system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
Multiple Offers! Help!

I lucked out and ended up in the envious position of a second T-T offer coming in after my first. Rub is, I already signed for the first several weeks ago; however, the second is significantly better. The first is a 4/4 at a SLAC, and the second is about 20k more for a 2/2 at an R1. This seems like a no-brainer from a business angle, but I've read other threads where current profs insist you don't burn a bridge, regardless. (P.S. the first position is a very small college and burning a bridge wouldn't cause a stir in my field.) Could there be more ramifications than a failed search, e.g. legal? I'm a newly minted terminal degree, really without mentors, so any advice you all would have for me would mean a ton! Thank you so much in advance :)
gpt
Take the second offer, get it signed ASAP, and then let the first school know. They won't be happy but ultimately, you gotta look out for yourself first, and it'll be quite hard to make that jump from a 4-4 type school to an R1/R2 if you do stay at the SLAC for a couple of years.