Decisions, Decisions

Today I am supposed to get together with a girl I used to work with at a hospital in the burbs. She was one of the 1st people I met when I moved to Chicago, so I am looking forward to seeing her. She currnenly is working in a hospital IT department supporting the medical record software there. I encouraged her to go after that type of job, so I am anxious to see how it is going for her.

She called me while I was on the road, and mentioned that her department is down several positions... The pay is close to what I make now, plus I would be certified in a product that is being used across the country. There isn't a week that goes by that I don't have some recruiter contacting me about a position using this software.

Now - I like my job right now. I like the people I work with, I like traveling, and the company in general is very friendly. But the project I am working on is poorly managed, and I often find myself wondering if this job is going to last. If it doesn't, where do I go from here? I really would rather stay where I am, but there are some temptations about going back to my old employer.

I have to consider that I will likely need to start treatment for HIV soon. What difficulties might I face travelling with side-effects, stress, etc? What about healthcare benefits? Would it be better to work closer to home?

I don't know. I need to talk to her about this and see what she thinks. I just worry that inter-state travel might get to be too much, even though I enjoy it - it might be hard on my health. Also, I am lukewarm on the skill sets I am getting with my current job. I don't know how far it is really going to take me in the future.