Here I am again looking for your advice and expertise. This may be a little long so please bear with me. TL;DR at the end.
I am in my late twenties and in my senior year in mechanical engineering. I got a degree in business management before studying engineering and have been working full time as a director in a non-engineering company while I complete my MechE degree. The pay is good at my current job and the benefits are good as well. I thoroughly enjoy my job but engineering is my passion and I want to ultimately work as an engineer. I am married and have a child. My wife is also a full time student and will be finishing a graduate degree in the summer of 2024 (no stipend and currently not working). I will graduate in the spring of 2023. I have been looking at different MechE jobs and the pay would be about the same as my current job. However, at my current job I get free health insurance and they are extremely flexible with schedules (work whenever, as long as you finish your work) and my job is 100% remote. I am thinking I should stay in this job until my wife graduates in 2024 so I can help her while she gets through school. Think things like dropping off and picking up my daughter at school, helping around the house, etc. Additionally, any potential pay increase I may get from an engineering job will likely go straight to commuting costs, before and after school care and health insurance as I would have to commute, someone will need to watch our child and most companies have an employee-paid insurance premium. So a pay increase wouldn't necessarily put me in a better financial position, it could even make it worse.
My question is, how damaging would it be to my career if I wait about a year or so after graduation to get an engineering job? Would it be harder to get a job if I do this? Do hiring managers look down on this or skip these resumes? I wouldn't necessarily have a gap as I will still be employed. I have 10 years of non-engineering experience (have worked the whole time while going to college). What do you honestly recommend? I plan on spending that year building a strong portfolio (Solidworks, 3D printing, Comsol projects, etc.) and getting a CAPM certificate from the Project Management Institute. Eventually I won't mind the switch and the potential pay cut/additional expenses because engineering is my passion and I need to start somewhere but I want to do that once my wife is done with school and has started her own career as well so that can offset any changes. I would really appreciate any advice you have.
Thank you all!
TL;DR. I work in a field not related to engineering. My job is very flexible, 100% remote and I get free health insurance. I'm married and have a child. I am graduating in Spring 2023 and I am thinking I won't change jobs (switch fields to engineering) until after my wife finishes her graduate degree in the summer of 2024. This is because I want to help her get through school and my current job pays about the same as a MechE job so any pay increase I get, if at all, will go to commuting costs, daycare expenses and health insurance. How damaging would it be to my career if I wait about a year or so after graduation to get an engineering job? Would it be harder to get a job if I do this? Do hiring managers look down on this or skip these resumes?