quick update, cross posted from another forum I moderate (
http://spoonyexperiment.com)
A little background. I've worked at my current job as a multimedia production specialist for 8 years now, 3 in the army, and 5 as a civilian. They've seen me through getting my drivers license, my marriage, my wisdom teeth coming out, the births of my 3 girls, my divorce. Hell, when I separated from my ex my boss took me in and let me crash on his couch for 2 months while his wife was dying of Rheumatoid Arthritis. He testified on my behalf during the custody hearing, and all around they've been supportive of me through the best and worst parts of my life thus far, and that's far more than I could ever fairly ask of any employer. My supervisor (who has been my supervisor, mentor, and friend for the entire 8 years) is getting ready to retire, and wants me to take over for him. A large part of me wants to do just that, BUT I can't fairly turn down the new position. My work is as varied as the term "multimedia", I do photo editting, print, pamphlets, websites, audio, video, flash, posters, CD Duplication, preservation, and more along with being an MCP working on my MSCA and MCSE.
The new job is a GS-11 (around $55K a year starting, a jump of $17K over what I make now) job with the Veterans Hospital in Lebanon PA, one of the biggest in the nation, as their webmaster.
http://www.va.gov/lebanonVAMC/ It's obviously, a Federal Gov't job, meaning recession-proof, the benefits are awesome, and the retirement plan is very good too. As an added bonus, once I'm in it will be a relatively simple matter to get transferred somewhere else, like Idaho in a few years to be closer to my friends, parents, and family.
Downside... it's an hour drive each way.