Quick background on me first: I have about ten years of tech experience (not all of it programming, some in security analysis). I've been looking for a new role since my current project (at a fairly large company) is coming to an end. I'm not at risk of losing my job; I could find another role where I am if I needed to, but it might not align with my interests.
I have a job offer from a company in a region that I want to move to. This sounds great, except there are a couple of issues:
- The company is small, but not a startup. They have a product that they work on, but for a variety of reasons, that is basically the only thing they will ever work on.
- While the tech stack is something I'm familiar with and enjoy... again, that is pretty much the only thing they do. I'd probably become even more of an expert in that stack (which is already old), but there would be little reason or opportunity to learn different or newer technologies.
Those two issues combine into a job with, in my opinion, minimal chances at growth or career progress. Also, since the company is small, operates in a relatively obscure industry, and uses an already outdated stack, it would probably be meaningless (or maybe even seen as a negative) on my resume if I decided to change in the future (or ever needed to if something went wrong).
On the plus side:
The salary increase is nice, but not huge (there's no stock/equity involved).
It also seems like a fairly relaxed company (rarely anything more than 40hrs/wk).
I need to respond today.
To complicate things: I've been talking with a larger company also in that region. They offered me a job previously, but I turned it down because it was with a team that I was not interested in. The team I'm talking to now would be a better fit, and the compensation (including stock) would probably be higher than the above offer. It's not the same stack as above, but it's the same language and I have some experience in it. Since it's a big company, there's also a lot more potential for overall growth (the team itself supports multiple products). I don't have a new offer yet though, and I haven't been able to get in contact with the recruiter these past couple days to check where I stand...
To make all this worse: I have to be out of my current apartment by July 31. So, I need to decide SOON if I'm going to take a job in another region and move, or find a new apartment in the same city for another year...
Right now, I'm leaning towards declining the offer and hoping the larger company comes through, but I'd be interested in hearing other thoughts or perspectives.