Moral job question

[LeftNYC]

I have a question for DU'ers. Wondering what your take might be. I've been offered a job with a consulting firm that handles Fortune 500 clients. Although I am uncertain which companies the consulting firm deals with, I am sure that I am going to be opposed to many of them. My job would not be dealing with these companies, but doing in-house training for new hires and veteran employees. I am recently engaged and looking to start a family. I love training. I have worked in non-profit my entire career. This opportunity would give me a significant bump in pay and further my career significantly. This is a brand new position where I would get free reign to create the procedures and protocol for a new department. It is everything I want except I know I will be working for a company that probably deals with the corporations I am completely against. Would you take this job? I have been agonizing about it all weekend.

[ClassWarrior]

1. Could be an opportunity to make changes from within...

...especially as a trainer.

Good luck. It's a tough question.

NGU.

[elehhhhna]

6. Yep. Take the gig and slip in some ethics training when possible...

you can make a difference.

[LeftNYC]

14. THANKS EVERYONE!!!

I appreciate the support. The response here is what I've gotten from a lot of people on both sides of the corporatism debate.

[ingac70]

2. Do what you have to do to provide for your family....

Take what you can from this company.

[MercutioATC]

3. Take the job!

You have some "dealings" with big, bad corporations every time you do ANYTHING. Read the newspaper? Eat breakfast? Drive to work? You're dealing with large corporations.

There's a difference between actively supporting a company and taking a job in which your employer has dealings with those companies.

Your conscience should be clear. Congrats on the job!

[Bunny]

5. I don't think I could have said that better myself.

:thumbsup:

[MercutioATC]

17. As a disclaimer, I work for the federal government.

I'm an air traffic controller.


Do I like what my employer does or with whom they do business? Not really. The part I play, however, is a positive one (IMO). I don't have an ethical issue with it.

[laruemtt]

4. i would recommend taking it

on your terms, and keep checking in with your center to make sure it does not slowly drag you away from who you are. that power is yours, regardless of who you work for. good luck!

[Lindsay]

7. Pete Seeger once said,

"You can learn from any job."

You'd be doing something you love (I've done training, too, and love it as well), and maybe get some perspective on what we're dealing with. And good jobs are getting harder to find all the time. If I were you, I'd take the job, and do what I could in terms of volunteering time and money for causes that are important.

[porphyrian]

8. How bad do you and your family need the money?

Put your own survival before ideological bullshit, unless you have an affordable alternative. Your turning down a job in this economic climate solely to make a statement (you won't be hurting them, they'll just go to the next girl or guy in line) might get you some congratulations, but it won't pay your bills or feed your family. However, if you can shop around, or if you have equal job opportunities doing something else, you'll feel much cleaner at the end of the day if you don't take this one.

[Wickerman]

9. If you respect the actual consulting firm

why not give a few years and see if you can't shape their ethic? You will gain valuable experience and then be able to see if as you start your family if you want to ramp it back down and go back to the non-profits.

Perhaps save some of that pay bump and you can then devote your work life to doing good in the non-prof area with your increased skills.

Good luck!

[meganmonkey]

10. Do what your heart tells you

No one can make that decision for you. Even if a hundred people on this thread say 'take the job', you need to listen to yourself. If your heart, or your gut, or whatever, are questioning this, trust yourself.

Peace.

[seabeyond]

11. find the good, find the stuff you can respect. we have to stop this

divide. a repug is not evil any more that a liberal is evil. take the job. do well. earn your pay.... have fun, then live your life. cheers to the family that comes

[Fleshdancer]

12. Ultimately, it's up to your personal comfort level

Unless your job is to train people how to steal pensions from other employees or how to cover up illegal toxic waste dumps and engage in offshore child labor, then you're safe on the ethical front. Just be current on all the whistle blower laws and include it as well as corporate ethics in your training. ;)

[Dolomite]

13. If you've never sold out before

how do you know you'll be uncomfortable?

And whenever you have to deal with a corporation your against personally, be sure to let your co-workers know how unhappy you are about as much as possible - they'll love it! Also, sometimes complaining about work can take the place of actual pay.

[papau]

15. When I had to make the choice I was a sellout,- or I tried to change from

within (I at 23 actually told the CEO of the Prudential that he had no right ignore corporate charity, and indeed the company had no right to exist if it did not do good for the public!).

My other motivation was/is putting bread on the table.

I warn you that a leftest attitude does not necessarily change (contrary to the "get some wealth & vote GOP at 40" that our pundits tell us is always true) and you may end up with a new job every 4 to 5 years because you will never really fit in to the GOP ass kissing style that is found in parts of America's corporations (even with the "good boss", the boss changes over time, and your changing jobs may be the only good solution).

I always told myself that I refused to give up and let the game be won by default by the greedy - and then I wondered if the higher pay was what was really keeping me in the corporate game. Guilt was in my case was overcome by Church discussion groups that made one emphasize to oneself whatever good we were accomplishing that week.

Just do not expect merit to enter into promotions and raises, smile as folks throw BS at you and say little - indeed make few waves as wave making does little good - and hope your non-confrontational daily conversations and point of view succeed in changing the corporation for the good.

[leftofthedial]

16. go for the money, quash your conscience

it's the American way

[bunkerbuster1]

18. If you've only worked for non-profits

you've been at the mercy of Freepigs who piss on you and tell you that you don't know what it's like to be in a true biness meritocracy.

Whereas I've been in the private sector all my life and know damn well what a monumental, Dilbertesque cluster-fuck that world usually is.

Dive in, grab all the damn money and power you can while you can, and defeat the Freeptards in your midst. Go for it!