Would you leave a bad perm role for a GREAT temp one?

Amy&Anthony

Hi - I just can't figure this out, and I am not telling my family I am expecting yet, so I have no one  to bounce this off of, except DH. 

Long story short, after taking a year off of work to care for DS, I took a WFH job, to supplement our income it pays NOTHING, barely enough to cover daycare and groceries.

DH's company suddenly decided to close his division, he is trying to freelance, which will ultimately net him a bigger pay day, but it puts a bigger burden on me to bring more money in ASAP.

I have a 10 week opportunity as a PM with a local university, I have been applying to for various roles YEARS, It is  double my current pay.

I feel confident that once I get on campus, that additional opportunities will present themselves, it is a matter of 'being in the system", networking and showing your worth.

Once this role ends, if I have nothing else immediately I may qualify for UE, which would pay exactly what I am making now (I am trying to confirm that but can't get a straight answer)

in terms of insurance, we were all covered through DH, the new insurance option that I have is not taken by my OBGYN, so it looks like we will have to do cobra to continue our existing coverage anyway to cover us untill I give birth in SEP/OCT (or come up with 10K out of pocket- I am not open to switching OBGYN due to my health history).

The only fear is that old mantra, never leave a full time role for a temp role but it is such a great opportunity, and my job is so crappy that I am torn.

WWYD TIA (and of course sorry so long)

jenn_darrin1515

what's a PM?

So long as you can afford your bills IF this position didn't turn into something more than a 10 week one, I would go for it...even if it meant dipping into your savings for a bit.  I have found that a lot of jobs I've had were dependant on me already working within the system...so I think it certainly could turn into something more.  GL!

vigurl

I was all ready to say hell no from the title of your post but in your case hell yes.  If you have been working the WAH job long enough to have paid in enough to get unemployment then heck yeah.  Temp jobs can always land you connections and if that does not pan out I am damn well sure you can find something better ($$$) than your current role. You would in your case be getting paid to look so why the heck not.  UE is for like 18 months or something crazy now isn't it? Just have a b/u plan in case you don't find a perm role before you start showing.

kcisthebombdotcom

vigurl:

I was all ready to say hell no from the title of your post but in your case hell yes.  If you have been working the WAH job long enough to have paid in enough to get unemployment then heck yeah.  Temp jobs can always land you connections and if that does not pan out I am damn well sure you can find something better ($$$) than your current role. You would in your case be getting paid to look so why the heck not.  UE is for like 18 months or something crazy now isn't it? Just have a b/u plan in case you don't find a perm role before you start showing.

I agree with this. GL!

2-Step

I did exactly that about four years ago. I worked in a job with no upward mobility and hated my boss. I got a six month contract with a big software company to cover for someone on maternity leave with an upgrade in pay and title. The manager there hinted that there would be a full-time opportunity at the end of it, if they could swing it, but it wasn't guarunteed. It was a big risk, but I was in a situation that I needed to get out of and I had no kids at the time.

I took it, built some experience and ended up with TWO job offers on the table at the end of the six months. One from the company I was temping at and one from my old employer asking me to come back and take my old bosses job as a Director. I am now two titles up from where I was and making double and back at the old company. If I had it to do over I may have stayed where I was, since some of the old drama was still around when I returned to this job, but that is beside the point.

I think in your situation you need to go for it. It's a risk, yes, but sometimes a well calculated risk has the biggest reward and you don't have a ton to lose if your current job isn't making ends meet.

SouthFloridaMommy

I would definitely take a good temporary job over a bad permanent one, work my butt off for the temporary job and hope it turned into something.  But make sure you know the rules on UE before you do (if you would rely on UE being available to you).  I'm not 100% on this, but I think in my state, you can't qualify for UE if you have voluntarily left other employment within 12 weeks of becoming unemployed.  Again, I'm not 100%, but I was talking with a labor attorney, and I was surprised when I heard that (or something similar to that).  Then again, if you are making double what you make now, just put extra money aside for when the job could end.

Good luck!