The Myth of the Resume Gap

[2ndGoat]

Decision time

So the large corporation interviewed me again, and the position was clearly more suited to my taste. Half the interview was a test of networking and security fundamentals, which I beat like a rented mule. It was really satisfying. I got an offer 2 hours later, which was, curiously, a significant chunk lower than the lowest I told them I'd consider. To be fair, the garaunteed yearly bonus is larger than expected, and mostly makes up for it. Still, I sent them back to discuss it further based on the fact that if they turn me down I could be perfectly happy with the poker job. They came back an hour later a tiny bit above the initial figure I provided. Huzzah. With this spike in pay, the total compensation package would be worth about 35% more than my previous job.

So what does it REALLY come down to? It's an extremely apples and oranges, and so this won't be easy. But basically, in 5 years, would I rather be:

1) Making video games as a coder/designer (the job would be a valuable resume addition in the notoriously tough to break into video game indsutry)
2) A hacker (network security position, potentially leading to the penetration/vulnerability assessment department)

For those of you that bleed binary, I'm sure you can see why this is a difficult choice. I'm going to try to make a decision tonight or at least this weekend, because the poker guys are dying to hear a decision.

2nd