After much deliberation, I decided to decline that job offer from Emory University. The lure of a permanent job, with lower out-of-pocket tax and health insurance expenses was pretty strong. But their salary budget and our monthly bills budget just weren’t quite aligned at this time. The salary they were offering was in a sort of “grey zone” for our household budget. We probably could have gotten by, but only barely, and only with the help of extra part-time income that Susan and I would add to it with side projects and such. Basically, it would be a large reduction in gross income, and a smaller (but still significant) reduction in net income. So, in the end, I found that I had to turn down that particular job.
It was a bit of an odd experience, in a way. I’ve never really been in a position before that I could turn down what normally would be a good job at a modestly decent salary. I almost felt guilty for doing it. But who knows — maybe one day they’ll have another position suited for me, with a higher budget. Fortunately, I still have my current consulting contract, and another short-term consultation gig in the works.
