Graduating college... Two Choices

[dicicco2]

Hey guys.

So I'm graduating with a computer science degree in May 09. I've gone through the tedious interview process so many times in the last two months. I've narrowed it down to two offers I received from two Chicago companies. The problem is, I have to choose today which offer I take and I still can't make up my mind.

One of them: An accounting firm where I would be doing about 30% consulting, and about 70% development. The executive partner has been in contact with me for the last couple months and seems really involved and caring about his employees.
Pros: Great people to work with. A lot of people my age and they seem like fun guys/girls. I get to travel(see cons). I will get introduced to many languages/practices. Work from home for certain projects.
Cons: Won't pay for grad school. Could be a lot of hours. Traveling sounds fun at first but could get tiring.

The other: A sales and marketing firm where I would be a 100% pure Software Developer. They have a product they customize for their clients.
Pros: $10,000 more in annual salary. Big signing bonus and relocation. Pays for MBA/Grad school. Gives me a chance to become an expert in a language.
Cons: The other software developers I met seem strange. I get along better with business people than software people. I'll be developing/maintaining a big boring application with one language. I didn't feel at home here.

So I have an obvious conundrum. I could get paid less(a lot less) for possibly more work but may enjoy my job more. Or I could work less and get paid more and possibly love my job. I don't know, because I haven't worked at either place yet. I need some advice :(

Thanks.

[toicontien]

Being this will be your first professional job, and that you will probably have many others in your career, which job will be best for someone just starting out in there career?

To be honest, I didn't realize how much I didn't know until I got into the real world. My advice? Which job would have the best professional mentors? One wants to pay for grad school? Fantastic! You might want to look at your first job not as the end to which you've worked, but another step in your journey. Don't just look at this job, look at where you want to end up in your career. Which one of the jobs will be the largest benefit?

If you can't get along with software developers, then is computer science really the field for you? Not saying you can't get along with them, of course, but maybe it just takes more work? No matter what job you have, you're going to run into the geeky software dev.

But, tough call. Pick the job that will benefit you most 5 years from now. Advice from someone who's already been down one of those roads. :)

[Watts]

>>Pick the job that will benefit you most 5 years from now.

...words of wisdom.

[MaryEllen]

for job #1 - consulting for what? is it an accounting software development job? are you looking to start grad school right away, or just toying with it? are you single? (this matters for the traveling part--if you're not, you may be!)

from my experience, unless you have a deep deep financial hole, I'd take the job that will likely expose you to more languages, more people, more opportunities. The other posters are right -- you are not likely to still be there in five years. sounds like this one might offer more experience--in life and on your resume

two good articles to help you evaluate/compare these offers =
http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=82
http://www.jobweb.com/studentarticles.aspx?id=322

[NogDog]

Normally I'd say pick the job you think you'll enjoy more, unless the financial difference is significant enough to outweigh whether or not you wake up each day eager to go to work versus dreading to go to work. I'd rather be paid 'enough' for a job I look forward to than 'more than enough' for a job I hate. Of course, defining what 'enough' is is a very personal matter.

In the current economic climate, however, I think one of your top criteria for now needs to be job security. How stable is the company? How stable is the specific job? Having an actual choice right now may be a rare luxury for awhile. :rolleyes:

[skywalker2208]

I would say go with the job you will enjoy more and a place you can see yourself working in for a few years. You will want to stick with a job for a few years to gain experience. Employers don't like to see potential employees to be skipping around from job to job.

[KDLA]

As someone pointed out, once you graduate, you really find out how stupid you are, rather than smart. :p Personally, I would choose the job which has the most hands-on activities. "Consulting" implies extensive knowledge of your field (as in historical as well as future innovations). If you're just getting out of school, I would worry that you'd not have enough knowledge/experience to do that; you'd spend most of your time researching, which could cut down productivity for both you and company. (As to exposure to "strange" people - that builds your team-building skills, which is a BIG plus when applying for any job. ;))

Whatever you choose, it is only the first step (http://www.bartleby.com/119/1.html) down your career path.

[dicicco2]

Thanks for all of your input. After taking everything into consideration I chose to accept the Consulting/Development position.

Learning new skills is something I took highly into consideration. I think that fact that I will be working with many developers from project to project at the consulting firm that I'll gain a lot of experience through that along with exposure to so many different technologies.

The executive has seemed very enthused to work with me and get me moving up the ladder pretty quickly. While at the pure development job the manager I've been in touch with hasn't seemed all that friendly for lack of better words.

Although there is a $10,000 difference between the jobs, they are both fairly high offers. I don't think I will be in a crunch for cash taking the lower of the two. Don't get me wrong, I know $10,000 is a lot of money, but I've come to the conclusion its just one factor that can be made up if I move up quickly at the other company.

So I'll be making less, but I see a greater opportunity there. Plus I have all next semester to go to interviews too :)

P.S. I liked the poem KDLA, thanks.