Six months ago I received a phone call form a potential job offer
from a hospital in Florida, which put me in a tough position because I recently
started a new job in Delaware and renewed the lease to my apartment. Given my
current situation I had very limited time to make a decision, whether I wanted
to stay at my current position or take on this new offer in Florida. Making a
decision was not an easy task as I had to weigh the pros and cons of me staying
vs me leaving. In the following lines I will be exploring some of the pros and
cons of each side.
The positive aspects of me staying in Delaware would be that my
current job is salary based making 45,000 a year with good benefits that
include a 401K plan, health insurance and a tuition reimbursement plan regardless
of your field of study. Also the cost of living in Delaware is affordable, I am
currently paying 700 a month for a 1-bedroom apartment including utilities. The
morning commute to work is typically easy going being that I live only 10
minutes away from my job site. Last but not least I am a family oriented person
and the fact that my parents live close by is an advantage because I do not
travel a long distance to see them.
There are some negative aspects of me moving to Florida such as my
pay rate, my new position is offering $14.00 an hour. After making inquiries I
found out that the cost of living in Florida is more expensive. The minimum
amount for a 1-bedroom apartment in Florida is $840 excluding utilities. My new
job in Florida is located in a high priced area which I could not afford to
live in, resulting in me having to move 30 minutes to the next town over. Being
that I am in another state it will be difficult to see my family as often as I
am used to.
Although Delaware has some great alternatives to me staying it does
have its downs, such as the brutal winters we experience the lack of leisure
facilities and the lack of diversity which is not so appealing to a young woman
as myself. Also my current job is not in my field of study and working in my
field of study has always been ideal to me. My employer does not offer
promotions unless you have been employed with their company for over 5 years.
For the past couple of years my job has been shutting down different
departments and moving the work load to different countries outside of the
United States, therefore my future with my job is not secured. My current
employer gives a substantial raise every two years but the raise is not
guaranteed due to the fact that the raise is based on your performance.
Florida has plenty attributes that are appealing to me, such as the
year around sunny weather. Florida is known for having beautiful and fun
attractions such as beaches, resorts, and well known theme parks. The sunshine
state is a melting pot full of culture and diversity and being that it is so
close to the Caribbean a lot of Caribbean’s migrate to Florida, which brings
opportunities to network with others from different backgrounds that I believe
will give great learning experiences. My potential job offer is within my field
of study and for this reason I will be passionate about my job and wake up
pleased to go to work every day. This potential job is always offering room to
advance within the company and due to the fact that the aging population is
growing in Florida the need for medical attention is increasing every day,
which provides for more jobs in my field.
After weighing the pros and the cons of both jobs I have decided to
take the job offer in Florida. Although the pay may be less and I will be away
from my family. I will have opportunities to attain a better paying position
within the company and better job security opposed to my current job.
I was able to present this paper to you today by interviewing
relatives and friends who live in Florida. I also included some of my
experiences and the experiences of others who reside in Delaware.
