So I posted a couple days ago about the hair test situation. Well this is the scenario I'm in right now:

I go for a job interview at a very very large company for an entry level management/engineering position, I get called a week later asking if I'd be willing to move to another location instead of the location I interviewed at because they were impressed and the GM who I talked to at that plant was moving to that plant and wanted me to go with them. They sent me the formal offer last night. It offered a lot of money, (20k over an entry level position for my major Mechanical Engineering and 5k over what glassdoor.com is stating people have reported as their salary in that position).

They give me a deadline of next Monday to decide.

Now during this time, my professor was showing me off to an equally very large company that was looking for Manufacturing Engineers, all I was told was that and that the job will ultimately be in China. My professor explained that I do have a background with Manufacturing processes, and I actually helped teach his robotics course when it got flooded with 10 times the normal number of students due to another engineering elective being cancelled. I talked to them a bit and it turns out the job is Nuclear based, which I have a background and an overall strong interest in.

Now for those of you who followed my blog, I went to Tokyo. The prospect of going to another country is overwhelming exciting to me, especially to be working there. This last Tuesday, they gave us like a group interview setting and toured the facility and talked about everything in regards to salary, benefits, what was expected, what was covered, and so on. It turns out this job is paying 20k over an entry level position where I live, you pay USA taxes, they pay for your transportation, housing, and you get ridiculous amounts of time off and benefits on par or better with the other company.

I really want the job in China, so I called and discussed my situation and the offer, didn't disclose any details just that I had an offer and the deadline, and my contact without hesitation goes "I'll give this number to our one hiring manager, he'll call you as soon as he gets a chance today." I talked to this guy a few times, and personally exchanged a few e-mails and discussions with him, and I know he is personally interested in hiring me. So the waiting game began, I started to get a little nervous, and then at 430 I get a phone call explaining the situation, which is bad news bears for me. They basically explained that the way their company works they cannot give someone a formal offer that soon. They do a lot of governmental and confidential work, so they have to go through a lot of clearance. What they said they could do is sit me down for an interview, and attempt to get a contract job which during that time they would start the process for full time, that way I could have some form of an offer faster than I normally would, and I could get a better idea of the work before taking a full time job. The issue is though, the only clearance they have in their schedule for this is Thursday which is of course after the deadline for the other offer.

I accepted the interview, and I am going to attempt to talk to the GM with the other company to get it pushed for another week or at least until Friday.

What I want to know, is in the situation that the one company does not allow an extension, should I just shut it down.

My gut is telling me just shut it down, but my brain is saying think rationally about this and really make sure that's the right choice. So I've been trying to get diverging opinions so I can really make sure that this decision is right. I think even though I'm going to be put into a position where it's like I turn down the one job and then I don't get the other job, though for the most part it's looking like I will but there's still the chance I won't obviously, what are my options. I know I can still get another job no problem, I'm just not convinced I'll be able to get jobs of this magnitude if that situation occurs.

Anyway, in before TL;DR and limitles saying something about being afraid to take photographs, and thanks to anyone that reads and gives an honest response.

Honestly, I would take the job in China just to be able to live abroad but that's just me. Try to negotiate it in that they will by you the Rosetta Stone software that shit's expensive although I'm sure most of the ubereducated Chinese learn English.

They have private Mandarin tutors that you are allowed to use if you want. Otherwise, you have a translator while you're there.

take the sure thing... I went through recruiting on "Wall Street" (que a gank fail update) along with some of my friends and all I can say is that a few of them received offers from great BB banks (JP, Citi, DB, BofA, CS), but turned them down or made them wait in hopes of getting into GS, or a better "ranking" bank. Well, it didn't work out for 2 of them very well and they got stuck working at a local commercial banks as "private bankers" aka make 40k and open checking accounts. Moral of the story is, if you have a top 5-10 job lined up, don't waste it. Your dreams of china aren't over yet and in the future you can always end up there anyway.

Also, something I did... why not accept the offer from the first company, and once accepted have them wait alittle longer saying you have some loose ends before you move, and go interview with the place. If you get an offer from there drop the other company (make up a good excuse) and go on your merry way, if you don't get the offer from them well...

Good luck

That's pretty f'n sweet. I remember a guy from Halliburton at my college back in 2003 trying to get me to go to Bosnia with the promise of my own bodyguard and I lol'd. I kinda wish that I had gone now.