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Greetings, I have a conundrum that I’m mulling over, trying to decide how to continue.

My education is in audio engineering, I’m good with tech, have been working at an AV company for a year now and starting to bridge my skill set into the IT side of things. Learning programming, networking, cybersecurity, etc - primarily on Codecademy at the moment, but I’m also going through the Harvard CS50 course and will be looking to get my CCNA and Network+ and the like in the future.

At my current AV job we have to travel all the time, and the jobs we do are kinda stupid, not gonna lie. Like I’m usually left scratching my head over “how is it that we got paid to do this when the client could have easily done this themselves?” I get paid pretty well, especially for an AV tech, probably on the higher side of the average pay (~$25 an hour). However, my company is kind of a joke, the boss is an ex-rockstar-wannabe, if you want a good image.

My main complaint is that I constantly have to go on trips far away from home (like LA, NY, Dallas, Chicago), and these trips are never organized in any sort of way. Shit gets added on last day or during the job, I end up having to come home late or the next day. I’m exhausted all the time and cannot get anything done at home.

The pay is nicer than some jobs, but I’m only sustaining a home and my wife at the moment (I’m partially sustaining my mother as well but she also takes care of herself and gets some alimony, so she’s not fully on my shoulders). When we have kids I’m gonna probably need more than $25 an hour.

I’ve only had this job for one year and there’s a potential opportunity to go work as a network and systems administrator (typical IT position). I would be working for a town hall though, in the Bernie state (VT). Better pay, much better hours, no trips, but I’d be working for a bunch of Libs. No vax requirement as of yet, but that would be a deal breaker.

Should I stay at this insane job, be away from my family and make base technician money but be away from the libs, or should I drop it and do what’s better for my mental health and family?

Admittedly, I haven’t got the job at the town hall, but I’m well known at the town hall since they’re a client, they like me, they know and want my specific skill set since I’m the one that set up their AV system.

Thoughts?

Thank you folks, god bless.

Greetings, I have a conundrum that I’m mulling over, trying to decide how to continue. My education is in audio engineering, I’m good with tech, have been working at an AV company for a year now and starting to bridge my skill set into the IT side of things. Learning programming, networking, cybersecurity, etc - primarily on Codecademy at the moment, but I’m also going through the Harvard CS50 course and will be looking to get my CCNA and Network+ and the like in the future. At my current AV job we have to travel all the time, and the jobs we do are kinda stupid, not gonna lie. Like I’m usually left scratching my head over “how is it that we got paid to do this when the client could have easily done this themselves?” I get paid pretty well, especially for an AV tech, probably on the higher side of the average pay (~$25 an hour). However, my company is kind of a joke, the boss is an ex-rockstar-wannabe, if you want a good image. My main complaint is that I constantly have to go on trips far away from home (like LA, NY, Dallas, Chicago), and these trips are never organized in any sort of way. Shit gets added on last day or during the job, I end up having to come home late or the next day. I’m exhausted all the time and cannot get anything done at home. The pay is nicer than some jobs, but I’m only sustaining a home and my wife at the moment (I’m partially sustaining my mother as well but she also takes care of herself and gets some alimony, so she’s not fully on my shoulders). When we have kids I’m gonna probably need more than $25 an hour. I’ve only had this job for one year and there’s a potential opportunity to go work as a network and systems administrator (typical IT position). I would be working for a town hall though, in the Bernie state (VT). Better pay, much better hours, no trips, but I’d be working for a bunch of Libs. No vax requirement as of yet, but that would be a deal breaker. Should I stay at this insane job, be away from my family and make base technician money but be away from the libs, or should I drop it and do what’s better for my mental health and family? Admittedly, I haven’t got the job at the town hall, but I’m well known at the town hall since they’re a client, they like me, they know and want my specific skill set since I’m the one that set up their AV system. Thoughts? Thank you folks, god bless.

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[–] • 2 pts

At my current AV job we have to travel all the time, and the jobs we do are kinda stupid, not gonna lie. Like I’m usually left scratching my head over “how is it that we got paid to do this when the client could have easily done this themselves?”

I'm one of the people who pays you to do something I can do.

You need to appreciate the economic opportunity cost of time. You make $25/hr. Your business charges me $50-75/hr for your time and pockets the difference.

I make thousands of dollars an hour. It's significantly more effecient for me to pay you for a task I can do and hope you don't fuck it up, than it is for me to spend my own time doing it - simply because my time is more valuable.

Now that we're on the same page big picture with how your inexperience in the value of time leads you to value your time, the answer to your question is easy: if you desire upward mobility economically, do whatever makes you the most at any time, while constantly using your spare time to seek to better your skills or networking and find a job that pays more. Rinse, repeat, until you are comfortable.