Advancement Question
I am a mechanical engineer working in the automotive industry. When I graduated from college I took a job with an automotive-parts supplier ("Supplier A") designing engine components. After working there for a year, my wife and I decided to move to Detroit in a move to advance her career and get her enrolled in an masters program she was interested in. To make the move to Detroit, I took a job as an application engineer for a large competitor ("Supplier B") to my existing company. In this job I have been an on-site engineering rep at our customer ("Engine Manufacturer C"). Now Engine Manufacturer C loves the work I do so much they want to hire me in a senior engineering position. This is very tempting, but my wife and I want to move back to our home on the East Coast in a year or two. At that point in time I'll need to get a job (preferably in automotive), but would it look better on my resume to have taken a promotion from my current customer and worked there two years or to have stuck with my existing employer (in a job with less pay and less responsibility)?
Having worked for 3 different (but similar) companies in my first 5 years out of college may look a little sketchy to potential companies back East. Any advice?