<p>Do many engineers have to relocated? I would think that since a lot of astronautical stuff is operated in Florida and California, are many aerospace engineers forced to move out there?</p>
<p>How does that work? Does the company just say "you have to move here ASAP"? I guess this is a mighty question to ask...</p>
<p>I assume you’re talking about companies with offices all over the country. In my experience, they ask if you’re willing to relocate when you apply for the job.</p>
<p>Yes, a company says you have to move here ASAP, more or less. If you’re not willing to move they don’t hire you.</p>
<p>What if you want to live where their headequarters are, but then they want to send you to a outlying branch. Is it alright to investigate the likelihood of being transferred in the (near) future?</p>
<p>You can always ask recruiters that question. However, I suspect most will give a very general response along the lines of “you never know where your career will take you.”</p>
<p>If you’re restricted to a certain place, e.g. you won’t accept a job outside of SoCal, tell the recruiters this. What frequently happens is that there are 20 jobs across the country, so the company will hire 20 people. What they’ll do is first place the “golden children” (if there’s an exceptional candidate, they’ll place him in one of their high profile positions), then they’ll place the people that list a preference, then they’ll fill in the “anywhere” people into the remaining locations. </p>
<p>Of course, it could also work against you: Let’s say there’s one job in SoCal and 19 jobs elsewhere. If two people restrict themselves to SoCal, and you’re the less qualified person, you might get a reject letter even though you would have otherwise received an offer for a different location. But if you’re going to reject that offer for a different location anyway…</p>
<p>Also, keep in mind that most people will request to work in the city your school is in. So if you’re in LA, and a company is hiring nationally, they’ll have a very high percentage of students requesting LA only (around 50%). So listing your only location as LA really hurts your chances of getting an offer. If you’re a little more lenient (if the company also has offices in SF, requesting there as well), you’ll greatly increase your odds. </p>
<p>You can ask about the possibility of transferring or moving locations - how frequently the company moves you and how they reimburse you for moving is a valid question in a second round interview. But keep in mind that you’ll get an unofficial answer, so if a recruiter tells you “oh yeah, in a year you can move to the home office”, take it with a copious measure of skepticism.</p>
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<p>I’ve relocated many times in my career. It’s very rarely “you’re moving ASAP”. Most of the time, I was offered a position and the opportunity to move, but either way, I had several months of notice. You need that amount of time to get a house ready to sell, put it on the market, go look for a house in a new location, get the kids transferred from one school to another, etc. The one time I was moved with little warning or choice, the company gave me a corporate apartment and airfare to return home on the weekends for 3 months so that I had time to move my family. </p>
<p>When a company moves you, they’ll either give you a lump-sum bonus for moving expenses (i.e. just hand you a $5000 check and if you move in a U-Haul for $1000, you pocket the $4000) or they’ll pay for actual expenses. If you’re single and live in an apartment, the lump sum can be profitable. If you own a house, the closing costs, Realtor fees, professional movers, etc. make the actual expenses a better deal.</p>