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Would you move across the country to a place (region/city) you've never actually been to (seems thats the status of the OP within SD)? Better yet would you move to a state with a level of competition from local graduates of Stanford, Caltech, Cal, UCLA, UCSD, Harvery Mudd, et al..., having maybe (but not sure) 2 months worth of money, no job, no reason to move...aside from leaving where you're at (and sorry to the OP it seems like the whole thread is predicated upon an ex-boyfriend more so than a career plan).
Yes, I would do it. Stanford and Cal grads pretty well stay in the SF Bay area which is a great area by the way. The OP is young and wants to follow their dream. I have done the same thing more than once and it always worked out. It just takes a lot of determination and a little risk taking. San Diego is a great place to be as is the SF Bay area and are worth making the move. I lived in San Diego for over 20 years and also lived several years in the San Francisco Bay area.
That's what everyone of my posts has been predicated upon. She seems to have an opportunity to gain experience at the high end of the MechEng undergrad salary scale in a place with a low cost of living. That experience is really invaluable.
Repeat. She has no job.
If she had a job lined up in Ohio, that would be one thing. She does not.
No job means nothing to lose.
She also does not expect things to just drop into her lap. She is willing to work hard, hustle, and make it happen.
That's the kind of person who things work out well for.
Originally Posted by blauskies
It all depends now doesn't it? If you have an Engineering degree and are fresh out of school, taking a job waiting tables, which is something completely out of scope, can have a detrimental effect on your CV. Say you have a B.S in Mechanical Engineering and worked at In-N-Out Burger for 3 years, then apply for Engineering jobs you are pretty much not too marketable against other fresh grads who have internships within the industry on their CV.
Quote:
Originally Posted by tonyinsd
That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard.
If there's a company that's going to hold someone taking a dead end job to make things meet for a while then I don't want anything to do with that company.
Further, you're assuming that the original poster doesn't have that experience that others have. That's a huge assumption to make.
I'm going to have to disagree with you on this Tony. Unfortunately the reality is that employers DO look at what blauskies mentioned above. It's not ridiculous at all, especially in this job market. I've owned several companies and you take a situation like blauskies mentioned above, and I'm going to assume there is something wrong with the applicant if they have been working at In-N-Out (or any other low end job that doesn't require any real job skills or education) for 3 years rather than something having to do with their degree.
9 times out of 10 an employer won't care that the person was just making ends meat. They are going to think damaged goods and something is wrong with them or that they were "unemployable" for 3 years. That's just the sad reality of today's employers.
Most employers will look at this person as "damaged goods". It might not be fair but it's reality.
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Originally Posted by Sassberto
If you are highly qualified and career driven you should not make compromises because of weather or social scene. Unless you aren't as career driven as you think you are. Everything is a trade off, just choose wisely.
As usual, I completely agree with Sassberto's post. I also agree with what Clevelandgal wrote. Most people these days have an "I want it NOW" type attitude. I'm ALL for living where you want to live but I think you have to keep the big picture in mind. People don't do a good job of projecting their future far enough out.
Everyone should have a short term plan and a long term plan. A 5, 10, 15 and 20 year plan is good to have. At least it gets you thinking about the future.
Another thing is time goes by VERY quickly. When you're only in your 20's you think you will be young forever. People tend to think they always have more time to devote to their careers. Personally I think the sooner you focus on your career and get valuable work experience the better. I also think the more you can bank and save early in your career will make your life MUCH easier later in life.
People don't do a good enough job of taking advantage of the true power of compound interest. Of course you can't take advantage of compound interest and saving if you're living paycheck to paycheck.
I really believe that people that are coming out of school these days need to focus more on their career and save more money and get experience and think less about great weather, fun lifestyle, etc. You can always move to great weather or cities where you can have a better lifestyle later in life. I'm not even saying it has to be when you're older. You can still move when you are relatively young yet have work experience and life experience under your belt. And also savings.
Quote:
Originally Posted by blauskies
It's easy to set yourself back 5 years or more if your not careful, salary and/or experience wise. Before you know it your pushing 30 and have no hands on experience in your field after school, but can make a fine Double-Double. 5 years in Engineering is like a century when it comes to technology. Big red flag on your CV.
Your way more marketable if you have experience.
I couldn't have said it any better. Like I said, time flies by quickly. You can set yourself back quite a bit career-wise if you make the wrong moves after graduating.
Last edited by earlyretirement; 11-28-2012 at 06:08 PM..
To clarify, I will be giving myself a limited amount of time in SD before re-evaluating my career choices. Obviously I'm not going to work at a dead end job for an extended period of time. It's more about seeing the options, taking a risk at first, and then deciding once things have turned out a certain way. The main point here is that I WILL BE TAKING THE RISK, to start.
To clarify, I will be giving myself a limited amount of time in SD before re-evaluating my career choices. Obviously I'm not going to work at a dead end job for an extended period of time. It's more about seeing the options, taking a risk at first, and then deciding once things have turned out a certain way. The main point here is that I WILL BE TAKING THE RISK, to start.
Good luck divagotstyle. I don't think anyone is telling you not to try San Diego. People are just giving you a range of practical and realistic advice. Just make a short-term and long-term game plan.
People are giving you advice they probably wish they got when they were graduating. Also, the world and job market and economy are a much different place than when many people graduated.
Keep us posted how things go. I'm always interested in hearing how things turned out. So many times people post questions and never post back later saying what happened..
As usual, I completely agree with Sassberto's post. I also agree with what Clevelandgal wrote. Most people these days have an "I want it NOW" type attitude. I'm ALL for living where you want to live but I think you have to keep the big picture in mind. People don't do a good job of projecting their
I really believe that people that are coming out of school these days need to focus more on their career and save more money and get experience and think less about great weather, fun lifestyle, etc. You can always move to great weather or cities where you can have a better lifestyle later in life. I'm not even saying it has to be when you're older. You can still move when you are relatively young yet have work experience and life experience under your belt. And also savings.
I couldn't have said it any better. Like I said, time flies by quickly. You can set yourself back quite a bit career-wise if you make the wrong moves after graduating.
Except, there's no guarantee that living somewhere crappy will make you rich and famous or even provide you with better experience and/or allow you to move somewhere better in a few years. Is it more likely? Yes, but unless it's guaranteed, and I do mean guaranteed (not preceded with "all but"), you could very well have sacrificed the holy grail only to shoot yourself in the foot.
Also, if you're miserable "time flies quickly" isn't much consolation (or even true) in my opinion.
Say she moves to San Diego, tries for a couple of months to get a job, doesn't, has to move back to Ohio. I don't see how that's possibly worse than not trying out SD at all.
Except, there's no guarantee that living somewhere crappy will make you rich and famous or even provide you with better experience and/or allow you to move somewhere better in a few years. Is it more likely? Yes, but unless it's guaranteed, and I do mean guaranteed (not preceded with "all but"), you could very well have sacrificed the holy grail only to shoot yourself in the foot.
Also, if you're miserable "time flies quickly" isn't much consolation (or even true) in my opinion.
Say she moves to San Diego, tries for a couple of months to get a job, doesn't, has to move back to Ohio. I don't see how that's possibly worse than not trying out SD at all.
Absolutely there are NO guarantees in life except death and taxes.
But I'm not even talking about "rich and famous". I'm talking surviving. I do agree that it's not good to be miserable in a city but the point I was trying to make was sometimes it's worth it to be a bit patient and the end result will make you much happier. But of course there are no guarantees in life.
I don't think anyone is saying definitely don't try to come to San Diego. People are giving practical advice about San Diego. I've found in life anytime I made a major decision, I always appreciated hearing all different viewpoints which I think is what you're seeing here.
Again, I'm all for wanting to live in the city you really love. Heck, I've moved overseas before and started all over. With a good game plan anything is possible.
Give it at least a year. You kind of have to in order to both recoup the costs of the move and then to really evaluate your options.
And here's another thing. Why not go to school while you're looking for work? People have said, oh, but you won't be as competitive. Well, if you're going to school while you're looking for a real job, that does two things. First, it takes that issue away. You're taking graduate level classes, and the people who are coming out of college don't have them.
Second, any employer you want to work for will realize that you are someone who has their stuff together. So yes, you're working as a host, server, bartender, retail clerk or whatever. But guess what? You're also working on developing your skills.
That shows work ethic and if you're willing to put that much effort into things then what will you do when you get hired?
Now, if someone says, oh, you've been working at Kwik-E-Mart for two years and ignores the fact that you've also taken four or five graduate level courses, screw 'em. You don't want to work for an ******* like that.
Someone who sees that, values that, and hires you because of that is someone you do want to work for.
Also, when you get here, let me know. I've got a lot of friends in the restaurant and retail sectors and I'll make the introduction. There are two reasons for this. First, I like helping people.
Second, I want to help you prove the naysayers wrong.
Give it at least a year. You kind of have to in order to both recoup the costs of the move and then to really evaluate your options.
And here's another thing. Why not go to school while you're looking for work? People have said, oh, but you won't be as competitive. Well, if you're going to school while you're looking for a real job, that does two things. First, it takes that issue away. You're taking graduate level classes, and the people who are coming out of college don't have them.
Second, any employer you want to work for will realize that you are someone who has their stuff together. So yes, you're working as a host, server, bartender, retail clerk or whatever. But guess what? You're also working on developing your skills.
That shows work ethic and if you're willing to put that much effort into things then what will you do when you get hired?
Now, if someone says, oh, you've been working at Kwik-E-Mart for two years and ignores the fact that you've also taken four or five graduate level courses, screw 'em. You don't want to work for an ******* like that.
Someone who sees that, values that, and hires you because of that is someone you do want to work for.
Also, when you get here, let me know. I've got a lot of friends in the restaurant and retail sectors and I'll make the introduction. There are two reasons for this. First, I like helping people.
Second, I want to help you prove the naysayers wrong.
Wish your advice and thoughts were true, but sadly they are not the case in this field. Not sure what your field of expertise is or what you do, but in the Engineering sector most hiring managers tend to be very anal retentive, very critical and selective of people they hire. Case in point, I have the degree(s) along with years of experience in the field, and recently went through several phone screens, on site interviews and etc. and can tell you first hand that it's not the norm to have hiring managers blow over your work history and experience if it's out of scope.
Sure showing good work ethic is great, but it never means anything especially when it’s not in the sector and in reality that's what professional references are for and why it’s very important to earn these within your field. Having the Manager of In-N-Out Burger on your references when applying for a job in Engineering won’t look as good or credible as having a SVP of Engineering from a reputable firm instead.
Even if you get past the screening calls, which often can be difficult, on-site Interviews can consist of 1:1 with a several people or panel interviews with upwards of 5 to 10 people at a time and it's not just the hiring manager who will drill you, your potential co-workers are also included along with senior level people. Even if you have the education and experience and try going into another sector or market, you will hear “well this is another sector, your experience is limited” even though you have done the work albeit just in another shape and form, it has little weight or respect when you stroll into a company where people exist who have been doing it for 20 to 30+ years.
You may walk in there thinking you are the one, you have this and that, the skills they want but find out after the interview that it seemed to carry very little weight. This response varies based on the hiring manager and company, some just don’t want to prop you up because they are intimidated or feel you may ask for more compensation then they can budget or maybe they are just set in their ways and have not fallen off of their high horse. What I am trying to say is the meaning “a fine tooth comb” is no exaggeration when it comes to getting a job in Engineering in this day and age. The degree is one thing, everything else and how your market yourself without too much smoke and mirrors since this is easily validated on interviews is another.
Of course there is less of a spotlight on you if your entry-level, it’s often understood that new grads will often need babysitting and a lot of mentoring but many hiring managers don’t want to bother with this at all and you may find yourself doing remedial tasks under another Engineer possibly things beneath you, but it’s better for your CV in the end since and reason why I say again, a dead end job in your sector is 100 times better than one out of it.
There is no guarantees anywhere, I have met and networked with a few people over the years who had the Engineering degree and got out of the sector and are now doing something completely different, there is nothing wrong with that, you do what makes you happy and if it’s not at the same pay scale and you don’t care then it’s not an issue live where you want to live. Who wants to be miserable, I worked with plenty of people who are just money making machines to fund the big “Keeping up with the Joneses” lifestyle, McMansion and big families but yet some did not seem very happy and looked burnt out most of the time.
The degree itself can often open other doors in other sectors, which is a good fall back plan if you’re lucky and willing to make a career change. You can plan your future, but for many in this sector it’s very unpredictable as the lifespan of jobs is less than it was 20 or 30 years ago, the market itself is volatile and unstable. Moving around is the norm for many of my past colleagues, with families that is difficult and can cause major issues especially a move from a lower COL to an area that is very high like the Bay Area and with some respect San Diego. It all depends on your situation and what sacrifices you are willing to make, many of which may not be worth it no matter how many ways you slice it.
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