Best long term option - opinions welcome

LegacyUser

Looking for some sensible advice and opinions on my current situation- (gone unreg for certain reasons)

So basically - early 30’s, degree in business, worked in variety of settings, finance, retail and others. Never stuck any job for more than about 2 years. Travelled lots etc.
- Currently unemployed a few months, no pension set up etc. Moved back home.

So I’ve got 2 options been offered to me now, which would be the best long term option and why?

Option 1. A public service Job, €30,000 gross pay, obviously comes with some pension arrangement(haven’t seen a contract so don’t know the details) 2 yr probation before made permanent

Option 2. Work for a small SME, €40,000 gross, no pension arrangement, company approx 3 years old and doing well.

I can’t decide which is best, both are within commuting distance etc, being early 30s I need to get funds together etc but am also thinking of long term decisions. All opinions welcome.

Thanks

LegacyUser

- still waiting on a provisional start date for a public service job, am on a panel so not sure how long I’ll be waiting to see the exact details but as I said I know the salary is approx €30,000 gross
- the smaller sme position is due to start in February approx - date not confirmed, nothing firmly agreed but discusssion made about salary after a interview etc -(€40,000 gross)

What would you do and why - which would you take? As I said in the first post, am thinking about the longer term etc as I’m early 30’s. Thanks

GalwayGrrrrrl

Without knowing what industry it’s hard to say for sure, but would the public service job give better chances for promotion, relocation if needed, career break, parental leave, paid maternity leave etc. All these things are worth money (as is the pension) so I think I’d take the public service job even though it looks like lower salary at first glance.

LegacyUser

xfactorfan23 wrote: »

Without knowing what industry it’s hard to say for sure, but would the public service job give better chances for promotion, relocation if needed, career break, parental leave, paid maternity leave etc. All these things are worth money (as is the pension) so I think I’d take the public service job even though it looks like lower salary at first glance.

The public service job is a local government position. The SME position is for a logistics company, supply chain and office work really.

Diceicle

Take the SME role for now. Bank the extra cash and jump to the PS role when if arises.
Find out what type of pension you'll be going in on .... defined benefit or defined contribution?

Stheno

Diceicle wrote: »

Take the SME role for now. Bank the extra cash and jump to the PS role when if arises.
Find out what type of pension you'll be going in on .... defined benefit or defined contribution?

All public sector pensions are defined contribution for new entrants

Nidot

Stheno wrote: »

All public sector pensions are defined contribution for new entrants

That's not the case actually, they're all defined benefit but the benefits vary from public sector workers employed prior to 2013.

The new pension arrangement for those appointed since 2013 is half your average salary based on 40 years of service which is apportioned if less.

FizzleSticks

This post has been deleted.

Diceicle

I'd add on to the above with it depends where you're going to and what you're doing in either role.

The PS is changing in many ways (and is stagnant in many others) - depts such as Finance, IT and Supply Chain are diversifying what they do and including elements of Business Intelligence in a more formal way.

PS also offers a good option of changing career by dept transfer without the need to take a salary hit. So plenty of scope there - though you can't be in the door a wet day and request to start jumping dept.

PS job is good when applying for loans etc.

Besides - the no-pension aspect in the SME role means you'll have to put away part of your salary there anyway.

shesty

30k job will be a take home pay of approximately 1950eur a month, after pension levy, probably a private pension payment too, since most seem to do that now, USC etc.Can you live on that?But it will increase year on year depending on what your increment scale is.Lifestyle will most likely be good in terms of hours stress etc, you may feel like you are stagnating a bit, it takes a bit of time to adjust to the public sector 'way' and pace of life.

SME job may be good, good experience, but more stress I would imagine.Why can't you set up a private pension for yourself to start off?And if you eventually get to a position where you have a company pension you can transfer it over.Better than nothing.

Depends on your view I guess, how long term are you looking in terms of job, career, money etc.

PhoenixParker

Are you male or female? What are your life plans - kids, moving etc? How much do you prioritise holidays? Are you in Dublin or elsewhere?

LegacyUser

PhoenixParker wrote: »

Are you male or female? What are your life plans - kids, moving etc? How much do you prioritise holidays? Are you in Dublin or elsewhere?

Thanks for all the advice.
To answer the above, I’m male, single and living in the West. Would like to stay west and buy here, have family etc etc. I’ve mainly been in jobs to date with the normal 20 day holidays approximately and managed alright.

Jim2007

You’re in your early 30s, so what do you want to do with your life? What are you passionate about? What do you want to achieve?

My advice would be to do something you’re passionate about because it is a hell of a lot easier to get out of bed in the morning than if you’ve only working for a pension. Thirty plus years is along time to stay motivated doing something you don’t like only for a pension in the end.

No one can tell you what is best for you, but I do think it is important to recognize that you have only one life to live and that you try to make it what you want it to be. I’m at the other end hitting retirement and it is depressing the number of colleagues I hear regretting their choice. The common thinking was that there would always be time later to do something else only there is not.

PhoenixParker

In your circumstances the SME job seems like the better fit. The principal advantages of the public service job don't really seem like priorities/applicable to you.

pauliebdub

Find out as much as you can about the SME before you make a decision, what's it like to work there, what's the size of the SME, opportunities to advance, how stable is the company, do you know anyone who works there that could give you some information. Use LinkedIn and Glassdoor to aid your research.

I'd be reluctant to recommend the public sector to anyone, having worked there myself I found it rather unchallenging and got very bored after a few years, pay, benefits and conditions are not as good for new entrants. Also working in the SME could give you better experience and help you if you wanted to move on in years to come while public sector work could hinder your prospects if you ever wanted to leave it.