. I never wanted to do corrections long-term. I can always go get a corrections job in a bigger county with much better pay and benefits while having the flexibility of moving to another position within the county as an internal applicant.

In the future, I will definitely be looking to go back to working for the government as a counselor or something else. While I have never come across a government agency in Texas with good educational benefits (it doesn't really matter since I have my degrees anyway), there is rarely a private organization here with better retirement and insurance benefits. I also like the security of unions and civil service. We don't have a strong union presence in the private sector here.

[AngelaP]

OK here is my 2 cents :willynilly:

First you need to pass the phone interview, face-to-face interview and be offered the job. If you are, I would suggest you accept it. I know you may take a cut in pay, but you will more than make up for this with the benefits and quality of life. In addition, your opportunities with the government far outweigh the ones you have now.

Either way, good luck to you!

[jawbreakingrr]

Just like AngelaP stated. Continue with the hiring process and if they select you then you have a dilemma to decide which job you want. My brother is going through the same thing. He's a banker and has been with his company for four years he hates it and wants to leave badly. He's trying to get into law enforcement, which is extremely hard in NJ. He also, has a BS in CJ with a minor in Business. Unfortunately he has not taken any stepping stone jobs, because he doesn't want to take a pay cut. Just like others stated here sometimes you have to take a step back to move two or more steps back. I would go with the CC Job network and if you want a year later move through the state system. Good Luck!!!

[Tedium]

I did the phone interview and I was selected to go on to the face-to-face the next day. That was last Thursday, so I'm still waiting to hear back. If I get a call and a letter, that means I made it. If I just get the letter, I didn't. The only problem is that I forgot to ask when I should expect to hear back either way. banghead

@passit1 - What you said mirrors my reasoning for wanting to take the state job. I am definitely trying to change the variables. Actually, I want to have the last two sentences of your post printed on a t-shirt. Fantastic advice.

@cookderosa - I was hoping you would comment. I am definitely in a rut at the current job, so even if I don't get the state job, I know it's time to move on soon anyway. Like you said, I know some hotel somewhere would always welcome me back, just like they did the last time I ventured out of the industry. I also know that the industry will continue eating my face at every turn, which just crushes my prospects of grad school. I may not mind it once I'm done with school, but right now it's just a horrible fit.

Thank you all for your comments and advice. It's much appreciated. I'll keep you all updated once I find out if I got the job.

[Leherself]

If my experience with government work is anything to go by, it might be a while. I remember I applied in October, interviewed in early December, found out I was hired in late January, and finally started in mid-February. And I've been told that was faster than average by far! Madness, imo.

Maybe your state government is more efficient? I certainly hope so!