Taking an entry level job 2 years out of college?

I am in a bit of a predicament so I thought I would seek some advice. Here is my situation. I graduated 2 years ago with a BS in Civil Engineering. I have been working as a Project Manager for a Engineering/Construction Management firm, as a consultant to a local County govervments Department of Public Works. I act as the owner's rep on small Water and Wastewater Capital Projects (most projects are less than $1M, a handful are in the $1-5M range). I am also about 1/3 of the way through a master program in project management.

I am thinking about taking a job with a State University's Capital Projects Program. The projects would be more along the lines of large scale building, educational facilities, residential building type projects which interests me A LOT more than water and wastewater projects. The problem is that the job is entry level so I would essentially be taking a step backwards in my career progression, I would be back in the position I was in 2 years ago coming out of college. The salary would only be a small cut from what Im making now but with a lot more vacation days so I consider that a wash. My only concern is the effect of taking this step back, and going back to that entry level, right out of college role, which I tried very hard to work my way out of the past 2 years. Also, since I would be working for the state government, I would have to worry about the possiblitiy of salary freezes and furlough days.

Any suggestions or feedback from similar situations? Any experiences working for state governments?

I did something similar when I got back into USACE. I was a P.E. with several years of experience and took a GS-7/11 Civil Engineering Tech position. I actually got a phone call from my future supervisor making sure I knew this was just a tech position and that I was way overqualified. I told him what I told everyone else, it is nearly impossible to get an Engineering position when you're on the outside trying to get in and I was even considered reinstatement eligible which means I was former Gov't. He was happy to have me because he had another Engineer in the department and it worked out very well in the end when a couple of the other Engineers in our department left and he already had someone who could slide over into one of those spots.

I guess my advice would be to not worry about it as long as the potential is there to move up in the future. If your only concern is moving up then I would think by this point they would look at your entire job history and not just the position you're in at that moment. The only hurdle would be whether you could survive if it were a big cut in pay which sounds like it wouldn't be the case.

If you like the job, take it.

Like the Capt said, "If you like the job, take it." Opportunities for advancement may outweigh short-term negatives. This is your career. You will be working for the next 40-50 years. Two years is nothing.

Peele1 said:

Opportunities for advancement may outweigh short-term negatives. This is your career. You will be working for the next 40-50 years. Two years is nothing.

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This.

My first job out of college was as a field office engineer for a heavy highway contractor. Made awesome money, great benefits, but I had very little potential for long-term advancement. They even discouraged their engineers from getting their PE's.

Knowing this, I ended up taking a ~8% pay cut (was higher once you factored benefits) to go work for a design consultant. I was literally a entry level engineer all over again, but I knew I had to do it because it was the only way to get my PE when I wanted. I toughed it out for ~5 years, steadily working up the ranks to project manager, earning my PE, developing some good professional contacts, etc. I used that experience and knowledge to land the job I have now. The money and benefits I have now dwarf what I would have if I had stayed with the original construction firm.

I forget who told me this, but it's a piece of advice that has stuck with me for several years now: Sometimes you need to slow down in order to go faster.

Like others have said ... forget the "job" and focus on your "career."

Define where you want your career to be in 5, 10, 30 years and see if this position is on that path.

One of the hardest concepts for young soccer players to learn is that sometimes you need to pass backwards or laterally to ultimately score the goal. Think long term and focus on the goal.

Dex and Brad - great advice. Thanks for sharing.

I would agree. It sounds as if you find the potential job more compelling and if the pay is a wash + more free time, it's a win-win. I don't see a reason why you should not take the new job.

All the best,

Jason

I don't mean to sound flip, but 2 years experience is nothing. I assume you don't have your PE yet? And still working on your Masters? You are still "entry-level" in the eyes of any senior engineer, so any movement in your career right now will never look bad to anyone. It's very important to get a broad range of experiences. I say if you genuinely think the job would be more interesting for you, go for it and don't think twice,

I just took an entry level position with the state after almost 6 yrs out of college. With the job/economy downturn whatever you can get to further your career is great. I have taken 2 pay cuts with my last two jobs. I just took my PE though, so my career path is still going for the long run and in time everything will work itself out!

Bryant ... I assume you went to UCF from your screen name. Welcome to the Big East, Hopefully UCF and USF can ratchet up their rivalry.

I did the same thing, took an entry level job with a state university 3 years out of college, 2 years is not a whole lot, I know guys that have 20 years experience that have accepted entry level positions with my current employer (because of the economy and the security a public sector job has to offer). I would say take the job if you like it, more than likely your supervisor is aware and if you perform you'll get promoted. Another thing to consider, a lot of states like mine will pay for your masters degree and not require you to sign a contract, in a state job the pace is slower (no callbacks, urgent deadlines or 60 hour work weeks, everyone is gone by 5pm) at worst treat it as a relatively safe place to be (job security wise) where you have the free time to get trained and educated and better your position in the job market.

I've been here 5 years now, you're right about the furlough days, salary freeze, and vacation days. No COL raise the 1st year, got a meager one the second year, economy crashed and salaries were frozen the third year, also received 5 furlough days as a bonus, yay. The 4th year got a promotion and a raise, but just put me where I was supposed to be had I received annual COL adjustments. Now I'm completing the 5th year. But I do have tons of vacation days. Also just found out I passed my PE which would not have been possible with my last job (not enough free time to study).

Dleg said:

I don't mean to sound flip, but 2 years experience is nothing. I assume you don't have your PE yet? And still working on your Masters? You are still "entry-level" in the eyes of any senior engineer, so any movement in your career right now will never look bad to anyone. It's very important to get a broad range of experiences. I say if you genuinely think the job would be more interesting for you, go for it and don't think twice,

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Dleg beat me to it...

Dleg said:

I don't mean to sound flip, but 2 years experience is nothing. I assume you don't have your PE yet? And still working on your Masters? You are still "entry-level" in the eyes of any senior engineer, so any movement in your career right now will never look bad to anyone. It's very important to get a broad range of experiences. I say if you genuinely think the job would be more interesting for you, go for it and don't think twice,

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Great advice. 2 years experience is a great start, but get as much experience you can, and seek out the jobs you really enjoy doing.

Take it. When you enjoy what you do, it makes a big difference in your career.