Ask HN: What should I do about my full-time offer?

[izzythemachine]

First, a little background: I'm 21 years old, majoring in CS. I interned at Microsoft last summer and everything was great. I loved the work I was doing, they loved me and I was offered a full-time position after I graduated (I was supposed to graduate in May). In the job offer that I accepted, they had me set a start date and I picked August 10th.

Here's where things get messy. Over the last two semesters, I have been struggling both with depression as well as with motivation in my classes. Because of everything, I failed some classes and would need the fall semester to finish my Bachelor's Degree. I have been seeking help from a medical professional at my university and I'm taking summer classes, but as I'm picking up the pieces I feel incredibly overwhelmed.

So, my question is what should I do? Would Microsoft push my start date back to allow me to graduate? Should I just not tell them and hope they don't notice? (finish my degree in a couple years) Am I totally screwed? I know that I have a lot of questions, but I guess I'm hoping that my career isn't shot from a few bad decisions/mistakes over the past year.

I really value the opinions of the community here at HN, so any advice or words of wisdom would be much appreciated.

[trcollinson]

The thoughts expressed so far are great! First off, please take care of yourself. As a community we want you to get feeling better physically, mentally, and emotionally. I am serious about that. We've all been through physical and emotional issues or at the very least know someone who has. I'm glad to hear you're seeing a medical professional! That is really important.

Second, as has been suggested, try to work with MS. I want to point out the, maybe obvious, consequence that things with them might not work out. Believe it or not, this might happen for a number of reasons, your education is certainly not the only reason that they might pull back the offer. However, if it doesn't work out do not believe for a moment that your career, life, or anything else is over. It's going to turn out just fine. If this job doesn't work, many others will. You have a bright future ahead.

Finally, I just want you to know I have hired many people in my career who had trouble in their last year or semester of college. I could speculate on why this is, but I am not sure it would be useful or accurate, just anecdotal. However, it does seem that the more interships people complete the less well they do in the latter parts of school. Take that bit of information for what it is worth.

Do finish up your degree. You'll be glad you did. Feel free to ask for help in any way.

[aidos]

I think the first thing to keep in mind is that the guys at MS wanted you to join them in the first place. They obviously see the potential in you. Keep in mind that, even though things might seem overwhelming from where you sit there are people out there that actively want to work with you when you're available. That's a great place to be.

In terms of what to do next, your health (mental and physical) is the most important thing. If there's a path you can take that will give you the best outcome there, that's what I'd optimise for. I imagine that trying to keep not completing your studies a secret will be stressful.

You career is definitely not shot. I went through some stuff in my last year of uni and ended up with pretty crappy grades. It's never once been a problem. In my experience, once you start working it's not even a consideration.

Ultimately the decision is yours but if it were me, I'd be looking to destress. Talking to the MS guys about your situation may well be the way to do that. You could explain and they'd be happy to push the start back. You could stop worrying about that aspect and carry on with your studies. If they weren't happy about it, then there's a strong case for saying that it's not the best environment to work in anyway.

[izzythemachine]

All good advice. Thank you! I'll take that all into consideration. Good point about the work environment. There is still a slim chance I can graduate this summer, but if not, I think I'll take your advice and try to work something out with MS. Once again, thanks!

[brucehart]

Your career is definitely not shot. I've known people who completely bailed on their first job out of college within a few weeks and bounced back on their feet almost immediately. I would contact the hiring manager (and maybe copy HR) and ask if you can defer your start date. Explain that you had some medical issues that prevented you from finishing your degree as expected. You don't have to provide a detailed explanation and they will likely not ask for one.

Say that you still want to work for them, but you are making up your remaining classes over the summer/fall and that you would be available to start at full capacity on X date. If you can start within a few months of your original date, they probably will be fine with that. If you can't start until next January or next spring, then they might tell you that it would depend on their needs at the time. Either way, I wouldn't leave school and then try to secretly get your degree on the side. Those kinds of decisions usually come back to bite people at some point in the future.

[pinky1417]

I'm assuming here that you're (1) Going to have to continue classes after your August 10th start date and that (2) You're unable to do you classes and work at the same time (i.e. your school and company aren't in the same city and/or you can't do either one part-time).

To start, you should talk to your future employer and be clear that you're going to need more time to finish your bachelor's degree. Together, you can probably work out a solution. Perhaps it is pushing back your start date. Or perhaps it's some other option that lets you both work for Microsoft and finish your degree.

You should definitely tell them. It's implicit in your offer that you're going to get your bachelor's, so you don't want to anger an employer a few months down the line when they inevitably realize you didn't earn your degree. I've known folks in far worse predicaments who have both (1) told their employer about their problems and (2) still had a job.

[izzythemachine]

Thank you for the response! Would you recommend talking with HR or should I go straight to my Manager/Hiring Manager?

[pinky1417]

I'd recommend going to your manager/hiring manager. Go to HR/recruiting if they tell you to or if they can't help you. Starting with your manager is preferable because (1) your manager is likely your advocate and (2) HR probably doesn't know you that well, especially given how large Microsoft is. Your manager wants to bring you onboard, so be sure to think of some strategies for working + attending school before you chat!