Transferring Offices...

From time to time staff members find it important to be able to transfer to another Fehr & Peers office - reasons often differ from person to person.  Here are some responses from staff who have made transfers in the last few years - Jeff Gulden, Sarah Brandenberg, and Joel Rabinovitz.

1) Please confirm the offices you transferred to and from.

GULDEN: From Roseville, CA to Orange County, CA.

BRANDENBERG: I have worked in the Roseville, CA, Sacramento, CA , Orange County, CA, and now the Los Angeles office.

RABINOVITZ: Transferred from Walnut Creek, CA. to Reno, NV.

2) How long had you been with the firm when you requested the transfer?

GULDEN: I had been working with Fehr & Peers for one year and four months before I relocated to Orange County.  However, I didn't "request a transfer,” the opportunity arose for me to be part of the new Orange County office as it was opening.

BRANDENBERG: I never officially requested to be transferred.  I opened the Sacramento office with Bob Grandy after working in Roseville for four years.  About a year and a half later my husband was offered a job at UCLA so we moved to Southern California.  I was living less than a mile from the Santa Monica office when the merger occurred so it was a perfect fit for me to end up in the LA office after a brief stay in OC.

RABINOVITZ: For about 6 years. 

3) What things contributed to your transfer?

GULDEN: The professional opportunities of being part of the Southern California expansion were a major factor in my decision.  I was also intrigued by the adventure of living in a new location.

BRANDENBERG: Life changes and new opportunities.  I loved working in the Roseville office and would have been happy spending my entire career there.  However, as the saying goes, life is what happens when you make plans.  I never thought that I would have ended up working in LA but it has been great and I am really enjoying Santa Monica and the LA office.

RABINOVITZ: Cost of living (I wanted to buy a house), stress of living in the Bay Area, wanted to be closer to family (I originally was discussing transferring to Roseville, CA or Sacramento, CA, but the opportunity came up in Reno, as they were looking for someone with my experience).

4) How was the actual internal process of making the transfer happen?

GULDEN: The internal process worked well.  I continued to work on Northern California projects while the OC office’s workload began to build-up.  This afforded me opportunities to work out of the Roseville office so that I didn’t leave the office “cold turkey.”

BRANDENBERG: It was very easy.  In each transition, the process involved a conversation with the OM and senior staff and then the corporate office took care of everything.

RABINOVITZ: The internal process was very easy.  I discussed my desire (to move to RS or SA) with Jane B. initially, and she talked to Sondra, who then discussed with me about Reno.  I then spent a week up here to make sure it was a good fit, and after that, it was just a matter of packing up and moving.  It was fairly seamless, and not at all difficult to make the move.  One of the great things about how F&P is set up is that you can work on any project from any office, without too much difficulty.  That has also made the move fairly easy, as I'm still intimately involved in the I-80/I-680 project.

5) Now that the transfer is complete, what are some of the pros and cons?

GULDEN: There are always pros and cons in a situation similar to this.  The cons are things related mostly to friends and family being located in Northern California.  In addition, a negative result of the relocation is that I get fewer opportunities to work and interact with colleagues in the Roseville and Sacramento offices that I had previously enjoyed working with.  On the other hand, I have greatly enjoyed meeting many new colleagues in the Santa Monica office.  Being a part of the Southern California expansion has given me the great opportunity to work with staff from the Santa Monica office and broaden my project experience.

BRANDENBERG: It is great to know more people within the company from spending time in multiple offices.  Entering a new market place is challenging.  It takes a while to become familiar with the local standards and guidelines and to establish new clients.

RABINOVITZ: Pros: Bought a house, less stress, near the mountains, great working environment.  Cons: Less urban activity (in Reno than Bay Area), missing friends, the workload is sometimes not as constant as in the bigger offices (but then I do work for other offices).

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