World is my oyster? Astounding career growth

[kgtest]

To summarize, I am an Engineer who seems to be hitting a stride in my career. I am getting contacted weekly, sometimes daily for job positions across the country.

At first I thought this was kind of cool and impressive, but now I am a little overwhelmed with it all. I recently started receiving some extremely well paying opportunities, more than I ever dreamed to be honest...but I also tend to undervalue my skills.

I am receiving offers that are now 60%+ above my current salary and offer moderately more challenging work but within the same realm of work.

I think I am overwhelmed at the possibilities but also feel I am being affected by the realities of a contract expiration in November...so feeling some pressure so to speak.

I know I will likely not be able to get a comparable job/salary in the current remote location (island) but am not one to rule out any possibilities, however I do realize going to a more populous city will increase my odds if I experience another contract expiration.

The most prominent opportunity in recent days was in FL, so I would be moving from Maui to Miami. Any thoughts on this move? Do I stick out my contract until October here, and then find the next opportunity, or do I pounce on this 62% pay raise opportunity in Miami and don't look back?



Oh the DH is also starting to get baby fever, so I am a bit nervous about the health insurance situation and worrying I might not be covered when that baby thing becomes a reality.

 

[Animorph]

I'd try to get a feel for the work environment before jumping at the big offers. Some employers seemed to expect an awful lot out of their workers. Particularly if you are used to Maui!

Otherwise, build the life you want, with a job that fits your style.

 

[2B]

I am also an engineer. I'm a chemical engineer. I suspect you are not a Chem E with opportunities in Maui and Miami. Anytime you can get a 62% pay raise by changing jobs something is wrong. You might be getting paid very poorly now possibly because of the location. There may be something horribly wrong with the position in Florida -- dangerous, dirty, long hours .... If you are getting multiple hits, what are they typically paying? That should answer your question.

If you are looking at a baby, I would recommend you find a position that would be decent to work at while pregnant and as a new mother. Insurance for the baby shouldn't be a problem because maternity care is part of every policy now. Even if it wasn't, hospitals and OBs are typically very willing to negotiate serious discounts for cash.

If you are being underpaid now, I wouldn't hesitate in jumping now. If there is no retention bonus or early departure penalty, I wouldn't wait to be out of work before finding something else.

 

[Throwdownmyaceinthehole]

If I was a youngish engineer, I'd be headed to Australia...

 

[Turboslacker]

I'm in the Engineering field and feel that demand for engineers will remain very strong later as it has been for past five years. Nothing wrong with exploring the opportunity further. Try to get inside info regarding the job specifics and get all your questions answered. Don't trust the Headhunters.

 

[kramer]

It is certainly worth a flight there for an interview. Also, your state income taxes in Florida will be ZERO which is a HUGE bump in income for a high earning single person who is renting.

Also, in your current position as a contractor (if I understand you correctly), you should be getting paid more, not less, than a salaried position. A lot more.

 

[bUU]

Good engineers are becoming increasingly difficult to find. The stagnation in the labor market over the last few years is apparently over, and the only folks actively pursuing the jobs we have available are folks who's skills were so inadequate or experience so non-existent they weren't able to snap up one of the great opportunities that have been offered over the last year. The only reason we still have open positions is that it took us far too long to convince management to let us hire people, and perhaps also because the compensation they're willing to consider offering is inadequate (especially in the context of what the OP seems to be reporting).

 

[Fermion]

Must be software engineering.

 

[bUU]

Yes.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

We used to be in the same position when we were younger. What we did is just pick a city we wanted to live with a high concentration of jobs, line up 5 - 10 interviews each, wait for the offers, pick the best ones, let the companies pay relocation costs and move. We did this twice and then stayed settled once we had kids.

If you move to some place without a lot of other jobs for your skill set, then you can get trapped. You might have to move cities or states to get another job and that gets hard to do once you have a house to sell and kids to uproot from their school, friends and activities.

I wouldn't probably pick a job based just on pay. I'd look to work on what is the most marketable skill sets to learn as that gives you the most long term freedom and income.

 

[kgtest]

We used to be in the same position when we were younger. What we did is just pick a city we wanted to live with a high concentration of jobs, line up 5 - 10 interviews each, wait for the offers, pick the best ones, let the companies pay relocation costs and move. We did this twice and then stayed settled once we had kids.

If you move to some place without a lot of other jobs for your skill set, then you can get trapped. You might have to move cities or states to get another job and that gets hard to do once you have a house to sell and kids to uproot from their school, friends and activities.

I wouldn't probably pick a job based just on pay. I'd look to work on what is the most marketable skill sets to learn as that gives you the most long term freedom and income.

Great advice. This would also be my second move, and likely the next city we will stay at while the kids are born. Sounds like I have a very similar strategy to yours. I knew where I am now would not have a job after my contract ended, but the experience I gained and pay I have saved has allowed me to better position myself for children and for that I am thankful.

I like the multiple offer situation...options are better than no options.

I think what caused me to intially post this was me and DH angst over relocating and finding new jobs after just doing this...but once we talked it over a bit more we came up with a solid plan.

It sounds like my contract will get extended out here in the pacific for another year, but on the other hand the mainland has further career growth and pay that cannot be rivaled out here.

 

[kgtest]

Must be software engineering.

Yes.

 

[kgtest]

I'm in the Engineering field and feel that demand for engineers will remain very strong later as it has been for past five years. Nothing wrong with exploring the opportunity further. Try to get inside info regarding the job specifics and get all your questions answered. Don't trust the Headhunters.

I am doing my research. One of my strategies is to attempt to make a personal connection close to where my action would be inside the company and get an inside personal account. I also use the reviews on GlassDoor, the companies website and look up some of the execs on LinkedIn to see what kind of experience is leading the course.

I also drill my recruiters.

 

[daylatedollarshort]

Great advice. This would also be my second move, and likely the next city we will stay at while the kids are born. Sounds like I have a very similar strategy to yours. I knew where I am now would not have a job after my contract ended, but the experience I gained and pay I have saved has allowed me to better position myself for children and for that I am thankful.

I like the multiple offer situation...options are better than no options.

I think what caused me to intially post this was me and DH angst over relocating and finding new jobs after just doing this...but once we talked it over a bit more we came up with a solid plan.

It sounds like my contract will get extended out here in the pacific for another year, but on the other hand the mainland has further career growth and pay that cannot be rivaled out here.

We used to just pick a week a month or so in advance, send out resumes or work through head hunters and schedule an interview morning and afternoon each day of the week. It sounds kind of crazy now given the current economy with outsourcing and higher unemployment rates. But back then no one was outsourcing jobs overseas and there weren't a lot of programmers in the U.S. relative to the demand, let alone programmers with online and database skills.

It sounds like you have hot enough skills to operate the same way today. Enjoy and let the employer bidding wars begin.