I graduated last year, and, after a somewhat long search (and mistakenly delaying my search initially to study for the CPA exam and still not passing all of the sections), I recently found work as a bookkeeper for a very small CPA firm that does not do audits. However, I am being temped out and am for now being paid directly by the staffing agency, and the pay is fairly low (under $9/hr and no benefits for one year, but cost of living where I am is also low). The partner himself said this is a "testing-the-waters" sort of situation. If I learn his system and do well, I could very well stay on and move on to other things besides bookkeeping for him. I'm honestly very excited about this opportunity. I messed up some during my accounting schooling, so my GPA isn't that wonderful, but I feel as if I'm more mature now I can do well for this guy. Also, while I've only talked with him a half hour or so, and, even though he'll most likely expect a lot out of me of course, he seems like a nice guy, and it's always nice to be able to work for reasonable people.
The problem, though, is that as soon as I got home from the interview (and offer and acceptance) with him, the staffing lady I had been working with at another staffing agency called about some other entry-level job that would basically double my pay. I described my situation to her, basically saying that, at least initially but probably longer, I would not be able to take any time off to go to interviews, but I did keep the door open for phone interviews, interviewing on weekends, or interviewing after work in the larger city that's about 45 minutes away from me, where there are some large audit firms (e.g., Deloitte has an office there, but I know I'm not going to be hired by them and I'm not even sure I'd want to plunge myself into that lifestyle). But, basically I told her I was still looking -- yes, after my offer from a CPA firm. Is this what most of you would have done? I realize the chances of me getting another offer are low anyway, but we all know it's not very good to quit a job only after a few weeks. However, even the partner described this as a "testing the waters" situation, so does that make things somewhat different? If you were me, would you continue to communicate with other firms here for the initial months I'm with this other guy? After all, money isn't everything, and the experience could and probably will be invaluable for me. And, in a year he could end up paying me enough to move out of my parents' house (that's important to me obviously). However, when there are some positions out there that could potentially double one's pay, I think most people would understand at least keeping the lines of communication open, right?