Early Career Advice: Stick it out or find something new

[NPV]

3. Find a new job. I am currently looking, but no hints yet. There are several prospects that are promising. They require cross-country moves, but I am willing to move anywhere in the US.

Sounds like that is the most reasonable way to go - stay at your current jobs and build a portfolio of new job opportunities. Interview the employers as much as they interview you and try to get a sense for whether the new opportunity is better for your web of goals (e.g., more technically challenging and less managerially challenging). There is probably a lot of places that want engineers to focus on actually solving hard technical problems - project managers and paper pushers are cheaper and more abundant.

[akratic]

Personally I would leave. You have too much power as a competent engineer to need to stay in a mediocre situation. Plus if you have the energy for it, learning the ropes at a new job is fun and builds your resume.

Are you absolutely certain, however, that there are zero comparable jobs in or near your current town? I find that part hard to believe. Maybe work backwards from a list of the biggest employers in your town, then find the jobs page on their websites, etc.

[Chris]

I'm not sure what sort of engineering work you do, but is working from home feasible for you?

Based on what you've written, it sounds like you could tolerate only a couple more years at your current company. If your accumulation phase will be more than that -- and your current employer is the only game in town -- uprooting yourself and your wife is gong to come sooner or later.

[SavingWithBabies]

I'd go for #3 too. You mention not wanting to relocate your wife. Do you just mean unnecessarily or is there something holding you to your current location besides inertia? My wife and I have felt the pull of family now that we have kids although I think we might take care of one set or both set in their old age and I'm starting to think we should pick where we want to live and have them come to us. Where we want to be, or really can be, depends a lot on FI/ERE and how my side business goes over the next 5 years.

I moved across the country for a job and I was really happy I did. I had a lot of great experiences, saw a different part of the country, etc.

[Smashter]

Tyler Cowen argues that the status quo bias is a much bigger problem than people realize. On a podcast, he went as far as postulating that if you've gotten to the point where you are seriously considering a big change, you should probably just make the change.

That's a scary proposition for risk-averse people, but an interesting one to consider nonetheless.

http://marginalrevolution.com/marginalr ... -coin.html

[BRUTE]

brute observes:

1)Ponderosa is itching to move on
2)Ponderosa is undecided between various good options

this sounds like any of the options will be fine, since they seem to be roughly of equivalent value. thus brute advises Ponderosa to just make the jump to any of them, since it may not matter much which one is picked.

[JamesR]

Try reading "So good they can't ignore you" by Cal Newport.

In summary: happiness comes from control/power in your job. So double down on your strongest/in-demand skills, rather than considering a career change. Focus on getting a job that needs your strengths, where the highest demand for you is. As an engineer you should be in control and shouldn't need to put up with a poor situation. Move on to greener fields.