One of those pesky phases in life when you’re trying to reinvent your career - you finally think you’re eligible for a your next move but end up being overwhelmed, confused, and hopelessly lost when it comes to making a decision.
The dilemma I’m facing now is that after nearly 3 years with an information security consultancy, i’ve quit my job in search of for greener pastures and now trying figure out what to opt for.
So here’s what I’ve to decide from:
a) Bank - An IT Audit role. The salary is fairly decent with the usual perks.Since i’ve previously worked in a technically intensive environment, i find the technical aspect of IT auditing to be a piece of cake, so not much to learn in this regard. But perhaps working in the Audit role will bring in some exposure to the Governance, Risk and Compliance side.. but again not quite sure and I’m scared of being trapped on a dead end in the long run. They have annual performance and salary reviews and it seemed that there are good chances for growth for the next 5 to 6 years, at least.
b) Big4 - The role isn’t quite defined at these places, but it pertains to Risk, Audit, Security and Compliance. They expect you to work on A LOT of different business lines so the exposure is IMMENSE. But on the down side, the pay is HORRIBLE.. its LESS THAN HALF of what others have offered.. work hours are a nightmare.. don’t get me wrong here, I believe in hard work and myself worked an average 10 hours a day in my previous role but from what i hear about these places is that they completely drain you out and leave you with absolutely no time for your family, personal improvements, etc .. and there is no defined process for increments either, most of the people seemed to be working their as a means to securing a position at a bank in the future… The only plus here is the exposure to numerous clients and service areas.
c) Technology Vendor - Technical Sales - Pretty much inline with my previous work. A techo-commercial role which requires you primarily handle sales and dabble in little technical areas as well (but not a hands on technical role). Like any sales role, there is the usual pressure to bring in sales and you’re level of technical expertise remains mediocre. This brings me to another question, is there any real growth in a sales career? It seems that most of the sales people I came across during my tenure happened to work on pretty much the same lines and only had changed functional titles, i.e. changing titles from sales representative to account manger, area manager, bla bla… The reason I’m considering this role, is that this particular vendor happens to be fairly renowned… other than that nothing new in terms of a deeper, more complex role or building a niche expertise. Though on the other side, I don’t see many certified and qualified in infosec sales either, so maybe this could be an advantage, or maybe focusing and narrowing to just one area in sales isn’t a very bright idea altogether..
Sorry, for the lengthy post guys but I would REALLY appreciate your help as I gotta start finalizing in 3 or 4 days. Would be grateful if you could share your own experiences, opinions, observations and even speculations 
