Les, take whatever comes first as soon as you can, even if it’s the part-time job, and then quit if you have to.  I know you’re a nice guy, but this is not a time to play by all the job etiquette rules.  If you get the full-time position, explain to the part-timers that you’re sorry, but you HAVE to take this one since you need the money.  (They may try to counter, but it’s rarely a good idea to take a counter-offer and stay, as they’ll be questioning your loyalty after that.)

Here’s hoping you have an abundance of choices Real Soon Now.

I agree.  Take the part-time job and quit if the full time comes up.

As a matter of fact, take the part-time job and keep looking for that excellent full time job you know is just right for you anyways…

I also agree that there is nothing wrong in quitting quickly.

The last time I was looking for work I kept thinking about that and I felt bad about it.

I think you just have to avoid doing it 5 times in a row in a trade where you might have a good reputation.
Then you really burn your name.

Good luck

In all fairness both of my reps and the fellow I interviewed with at my old contract house have said that I should continue looking for full-time work even if I land their job simply because they know that I need to support my family. That’s very cool of them to say, but you still feel somewhat like a cheap bastard to actually turn around and do it to them, ya know?

hahah.. I know that feeling. It’s like Jesus saying, “I’ll forgive you even if you kick me in the nuts. No, really, I can take it.“. You just sort of look at him for a second questioningly, and he looks at you assuringly, but it’s hard not to feel bad when you see him hit the floor and whimper.

Course if you decide to leave they’ll always have more geeks at their disposal. I’m sure going through staff is an ordinary thing for them, and they’ll recover very nonchalantly.

Les, loyalty needs to be earned. It is not rational to be loyal to someone or some business in two weeks, or two months. Maybe in two years, or two decades, you can build up loyalty. Developing loyalty is a little like building a successful marriage: learn about the other’s weeknesses and strengths for at least 1 1/2 to 2 years before leaping into marriage, and then don’t have babies for at least the next 2 years to see if things will really work out. Of course, not many of us approach marriage, or work, or religion, rationally. Have you learned nothing from the dialogues on this site?

I would say when you get a job and back on your feet… come up with a strategy to exit that job field completely.  Don’t walk, RUN!

Computers are starting to rank up there with pickles and toothpaste in the commodity department.  Google is trying to turn the internet into the desktop. Ubuntu is pushing thin clients.  India is looking for the $100 desktops.  In short the landscape is changing and the job force needs to change with it.  You either become flexible or you become jobless. 

—John, who also moved in with relatives due to dire financial situation and now college.

I too did computer support as a tech support rep for Microsoft.  I was paid $10 an hour for knowing Windows XP and a PC like the back of my hand.  I am suprised that anyone would ever get paid more than that.  When my job went to India I saw it as a sign and have moved on without looking back.

Today I am in the process of getting a Comp Sci degree and upgrading my skills.  On my off time I am do self study for classes I can test out of and working on real life projects that will go on my resume before I even graduate.  It sucks to hunker down for 4+ years but I see no other way.           

To be competitive you have to be more skilled than everyone else out there.  If it is something that
someone can pick up with two weeks of training and a few months on the job experience you might be screwed.

You are young Les, even if you don’t feel like it You have a long working life ahead of you.  The stinker of being in the tech field is that you can never sit still.  You have to do your, research.  Start working on that flexibility!

—John, who also lives with relatives due to dire financial situation and college.

Heh… oops… screwed that one up.  Sorry for the repeats in my post.  My keyboard was going whacky on me.  This thing really needs an edit option.  Help support!  I need my keyboard fixed!

I am slightly tickled at the idea of a ‘Favourite Contract House’ - if that is the functional equivelent of an Agency, yes, we can all be nice to one another and say all the right words, but fact is we all know it’s a BUSINESS, and BUSINESS rules apply - not being nasty or mean on purpose, but also not subsidising someone else’s life by making decisions based on non-business-like decisions.

Slight tangent here - ‘corporate loyalty’ is a sleazy phrase bandied about by corporations - those self-same corporations that know that if they had to lose people to make up stock prices, corporate-speak and legalities aside, you’d be right out that door.

Talk is cheaper than walk.  Corporate loyalty is a one-way street.  Make your decision based on the same economics the companies will - you are a professional, so hold your professional values - you can bet your lawyer or dentist won’t write a letter or pull a tooth without doing the sums first!

Another possibility you may want to consider: Reynolds & Reynolds.

They do IT/tech consulting for auto dealers and manufacturers, as well as third-party vendors. They have field techs all over the country, and with you having both IT/tech and Ford experience, I suspect that they’d look at you pretty favorably. Anyway, it certainly can’t hurt to surf their listings…

Good luck.

I agree with the others (and I say this as a manager who’s pissed and moaned over new hires who’ve done this):  take the job that comes up, and don’t hesitate to quit to take a significantly better position.

Your biggest priority has to be to your family, and a better, FT, higher level job is going to be to their best interest.

I would not mention the possibility to your old contract house, since it might color their decision (even if they’ve encouraged you to keep looking).  I would, though, play on that encouragement and make any leavetaking from them when that happens (crosses fingers) as positive and professional and non-bridge-burning as possible.

If they’re decent folks, they’ll understand, even if they’re unhappy about it.

Well, I was gonna write here that most certainly you can tell them to wait another day, because you have a second offer. A day isn’t too much and it shows you ain’t desperate. Even if you are, sadly.

Then again, the others have raised valid points about loyality (I know that feeling, Les, I’ve even felt pangs about giving up holiday jobs when something better came along, because, well - I’d accepted a job and I feel strongly about my ‘duties’).

Basically I don’t really know how many qualified canidates there are apart from you in that field. If they can simply turn around and call somebody else, delaying them may be a bad move.

Les

Assume that you don’t have a “second job offer,“ because you don’t—not until they give you a contract/have you sign papers/etc.

If all you had was the current job offer, would you take it? If the answer is “yes,“ then take it.

If (AND ONLY IF) the second job offer comes through, then you can be up-front and honest with the pt guys thusly:
“Guys, when I took this job, it was with the full intention of staying here for the immediate future. However, I recently was offered a full-time job and am going to have to take it.“

Assuming the second job offer comes through, DO NOT, UNDER ANY CIRCUMSTANCES, TELL THE P/T SHOP THE NAME OF THE COMPANY THAT THE SECOND JOB OFFER IS FROM. 

I have seen people get screwed because they blabbed. The manager of the first job makes a few phone calls, spreads a few rumors, and then the second job gets skiddish and recends. It is none of their business, thank you very much.

You do not have to feel bad about leaving so soon. This is not playgound; this is business. If a company wants the employees to stick around, it must make it “worth their wile,“ by either paying more, having interesting things to do, treating the emps better, etc. The loyalty stuff went out the door 30 years ago when companies decided to do away with lifetime employment, pensions, etc.

Good luck and let us know how things turn out.

Cheers,
Bryan

Les, I have to agree with the others here.  Always remember that you come first before a contract house.  They would do the same to you.  The thing I would add is that honesty is a good policy. 

I just went through this a month ago.  I had to interviews within 5 days of each other and two simultaneous offers.  Actually, one offer came verbally and I stalled them as long as I could while waiting to have the interview with the company I really wanted.  It turns out that the first company needed an answer so I gave a verbal ‘yes’.  One hour later, I got the other offer and accepted that one as well.  The next day I called the head hunter and explained the situation as honestly as I could and he was very understanding.  (I actually started my new job today - imagine going from a 40 person company to an 80,000 person company!)

Remember, do what is best for you, but do it in as nice a way as possible.  The last thing you want to do is burn bridges.