Facing a career choice

[tous]

No hankering to return to CERN?

[devildog2067]

28 minutes ago, tous said:

No hankering to return to CERN?

That door closed long ago. I'm 8 years out of date by now. Also, I make 7x what I would make if I went back...

But if I win the lottery tomorrow and don't have to worry about money, I would go back to teaching at university. I miss physics a lot. Just not enough to subject myself to what a university professor career entails.

[ASH]

i dont know you but i got some advice .   my dad worked his ass off up until he died of cancer at age 70 , 6 months after retiring  his side job . we farmed our whole lives,  on his death bed  he made me promise  to stop and smell the roses  .  do what makes you happy  and make a good living ,   im retired  now at age 50   i still get alot of income from other ventures  but when daughters growing up and now my grand kid takes priority.  

he told me he wished he would have taken me fishing more as a kid ,  or spend more time with me growing up , and that his generation was work work work ,  back then people worked their asses off for nothing  hardly.  after

he died i went thru some pay records  of when working in tobacco  you could call your friends   for help or other people . i was set back alittle after working in tobacco most from 6 am to 6 pm  made 40 dollars .   

 

meaning of story  id do the job where you can make money and live comfy  and spend family time , that time you will get back and wish you could.  good luck on your  queries  

[Swampfox762]

5 hours ago, devildog2067 said:

What does the braintrust here think? My ego says I want to be in charge but my brain says getting paid a lot to give advice is an easier, less risky, more fun and will probably give me more time with my family while the kids are young.

Sounds to me like you just answered your own Question!!   Like many have said...."Being the Boss is Over rated".

[Ricordo]

Quote

...promises are cheap.

Other job, on the other hand, says it's a 9-5 and no travel---

By your tag I gather you've heard this before. "Don't worry, it'll only be for six months!"

And then, there are the variants. "You'll love it out there". "Hey, it's easy as pie---more like in-and-out". "Take all the time you want, but it should only take a couple of days, tops!"

Yeah, right.

 

[M&P15T]

Trust me, you don't want to be in charge. That sucks all day, every day, and sometimes on weekends.

[Moshe]

17 hours ago, devildog2067 said:

That door closed long ago. I'm 8 years out of date by now. Also, I make 7x what I would make if I went back...

But if I win the lottery tomorrow and don't have to worry about money, I would go back to teaching at university. I miss physics a lot. Just not enough to subject myself to what a university professor career entails.

I feel you, Universities are about grants, and publishing.  Teaching, well, that is just a side job.  When you are told to write a unique thesis to go on to a doctorates, and you discover recently declassified information to support that thesis, that contradicts a friend of your thesis advisor.  Then you are told to get rid of the information in the name of academic politics as if you never found it, well, you say screw it I am out.  That led to a lengthy law enforcement career.

[Rabbi]

There is nothing in life as changing as a big liquidity event. 

 

....but it usually doesn’t happen. 

 

Tough choice.  Considering you are still well within the “if I had to I could start over” age range, I would go for it. 

 

Everyone I know that buys jet fuel all end up telling the same joke. “Had I stayed with (insert known company) as an (almost always an engineer)  I would be thinking about retirement now....

As they head for a weekend in Aspen in their plane.

 

Throw the haymaker. 

 

I aint had a real job in a looong long time.  

[Pima Pants]

I remember DevilDog when he was selling cars.

[Paul53]

Seek happiness.

[devildog2067]

On 4/18/2019 at 3:17 PM, SigMan said:

It’s not an easy decision. I moved in that direction although for me it’s more realistically a GC position.  I came to realize that I enjoyed being the one to call the shots. I still find myself occasionally looking at the MIT Executive MBA program, but that path doesn’t make a lot of sense for me. 

I've known corporate attorneys who moved from GC into line management -- one of my old clients went from GC, to P&L owner for a ~$500M business, to CEO of a $14B business in about 5 years (different businesses, but within the same industrial conglomerate).

[geofri]

On 4/21/2019 at 12:17 AM, Pima Pants said:

I remember DevilDog when he was selling cars.

Make Devildog Sell Cars Again!

[Silentpoet]

Which better aligns with your passions and your talents?

[geofri]

On 4/19/2019 at 1:34 PM, Rabbi said:

There is nothing in life as changing as a big liquidity event. 

 

....but it usually doesn’t happen. 

 

Tough choice.  Considering you are still well within the “if I had to I could start over” age range, I would go for it. 

 

Everyone I know that buys jet fuel all end up telling the same joke. “Had I stayed with (insert known company) as an (almost always an engineer)  I would be thinking about retirement now....

As they head for a weekend in Aspen in their plane.

 

Throw the haymaker. 

 

I aint had a real job in a looong long time.  

Hi Rabbi. Long time no see!

You gave me some advice years ago, related to employment/learning/life. It proved out true(~just 6 months ago it really hit home and I remembered what you had said), I just wish I had been a little more mindful of what you said when you said it. 

DevilDog, you already know this, but this guy^ gives good advice.. consider it.

[Rabbi]

16 minutes ago, geofri said:

Hi Rabbi. Long time no see!

You gave me some advice years ago, related to employment/learning/life. It proved out true(~just 6 months ago it really hit home and I remembered what you had said), I just wish I had been a little more mindful of what you said when you said it. 

DevilDog, you already know this, but this guy^ gives good advice.. consider it.

Did I give you the advice about eating yellow snow or making yellow snow by an electric fence?  That is usually really good advice  

[geofri]

14 minutes ago, Rabbi said:

Did I give you the advice about eating yellow snow or making yellow snow by an electric fence?  That is usually really good advice   

something along those lines :E

[tadbart]

I don't believe that "Happiness" and "CEO" can be in the same sentence. That's not a 9-5 gig. And when the board is looking for a head to place on a pike, those people whose title starts with the letter C are pretty tempting targets.

 

If you're banking more than you were at CERN, and investing wisely, and in a job you're both good at and enjoy, I doubt I'd give that up to chase a title with all sorts of responsibility and effort toward the later years of my career.

Edited April 24, 2019 by tadbart

[Al Czervik]

 

Best wishes.  They seem like two very different paths.  Do you have experience managing people and departments?  Most people hate it, few are good at it.

In big businesses in which I am familiar, if you aren't an Executive Director or VP by 35-40, you never will be.

[tous]

1 hour ago, Rabbi said:

Did I give you the advice about eating yellow snow or making yellow snow by an electric fence?  That is usually really good advice  

Can I pee by the electric fence in the summer, when there is no snow?

[Rabbi]

2 minutes ago, tous said:

Can I pee by the electric fence in the summer, when there is no snow?

It is like meddling in the affairs of wizards.  There are risks. 

[Rizzo]

Option 1 sounds the best to me. It just sounds like win-win-win-win; better money in a more stable job you actually like doing that won’t grind down your family time.

Also, the wording on the other job gives me pause: “with some luck I might move into a management role.” But I’m naturally cautious.

Edited April 24, 2019 by Rizzo

[AK_Stick]

On 4/18/2019 at 7:37 AM, devildog2067 said:

So I'm 8 years into a career in consulting, and looking at the next promotion step. I've been offered the opportunity to specialize in my topic of interest (Aerospace & Defense) and be the sector expert for the firm. It's a job I know how to do, that I like, that has a ton of flexibility, that pays really well, and (literally) my days are spent thinking about airplanes and rockets and weapons systems.

On the other hand, I've been asked to come help a fairly well established technology company build a new business in an area I know pretty well (auto). Pay is a bit less than I make now cash, but with equity and stuff it could be more. And the idea is that whoever gets hired for this job is in the line of succession for the guy who runs the overall business, so with some luck I might move into a management role for a multi-hundred-million-dollar P&L in the next 3-5 years.

The real question I'm facing is, what do I want to be when I grow up? If I am content with being a business advisor, then the A&D expert role is basically as good as it gets. But I'm almost 40, and opportunities to actually run something will become fewer and fewer as I start to get senior in consulting. 5 or 10 years from now that door will be closed. So if I think I want to be the CEO of something someday, now is the time to make the switch.

What does the braintrust here think? My ego says I want to be in charge but my brain says getting paid a lot to give advice is an easier, less risky, more fun and will probably give me more time with my family while the kids are young.

easier, less risky, more fun and will probably give me more time with my family while the kids are young.

 

Ego be damned, you only get one chance with the kids to be kids. 

 

I dont have kids, so I get to be the selfish guy, but don’t be the rich old guy regretting trading time with his kids for money in excess of what he needed. 

 

Just my opinion. 

[G19Tony]

When you're at the top, you're one step closer to the door. 

[tous]

In your case, it's a long way down if you go through the door. 

[SC Tiger]

9 hours ago, AK_Stick said:

easier, less risky, more fun and will probably give me more time with my family while the kids are young.

 

Ego be damned, you only get one chance with the kids to be kids. 

 

I dont have kids, so I get to be the selfish guy, but don’t be the rich old guy regretting trading time with his kids for money in excess of what he needed. 

 

Just my opinion. 

The older I get, the more I value family time.  Money is a resource.  If I have enough, the drive for even more just becomes less worth it.