Dilemma deciding between two jobs
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3+ years experience? + don't like current job
= grad school
Thanks for the comment UFOinsider. I'm definitely considering grad school for sure but I guess in the short term need to decide between two crappy choices. If you had to choose between the two, which might you lean towards?
I'm not the best person to talk to about job changes, but here's what I gather: the legal analyst position may look attractive especially after grad school and it's already on your resume, so you can spin the job change. Thing is, there's not enough info about the academic job to really say. If by "data analyst" you mean data entry, then hell no. But if you're actually doing some brain work, then you could weave a trajectory 'story' to suit the grad program you decide on...it will help to think about the work you want to do long term. Again, I'm not the best person to talk to, this is just what I would do in your situation.
Personally, I'd find out if you could take coursework at the university for free. If so, it seems that having less stress + a masters in something might really be a boost for you. A toxic work environment is only worth it if (a) you're being promoted and (b) if it opens up other doors. Long term, it will just wear you down.
Good luck
Based on the limited information provided, I would lean toward the financial data analyst position given the following: - Comparable pay, better lifestyle - You hate your current position - It sounds like you are more interested in finance than law - I think the financial data analysis job sounds marginally more relevant to a career in finance than your current legal role - Your three years at a consulting firm will combat the appearance of being a job-switcher if you quit the law firm
You should probably get a better sense of what you might want to do after grad school before making a hasty move. Also, a big variable to my answer is what kind of data analysis position you are considering, and what exactly it entails.
PM'd you, I'd like to go into more detail
Thanks all for your input so far. About the data analyst position--it's not just data entry, but they're going to rely on me to build new tools to facilitate their financial decision making within their department. I'm a bit more nervous about this one since this will definitely require that I train myself on VBA, SQL, Access, etc. in order to accomplish this since I have no other programming experience otherwise. At the same time, I see this as an opportunity to make meaningful contributions. The downside is that salary wise, I'd be making like 2-3k less. Lastly, I have until about the end of the week to decide on this! Much appreciated.
This is less appealing than I originally thought. It's an internal finance position at a school department, whereas I thought this was more of an analytical research position within the school of finance. I am not sure what I would do in this situation. I would probably still lean on the side of getting out of a toxic environment, but I am inclined to say that the securities paralegal job is probably somewhat better from an experience standpoint.
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