Company selected me to go on a 2 week long business trip to South Korea.
They've been planning this for months and now in the last moment they came up with the idea that I have to sign a paper that I won't leave the job, otherwise I have to pay back the money they spent on the trip (which is about 2500$ – 2 months of my payment). This amount diminishes as time goes, so after half year I would only have to pay half the money… But still.
I work as a Process Engineer. Work is very stressful due to the random, unexpected overtimes and all time production support. Originally I planned to leave this job by the end of this year. I hate every second of working here, but the payment is too high compared to other options for my work experience in my country to just give up (I live in Eastern EU, I've been working here for 1,5 years, first job).
Everyone around me says I'm an idiot if I refuse this trip opportunity, but I'm really hesitant about it. People say 1 year is nothing, but for me it sounds like an eternity…
I'm writing this on this subreddit, because people here share are not soulless workaholics whose whole life revolves around the job they do.
What do you think? I think it's a one in a lifetime opportunity, but also +1 very stressful year. Sounds like a deal with the devil…