ronan_in_Oz

Some of you might have observed that I was hibernating for a long time (about 2 months) before resurfacing again on B.E recently.

The good news is that I'm finally in Melbourne. It’s been 2 1/2 months now and I'm enjoying it here. It was an awesome journey. It took me 2 months, 100s of job applications, couple of Interviews and I have finally managed to get 2 job offers.

Now comes the tricky part. I have been offered a permanent position in Melbourne and a Contracting opportunity in Sydney. The permanent job won't pay me much 80K-90K approximately. The contracting job in Sydney on the other hand is very lucrative. I'm in a dilemma now.

What would you do if you were in my position?

JAJ

Is the permanent position in a company you would aspire to stay in for the long term? Is it a good employer, good prospects, a set of values/culture where you believe you'll fit in, does the work fit well with your skill set, etc?

Moving to Sydney - do you want to move for reasons other than employment?

Amazulu

Contracting always. Permie is for people with no balls, who like to be paid less and want, so called, job security.

Buzzy--Bee

Depends.

As Amazulu says, permanent isn't much more secure than contracting really, although my employer always says if there are redundancies, the contractors would go first. That doesn't always apply in the real world.

I would take the permie position because I have family to support and like the security of a steady income with the paid leave etc. You may be younger and freer and less risk-averse.

BB

ronan_in_Oz

To be honest the Permanent opportunity is from a not so big company and I feel there won't be much for me to learn there. The only thing that attracts me to this position is the "Permanent" tag attached to it.

Regarding moving to Sydney, I don't have any other reasons apart from the employment thing. However the employer is really good and very well known. I'm sure this contract position will definitely help me learn a lot.

There is one question for you Jaj. My wife will be starting the Spouse visa application soon. Do you believe it makes our case stronger if I'm in a Permanent job. Do you think if Permanent or Contract thing can have any impact on the Spouse visa?

ronan_in_Oz

You are right and I'm with you on this. But don't you think it is painful to start a job search again once your contract expires?

I have done this job searching thing for like 2 months now and trust me, I'm exhausted. May be I'm getting old.

ronan_in_Oz

Have a question on the paid leave thing. Can't I or Am I not eligible for leaves in a contracting position? Are there any restrictions as such. I would love to take time off work every year and go on a short vacation.

I'm young and married (with no kids). Job security is the only thing that attracts me to a permanent job.

Amazulu

It doesn't exist - and you are kidding yourself if you think that it does. As for leave, I budget on working 44 weeks a year and allow 8 weeks for leave, public holidays, sick etc.

Take leave during your contract or between contracts.

mpgrewal

Hello mate, Welcome to Melbourne. Firstly 85K is a great salary in IT, may be it gets belittled when compared to huge stacks coming from Contracting.. :-)

My suggestion will be go wherever work is good. Where you will feel encouraged to go to work and will add up to your skill set and align to your future goals.

freebo

Contracting, especially when the market is booming - like now, I've contracted for 18 of my 24 years in IT - usual contract duration has been 2+ years, one was 5+ years.

Amazulu

Yeah, looking for a new job sucks the big one.

A necessary eveil unfortunately.

itxrd

If you work in IT you should be able to do a search ;-)

And contract

Buzzy--Bee

I do not believe that an employer is required to give either paid or unpaid leave to a contractor.

In many companies contractors get worked to the bone doing very long hours and all the projects that the permies don't want. Mind you some permies get worked very long hours too. But contractors get the brunt of it. You may find that the contract job you've been offered, while having a greater total salary, actually works out to be less per hour than the permie job.

BB

IvanM

What is the position better suited to yourself and your career path? Which company is better to work for?

Which city do you prefer?

Money should be last in your considerations in landing your first job. This is the position you use to build your reputation, contacts and finally the one you want.

Congratulations as you are in a good position.

mpgrewal

Can't agree more. Once you start a job, its very difficult to hurriedly leave it as all your future employers will do a reference check by calling your previous employers.. Leaving soon by making your current employer unhappy will haunt you forever. So choose the first job carefully by weighing all options.