Give me your opinion........

Ok... You all know that I have this job interview tomorrow at noon for the corp. office admin. position which is full time with benefits and a starting salary that I would require to send my kids to daycare everyday. You also all know that I am in the process of getting my license to teach aerobic group exercise. WELL........here's where I need some advice. I get approached at the gym today by the fitness coordinator and she asks me if I would be able to work some evenings like 4-9pm two or 3 days a week beginning in Sept. (they don't know about my interview tomorrow) I said, "Sure I don't see why not...what's up?" Turns out they have an opening for a PERSONAL TRAINER and they want ME to have the job!! I would have to take a 3 day class in NY before Sept....fully paid by them. So I would be a personal trainer 2-3 nights a week and teach class 2 mornings a week. (I was offered a new cardio class to be mine yesterday if I want it). She also told me that once my foot is in the door that I will be able to pick up more hours as they become available. Now I know the hours are less and to start the pay is less but fitness is where my heart is right now and I am afraid that if I work full time in an office that I will get lackadaisical and start skipping the gym. You all know me pretty well...what do you think I should do? Dawn

Keep your options open. You know how I feel, its all about what makes you happiest. Good luck hon. hugs, kristi

Thats a toughie... here are some questions/thoughts: 1.) Do you or your kids have benefits now? If not, then take try to get benefits first. This is so very important. 2.) May a chart and do time w/ kids in office job vs. time w/ kids in gym job(s). 3.) Follow your heart! You can be happy wherever you are, but its nice to not have regrets

We don't have insurance right now. We are enrolled in a slide scale thing where we only have to pay $20 for the kids to see their doc and $10 for Rxs which is great. DH is waiting on a full time position to open at his job and then he could pick up insurance the next day...he works 50+ hours a week but is only considered PT...go figure!! I would see my kids 100 times more if I worked at the gym. Sample day at the office job would be: 7 get up 7:45 leave 8 drop off kids 8:45 get to work 5 get done 5:45 pick up kids 6 go to gym 8 come home, make dinner, give them baths and send them to bed by 9 Dawn

Wow Dawn thats is an awesome offer. Honestly I think you should go for what your heart tells you and if you can live on the lesser pay I say go for the Personal Trainer. I wish you all the best in what ever choice you make. Please let us know what you decide! Good Luck girl! You know.....you maybe so in demand that you wont have time to think about the other job! Best wishes again! Suzette

sounds like you already know in your heart which one would make you happier, and I say go for it! As a mom I know how hard the other job would be on you and your kids especially since they are with you all the time now, that would be a major adjustment for you all. Good luck whatever you decide, and if you come to NY for training come see me(of course that depends on where in NY) Karyn

hijack .... what part of ny are you in? God Bless! Jen

Hi Jen! I am about 10 minutes from Albany...why are you going to come see me??() Not the city if thats where you were asking about. Karyn

Go on the interview and go after the job. You have nothing to really think about until you have the job offer. If they offer you the job then you have a decision to make. You should put together what is called a "Ben Franklin Balance Sheet" Put the pros and cons of each opportunioty on a piece of paper and list them out and see which one comes out better for YOU. You have to be really honest. And again, unless you have an offer of employment from the office job there is no decision to make yet! Make sure you look at the opportunity in the "long term". Where do you see it taking you in 5 years, 10 years, 15 years. Is this something you could do when you're 40? 50? What kind of a future opportunity do they offer? Benefits? Vacation and holiday pay. Health insurance, disability insurance, sick leave? 401(k), Training opportunities?, etc. Sorry to go on so long, but I used to do this for a living - HR and Recruiting. So if I can help in any way.....just give a yell. In the end you have to make the right decision for you and your family Sending hugs, Ronna

Wow that sounds like a 50/50 shot to me... I would love to be able to spend more time with the kids but I have to pay the bills. If you were just picking up a second job out of boredom then I would go for the trainer job but if you were doing it out of necessity then take the office job with more opportunity for advancement. Congrats on both offers, I'm sure you will make the right choice. Dana