Messugga
Honorary Master
Hey guys,
So I'm stuck in a bit of a funny position that I'm struggling to decide on, which is weird for me.
I've got a B.Sc IT behind my name and have been working for a year as an embedded software developer full time, and before that, 6 months part time, and before that I did some sys-admin work.
Now, yesterday I received a call from a friend of mine saying that the head of the IT department would like to offer me a job and that I should come in to see him.
Today I went to speak to him and he proposed that I work for them in the usability lab.
Here's the tricky bit though:
The pro's:
They want me to do my honours during next year, for which I don't have to pay for.
I'm free to study anything else at university for free as well, including business courses and the like, which tend to be rather expensive.
I will be employed full-time (See 40 hours per week) but I won't actually be working 40 hours, it's just a requirement in order to let me study for free. If I don't work full-time, they can only pay half of the studies. In practice, I should be working quite a bit less than 40 hours per week, which should allow me to continue with my current work as a consultant/contractor, which pays fairly well.
I would be getting experience with usability studies, using very expensive equipment which I would otherwise not have access to, which will probably assist me in getting my foot in the door for a position as a BA, which is a possible future goal, as nobody wants to hire people as BA's who don't have any experience in it.
I would stay in Bloemfontein, instead of move to Johannesburg early next year, as I planned, which would be good as my fiance is only finishing medicine next year October, upon which time she will get placed somewhere in the Freestate for two years, so less traveling would be involved and thus less strain would be placed on the relationship.
I could continue to stay in my Parents' house, which means I wouldn't need to pay rent, just my phone bill, petrol, and other such expenses.
Cons:
They can't give me an exact amount of hours per week that I would work, only that there would be weeks when I work almost nothing, only performing general maintenance in the labs and weeks where studies are conducted, which would require more time from my side.
I'm told my studies would take priority and thus, if I had a test to write, they would not bother me when I need to study.
The salary is pretty crap. R2000 per month definite, and another R2000/R3000 (They'll get back to me with an exact figure) per month in the form of a bursary. At the moment I earn R275/hour, which may seem like a lot, but income isn't steady and I only get that when I actually perform work for a client. Admin work is my own time, and thus I don't get paid for that.
I could probably earn a lot more in Jhb, but then travel expenses have to be taken into consideration - I would need to drive to Bloemfontein and back probably once a week to see the other half. This could change when she's done, to 2 hours of driving each way, instead of 4, if she got placed in Bethlehem, for instance (Which she's not guaranteed to get placement for). If she stayed in Bloemfontein, she wouldn't need to pay rent though, as she has a house that she lives in, belonging to her parents.
So what do you guys reckon? Should I take the job, work for a year still in Bloemfontein, getting my honours and valuable experience in a field that's fairly difficult to get into, or should I stick to my original plan of moving to Jhb? If I do the latter, what's the likelyhood of getting a salary of R15-20k, which would be required to really make it financially viable, in the current economy?
Would honours and the experience be worth something in the future? I can do IT honours as well as physics (which should be a walk in the park as they have a course where the basics of my current job is handled, so it's hardly like I would struggle) and a management course or two as offered by the business school, all for free, as I said.
Oh, I'm 23 right now, so still pretty young and nowhere near starting a family, so finances aren't THAT big a deal right now, but I do feel that I should maybe start getting things together.
Much appreciated
So I'm stuck in a bit of a funny position that I'm struggling to decide on, which is weird for me.
I've got a B.Sc IT behind my name and have been working for a year as an embedded software developer full time, and before that, 6 months part time, and before that I did some sys-admin work.
Now, yesterday I received a call from a friend of mine saying that the head of the IT department would like to offer me a job and that I should come in to see him.
Today I went to speak to him and he proposed that I work for them in the usability lab.
Here's the tricky bit though:
The pro's:
They want me to do my honours during next year, for which I don't have to pay for.
I'm free to study anything else at university for free as well, including business courses and the like, which tend to be rather expensive.
I will be employed full-time (See 40 hours per week) but I won't actually be working 40 hours, it's just a requirement in order to let me study for free. If I don't work full-time, they can only pay half of the studies. In practice, I should be working quite a bit less than 40 hours per week, which should allow me to continue with my current work as a consultant/contractor, which pays fairly well.
I would be getting experience with usability studies, using very expensive equipment which I would otherwise not have access to, which will probably assist me in getting my foot in the door for a position as a BA, which is a possible future goal, as nobody wants to hire people as BA's who don't have any experience in it.
I would stay in Bloemfontein, instead of move to Johannesburg early next year, as I planned, which would be good as my fiance is only finishing medicine next year October, upon which time she will get placed somewhere in the Freestate for two years, so less traveling would be involved and thus less strain would be placed on the relationship.
I could continue to stay in my Parents' house, which means I wouldn't need to pay rent, just my phone bill, petrol, and other such expenses.
Cons:
They can't give me an exact amount of hours per week that I would work, only that there would be weeks when I work almost nothing, only performing general maintenance in the labs and weeks where studies are conducted, which would require more time from my side.
I'm told my studies would take priority and thus, if I had a test to write, they would not bother me when I need to study.
The salary is pretty crap. R2000 per month definite, and another R2000/R3000 (They'll get back to me with an exact figure) per month in the form of a bursary. At the moment I earn R275/hour, which may seem like a lot, but income isn't steady and I only get that when I actually perform work for a client. Admin work is my own time, and thus I don't get paid for that.
I could probably earn a lot more in Jhb, but then travel expenses have to be taken into consideration - I would need to drive to Bloemfontein and back probably once a week to see the other half. This could change when she's done, to 2 hours of driving each way, instead of 4, if she got placed in Bethlehem, for instance (Which she's not guaranteed to get placement for). If she stayed in Bloemfontein, she wouldn't need to pay rent though, as she has a house that she lives in, belonging to her parents.
So what do you guys reckon? Should I take the job, work for a year still in Bloemfontein, getting my honours and valuable experience in a field that's fairly difficult to get into, or should I stick to my original plan of moving to Jhb? If I do the latter, what's the likelyhood of getting a salary of R15-20k, which would be required to really make it financially viable, in the current economy?
Would honours and the experience be worth something in the future? I can do IT honours as well as physics (which should be a walk in the park as they have a course where the basics of my current job is handled, so it's hardly like I would struggle) and a management course or two as offered by the business school, all for free, as I said.
Oh, I'm 23 right now, so still pretty young and nowhere near starting a family, so finances aren't THAT big a deal right now, but I do feel that I should maybe start getting things together.
Much appreciated
Glad its done ! Its a long tough period and she needs your support. Oh and I also did a BSC IT
that guy is like a machine feeding on information. I figured it might be some kind of addiction to this guy. And he's not there for the fun of being in varsity, he's there to learn. He is 3 years older than me being 33 next year then.