Asking advice about a job decision (ASAP)

[-WZ-]

Okay Newschoolers I have 48 hours to make this decision

I'm a third-year mechanical engineering student in the co-op program at UBC, and have been working in a local ski and bike shop for the past three years doing sales/bootfitting/techwork. My dream career with this degree is to stay in the industry (skiing/biking), but really, I think I would be happy with any job that was manufacturing/R&D based. This morning I got an offer for one of the Co-op positions that I applied for, an 8-month placement at a marine engineering firm specializing in equipment for fish farming and mooring systems in Campbell River, BC. Not my dream industry, but the position sounds amazing as far as relevant experience goes – the company is really R&D based and provides custom solutions for clients so I would be mostly doing support on testing and design work for their projects and would be given challenging, degree-oriented work. To complicate things, I also got an email from a bike component manufacturer in Whistler today that I had called a few weeks ago saying that they have a position as a machinist available. When I spoke with them on the phone they said that they weren’t sure if it would satisfy my co-op requirements as it would be primarily just operating the CNC’s, but that was potential for updating drawing files and doing some modelling in SolidWorks as well. What’s making this decision so hard is that both positions are very appealing but for different reasons – At the machining job I wouldn’t necessarily be getting the same level of relevant engineering experience, but I would be getting valid experience in the industry and another foot in the door. The other issue is that it wasn’t a formal offer, more just saying that the position was available and they wanted to let me know after I expressed interest in working with them over the phone. Comparatively, at the R&D position on the island I would be getting great experience in engineering work, most of which would also likely be transferrable to the outdoor sports industry later on. I really don’t know which route to go down, and I only have 2 days to accept or decline the formal offer on the Co-op site. The pay for the R&D position is better, but I don’t know if I can put a price on the potential connections I could make from the machining position. I also really don’t want to turn down this formal offer to just to find out the other company has already filled the position or that I don’t necessarily bring the skills their looking for. One final consideration is I also don't really know where I stand on fish farming, it's kind a of a grey area for me and I don't necessarily feel comfortable facilitating it at this company. Any suggestions/ insight would be greatly appreciated.

tldr; As a mechanical engineering student in the co-op program, I have 2 potential jobs:

One is a formal offer for an 8-month term for a marine engineering firm based on the island focused on product development/R&D in the fish farm/mooring system industry with tons of good degree experience

The other is an email from a bike component manufacturer in whistler saying that they are interested in hiring, but no formal offer yet for a machining position (not as relevant of engineering experience, but much more relevant in terms of the career path I want to take)

 

[eheath]

I'd say take the degree oriented job, just because you are in college. Who knows, you might find a new passion at this job, or you'll work for 8 months then you're in your last year of college and can do whatever you want after.

 

[Non_State_Actor]

Fish farm.

 

[gorilas]

I voted for the degree oriented job but if the problem is that the informal email is not a grantee call or email the bike people who and ask for more info/ if your granteed the job. Otherwise if your stoked on the marine engineering firm take it, like eheath said you just might find a new passion.

 

[-WZ-]

Keep in mind that if I decline the co-op offer there's still about 30 others places that I've applied to that I've yet to hear back from, this is my first formal offer. From how it's going right now though it definitely seems like people think I should gain the experience, which I agree with. I'm so bad at making big life decisions hahaha

 

[WoFIowz]

Keep in mind that if I decline the co-op offer there's still about 30 others places that I've applied to that I've yet to hear back from, this is my first formal offer. From how it's going right now though it definitely seems like people think I should gain the experience, which I agree with. I'm so bad at making big life decisions hahaha

Can't you always accept it and then reject it later if you get a better offer? Pardon my ignorance because I don't know how a co-op works, but when you graduate and are job searching, you can 100% do that.

 

[-WZ-]

Can't you always accept it and then reject it later if you get a better offer? Pardon my ignorance because I don't know how a co-op works, but when you graduate and are job searching, you can 100% do that.

With my program if you accept an offer it's binding, I mean I could still reject it after the fact yea but id also be removed from co-op unless I provided a valid excuse

 

[WoFIowz]

With my program if you accept an offer it's binding, I mean I could still reject it after the fact yea but id also be removed from co-op unless I provided a valid excuse

Shit then I'd either wait until the last minute to accept it, or perhaps ask the place if they could give you a short time extension for you to determine if you will be logistically able to work that job. Make up some bs reason.

 

[DirtYStylE]

Keep in mind that if I decline the co-op offer there's still about 30 others places that I've applied to that I've yet to hear back from, this is my first formal offer. From how it's going right now though it definitely seems like people think I should gain the experience, which I agree with. I'm so bad at making big life decisions hahaha

This is a huge decision. You need time to think this over and I would say fuck that company for only giving you 48 hrs to respond. While i'm at it, fuck everyones opinion. Pick what you want, not what other people say.

I would tell you to dig into this company and see if its a place that you really want to work. Company culture? Coworkers? Will your boss be an asshat? etc. but nobody got time for that apparently.

I would also ask for a few more details, but this last comment is telling me that you have applied to places that you would rather work at. Also, isn't it a bit weird that this company responded so quickly and gave you such a small window to respond? What about an interview?

 

[-WZ-]

This is a huge decision. You need time to think this over and I would say fuck that company for only giving you 48 hrs to respond. While i'm at it, fuck everyones opinion. Pick what you want, not what other people say.

I would tell you to dig into this company and see if its a place that you really want to work. Company culture? Coworkers? Will your boss be an asshat? etc. but nobody got time for that apparently.

I would also ask for a few more details, but this last comment is telling me that you have applied to places that you would rather work at. Also, isn't it a bit weird that this company responded so quickly and gave you such a small window to respond? What about an interview?

I guess I should have mentioned that I did already have an interview so definitely got an idea of what the company would be like. It's not that I'm not excited for the position, it's more that it wasn't one I was necessarily expecting to hear back from so it kind of caught me off guard, especially with how quick the whole process went after they contacted me back. That being said I did a ton of research, asked some more questions, and actually got in contact with one of their previous co-op students all in the last 24hours! All of that really helped me solidify my decision, and I'm stoked to say that I took the co-op offer! I really think this position will give me way more transferrable and applicable skills for my end goal with my career, even if it's not necessarily in the same industry for now. It sounds like there's a lot of opportunity here so it'll be cool to see how it turns out. Thanks for everyone's input NS, I appreciate it

 

[Sno.]

I guess I should have mentioned that I did already have an interview so definitely got an idea of what the company would be like. It's not that I'm not excited for the position, it's more that it wasn't one I was necessarily expecting to hear back from so it kind of caught me off guard, especially with how quick the whole process went after they contacted me back. That being said I did a ton of research, asked some more questions, and actually got in contact with one of their previous co-op students all in the last 24hours! All of that really helped me solidify my decision, and I'm stoked to say that I took the co-op offer! I really think this position will give me way more transferrable and applicable skills for my end goal with my career, even if it's not necessarily in the same industry for now. It sounds like there's a lot of opportunity here so it'll be cool to see how it turns out. Thanks for everyone's input NS, I appreciate it

Good for you! It was the right move.