Should I take this job?

Should I take this job?
0
#1

Hello, guys so i was offered a job at a auto mobile company as a javascript programmer not sure if I should take it because I got a weird vibe and its also minimum wage. Although, I have no degree and no experience so it would be a start at least. I feel pressure from my parents to take the job and they told me that im not going to like what im doing when I first start out but I don’t believe that to be true. Then I talk to my friends who work in IT and they tell me I should NOT take this job and there are red flags everywhere.
My question is essentially if the ball was in your court would you take the job?

#2

Do you currently have a job ?

#3

Yes im currently working as a Barista part-time. I feel this helps me learn more code for future jobs.

#4

From my experience, it’s generally easier to find work when you are in work, and without degree and experience it would be good to get your foot in the door and start getting solid experience as you’ll never have to find that first programming job again.

I wouldn’t be too concerned with the minimum wage issue, as after a few months of working hard if they are not willing to increase your salary then you would have some experience under your belt to be considered for roles with other companies, perhaps take the view that you would be getting paid full time to work on your resume.

However

The feeling you get about a company is important and bear in mind that if you feel this way then it’s possible that the organizational “fit” isn’t right. This is important because it means you may not want to stay there and they may not want you to stay.

If you are doing well in your barista role, then perhaps this is not the right opportunity for you and as you say, you would be better served working on your portfolio alongside your part time job.

Regarding pressure from your parents, have you shared your progress with them? Do they know what you are doing or do they think you are playing on your computer? Maybe you could come up with a plan, which would ease their worries? I’m presuming that you would be willing to take a minimum wage job for a company that you feel good about, even if it’s not the work you hoped for? If this is a case then have you explained this? Perhaps point out that taking a job for a company that you get weird vibes from means that you could find yourself unemployed in a few months instead of having a part time barista job!

Good luck!

#5

Yes, they have seen my work and they actually have asked me to build websites for them(bizarre because I dont know what I would be building). But at the same time, they want me to take any job that comes my way even if it may not be a good fit. I suppose I could always give it a try.

#6

No! Don’t do it! You’ll regret it!

#7

Javascript programmer and minimum wages for a automotive company just sounds plain ridiculous. Don’t do it, there’ll be other more interesting proposals.

#8

I know its kind of low but do yo think my lack of degree would hurt my chances of getting the actual job I want?

#9

I guess this really depends where you live, and where you are applying. Some jobs offers in my city clearly states that they want a good portfolio and skillset, while they don’t really care about your education. Some others are asking for too much (IMO) like NASA skills and a doctorate for a frontend progamming job…

If you’re in no rush, and still learning the job, then it wouldn’t be so bad to take the job, and look somewhere else when you’ll have more experience.

#10

Take my advice with a big ol’ grain of salt because I don’t have my first job in web dev yet either… But IMO min wage for a JS programmer is ridiculous. I can’t even start to imagine how they decided it would be a good idea to start looking for someone at that rate.

But there’s a couple of very solid reasons why you shouldn’t take the job.

  1. That a company is offering that low a pay IS a red flag. Either they are so out of touch that they really have no idea of the market rate, or they are trying to take advantage of you, thinking they could offer you anything and you will take it. There’s no excuse for being out of touch like that when they could find the answer on the net in about 17.5 seconds what the market rate is, and if they’re trying to take advantage of you to that degree, do you really want to work for them? I imagine they’ll expect the world of you.

  2. A lot of companies ask you what you were making in your last position. When you take a very low-paying job out of desperation, it has the potential to affect your future earnings too. If you take $20k now and work there for a year, you’re not just losing the difference between that and the $40 avg. You’re also (probably) losing money on your next job because after hearing that you’re willing to work for peanuts, they’ll offer you only slightly bigger peanuts. But they’ll still be peanuts.

  3. This one benefits others more than you. Every time someone takes a job for half the industry avg, it lowers the average and devalues our work. They’ll tell their friends they found a developer for min wage and their friends will think “cool, I’ll offer the same and get a newb who’s willing to take it, too!” Next thing you know, people are offering less and less across the board. I’m not suggesting that one person can literally change the entire industry. LOL. But each additional person that accepts offers like this makes it just a little bit harder for the next person.

I believe you’d be better off waiting. Even if you have to wait a full year for the normal-paying job, you’ll make double so you will have earned the same amount in half the time and take no loss from waiting. JMHO.

#11

Rather than straight out refuse, make them a counteroffer that isn’t utterly ridiculous like theirs is.

Tell them you’ll build them the app they want, but set a fixed price. Tell them you’ll build it for $5k. It’s a really low offer but at least it’ll give you another project to put in your portfolio.

P.S. Don’t quit your barista job. Instead, keep barista-ing and build them their app in your free time.

#12

So what happened? Are you working there? Are you still looking for programming jobs or did you decide to go another route?