So I've been wavering about my job future again over the past 2 months. See my old job at the State had hired me back as a contractor for the month of June and 2 days a week since then. Upper management was much more agreeable than when I resigned in April and I threw a line in the water that I would consider coming back to the State full time if they couldn't fill the Director position. At the same time, my new job at the GIS consulting firm was moving very slowly.
Well, the State has their leading candidate for the Director postion, and has offered me the "Deputy Director" functional title. Basically, I'm in the drawn process of declining. If I could run the show as Director, I might be able to make something happen and the resume experience would be fantastic. But the Deputy Director is largely the position I held previously and I simply can't stomach it.
Admittedly, I started to get a little bit of the 'cold feet' syndrome w/ my new job. Having a wife and 3 kids to support, I'm cautious about my means of making a living. The State offers security in that I have a job for life, good health and pension benefits and lots of time off. Consulting offers me a great opportunity to make money and move up to a VP position though lacks the security of the State job.

I've always wanted to do interesting work in the GIS field. That has driven me for the past 10 years. Along w/ that, having an exemplary GIs program and the respect of my peers was another driving force. Striving for these 2 goals has elevated my career in 9 years from minimum wage to the #2 position in the State office of GIS. I'm not sure this is enough anymore. Last week, at the ESRI User Conference in San Diego, I ran into my old boss, B, from the State. So B has begun to gain national acclaim for the work he is doing at the State. He really eats it up, too. Especially when vendors kiss his ass because they know he has federal $$ in his budget to spend. But the guy has to take a 2nd job to make ends meet.

At the consulting firm, in a couple of years, I could be making nice $$ but doing much less glamorous work. If I play my cards right, in 5 - 10 maybe I could become a partner in the firm and see some real financial benefits.

So this is the question of the moment, strive to make $$ and increase my family's quality of life or strive to great GIS and the resulting professional accolades.