You either pull the lever and divert your dilemma from the intention of this subreddit and make a red and blue button post because that's a fad and can get some quick karma or something.
Or you stay your course, follow the rules, and make a proper trolley problem on the trolley problem subreddit and achieve a top tier dilemma all can ponder for years to come.
Hello everyone,
sequel-ing my last post about wanting to quit my job, originally i had planned to stay where i am, Seattle Washington. And i recognize it doesn't really get better for civil careers than here.
However a very tempting living situation has presented itself to me in the bay area, but I need to understand the job market better.
I graduated college in 2024 with a major in agricultural engineering fully intending to pivot it into civil water per the recommendation of my dean as i didnt have the highschool grades to guarantee i would get into my colleges civil. I do have my EiT naturally.
I had a civil internship at Seatac airport in my 3rd summer of college and graduated with very average grades (Cs got degrees). i then worked at one civil company that was fresh off a buy out by bigger more nationwide for a like 5 months as a Inspector untill i was part of a big lay off at the company due to said buy out. and then i got a job at a small private civil firm where i have been working the last year as an engineer doing work in municipalities all over king county. ive gotten familiar with a lot of code and how things are generally done in western washington where, as far as the very early career civils go in WA, i think i have a good resume for the area. im pretty confident i can leverage my self into a new job with better pay than i have now.
However if i moved to the bay area, fremont specifically (but id work wherever i need to) im nervous. my one year of work includes all the design and detail drafting youd expect and hope of a civil engineer with 1.5 years of industry experience, but i suspect what we do in WA is very different than CA. I suspect storm design isnt a big a thing for one, and a lot of the knowledge colleges wont teach but is great to have when applying is municipality code info. which i dont have in CA. I worry I am losing a huge edge and i might be back to square one where i have to explain why i dont have a civil degree but agricultural engineering. And i worry about timing not being great where if people dont allow my to apply for a position and fill it maybe 2-3 months later, then i may have to move and then find a job if i try and make this work. In that worst case scenario, not being confident in my ability to land a good job due to an unfamiliar market with less than ideal work experience is not great.
Got wordier than i hoped but if you have any info about the Bay Area Civil market, or how you think my experience will transfer and be received, please tell me. I will reply to give additional info if requested.