Need Advice On a Career Move - Relocation

Are you single or would you be moving a family?

Several Pittsburgh based medical robotics companies are expanding heavily in Europe. International experience wouldn't be a bad route for a few years.

Mundus Vult wrote:

Are you single or would you be moving a family?

Several Pittsburgh based medical robotics companies are expanding heavily in Europe. International experience wouldn't be a bad route for a few years.

Single. I've considered an international move.

African_Penguin wrote:

Single. I've considered an international move.

I would look into it. The current regulatory framework in the US has moved some of the best robotic medical engineers overseas for the time being. It is just easier to get cadavers there to carve up with robotic saws and such. THere are a few based in Pittsburgh.

International experience with a good start-up will be a nice piece on your resume.

I'll definitely start looking into it. Though, My experience right now does not include robotics and control systems. It includes more of a consumer electronic base: RF and antenna design, Analog, mixed signal, Bluetooth and Wifi bases designs.

As long as you understand that the cost of living can be outrageous in California and is not at all cheap in Austin, I think you would be very happy living in any of the three places you are looking into. The only thing to consider is if you are planning on getting married eventually and having a family, you may miss living near your family. I live @1500 mi from any of my or my wife's family. It would be nice if there was a grandparent living near by who was around more than once or twice a year. And whenever we want to take a vacation, it is always to visit family because everyone is too cheap to come visit us. Life just seems to be easier to manage with kids when your family is nearby.

Think about the industry you want to be in, and they types of companies/jobs that will give you the experience you are seeking. Balance that out with an area that you think you would enjoy living in. Boston, DC, and the Research Triangle in NC are also tech hubs on the East Coast. If you have friends/family on the East Coast, it may be easier to stay on the East Coast.

The Bay Area and San Diego have high costs of living vs. Austin. San Diego is the best place to live of the three; it has better weather year-round and ocean access if that's a priority. The Bay Area (Silicon Valley) has a larger concentration tech companies (large and small).

Carl Spackler wrote:

Think about the industry you want to be in, and they types of companies/jobs that will give you the experience you are seeking. Balance that out with an area that you think you would enjoy living in. Boston, DC, and the Research Triangle in NC are also tech hubs on the East Coast. If you have friends/family on the East Coast, it may be easier to stay on the East Coast.

The Bay Area and San Diego have high costs of living vs. Austin. San Diego is the best place to live of the three; it has better weather year-round and ocean access if that's a priority. The Bay Area (Silicon Valley) has a larger concentration tech companies (large and small).

The majority of my experience is more geared toward consumer electronic design and that's why I am considering Silicon Valley. The type of tech companies I would be interested in are densely located there.

Precious Roy wrote:

As long as you understand that the cost of living can be outrageous in California and is not at all cheap in Austin, I think you would be very happy living in any of the three places you are looking into. The only thing to consider is if you are planning on getting married eventually and having a family, you may miss living near your family. I live @1500 mi from any of my or my wife's family. It would be nice if there was a grandparent living near by who was around more than once or twice a year. And whenever we want to take a vacation, it is always to visit family because everyone is too cheap to come visit us. Life just seems to be easier to manage with kids when your family is nearby.

Thanks for your insight on this. It's something else I need to consider, even being single - Christmas, Thanksgiving, etc. I would probably want to travel home to be with my family, so this would really put a dent into my spontaneous travelling that I do now :/

African_Penguin wrote:

Here's the deal: I'm 30 years old with a B.S. in Electrical Engineering and an M.S. focused on embedded programming. I'm working in Western Pennsylvania (born and raised here) at a medical company as a new product design engineer. I'm content with the position, but I am still seeking more;

A job is just a job. The "more" part of life usually comes outside of work. If one of those other places better satisifes the "other" part of life that may be missing for you, go for it. If not, you'll likely still be looking for that "something else" someplace else.

Track Timer wrote:

A job is just a job. The "more" part of life usually comes outside of work. If one of those other places better satisifes the "other" part of life that may be missing for you, go for it. If not, you'll likely still be looking for that "something else" someplace else.

The 'more' part is the quality of the job or applications that I am working on.

Too many fairies/democrats in all of those places.