Career Advice-Bore: What would you do?

[Arbys Roast Beef Sandwich]

So I kind of put myself in a bad situation.

I love my job, I really do. I work off of a small business that has been around for eleven years. Real small, like eight employees overall. Really awesome place, great people, and I pretty much get to dictate my daily workflow. "As long as you get the fucking job done" is my boss' motto. Sure, I'm not doing the type of work that I went to school for, but whatevs.

What I don't like however, is the lack of benefits and the cyclically unstable nature of the business. There have been times when I've been two, three weeks behind on pay. The pay wasn't that fantastic either, so I decide to look for work elsewhere. Here's mistake #1: I didn't talk to my boss about my dissatisfaction with the pay before looking.

So a couple of weeks later, some headhunter lands me an interview with [gigantic global IT conglomerate]. All goes well, and I eventually land the job. Being a paranoid idiot, I did not give my notice to my old workplace until I cleared my drug tests and had the paperwork and contracts in hand. They even gave me an employee number and a start date.

I'll have to work a RIDICULOUS amount of hours though (50-60 wtf that's almost GilloD territory), and being a huge boring conglomerate, I'll probably lose out on a lot of personal freedoms, including the ability to browse Evilbore whenever I like. Seriously though, I don't see myself having fun in this company AT ALL. BUT! I'll be making okay money and will get a fuckload of training on stuff. Plus I'll actually be able to use my degree!

Of course, when I give my notice, the boss shuffles me over to his desk, literally gives me his life story, and reasons with me not to leave because he thought I was awesome. He offers me a promise of higher pay and benefits, BUT to be honest I'm not sure if he can even sustain it. Now I'm fucked, because I either burn bridges with my old workplace (which has been awesome to me aside from the pay; and I was also hoping to get my brother, who's graduating college soon, a job with them) OR the random headhunter/faceless corporation.

Please help naive, altruistic me decide on what I should do, because apparently I cannot form my own decisions like an adult.

[Ichirou]

Have your brother pretend to be you and have him start working at the faceless corporation, while you keep your old job.

[ToxicAdam]

Work for the soulless company for 3-4 years and save your ass off and then go back to a smaller business (and get more money in the process).

You have to bounce around in today's economy if you want to make more money.

[Bildi]

Speaking for myself, three years ago I left a job which was great for the first few years, but then the boss changed into a total fuckwit.  It not only affected my happiness at work and away from work negatively, but also my relationships with others (which I only realised once I left and was a little shocked at the far-reaching impact of unhappiness in the workplace).

I took a new job with a fantastic boss, and because I had less responsibility (not by choice, that's just the way it was) my pay dropped.  But I am paid very fairly, I get paid plenty to do what I want, and the fact I have an awesome job and awesome boss means I no longer care about salary.  Life's been awesome in that regard.

So my general motto is "work environment and conditions are far more important than pay, as long as your pay is enough for you to do what you want and you are paid fairly."  So I'd put your happiness first, as long as the pay is sufficient because rubbish pay contributes to unhappiness obviously.

It also depends on the person you are.  I love a small organisation, and would probably burn out fast in a huge one.  But some people thrive.

[Cormacaroni]

I don't think you made any mistakes.  Your boss made the mistake of not paying a competitive wage. I'd say take the new job, but tell your boss you'd be open to the prospect of coming back some day with more skills and experience.

50-60hrs a week is soul-crushing but then, so is 40. Not many of us get to do this for fun.

[Human Snorenado]

Go to the new job.  If your boss was having occasional trouble paying you on time, how do you think he's gonna be able to give you more money/benefits in today's shittacular economy?

Sure working at Global SoulSuck Inc will, well, suck but like TA said, you can do it for a couple of years, get some good experience/skills on your resume and go back to working for a smaller company if that's what you really wanna do.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

Sounds somewhat similar to the scenario I'm in.

My job pays very well for my age but it essentially turned me into a person I hated.  Long, grueling hours (60+), a boss who doesn't know what is going on half of the time (and doesn't want to know; which sounds awesome at first but it is not when push comes to shove), and co-workers who have no real ambition but to do the threadbare minimum.

So I am transferring (starting March 1st!) to a lesser position with a pay cut but I get 40 hours a week.  Considering I saved $25,000 last year with my job, a pay cut still means I'm more than able to live within my means.  Plus I'll have enough actual spare time to start working on a new degree or get back to having some semblance of a life outside of work.

I will admit that each day, I wonder if I should have stayed at my old job for the pay.  The place I work at has so many people retiring soon I could be an engineering supervisor by the end of this year.

I think you should work at this place but always keep your eye open for other opportunities.