My mentor in 2011 told me to take the $12/hr office job over the $19/hr warehouse gig, and I'm still not sure he was right

Wyatt Green · 2026-10-09T04:05:03.801843+00:00

Back in 2011 I had two offers on the same Friday, one was a warehouse gig in Columbus paying $19 an hour and the other was a front desk job at a small insurance office paying $12. My mentor Ray, who I met at a job fair, told me to take the office one because it had a path. I took his advice and spent two years answering phones before I got promoted to claims, then moved into underwriting. Now I make good money and my back doesn't hurt, but my buddy who took the warehouse job bought a house at 26. When I look back I think Ray was right about the long game but wrong about how fast it would pay off. Has anyone else picked the lower paycheck for the path and actually come out ahead?

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My mentor in 2011 told me to take the $12/hr office job over the $19/hr warehouse gig, and I'm still not sure he was right | Career Advice - HW Forums