mwmcginn

On the other side of this, you may not want to mention that you bike commute. I recently interviewed for a position and found out, in a round about manner, that there was real concern by the hiring manager about that form of commuting. I had some pretty good ins with the people there, but in the end I still havent been offered the job.

The interview seemed exceptionally positive, and when he asked about hobbies, I volunteered this information after he mentioned that he was on the bike trail the other day in some of the initial talk.

The job, however, wasn't a strong fit for my background, and I was looking for a change. So, I dont know, but dont give them any other reason to pick you out as a liability.

In the end, the commute should be secondary though. I would have given it up for this new position. If you have to spend 40+ hours anywhere each week, make sure that it works for the time you are there. You can always ride when you get home.

Stray8

The bike factors in very close to zero...maybe 1 or 2% at most. It's all about the working conditions and even more importantly - the money.

For your choices, wait for an actual offer(s) then decide, though #2 sounds really good.


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TheLifeOfBryan

It would have to be a damn good job to put me back in the three ton wheelchair. So probably a dealbreaker for me, but with enough zeros involved, I suppose I might be persuadable.

neil

It depends. I'm at the point in my career where if I'm going to change employers, it would be a for a large enough pay leap that I'll be looking to upgrade my house. Soooo....it's less relevant if I can bike right now, and more relevant whether I'll be able to find a nice place close enough to bike. I have no desire for a commute over 30 minutes each way, so 20 miles, even a beautiful beach front 20 miles, sounds undesireable as a twice-a-day activity.

So, given my willingness to move, I would take a job I can't currently bike to. But I wouldn't take a job I didn't expect to be able to bike to at some point in the nearish future.

RVD72

Thanks for the feedback everyone. I think the responses did get a little bit off track a bit. I wasn't really asking for advice about the jobs themselves. I guess the point was that each job has pros/cons but the better bike commute isn't with the best job, etc.

I figured since this is bikeforums and specifically we're in the commuting section, there might be some additional insight into commuting with a bike and how important that is when choosing a job. I have been commuting to work occasionally and sort of came to my own conclusion that if at all possible, I'd like to commute by bike for my next job. So I have only really been applying to jobs within a radius and routes where a bike commute would be somewhat possible.

And no, I wouldn't say that I'm in hot demand or anything like that. These are not 3 offers...they are just 3 positions that I have been interviewing for and I'm towards the tail end so (knock on wood), hopefully something comes through.

I am actually leaning heavily towards #2 (startup) since the commute is nice and along the beach. It takes me about an hour each way (I bike that path and beyond every week or so). It would take about 40 minutes driving through traffic. The pay is good but it'd also be a lot of work and some late nights. But in Southern California, hard work and late nights are nothing compared to bay area firms so that isn't a problem.

#1 does intrigue me a bit because it's with a fairly large internet company that owns a lot of big sites so the job would be stable and there is potential for growth. But the pay is too low that my wife doesn't even want me to consider it. I'd be making what I was making literally 10 years ago in 1999. The bike commute is closer but the route isn't as nice (lots of cars, areas with no shoulder, etc.). I may not even get this offer even though they say that I'm overqualified because they would likely assume that I'll just leave after a few months if I find a better job.

It's really not worth it for me to move away from this area to go to another area in Southern California because I like living here. If I did relocate, it would be to another city like San Francisco, Seattle, etc...and I would again look for an area with nice bike lanes, etc.

We also got rid of one of our cars last week so I have been experimenting with getting around much more on my bike over the past few days. It's been a bit of an adjustment and I think my wife is going to cave in and just buy another car soon but we'll see how it goes. Right now we have 1 car (minivan) that we use to take my son back/forth from school.

Anyway, thanks all...

RVD.

DataJunkie

For me it does not.
1) Terrible job market.
2) I can ride just about anywhere in the metro area as is.
More than likely I can make a bike commute work just about anywhere.

Artkansas 

My (ex) wife wanted me to get another, when we were down to 1 car. But I had her do the math. My bicycling instead of driving was what kept us in the black and out of the red each month. She changed her attitude quickly and gave me solid support from then on.

velocycling

But how you get to a job is money. In business, it is called transportation costs. If you look at your (personal) bottom line, transportational costs are a big part of your expenses. This can be car related or time related. It is still an expense. Lots of people where I live, commute drive 2-3 hours. Their costs not not only car related but there total income is now divided by the work hours plus commute say
8+2=10 on top of the actual car expense. Most people only look at the more importantly - the money. But forget the expenses to generate the income.

ZmanKC

I start a new job on Friday and will be able to commute by bike. It wasn't the reason I took the position, it was just happenstance. It's about 5½ miles each way.

Made a second dry run today, checking out a different route. Less traffic and slightly longer than the route I tried last week. Think I'll use this one.

JoeyBike

If I have to own and maintain a car, I need 10K EXTRA a year just for the car.

Because I don't own a car, I am in GREAT shape at 51. If I have to take time out from my real life (spare time) and go to a gym spinning class, pay for that, and take my spare time to do it - another 10K.

Money talks. If commuting is not an option, that had better be some really sweet job and/or a truck full of money will be involved.

mustang1

Go with number 2. I'm assuming you're quite young and have no family.

To answer your commute question, commuting by bike has no relevance for me in the sense that I would not accept/decline a job due to being able or not able to commute on bike.

RVD72

I'm actually not that young. I'm 36 (turn 37 tomorrow) and I am married with 1 kid.

On the plus side, I'm fortunate that we do pretty well financially. Not Bill Gates kind of money by any stretch but enough that buying another car, gas, etc. doesn't really make a difference. The bike commute would simply be for enjoyment and exercise rather than any type of financial reward.

I seem to recall reading a thread in here a few months ago about people joking around that when they got laid off recently, they miss the bike commute more than their jobs which is what got me thinking along these lines.

Anyway, more rounds of interviews await. However, I actually think that if a job offered me good money but did not allow me to commute by bike (because of distance, they don't let me bring my bike into the building, etc.) it might actually be a deal breaker for me.

RVD.

whatsmyname

That really came through in your description!

But seriously - I think the commute is an important and legitimate consideration. It can have a significant impact on your expenses (esp in your case - the avoided cost of buying and running another car is effectively a $$$ bonus for any job that you don't need one for); it has a significant impact on your health, and health is priceless; and it has a significant impact on your day - nothing works quicker to destroy your mood than sitting in traffic for an hour.

genec

Tend to agree.

Lately I have been taking temp engineering jobs and some have had some awful commutes, and pretty sad working conditions. Bike commuting has NOT been a part of the equation. (right now I am driving a nearly 40 mile commute each way)

But it is work, and the pay is far far better than unemployment.

I continue to network and send out resumes in the gallant effort to find the right job.

The right job will have full benefits, including the right distance to commute, and a shower and some place to park my bike. For this, I am willing to negotiate my salary. But it may take a better economy before this happens.

genec

I have quite enjoyed working for startups in the past... usually the companies were quite flexible and the work challenging and exciting... however, the last two start ups I worked, failed, due to either lack of funding or poor marketing. The planned product was there, at the projected time, with the right features, but the market was not.

I wish you all the luck. And yes, startups do usually mean longer more erratic hours, and maybe weekends... it all comes down to making it work. (and good bike lights)

The flip side is if they go public, with the goods, the rewards can be quite nice.

huhenio

I cannot think of a company that I want to work for that would have something against bicycles.

Both of my immediate superiors are bicyclists.

I used to commute with one of them.

ktk90w

Circumstances recently forced me to take a job with a long commute by car(35 minutes one way). The money is okay and the job is good, but my wife and I almost immediately started talking about returning to a job and living situation that we had enjoyed in the past. taking the job would require a move and would be a pretty big upheaval in our family but I am attracted to the idea because of the nearly perfect bicycle commute. I honestly believe that the one and a half hours a day I spent on a bike at that job kept me happy and healthy in a way that nothing else does.

So yes, I do consider the bike commute, but it has a lot to do with the fact that my commute right now is very difficult to do on a bike. The grass is always greener...

ktk

RVD72

I am pretty well versed with startup life. I started a company 5 years ago and right now I'm in the process of shutting it down. I've gone through $12m of venture capital over the past 3 years. It was a ton of work.

I am obviously fully supportive of anyone riding a bike to work but unfortunately our last building was not. They did not allow bicycles to come into the building so my employees were not allowed to bring their bikes into the building, in the elevator, and up to our office where they can be stored safely. Instead the building security wanted them to lock them up on a bike rack in the garage so my employees didn't want to do that (understandably).

I actually moved office buildings when our lease was up because we needed a bigger space and I didn't want to stay in the building. The point is that sometimes buildings and offices are against bike commuting...not overtly but indirectly.

Anyway, I think my work would be much more miserable if I had to sit in traffic and not ride my bike so it's a pretty big part of my decision making these days. But then again, getting a decent job is better than no job so beggars can't be choosers and I may end up in that position so we'll see.

RVD.

o-dog

I hope I can get a job I can bike to.

but beggars can't be choosers...

RVD72

Here's my update.

I did end up with an official offer from #2 (startup). I was still in talks with #1 and I believe that they would have made an offer in the next few weeks but I prefer #2 over #1 anyway so I told #1 that I was no longer interested.

I also had some more interviews in the process. Another big lead was a company that is about 45 miles away. It was a good company and I was a bit tempted but the commute really did break the deal for me.

I start on Wednesday. I plan to drive into work for the first few days but eventually get into the rhythm of riding my bike to work. It's about a 14 mile ride so it will take me about an hour. My only hesitation is that I'll be all hot and sweaty when I get into the office so it will be around 1.5 hours from the time I leave my house to the time I actually get settled in my desk and start working. I am also definitely not a morning person. Anyway, I hope this job works out. Thanks for everyone's input.

RVD.

ChainlessRev

Congrats - sounds like a good move!

Would like eventually to see some pics of your commute on the beach trail.

whatsmyname

:cool:

RVD72

here is a time lapse video. My commute would be up until around the 5 minute mark of the video (roughly 13 miles i think).

https://www.vimeo.com/5853181

RVD.