I'm going to get an offer from Company A this week, as soon as I get them my references and salary expectations. I'm expecting Company B to bring me back for another round of interviews, and I think eventually they'll make me an offer. It's a tough choice, and it's really down to the level of "gee, Company B has a nicer office". Naturally, I'm going to be really dorky about this.
| Company A | Company B | |
|---|---|---|
| Location | San Francisco | Palo Alto |
| Public Transit | office is ~1.2mi from Caltrain; 44-57 minute ride one-way | 7 blocks from Caltrain; 8-10 minute ride one-way |
| Driving | not a reasonable option | short drive, lots of free parking |
| languages I'd be working in (I want to move from Java to Perl) | mainly Perl, with some possible Java transition in the coming years. | |
| Challenge | pretty serious; possibility of working on a relational database. | slightly less hardcore, but still brain-teasing fun. |
| Problem Domains I Want To Work In | yes, exactly the stuff I wanted to transition to: from small Java webapps to large-scale server applications, preferably in Perl. | |
| Cultural Hipness Factor | nonexistent. | pretty high. |
| Money | unknown | unknown |
| Stock Options | unknown | unknown |
| Office | most of one floor of a generic south-of-Market San Francisco office building; funky computer tables; low lights; low ceilings | kickin' 3-story dotcom building; high ceilings; lots of color; reasonable lights that could be tinkered with. |
| Couches | yes | unconfirmed, but highly likely |
| Kitchen | fully-equipped kitchenette | six-burner stove, full fridge, lots of counterspace and comfy seating |
| Espresso Machine | nice one | nicer one |
You see my problem. A nice problem to have, though. And, in fact, Company B is technically still up in the air, so I may not need to choose (though that would be sad). Either way, I'm going to have a new job lined up before the end of the year, which is pretty rad.