Full-time...to internship???

[Merlin]

Sooo less than two weeks after passing my CISSP I just signed an offer letter for... Tesla! I completely forgot I even applied, then the entire process took exactly two weeks after the recruiter initially reached out and this has really taken me by surprise. I'm still processing the whole ordeal.

The catch is that I'm going to be a Security Engineer Intern (an experience I never had before), moving away from a comfortable full-time role. The internship does pay a bit more, but I'm also sacrificing my employee benefits and living with my parents for free.

I live across the country and there are a lot of logistics I need to sort out. I will be working from home, but once restrictions are lifted, I have to scramble and move over there within 30 days. Since I'm only guaranteed to stay til May (though may be extended) I've been frantically applying for summer intern roles, as well as full-time roles, both by my current location and in the Bay Area. It starts in January and I'll be a nervous wreck for the next two months because I absolutely hate the process of resigning (been through it four times yet I'm still unprepared every time).

It got me wondering... did I make the right decision? I suppose I am at the age where it's fine to take risks but this may be a bit too much uncertainty, even for me. I'm ecstatic about this opportunity but also pretty anxious :')

Any advice or reassurance that'll help me get through these next few months?

Congrats!

Working for Tesla is going to reap larger benefits than just the experience. Having a large company on your resume will help you when applying for even better roles in the future. Assuming you don't get the invite to come back to transition to full-time, which happens in a lot of internship cases. You just need to do a great job and impress the right people while you are there.

That said, you need to weigh the personal ROI for resigning for a job you already have, moving across the country, and dealing with the higher cost of living in the Bay Area. (I am assuming it is a higher cost of living since it generally is higher compared to just about anywhere other than NYC.) You may determine that you'll actually be losing money by moving. Particularly considering you won't have access to free room and board.

Your largest expense will likely be rent, and housing prices in the valley are pretty high. You can find some less expensive places to live, but you'll probably be looking at a longer commute and may end up living in a less desirable neighborhood. Make sure you do the research and weigh the pros and cons. Reach out to your contact at Tesla to see if they offer support for finding affordable housing and such. Some companies will have long-term corporate apartments (like extended stays) for temporarily housing new employees, may offer a rental subsidy for interns, or will at least help you to arrange shared housing (roommates) with other interns at Tesla.

Then again, this may not even become an issue since it is very likely that the SF Bay area will still be in lockdown in May. Even if Pfizer's vaccine gets emergency-use authorization in December or January as expected, it will likely be until mid-summer before the average person will have access to it. There is a long line of people who will have priority access, like medical workers, emergency services, teachers, military personnel, etc. Considering the acceleration of virus spread, it is unlikely that there will be any relaxing of restrictions in the bay area until a vaccine is commonly available. So you may just end up working remotely the entire time.