I got a job offer from a defense company as a fresh grad mechanical engineer back in September for $76.3k with $5k relocation in a higher cost of living area (not NYC or LA type COL, but smaller town/expensive boujee type vibe). I interned with this company for two summers at two different facilities - started in the desert southwest then transferred the next summer to mid-Atlantic region of the country and this is where I got the offer to. Needless to say, I took the offer and was able to push my start date back (December 2025 grad, started masters this semester). Manager was good with it and encouraged it due to slowdowns at work - start date changed to mid-June.
Here we are in late April, and someone from a competing prime reached out to interview me from an application I put in last semester. Apparently they are having a major hiring surge. I did the interview and got the job offer yesterday for $87k in a lower COL and my hometown (I do not wish to be here).
Is there any way of brining this up to my current manager? I would much rather stay with my current company that I interned at for 2 years, and be in the region of the county where I’ll be. I know it’s unprofessional to renege on my first job offer this close to the start date, but is it totally out of the question to see if they can match the offer? Any constructive input is appreciated.