[PsychNitrous]

So, a little background to explain everything. I currently live in Wisconsin, but my boyfriend and I desperately want to move to Colorado. We both love it there. The thing is, we need jobs before we can make the move. Primarily, I need a job, since I have college degrees and generally make more money than he does. He's looking for work too, but the move really hinges on my finding something good.

I've started putting in applications here and there for jobs in the area we'd like to live in, with few responses. One I turned down because it was a type of company that I'm absolutely uninterested in working in. Another interviewed me over the phone, but decided that I didn't have enough experience and ended the process. Yesterday I got a call from another company, and called them back today. They are really interested in getting me out there for an in-person interview, which feels really promising to me and my boyfriend.

Here's part of the issue. Right now I'm only working part time and we can barely make ends meet without any extra expenses. It would cost somewhere around $300 for us to make the trip to Colorado, more if we stayed more than one night. I know my parents are very supportive of us moving, but I don't want to ask them for monetary help with this trip now when I'm going to be asking them for money again in a few weeks to help with our rent.

The other problem is that I just can't decide if this job is going to be good for me or not. Their pay rate varies through your first few months. New employees start out in training for 3 weeks, which is paid hourly at $10/hour. After that, training pay stays the same, and customer-contact hours are paid at $30/hour. According to the owner, who I spoke with today, after a few months I should be getting at least 30 customer-contact hours a week, and will be making about $60,000 a year. That's good for this field, it's double what I can make in the same type of job here in Wisconsin.

I guess my real concern is whether or not we'd be able to afford to move based on this job. My boyfriend is looking as well, and has been finding some jobs in food service that he's more than qualified for that are paying $15-16/hour. That will help us immensely, but I still worry if it's worth it. And getting out there for an interview worries me too. Part of me wants to just deal with the late fees of a few bills and use that money to go, but if I don't get a job offer out of it I'll be in a worse situation than before the interview.

Does anyone have any thoughts on this job? Does it sound like something you'd take a chance on, or pass on? Anything I haven't thought about looking into that I should?

In the UK, where I live, it's common for the company to pay your travel expenses for an interview. Don't they do this in the States?

[PsychNitrous]

Originally Posted by Little Cat

In the UK, where I live, it's common for the company to pay your travel expenses for an interview. Don't they do this in the States?

I've seen some that will offer to pay relocation fees, but I've never been offered money to get to an interview.

Don't miss the interview. If it means that much to you. Only you can determine if this is something you should take a chance on. If I had an interview in another state for a job I would love, that meant I could change my life for the better I'd do what I could to scrounge up the money to get there. Even if it meant asking others for help.

[PsychNitrous]

Originally Posted by cielpur

Don't miss the interview. If it means that much to you. Only you can determine if this is something you should take a chance on. If I had an interview in another state for a job I would love, that meant I could change my life for the better I'd do what I could to scrounge up the money to get there. Even if it meant asking others for help.

The thing is, I can't get the information I need to decide if it's the right job for now. I don't know the right questions to ask or something. If it was a good choice I'd do everything in my power to get there. I just don't want to end up worse off than I am now.

[reb569]

The other problem is that I just can't decide if this job is going to be good for me or not. Their pay rate varies through your first few months. New employees start out in training for 3 weeks, which is paid hourly at $10/hour. After that, training pay stays the same, and customer-contact hours are paid at $30/hour. According to the owner, who I spoke with today, after a few months I should be getting at least 30 customer-contact hours a week, and will be making about $60,000 a year. That's good for this field, it's double what I can make in the same type of job here in Wisconsin.

I'm not sure if this is customer support or sales, but I would be cautious of a job that doesn't give a more specific pay range. It doesn't sound like he's guaranteeing a minimum number of contact hours, and if you don't get those hours are you going to be getting training hours instead? And for how long? Another red flag to me is that the end salary could be double what you could make where you are. Is the cost of living that different between where you are at and Colorado?

I think, if you haven't already, search for information on the company, news local to the area. Do they have any lawsuits against them? Check the better business bureau for customer complaints and how they are resolved. Poor customer complaint resolution and treatment of employees can go hand in hand sometimes.

It may be a great opportunity, so I'm not saying to discount it. I'm just recommending that you do some more research. Ask the owner about minimum guaranteed hours.

Best of luck!

[PsychNitrous]

Originally Posted by reb569

I'm not sure if this is customer support or sales, but I would be cautious of a job that doesn't give a more specific pay range. It doesn't sound like he's guaranteeing a minimum number of contact hours, and if you don't get those hours are you going to be getting training hours instead? And for how long? Another red flag to me is that the end salary could be double what you could make where you are. Is the cost of living that different between where you are at and Colorado?

I think, if you haven't already, search for information on the company, news local to the area. Do they have any lawsuits against them? Check the better business bureau for customer complaints and how they are resolved. Poor customer complaint resolution and treatment of employees can go hand in hand sometimes.

It may be a great opportunity, so I'm not saying to discount it. I'm just recommending that you do some more research. Ask the owner about minimum guaranteed hours.

Best of luck!

These are EXACTLY my worries. I worked at another agency that claimed to guarantee minimum hours but didn't. I broke my contract with them after 3 months, because I wasn't making any money.

Thanks for the research tips, I'll check into those. Definitely ideas I never had.

The cost of living where we want to move to is a fair amount higher than where we live now, but also I've noticed that the jobs I'm qualified for there just psy more than what I can get here. I'm licensed for my job, and the requirements for the license are less in Colorado than in Wisconsin. I can only get entry level jobs here; in Colorado I qualify for supervisory jobs.

[reb569]

Originally Posted by PsychNitrous

These are EXACTLY my worries. I worked at another agency that claimed to guarantee minimum hours but didn't. I broke my contract with them after 3 months, because I wasn't making any money.

Thanks for the research tips, I'll check into those. Definitely ideas I never had.

The cost of living where we want to move to is a fair amount higher than where we live now, but also I've noticed that the jobs I'm qualified for there just psy more than what I can get here. I'm licensed for my job, and the requirements for the license are less in Colorado than in Wisconsin. I can only get entry level jobs here; in Colorado I qualify for supervisory jobs.

Hopefully you find that it is a legit position! Even if that doesn't work out you may find something else and be able to move into a better position later. Moving to an area where the pay for the work you do is much higher is a major plus. Good luck!

[PsychNitrous]

So I've been thinking, and I think Monday I'm going to call and see if we can arrange a Skype interview first. I need clarification of the pay before I can really get excited about this job. But hopefully they'll agree to the online interview, and then I can get a better idea of what they're doing.

[reb569]

That's a great idea! Keep us informed on how it goes. Good Luck!