Bring it on!

Among a medium-sized company A in Mississauga, a small one B in Markham and a tiny one C in Pickering, I finally decided to go to the tiny one.

A has a size most employees would feel comfortable with, but the facility looks old and dirty and the engineering manager has an attitude although my potential direct supervisor looks down-to-earth. Besides, the offer cannot even match what I got from my last employer. The worse thing is: the engineering manager tried to fool me about the hourly pay calculation, which was an insult to my intelligence. If I were really that stupid, they probably wouldn't hire me anyway.

B is much closer to my house and has a very tidy and spacious working space considering its size. The boss is nice and currently they have only one mechanical engineer below him (also a Chinese, by the way, his hair is a disaster and his image is embarrassing as a professional). The offer is fair and they agreed to give me 3 weeks vacation starting from the second year. But the problem is: the job is too familiar for me so there won't be much new stuff. The bright side is I would feel very comfortable in the new position, but the down side is: If I leave this company several years later, my resume won't have any fresh words.

C is the smallest company I've ever been to. The owner (also titled as engineering manager although currently there is only one person to manage) seems easy-going and open-minded. We had some good laughs at the interview and he said we could get along. I thought he was just trying to be polite, but after he increased his offer twice I realized he really liked me, for the reason I don't know. Most importantly, if I take this job, I would be responsible to all aspects of the projects, which is quite different from what I did before. As a conservative and slightly pessimistic person, I am always intimidated by big changes like this (I told them I like challenges, but it was 80% a lie), and it is no exception this time.

I do know this is a good opportunity for me to gain some new skills and K thinks I should at least try it. But still, the “coward” and the “lazy guy” inside me kept pulling me down.

Eventually, I said, "Whatever will be will be..." Even if I fail it, it won’t be the end of the world. Besides, they liked me, not otherwise.

So, bring it on!