Balancing passion and pay: Navigating job offers as a new professional

The latest edition of MaltaCEOs.mt’s Work and Wealth Watch series where Money Coach Luca Caruana gives his expert responses to all your questions related to money, work and wealth. Want to see your own questions answered on MaltaCEOs.mt? Send your questions on info@moneycoachinghub.com

Dear Luca,

I have spent the last two years working as an intern with a marketing agency, primarily focused on graphic design. Recently, I was offered a full-time position with an indefinite contract. My salary has also been slightly increased.

My first impulse is to accept this offer and continue developing in the career I love. However, despite still being an intern, I have received two other offers, both of which come with much higher salaries than my current one. The work described is similar to what I’m doing now, although one position seems a bit more advanced.

I am open to new challenges, and at 28, I feel I still have enough time to take such leaps. Yet, my question is: should my decision be based solely on the money? I won’t lie, the extra income would be very helpful, especially since I am saving to buy my first property.

Looking forward to your opinion.

Confused Intern

Luca Responds

Dear Confused Intern,

Seven years ago, I would have immediately told you to leap to the job with the highest salary and never look back. It was something I did myself at the time; in my case, it was for a managerial position. Unfortunately, when I made the change, I ended up working under a micro-manager who wanted to review every decision before it was made—even something as simple as sending an email to a printer to order brochures. Yes, that was the extent of it. Now, I’m not saying this will happen to you, but before making such a big decision, consider the following:

Have you done all the necessary research on the other companies? And when I say research, I also mean research on the persons you will be reporting to.
Is the extra salary being offered so substantial that you wouldn’t achieve it even if you spent another two years with your current employer?
Have you tried approaching your current employer to discuss the possibility of increasing your salary?

To answer your question directly, no, it should not all be about the money. Admittedly, having EUR 5,000–EUR 10,000 more per year is not something to be laughed at. However, coming out of an internship, it might be more ideal to gain additional experience before making any significant moves.

Besides, as I always say, if it is about income, there are various ways to make more, including monetising your passions. If you really like graphic design, you can first check with your employer to see if it’s okay for you to do something on the side related to graphic design. It might earn you that extra buck, making saving more achievable.

I hope that helps.

Luca,

The Money Coach, from the Money Coaching Hub

CEO & Founder of Monipal

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