So recently I was offered $90k to start as a systems engineer. The company (company A) is offering relocation and doing so would put me in Mclean/Tysons Corner Virginia. This is only a 2 hour relocation from my current area of living.
So here is where it gets hard for me. I have 2 graduate school offers with the possibility of getting a PhD in Condensed Matter. These offers come with a stipend to cover living. Pursuing a graduate degree in Condensed Matter or Material Science is something I really want to do. Now company A also offers assistance for graduate study, but I worry that Material Science/Condensed Matter will not entirely fall in line with me being a systems engineer. So my issue has been deciding if I take the job and try to get into their program for a masters (they wont do PhD), or take the risk and attempt the graduate program.
And here it gets even harder, The day I was meeting with the recruiter from company A to discuss relocation and the offer I was given, I was contacted by another employer that I applied to a month ago (company B). I told them that I already had an offer for $90k and my decision needed to be made in 1 weeks time. I thought for the position I applied to they would just back off, but they didn’t. Instead they said that matching that offer wouldn’t be a problem, and we then had a preliminary interview chat. During this little interview I found that company B is more in line with my background of work with doing research on materials (I did undergrad study in morphologies and thin films). Company B also offers graduate assistance and it appeared that they even would help with PhD. Now the main issue with company B is they do not know if they can move fast enough to have an interview and an offer to me by this Friday when my decision to company A needs to be made. So if they can’t this is easy and my decision is Company A, but if they can I’m torn between A and B.
I try to look at the pros and cons of each. It would seem like Company B is the easy go to, its within commuting range and I dont have to move, and rent would only be $600/mo. For company A though, rent is pretty much $1,500/mo and thats just for a frickin studio. Though Company A might actually open the way for a better career and the possibility of a DoD clearance and DHS clearance.
Maybe I’m stupid, but I’m just torn. Truly I want to further my education, but sadly I graduated a semester sooner than expected and can’t just live off of others for a year (listen I know I throw random parts in, I don’t write stories, I’d clearly suck at that). My advice is basically what do you think of this situation, does anyone have experience being a systems engineer? associate investigator? or just provide general advice on what seems right.
