Hi guys, I know a lot of people here are in the bay area, but I had a question regarding finance in Phoenix, AZ. I’m a senior analyst and currently make 120K TC with 4 YOE no masters at a fortune 100 company. My groups gone under a lot of change lately and I work maybe 5-10 hours a week and could probably get away with it for a year or so due to little management oversight. I have an offer for a senior manager role at a smaller company for 160-165 TC but with a lot more work. Should I take it?
You are in a role that is supposed to be 40 hours a week and you only work 5-10? I’m so curious about this. Do you go in the office and just do other things online all day? How long has it been like that? It does sound like it’d be a huge rude awakening to switch to a role where you’d work 40+ hours, even for a pay increase.
Exactly. I only go into the office 2-3 times a week and am remote the rest of the time. I do have the benefit of being perceived as working very hard. I guess I’m just efficient with my time as I really try to just work on the things that are truly value add. Also my direct manager is many many grade levels above me and doesn’t have the time to micro manage me. It’s very comfortable but I’m worried that if I get stuck here I won’t be advancing my actual finance skills
When you’re remote, do you stay near your computer/logged in to instant message (or slack or whatever you use to communicate)? I’m remote twice a week too and I feel like I have to stay just as available as I would be at the office or else people could go to my boss and say they can’t reach me on my remote days. So just wondering how that is for you
Get the title, responsibility and TC. Once you have that under your belt, you’ll be able to go anywhere and get more $$$. Don’t get comfortable now
Is it pretty hard to go back to a fortune 100 company in finance if I take this role at this smaller company? It’s not super small but less then 5000 people. I do agree that if I get the title in the bag it’s easier for me to move around anywhere even if it sucks for a couple of years or so
It won’t hurt, especially getting the P&L experience.
Pay looks very good for Phx location. Which company you got? I’d suggest you to take it because phx cost of living is comparatively less than Bay Area.
Don’t stagnate. That doesn’t mean take the other job but don’t fool yourself into thinking the only thing you are trying to earn right now is $. Experience still makes up a lot of your take home pay and you are not earning any of that at the current company. Also, you may be fooling yourself since it sounds like all it would take is someone asking you to detail what you do and how much time it takes to find you out. If you have a bunch of free time out it into a side huddle or learning a new skill, not golf. If you are not a person who would really do that go for the other job get the boost in pay and learn something.
Thanks for the response. Ya I agree that I don’t want to stagnate... and I haven’t been. I’ve been investing in rental real estate on the side. Pulling in an extra 40-50K a year right now after taxes. My ultimate goal is to get that number to about 150-200k after taxes in 5 years adding 2-3 properties a year and then retire from corporate America
I would caution you that your current situation (not really actually having a job) puts you at risk to be laid off when the time comes for your org to cost reduce. You may think you're highly valued, but that may not be the actual perception. The reality may be that you're forgotten, and when that time comes to cut comp expenses, they're going to see your name on paper, think "what exactly is this person doing?" and then you're an easy cost save for them. Maybe it's worth it to ride out the free ride until that happens, but if (when) it does happen, will you have a plan? I'd start making a plan for a move if I were you, either taking the offer or looking for something else. Find your next job before you need it.
I think that’s totally valid. Our current org just had 2 separate reductions. One for 20 percent of workforce and then another 10 percent and I was not affected. I was actually hoping I would be to get some severance but alas I was too “valued”. They actually gave me an 11K retention bonus which I hope turns into salary or actual bonus in the future so I think I’m ok for at least this next year. But I completely see your point. Eventually working at the current rate I am I’ll get exposed
But Ofcourse check your priorities also. Suppose if you are married and shifting all the location is a big challenge. But pay wise and role wise it looks fine!
Honestly I’m just going to bite the bullet and commute. I’m hoping there is work from home but I doubt it. My commutes gona be 40 min no traffic to 1:15 with... and I am NOT looking foreword to that. I’m thinking of possibly asking the manager if I can come in early and leave early to bear traffic
So you get 40k more plus your state tax is cut in half and you get better cost of living. However the heat in Arizona is oppressive.
Sorry how does my state tax get cut in half??? Yes the heat is awful, but it is nice for 8-9 months
Income tax rate for Arizona is roughly half of California. Single rate between 53k and 159k is 4.24% vs California which is 9.3% *edit I misread your post, didn’t realize you are already in AZ
I have crossed this bridge a couple of times . I think everyone hitting on the fact your not learning anything new currently are correct . However if your goal is to move up the corporate ladder (I.e get more money and more perks) seniority at larger companies is usually a good thing . If I were you I would stay you can’t mint enough money to work at a small place and be on call 24x7 .
Depends on your priorities. I'd take it just because I wouldn't want to stop learning on the job but if you just want a chill life take it
Ya I’m concerned about stopping my continued finance education by staying here. The smaller company I’m looking at would give me a true full financial view including PN&L opex, cost etc whereas now I’m just focused on opex budgets