I posted this on the disdads.com boards, but thought I would try for some opinions here, also.
Well, I am at a bit of a dilemma and wanted to get some opinions:
First of all I have to say that I love my job. I work with great people and the hours are great (Mon - Fri, 8-5.) I am an IT server/systems administrator. I like to think I am a very important part of the company - I am the resident virtualization guru (VMWare), head up the network monitoring, and am the 'go to' guy for major IT issues that need to be solved. Really, the only bad points are that it is not a huge company, so my pay is not quite up to industry standard levels and not much room for advancement.
At my nephew's birthday party, I was told that an acquaintance (my sisters' mother-in-law's stepson - how's that for obscure?) works for a large company looking to hire some IT people - Strategic Client Architects. It is going into a little different type of job, but uses my experience well. It is almost a sales-like position - or at least a lot of customer interaction. It is a huge pay increase (over 50% more than what I make now) and with the bonuses - almost twice as much. (More Disney trips!)
I don't know if I should inquire and see about interviewing for the new job (if my skills fit), or just be satisfied with a pretty great job with the lower pay. I know that the current company I am with will have a tough time replacing me (not meant to sound egotistical - just that I have so much knowledge of the current setup/situation, it would be a long transition for someone to learn it all.) I guess I could try to get an offer, then go to the current boss and state the facts (that I love working where I am, but the pay differential is huge) and see if they might increase my pay - but I doubt they would get close to a match in pay. But those situations aren't ideal. I feel a loyalty to my current employer (we are a tight-knit 'family'), but how do you turn down a potential salary of twice what you make?
I have some other thoughts/opinions, but wanted to start with that and see what y'all think.