A Job Offer from Madrid

On January 15, 2016, a peculiar email dropped in my inbox. I received a message from a developer relations engineer in source{d}, a company based in Madrid, Spain (I did not mention his name for his safety). The subject line read, “Senior Python Engineer at KnC.” With my interest piqued, I read the email. Seconds later, I was jumping in joy (figuratively).

I was offered a job as a senior python developer! A chance to be a professional. Surprisingly, the job would be in Sweden. Admittedly, I am quite a fan of the aforementioned country. It is the motherland of Felix Kjellberg (yes, I am a bro), Notch (the creator of Minecraft), and Roomie (a singer). My inner fan boy was screaming in joy.

A job in Sweden is also an opportunity for me to experience winter. I have been living in the Philippines all my life where we only have two seasons - wet and dry. The closest cold season I could experience is when I went to Japan in early November 2014 to present a research paper. The season was already autumn so the scenery was a beautiful thing to look at.

However, I rejected the offer.

I told a few of my friends about the job offer and the rejection. And they scolded me. My friend Kyle has a response that gave me a giggle.

@seanballais nigga dafuq u doin, quit school XD
kappa

— Kyle Alelis (@asdfghjklkappa) January 15, 2016

The rejection was simply a reply to the message in the email. No formal letters. Just a simple email reply.

As it can be derived from the email message itself, I have two reasons why I rejected the offer.

• Education is a priority
  Even though I have been programming for nearly 5 years already, I still feel my knowledge is inadequate. I feel that I am a phony. There are still many topics to learn - may it be science, mathematics, or humanities. Family and friends will also be missed if I accepted the offer.

• Just founded a startup
  I have founded a startup, called Creatomiv, in late December 2015 together with two high school friends. Aside from being designated as CTO of the startup, we are already working on a project that I find really fun and enjoyable. If I took the offer, I might not be able to focus on the project we are already working on.

I see the job offer as a opportunity that is not the right time for me to grab. There are many other opportunities waiting for me. As they would say, when one door closes, another door opens. I just need to properly choose which door to open. As for now, I will be focusing on my studies and my startup.

Have you been given a job offer before but you rejected it? Why or why not? Or do you have an opinion to share? Let us know in the comments below.