New job decision of my own...

I have an opportunity to make some decent money ($30-35,000) but I need training first. The training is in Louisville, KY. I will have to find my own way there, pay for my own lodging (<>$300) and then get back here again afterwards.

Once I get this job, I will have to stay there a minimum of one year to work off the training fees. Once that is done I can choose to remain there, or take my training and go to some other company. Two years of experience would be better, as that's a common minimum experience level in the industry.

Or, I can stay where I am, making minimum wage at Quiznos. :greenface

What to do, what to do. I have until three pm on Friday to decide.

Go with the money :yelgreedy ... or go with the bird in hand approach :unsure:

I also worry that my car won't make a 1200 mile round trip, over at least one big mountain. I guess I *could* go Greyhound, and take a cab from the station to the facility...or mebbe Amtrak will get me there. I'd rather have a vehicle available when I arrive...I'm just that kind of guy, ya know? I prefer to have transportation on demand if possible. I don't know about the public transport in Louisville. I'll check on it. Looks like a late night doing research. Oh yeah, no internet access while I'm there too. :(

Brian

Christ go for it.

seems to me that upgrading your skills is worth sticking out a year or two in just about any job. louisville also had some enjoyable establishments to hang out in if memory serves correctly.

I have to agree with these guys. The trouble with choosing for short term needs ( ie staying in your current job ) comes in two years down the line when you would ( if you choose the new skills) have finished anyway *chuckles* thats when you think "sod...I should have taken the opportunity, I'd be qualified by now if I had" or words to that effect....Leastways that's my experience.

Perhaps I'm not the best person to comment here...but which one's going to get you what you want 'right now'...and which one's going to get you what you want 'down the road'?

have you thought about chucking it all for a life in the porn industry? i hear that can be lucrative. :eyebrow:

Or just lubricative ( I dont know but i think Ijust invented a word)

lookout123 wrote:

seems to me that upgrading your skills is worth sticking out a year or two in just about any job.

...And you can always go back to Quiznos.
Go for it!
- Pie

Umm....*raises hand politely* Maybe a touch late in the day but what is "Quiznos"?

A toasted sandwich restaurant franchise.

DanaC wrote:

Umm....*raises hand politely* Maybe a touch late in the day but what is "Quiznos"?

have you seen the commercial with the really obnoxious screachy little retarded animal things??? that is quizno's.. but the food is great.

DanaC wrote:

Umm....*raises hand politely* Maybe a touch late in the day but what is "Quiznos"?

Black Angus beef, rosemary bread, mozarella cheese, special sauce...


*zombie*Send more Quizno's*/zombie*

havent seen the advert.....food sounds delish

DanaC wrote:

havent seen the advert.....food sounds delish

Pricey, but good.

http://www.quiznos.com/

you've found it! those things are just creepy. they are like a cross between a hamster and timmy from south park.

They are Spongmonkeys!

edit: And this article has links to the commercial.

lookout123 wrote:

have you thought about chucking it all for a life in the porn industry? i hear that can be lucrative. :eyebrow:

Been there, done that. More poontang than I can shake a stick at, which I didn't get much of ;), but no real money. I gave it up after less than a year.

I can still go back to it if I choose to...I've had requests :eek: but I think by now I'm too fat and old and I don't want to be the next Ron Jeremy :greenface

I wanna take this opportunity, it's just the upfront costs are more than I have right now, and I do NOT want to borrow any more money than I already have.

My biggest fear is that I will get halfway there and my transmission will finally give out in some Godforsaken part of rural West Virginia. Maybe I can borrow a car or something. Bruce? Can I borrow your Chevy? ;) Just kidding.

I have a lot of thinking to do yet. Pros and cons galore! I LIVE for this sh*t!

Brian

I got hammered hard on a local site when I professed my love of Quizno's...you're not allowed to like chain restaurants if you live in Philadelphia.

Fuck them...Quizno's makes a mighty fine sandwich.

BrianR wrote:

.

My biggest fear is that I will get halfway there and my transmission will finally give out in some Godforsaken part of rural West Virginia.
Brian

Well, I DID hear they were remaking Deliverance.....perhaps you could be an extra if that happens. *ducking*:D

I love the spongmonkeys campaign. I sing their little song to myself on occasion. Any advertisement that makes me actively look for it to come on again to make sure I didn't hallucinate the whole thing--now that's a good ad. And I agree syc, they do make a damn fine sandwich.

lookout123 wrote:

have you thought about chucking it all for a life in the porn industry? i hear that can be lucrative. :eyebrow:

He's already been there and done that, IIRC.

sycamore wrote:

I got hammered hard on a local site when I professed my love of Quizno's...you're not allowed to like chain restaurants if you live in Philadelphia.

You just aren't allowed to like chain restaurants that make anything on a long roll involving meats, cheese, lettuce, and oils, even if they aren't actually called hoagies or really resemble them to any great degree.

Further information:

ONE of the two companies is offering a $1000 signing bonus, but it's not the one I'm leaning toward.

I can always make it a road trip on my motorcycle (after I fix it that is), but that'll cost me a seriously sore butt.

The company will loan me the lodging money but it'll cost another $100 to pay it back (can you say usury? Sure, I knew you could!), keeping me in their debt that much longer.

Still thinking hard on the subject. I sure could use the money, and steady work isn't to obad either, it allows me to reclaim my masculine identity. On the other hand, it'll be tough to claim I'm disabled if I make that much money in a demanding job. Of course, it's only two years, then I can move my skills to a more local, user-friendly company. What's a few more gray hairs between friends, right?

I hope this doesn't keep me up nights...

Brian

i don't know if this would apply to this situation, but it is fairly common in some industries... mine, for example.

if i leave my company of my own free will to work for another, within the next 30 months, i have to stroke them a check for $75000 to repay training costs. if however i am asked to leave due to performance issues i walk away free and clear.

i have no intention of doing that i absolutely love the firm i'm with, but might something along those lines work for you?

take the sweeter package available for training then not perform to expectations causing them to dismiss you so you can go to the firm you really want to be with, who you would of course stay in touch with the whole time... kind of convoluted, but beneficial?

oh, and i hate to sound really stupid, but what is "IIRC"? i'm not familiar with that one.

"If I Recall Correctly"

And holy shit, your training cost them $75K? Or should that be $7500?

$75large, 3 zeros, yep, that's it...
yes, $75,000

and thanks for the IIRC education

Seems to me that having to pay 75K to leave would be enough of a deterrent, to keep some people on the job that were very unhappy. That's not smart business because seriously disgruntled employees can destroy the company. :confused:

So Brian, what did you end up deciding to do? You gonna take the new job and do the training or stick with Quizno's?

It doesn't seem like being recently fired in the field you're looking for a job in is exactly the best kind of resume padding.

Aside from that, though, what sort of a job are you looking at/we discussing? More curious than anything.

I am still talking...I had to wait until I got my hands on my DD214 (military discharge papers) before I sent in my package. Those are the important part because they cover so many years (DOT needs the last ten years history covered). I am sending the whole shebang off tomorrow after I fill out some form or other they need.

Brian the sandwich guy

BrianR--is this job something you want to do? Taking a job strictly for the money is never worth it...at least in my experience. Working soul-crushing, mind-numbing jobs is how I got into the mess I am currently in. I've been out of work a month and still don't feel completely human yet.

Have you ever been to Louisville?

I do enjoy driving, like to "be my own boss", enjoy a challenge and I am occasionally afflicted with wanderlust. Personally, I would prefer to work from home or do the nine to five thing, but this will do. I do not have the skills to do more cerebral things, nor the education to find a better paying job without years of college and/or training.

And no, I've never been to Louisville, but would go if the opportunity arose.

You mention that you are disabled. Have you ever looked into the Bureau of Vocational Rehabilitation? They will send you to school!

Is it military disability? Or regular-Joe disability?

I hate to be the voice of skepticism here, but are we talking about truck driving school, here? 'Cause they are widely known (in my part of the country, anyway) as *major* scams.

I would be concerned about any place that was going to train me, and then indenture me for a couple of years. What's to keep them from canning you and demanding repayment of the training?

I probably missed something in this rather long thread, but we had hundreds of people get big time hosed here in KC over a truck driving school deal.

Nothing keeps them from canning me and demanding payment, but it doesn't make sense to me. They'll get it from my paychecks anyway...plus interest. I fail to see the motivation, unless they PLAN on scamming me, having no actual truck fleets. THe school itself is a nationally accredited school and is paid for by the trucking line, and I repay for a year. I can pay back sooner if I wish. Seems like too much trouble to get a measly $1000 to me. Schneider is also a national company with decent credentials, and is known by a few truckers that I know and trust. They don't know anything BAD, but haven't heard much good either. It's a lack of a bad rep that I'm counting on. The O/Os tend to know everything from rubbing elbows with the company drivers at truck stops. And my neighbor used to OWN a truck stop. He heard it ALL.

I'm still exploring...I send the info packet today. We'll see what happens.

Brian

Probably not a scam. Many of the big operators a hurting for drivers and newbies work cheaper. :)