u/theoneinprogress

Hey y'all! It's my first time writing a post in this group, so bare with me. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

So I recently just got a job offer from RPM A-V Services, Inc. I was pretty excited about it because I've been wanting to join an AV-focused company to gain more direct hands-on AV exposure and experience.

On paper, I am still considered a bit of a novice/entry-level, based on work experience. I got my working as a Stagehand for live events, then got my first official AV job as an in-house AV tech for a hotel, then went off to join an IT contractor for about a year, joined a Best Buy custom install team for a bit, and now I currently work as an AV Operations Tech for a school district.

I am honestly not too fulfilled or satisfied with my current job working for the school district. While the income is steady and reliable, and I do get the occasional school holidays off, along with all the other benefits working as a full-time district employee such as teacher retirement, the work itself isn't something that is advancing my knowledge or skills with AV systems. It basically just preventative maintenance, with occasional audio setups for school events.

However, I am starting to get cold feet with the job offer for a couple reasons. Stability and consistency being main factors. For one, the RPM office in my state is about an hour and a half away from where I live, that's including traffic. And the travel aspect, while I am not totally against as i actually do like to travel occasionally, and that's basically what I did with Best Buy custom install, the travel requirements for RPM do seem to be a bit more demanding along with the hours of work 45-50 hrs a week. I'd basically be sacrificing a lot of my personal with RPM as opposed to my job with the school district. I'd also be getting paid a couple bucks less than what I'm making at my current job due to the position i was offered as an installer, and most likely due to the weekly pay period. And knowing how private sector business works, hours can fluctuate a lot. I was even told during the interview that RPM went through a bit of a setback due to the current economic crisis. Where as with a school system, job security is pretty much guaranteed unless you were to do something egregious worth being terminated for.

I also found out during the interview that RPM doesn't allow their employees to transfer to other AV integrators that they do business with, due to "contractional obligations" or something of the sort. And while RPM does offer on-the-job training and even resources to train and study for AV certs such as the CTS, Extron programs, etc., and has does still have opportunities for in-job promotions such as working as a field engineer or a lead technician, it does still negate the want to move up in the AV industry by not allowing works to work for other integrators in the future.

All in all, I basically want to know from anyone who cares to respond to this on what move I should consider. Should I take the offer with RPM, or stick with my job with the school district for now until I can something a bit more suitable for me?

I've honestly been thinking of instead finding a more local integrator (such as AWS: Atlanta Soundworks in my case given that they are contracted with my school district and I've already connected with some of the workers from there) or Baker AV or AVI-SPL etc., and try to work with one of them as a freelancer while keeping the stability of my current job. I am also actively working on AV online courses such as the Extron EAVA, Q-SYS Lv. 1, and studying for my CTS. I also hold Dante Lv. 1-3 certs and the AVIXA-Recognized AV Technologist certification.

Sorry if this still ended up being too long. I just want to make sure I'm making the right choice without being too hasty. Again, you can probably tell I'm still fairly new to all of this.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

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[TLDR: I got a job offer from an AV company, but am starting to get hesitant on accepting the offer due to concerns of stability, consistency, and personal life balance. Second guessing on instead working as a freelancer for a local AV integrator while keeping my full-time job]

Hey y'all! It's my first time writing a post in this group, so bare with me. I'll keep it as brief as possible.

So I recently just got a job offer from RPM A-V Services, Inc. I was pretty excited about it because I've been wanting to join an AV-focused company to gain more direct hands-on AV exposure and experience.

On paper, I am still considered a bit of a novice/entry-level, based on work experience. I got my working as a Stagehand for live events, then got my first official AV job as an in-house AV tech for a hotel, then went off to join an IT contractor for about a year, joined a Best Buy custom install team for a bit, and now I currently work as an AV Operations Tech for a school district.

I am honestly not too fulfilled or satisfied with my current job working for the school district. While the income is steady and reliable, and I do get the occasional school holidays off, along with all the other benefits working as a full-time district employee such as teacher retirement, the work itself isn't something that is advancing my knowledge or skills with AV systems. It basically just preventative maintenance, with occasional audio setups for school events.

However, I am starting to get cold feet with the job offer for a couple reasons. Stability and consistency being main factors. For one, the RPM office in my state is about an hour and a half away from where I live, that's including traffic. And the travel aspect, while I am not totally against as i actually do like to travel occasionally, and that's basically what I did with Best Buy custom install, the travel requirements for RPM do seem to be a bit more demanding along with the hours of work 45-50 hrs a week. I'd basically be sacrificing a lot of my personal with RPM as opposed to my job with the school district. I'd also be getting paid a couple bucks less than what I'm making at my current job due to the position i was offered as an installer, and most likely due to the weekly pay period. And knowing how private sector business works, hours can fluctuate a lot. I was even told during the interview that RPM went through a bit of a setback due to the current economic crisis. Where as with a school system, job security is pretty much guaranteed unless you were to do something egregious worth being terminated for.

I also found out during the interview that RPM doesn't allow their employees to transfer to other AV integrators that they do business with, due to "contractional obligations" or something of the sort. And while RPM does offer on-the-job training and even resources to train and study for AV certs such as the CTS, Extron programs, etc., and has does still have opportunities for in-job promotions such as working as a field engineer or a lead technician, it does still negate the want to move up in the AV industry by not allowing works to work for other integrators in the future.

All in all, I basically want to know from anyone who cares to respond to this on what move I should consider. Should I take the offer with RPM, or stick with my job with the school district for now until I can something a bit more suitable for me?

I've honestly been thinking of instead finding a more local AV integrator (such as AWS: Atlanta Soundworks in my case given that they are contracted with my school district and I've already connected with some of the workers from there) or Baker AV or AVI-SPL etc., and try to work with one of them as a freelancer while keeping the stability of my current job. I am also actively working on AV online courses such as the Extron EAVA, Q-SYS Lv. 1, and studying for my CTS. I also hold Dante Lv. 1-3 certs and the AVIXA-Recognized AV Technologist certification.

Sorry if this still ended up being too long. I just want to make sure I'm making the right choice without being too hasty. Again, you can probably tell I'm still fairly new to all of this.

Any feedback will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!

—————————————————————————————

[TLDR: I got a job offer from an AV company, but am starting to get hesitant on accepting the offer due to concerns of stability, consistency, and personal life balance. Second guessing on instead working as a freelancer for a local AV integrator while keeping my current full-time job.]