Career Advancement

I concur with Lyn's #1 posted advice and if I were in your shoes, I will gladly accept and follow that advice!.

It is normal for an individual fresh from the academic world to think very highly of oneself, as you yourself indicated (in your post), admitted that at this point in your life that you still are not yet ready to make for a (your own) life altering decision? How much more if you reach the stage where the lives of others will depend on your decisiveness? That indecision alone signify your lack of experience and understanding of what it takes to succeed in the real world! Bear in mind you are now transitioning into the real world.. It is now the time to learn from other's experiences !

Good luck...

Decisions decisions!

Whatever you do, just be aware that it might be wrong what you do now. The company can go bust, the colleagues might be horrible. Salary becomes less in your job after a year. Lots more things can go wrong.

What to do about it?

Well if you have to make a decision, make it. Weigh the options (make a list) and once you made it do not question it. It will be (in the end) and has to be (in the end) YOUR decision.

You will find that you can perfectly live with your decisions and nothing in the world will change this. It makes looking ahead much easier if you know you did all you could in the past!

Good luck.

Unlike others ... I feel that thinking of advancement is acceptable .. and OK if that is your goal.

As for the different jobs you've been offered, the culture will give you a clue into the advancement opportunities more than the Title of the Job. I have held role of Associate Engineer, Staff Engineer, Engineering Supervisor, Engineering Manager ... and so on. I have also been a Project Engineer, Test Engineer, Design Engineer, and others.

Find the environment that matches your interests and can accentuate what you are good at. Advancement will come if you align yourself with your interests and work your tail off :) Otherwise, go get an MBA, lol

I suggest that you might look at the Occupational Outlook Handbook. Just type OOH into Google and it is usually the first item listed. The OOH is published by the U.S. Labor Department Bureau of Labor Statistics and is free. Use the search function to find out various job outlooks for the future, requirements for getting hired, nature of the work, salaries paid, and much more. This site it the first place to go for career planning information. Good luck.

Just my 2 cents worth, Fromt he two options I would suggest the project Engineer has the most risk for you right now. The role would involve the direct co-ordination of others and deliverign a project on time, on budget and on spec. It would seem a fixed term potential and lack the apparent continuity of the alternative.

When the project is over, then maybe also the (employment) contract is also over.

The other also seems to provide opportunity for diverse interaction and learning/experience opportunities.

As others have said and I support. If you have applied for these positions, then you had been prepared to accept the responsibilities that go with them. If you are fortunate enough to have the choice, then go for the one that you wanted the most!! Even if it is a short term contract for a single project, since that decision will reflect your own personality and thus your future behaviour and style.

Good luck and welcome to the profession!!

A recent Elec. Eng. (Hons) grad. must be aware of several things concerning initial employment in the field. Some are comfortable to accept, others you probably won't like.

Don't be too choosey. This is the start of possibly a 45 year career; don't base your decisions on factors you think will still be important at that time. What you know now has enabled you to "get your foot in the door" of the interviewing/hiring process. If used by the company, HR personnel are rated as the biggest liars in the business world. Once you get past them the technical personnel are the ones you can learn most about the company from and them of you. They are also the ones who will be able to more honestly tell you your future with the company. With all this information consider the company as a stepping off stone into the industry and to your career. You will not be "welded" to the initial spot you were initially hired for. You, the company or both of you can decide at any time to change what you are doing.

You can choose to do something more interesting, more to your likes, in a better location, with better chances for the future, etc. You are not "married" to the job, at least not yet. Many, many people have changed careers during all phases of their careers. The business side of an operation isn't usually that bad. You have the technical skills; you have a distinct advantage when it comes to knowing what the industry and the field are. Not all people, probably over 50% of all people, end up doing something other than what they were educated for and their first job was. The former president Jimmy Carter was a nuclear engineer, Bill Gates a computer geek now business man (also the richest man in the country), Al Franken from a comedian to a senator, Arnold Schwarzenegger from Action star to California governor, etc. At least go from being a recent graduate to a good engineer. That is where the better choices are.

Do what you think is most for your whole career. You are not saddled to anything other than yourself!

Good Luck, Old Salt