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When does job corps accept people for cna training?

Should I accept a risky (but fun) job or stay at my decent, stable job?

  • I’m a 32 year old male and I currently have a very good government job working as a CFO in Finance. I have a great title, freedom, and excellent benefits (4 day work week, pension, plenty of vacation/sick). However, I'm not sure if I want to stay at this job or accept a riskier job that is more aligned with my passion/interests. The work at my current job is voluminous but not impossible. We are a profitable agency and we don't have a lot of the financial stress that many other agencies have. I have been promised by my Director that I will eventually replace his position in about 8 years. Until then, I have guaranteed raises every year (government pay structure). I have been with the agency almost 1.5 years. I’m using the tuition reimbursement to complete my Master’s degree (2 classes left) and I will complete an additional valuable training program offered by the government over the next 5 months. The drawbacks to this job are that the people I work with don’t challenge me. I feel as though I’m babysitting both the staff and one of my bosses sometimes. I am also one of the lowest paid managers but I feel as though I work the hardest. These aren't deal breakers, but just a couple of issues. Here is the dilemma. The actual industry that I am involved in does not interest me. I am passionate about producing quality work in my niche (finance) but I'm not passionate about the industry. When I tell people what I do for a living, they fall asleep mid-conversation. Recently, I applied for and passed several interviews for a position with a dispensary that will soon be opening up in my town due to recent regulations that have passed. After speaking with the dispensary director, he wants to hire me as the Security Manager at a higher pay rate and a higher responsibility status than the position I originally applied for. The pay will be about $15,000 more than what I currently make. During the interviews, the hiring director knew that it was a miscast for me since most of my experience has been in finance, but he wanted to bring me aboard with the promise of something better down the road. I told him that my experience has not been in security (although I do have military experience) but that I'd be willing to do the job if there is an opportunity to move elsewhere within the company. The dispensary operation is expected to be a store, a cultivation center, and a processing center so there may be a lot more opportunities than just the dispensary store. The director is expecting to hire about 50-60 people overall eventually but he’s looking to fill his management team first. I am not sure what to do. I am passionate about the MMJ industry. I am very interested in all aspects of the MMJ business. I also understand that it's an extremely risky industry at this point. Should I trust the dispensary director when he tells me that there will be opportunities for other positions? I am confident in my abilities to prove myself as a hard worker and as an asset. My issue is that I do not want to look back one year from now and regret my decision to leave the government job. I also don't want to regret passing up this dispensary opportunity--If it goes according to plan, I could establish myself as a key player and hopefully work my way into an even better position doing something I love. I don’t plan on getting married or having kids any time soon, if ever. I’m not in any type of debt, so the money is only one of the guiding forces. I'm wondering if anyone else has had experience leaving a good job for something else that they have a passion for? Is there any other type of research that I can do to find out if this is the right move for me?

  • Answer:

    I'm wondering if anyone else has had experience leaving a good job for something else that they have a passion for? But this isn't something you have a passion for. You are passionate about MMJ. This is a job in security. If you want to jump ship, by all means do so, but don't do it until you have an offer in hand and do not do it because a guy says if you take this job you're totally unqualified for, there will be a different one for you later based on what he's "expecting." Oy. No.

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I just want to say that... a 4-day workweek, good title, sufficient pay, perceived "freedom," excellent vacation and sick leave benefits with a dialed-in raise schedule and government-guaranteed pension -- this is pretty much literally as good as you could possibly do job-wise in these United States in the year of Our Lord two thousand fifteen. I am sitting here practically crying at the prospect that you would not only be set up that way, but thinking of leaving it to go work in a very risky high stress job. I get that it kind of sucks not being passionate about your work, but could you maybe find a hobby or volunteer opportunity you ARE passionate about, and use that as your source of life's meaning? If you are working 32 hour weeks and/or have 3 day weekends every single week -- I don't know how you manage your time -- you already have 20% more time that normal everyday human beings to dedicate to such things, which isn't everything but it's not nothing. It's a hell of a lot more than nothing. I've never personally been in your situation but obviously it sounds like a terrible idea to me to let all that go.

Joey Buttafoucault

I feel compelled to point out that this is a textbook "no turning back" scenario. If you take a job at a MMJ dispensary, you will not be able to go back to your government finance job. You will not be able to go back to any government job. The government does not look kindly upon people that engage in criminal activity (at the federal level).

saeculorum

The pay will be about $15,000 more than what I currently make.You're a finance guy so hopefully you've already considered this, but when you say "$15,000 more than what [you] currently make" are you talking just about wages or about total compensation? Because chances are the retirement and health benefits at your current job are better than what a young business will offer and it won't take much difference at all to eat up $15,000.

Nerd of the North

Dear God, no. Nooooo. No. I recruit finance types. It is an industry where people value careful, considered decision making. A career detour like this will get your resume tossed in the trash should you need another job -- not just for the association with weed, but because of the irrational decision making. And that's not even getting into the reality you are likely to encounter in the actual job. There is no upside here.

fingersandtoes

I feel like your criteria for taking this job are emotional rather than rational, due to your boredom with your current job. This business is unproven, they are attempting to hire you for a job that you aren't really qualified for, and the money is a nice carrot to dangle. What happens when this business has gone under in two years (or less)? What's your backup plan? How easy will it be for you to get another job in the MMJ field, or even in your previous field? I'm all for follow your passions, but do your due diligence and apply with a company that's been around for a bit. You can reapply to this company after they've proven themselves a bit.

vignettist

Should I trust the dispensary director when he tells me that there will be opportunities for other positions? Never believe anyone who tells you this. If you don't like what they're offering now, don't take it. And that's even besides the fact that you should never, ever leave this magical set up you have right now.

bleep

Another point -- you mention military experience. It may be changing, but government jobs tend to be much better about recognizing military experience as a valuable skillset than private-sector jobs, as a whole. Locking yourself out of government jobs in the future may knock you back more than you realize.

jaguar

One other thing. I don't know anything about government structures, but in the private sector, a CFO typically reports to the CEO, being one level from the top of the company. This is more than a "manager" position, it's a senior executive role, typically held by people with many years of experience, and overseeing large finance organizations with several levels of people below them. It sounds like this is a little different for you, in that you report to a director and describe yourself as one of the managers. This isn't to minimize what you do at all, but to point out that I think you may be very fortunate to have achieved such a lofty title so (apparently) early in your career. And if you want to continue in finance long-term, it might take a long time to get back to the CFO level if you walk away from it now, especially for something totally unrelated. If I were in your shoes, I'd hold out for a lateral or near-lateral move into the private sector to cement yourself at the executive level.

primethyme

Did new job say *anything* about indemnifying you against any problems with federal law enforcement? Because that's still a thing.

rhizome

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