promotion or college?

LegacyUser

Hi, Im a regular poster here but want to go unregged for this one.

This is not really a problem but I am confused by the situation and looking for advice. I started working for a facilities company 4 months ago and its been going really well. I was started on a salary of 25k and i work an average of 40 hours per week,12 hour shifts.

My job role is answering phones and relaying jobs to relevant personnel as well as other minor administrative duties. I had never really considered this job as a career starting point as I had planned to return to uni next year and was planning on asking to be accomodated with part time hours at the weekend.

Recently I have been doing training for a new project that will be up and running very shortly.My supervisor noticed that I grasped the training very easily and as a result she has placed upon me extra responsibility of helping to get this project going. I think its great that I have extra work to do as it can be quiet and boring during the weekends when im on, but I am not being paid anything extra and there are 3 other people in the office with same job role and salary as me and they dont have this extra responsibility. But again it didnt really bother me as I hadnt planned on the job being a long term thing.

So the other day our senior boss came in and had an unofficial chat with me with regards to the extra work Ive been doing. She basically told me she was very impressed with my performance and attitude to work and that she always rewards hard work and in January she would be talking to me about other opportunities such as further training and possibly a supervisor, trainer or junior management role and that she was behind me whatever choice I made. Now i was delighted to hear that my work is being recognized but im also confused as now I have to make a decision between accepting this opportunity or going back to college.

It would obviously depend on the salary increase and whether the training given will be official and certified but Ive never been in this situation before and wouldn't know how to put it to her. I'm not even sure what the market value of this type of job role would be. The only thing I have to go on is a previous employee who had roughly the same job role as outlined above and was earning somewhere between 35-40k. Would this be too much to ask? I would only really take the job and forget about college for a few more years if it was really worth it salary and experience wise.

Should I just be straightforward and say 'I was planning to go back to college so I need to know what you have to offer so I can make a decision based on whats best for me'? Or would that be out of line? And if i did decide to take the job what would be an acceptable expectation for a salary increase?

all suggestions and advice welcome.

AARRRGH

Unregistered wrote: »

Should I just be straightforward and say 'I was planning to go back to college so I need to know what you have to offer so I can make a decision based on whats best for me'?

That's what I would do.

gerrycollins

always be straight up with your employer when discussing matters of importance beating around the bush and thinking that they know what you mean is just plain sill.

I agree with AARRRGH if the company can offer you a future better than college then I'd say go for the promotion.

ALFIET

Go with the promotion
Be up front and ask about the package but be under no illusion it will be hard to argue for a 10 k min increase regardless of previous incumbants

You can always look at doing college at night yourself in the future if you so wish but if they are willing to develop you thats great.

However do it only if this is something you want to make a career out of...

Eoin

You might be able to have both - you could do a night time / distance learning course, and if it's a relevant course to your work, your employer may even pay for it.

AARRRGH

I went back to college at night (MSc in Computer Science). It's no bother if you're committed and manage your time, so don't be afraid of the work and study option.

LegacyUser

Thanks for input guys, I am currently doing an online fas course but I cant motivate myself to get it done. The course is fairly outdated so I think im going to give up on it but from my experience with online learning I think a classroom would suit me better.
As for the promotion I think I will go for it, Im young and I can always go back to college in a year or two. My priority now would be to work and save as much as possible for deposit on a home. If the boss asks me what my expectations would be for a raise what should I say? Or how should I go about getting the right salary for the job? This is all so new to me lol.

sadista

I would just ask your manager what she thinks your job/the amount of work you do is worth. If there was another person doing the same job as you previously for a decent salary make it known that you know how much the job is worth.

the_syco

Unregistered wrote: »

I had planned to return to uni next year

What qualification did you have in Uni, and what would you be studying if you went back? Also, if you can't motivate yourself now, what makes you think Uni will be much difference?

pauldiv

Ask them about the new job title and make sure they are willing to give you a very good rise. There is no point in taking on a promotion if you will one day feel that you are not getting the salary you deserve.
It sounds like a good career path and in the end experience is more important than qualificcations. You can get qualifications anytime.
All the very best.

Jo King

Unregistered wrote: »

Should I just be straightforward and say 'I was planning to go back to college so I need to know what you have to offer so I can make a decision based on whats best for me'? Or would that be out of line? And if i did decide to take the job what would be an acceptable expectation for a salary increase?

all suggestions and advice welcome.

I would not say anything of the kind. If you are offered a promotion, show commitment to your employer. Make sure that you are in the job at a higher salary before you mention college. If you mention college at this point your bosses may decide to put the effort into training someone else who is likely to stay on long term. If and when you get a place in college you should discus it with nyour bosses at that stage.

LegacyUser

pauldiv wrote: »

Ask them about the new job title and make sure they are willing to give you a very good rise. There is no point in taking on a promotion if you will one day feel that you are not getting the salary you deserve.
It sounds like a good career path and in the end experience is more important than qualificcations. You can get qualifications anytime.
All the very best.

I agree, and thanks for your good wishes. I reckon with our current economical climate it would be better to grab the job now, and work really hard to make myself indispensible rather than go back to college and be broke.If i dont take a promotion now there not might be another one offered until everything gets back on track 5 years down the line.

Jo King, another valid point and taken on board. I am thinking now that a return to college would not be a wise move. I had mentioned thinking about going back to college but havent mentioned it since I was given my new responsibilities.