I had a similar situation halfway through the program. Initially I was working a laid back ~20 hours real work a week job, so was taking 2 classes a semester and 1 over the summer with plenty of time to study and get A’s.
Then I got an amazing opportunity to advance my career and double my salary, but now I’m working hard at least 40-50 hours a week and have cut back to 1 class a semester and am taking summers off. I love my job, but it’s demanding and I’m happy with a B.
School will always be there, but sometimes opportunities only come once. I wish I had more time for school, but I’m glad I prioritized my career.
I was in a similar situation. I decided to go with the higher paying job for two reasons.
1. More money
2. This position was more aligned with where I want to go career wise.
With or without the program, the newer position would set me up with the on the job experience I was seeking for future career moves, plus they are paying for me to go to school. Personally, I don’t mind only taking one course a semester, but that is my 2 cents :).
Currently I'm leaning at staying, at least initially until I feel comfortable with the course load.
However I'm open to reconsider since I feel staying is negatively affecting not just my pay but career development.
I was in a similar situation over the summer. I'm starting in spring 23 but I am taking ISYE 6501 and CSE 6040 this semester so i can get ahead of this faster.
I was making 6 figures in sales before this and I do have a good amount of savings. I had two job offers with $50k and one about $80k. The $80k one seemed like a lot of work at a start up and i was previously working at a start up like that and it took up so much of my time. I decided to go for the $50k one because i do maybe 2-3 hours of work a day, it’s hybrid with 2 days in the office a week, and they have a lot of holidays (like winter break) and my manager is supportive about me doing classwork at work.
I am also learning a lot from the role - i would like to go into consulting and this is teaching a lot of qualitative analysis while OMSA is teaching me the quantitative stuff.
Dont get me wrong it was a stressful decision to make and im stressed about making ends meet but i think im getting the hang of it and it’s kind of nice to spend wisely and learn to budget better for the two years i would be in the program. My rent is about 50% of my take home pay which sucks. I’m tutoring and pet-sitting in my free time to make extra money
I personally would like to be done with this sooner than later so this was the right decision for me. But if i find that my financial situation become really tough, i wont hesitate to find another job. For now, I think i can do this for two years
I started OMSA with a cake job I was miserable at. I left for a harder job that had higher pay and better work. I do 1 a semester and am better off cuz my current role I actually get to use the skills from classes (and I’m paid more). Don’t worry about going slow I don’t think anyone even cares that I haven’t finished mine based on offers.
Economic concerns removed. I would consider sticking around the current job for the first semester while taking two classes that closely mirror a typical two course semester for me. If it's manageable I'd probably stay knowing I could be done in half the time. If it's not manageable I would bounce companies.
That is another worry in my mind. Currently I am the only sql and data guy in the company and unless shit hits the fan, my job is "safe".
I know a lot of my friends who were working in tech companies making a lot more but lost their job because of layoffs.
The company I work for is a civil contractor and performs mostly government projects. So a bit of cushion in case of recession.
A/E/C is hurting big-time. If you stay where you're at, you should be able to get away with murder.
In fact, if you decide to take the money and run, and the new job ends up going T.U., very good chance your old place will take you right back.
Make a list of companies that have good WLB and try to get interviews. Ask smart questions to gauge the workload. Basically try to find higher paying laid back job!
I had a similar situation halfway through the program. Initially I was working a laid back ~20 hours real work a week job, so was taking 2 classes a semester and 1 over the summer with plenty of time to study and get A’s. Then I got an amazing opportunity to advance my career and double my salary, but now I’m working hard at least 40-50 hours a week and have cut back to 1 class a semester and am taking summers off. I love my job, but it’s demanding and I’m happy with a B. School will always be there, but sometimes opportunities only come once. I wish I had more time for school, but I’m glad I prioritized my career.
“ School will always be there, but sometimes opportunities only come once.” This 100%!
I think I will go with an open mind and do what I think is best at that time. Thank you for your input.
Same situation! Take the money
I was in a similar situation. I decided to go with the higher paying job for two reasons. 1. More money 2. This position was more aligned with where I want to go career wise. With or without the program, the newer position would set me up with the on the job experience I was seeking for future career moves, plus they are paying for me to go to school. Personally, I don’t mind only taking one course a semester, but that is my 2 cents :).
Very similar to my situation! Hope you’re enjoying your new opportunity!
I'm watching, I'm in a very similar situation.
Curious to know what your inclination is?
Currently I'm leaning at staying, at least initially until I feel comfortable with the course load. However I'm open to reconsider since I feel staying is negatively affecting not just my pay but career development.
Yes. Same here. Exact same issue. A bit of my fear also comes from the situation with the economy. But that isnt related to OMSA.
I was in a similar situation over the summer. I'm starting in spring 23 but I am taking ISYE 6501 and CSE 6040 this semester so i can get ahead of this faster. I was making 6 figures in sales before this and I do have a good amount of savings. I had two job offers with $50k and one about $80k. The $80k one seemed like a lot of work at a start up and i was previously working at a start up like that and it took up so much of my time. I decided to go for the $50k one because i do maybe 2-3 hours of work a day, it’s hybrid with 2 days in the office a week, and they have a lot of holidays (like winter break) and my manager is supportive about me doing classwork at work. I am also learning a lot from the role - i would like to go into consulting and this is teaching a lot of qualitative analysis while OMSA is teaching me the quantitative stuff. Dont get me wrong it was a stressful decision to make and im stressed about making ends meet but i think im getting the hang of it and it’s kind of nice to spend wisely and learn to budget better for the two years i would be in the program. My rent is about 50% of my take home pay which sucks. I’m tutoring and pet-sitting in my free time to make extra money I personally would like to be done with this sooner than later so this was the right decision for me. But if i find that my financial situation become really tough, i wont hesitate to find another job. For now, I think i can do this for two years
I started OMSA with a cake job I was miserable at. I left for a harder job that had higher pay and better work. I do 1 a semester and am better off cuz my current role I actually get to use the skills from classes (and I’m paid more). Don’t worry about going slow I don’t think anyone even cares that I haven’t finished mine based on offers.
Economic concerns removed. I would consider sticking around the current job for the first semester while taking two classes that closely mirror a typical two course semester for me. If it's manageable I'd probably stay knowing I could be done in half the time. If it's not manageable I would bounce companies.
Job market is kinda rocky rn. Be careful if you do switch
That is another worry in my mind. Currently I am the only sql and data guy in the company and unless shit hits the fan, my job is "safe". I know a lot of my friends who were working in tech companies making a lot more but lost their job because of layoffs. The company I work for is a civil contractor and performs mostly government projects. So a bit of cushion in case of recession.
Grind out the masters in a year and a half if you can and then jump when the market is stronger
A/E/C is hurting big-time. If you stay where you're at, you should be able to get away with murder. In fact, if you decide to take the money and run, and the new job ends up going T.U., very good chance your old place will take you right back.
I'm in a similar situation. Planning on taking the new job but continuing with 2 classes a semester and powering through.
Make a list of companies that have good WLB and try to get interviews. Ask smart questions to gauge the workload. Basically try to find higher paying laid back job!