Help!Big Job Decision!!!

[rn4babies63]

:uhoh3:I Have Worked On An L&d Unit 15 Min From My Home For 11 Years, The Past 6 Which Have Been Casual Status. Due To My Husband's Recent Job Loss, I Took A Job 4 Months Ago On An L&d Unit 1 Hour Away. Although I Don't Dislike The Job, The Drive Is Alreading Getting To Be A Bit Much. I Have An Opportunity To Return To My Hometown Job Full-time. It Is About 50/50 On The Pros And Cons Of Both Jobs (the New One Is On A New, Beautiful, Remodeled Unit With Younger, More Competent Docs, And State Of The Art Equipment, The Local Job: Old School Docs That C/s Almost Everyone, All Paper Charting, Antique Equipment,etc). My Dilemma???? I Make About 2.50 More/hr At The New Job Than I Make After 11 Years At The Local Job. I'm Really Torn Between The Two........with Gas Prices And All.....any Advice?

[graceomalleyRN, RN]

My thoughts:

1) Life is too short to spend 2 hours a day in commute unless you have no choice

2) Gas prices are high, and they will likely go higher.

3) Wear and tear on your vehicle -- you'll need to replace it much sooner

4) Wear and tear on you -- that much driving is just extra tension most nurses don't need.

5) You could spend that extra 1 1/2 per day luxuriating in a bathtub, taking a nap, playing with your family. Life is short.

6) That much time in a car makes an accident much more likely. Add to that how tired you are after a 12 hour shift...

Is the local hospital so antiquated in terms of facility and procedure that your license might be at risk? If not, it just seems to me that the payoff of the commute would not be worth it when you look at the significant disadvantages.

Good luck on whichever path you take!

[suespets]

How about looking for a different job, w/ less of a drive? You don't seem to want to go back to the 1st job,either.

[BluntForceTrauma]

In my opinion, the extra $2.50 is probably being spent on gas during your 2hr commute. Add it up for a pay period and see.

P.S. Next post, please don't capitalize every word in your post....it makes the post difficult to read. Thanks!!

[rn4ever?]

Just ask yourself how long can you last driving an hour to go to work, and if the additional $2.50/hour is worth it. Also, do you think that working in the hospital nearer your house is better in terms of job stability and financial security? I know it's not easy to decide but write down the pros and cons.