If you’ve ever been involved in the job application process, you’d know how stressful it can be. Perfecting your resume, writing multiple cover letters, and finding the companies that you think best fit your values can be a lot of work. Getting an offer from a firm that you’ve been pursuing is indeed an adrenaline rush to say the least. Though, even greater than that is when you are sitting on multiple offers and now you have the power to decide. I’ve been in this position and it is quite satisfying. When put in this position, chances are you will be comparing multiple things across each company: wages, benefits, compensation, work hours, etc..

My roommate, a fifth year in the industrial engineering program here at Oregon State, earlier this year had been rigorously applying to hind end positions all around the country. One of the most prestigious companies that he applied to and interviewed with was Northrop Grumman; the largest government contractor for military weaponry technology. After enduring a barrage of interviews he finally received an offer from their team as a manufacturing engineer at their Palmdale location. My roommate after looking at their offer was rather disappointed. The pay rate was a mere $70,000 with little to no relocation cover. As I’m sure you know by now, living in California is not cheap and these wages would ultimately result in breaking even between costs and savings. This was the reasoning behind my roommate acting in the manner he had. Lack of compensation had driven him away from the mega corporation’s offer due to the affect that it would have had on his living situation. Working for a great company is awesome, but if you don’t enjoy your life outside of work that’s where problems arise.