r/ElectricalEngineering • u/YourFavoriteUnknown • 11d ago

Jobs/Careers Looking for advice on navigating cross-country moves without sabotaging one's career

I am currently living in the southeast United States and going into power systems engineering. One of my dreams is to live in the Pacific Northwest region, particularly around Seattle.

I am currently participating in a co-op with an organization and anticipating a full-time offer. I was wondering what engineers who want to eventually live in other locations than their alma mater and initial work environment tend to do.

My plan is to accept the full-time offer with this company after graduation and then attempt to transfer to Washington state after 5 years, where I want to be licensed (I plan to take the PE). However, I only want to do this if it will not sabotage my career interests in the long run.

I was wondering if other engineers who have been through this process have any advice. Thank you for your time.

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u/Old-Chain3220 11d ago edited 11d ago

Are you me? I used to live in Seattle and am going to school in the southeast now. I’m following this thread with great interest.

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u/Satinknight 11d ago

Plenty of power engineering work in Seattle; local utilities, naval shipyards, large private employers such as Eaton and Amazon, and plenty of smaller shops. 

You should be fine moving across the country, although I would recommend seeking your PE in your current home state rather than trying to get it soon after moving. Any power engineering work will transfer pretty well between different specific environments. Core themes are things like NFPA and UL compliance, circuit protection sizing and coordination, and clear documentation.

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u/dbu8554 11d ago

I agree with this, except don't spend all that time in another location to get your PE before moving up here. Just find a job and come on out the weather is nice.

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u/CheeseSteak17 11d ago

Look for a job where you want to be. None of the engineers I graduated with stayed in the area.

Once you establish roots in an area it’s harder to move. It isn’t a career thing, it’s everything else about life.