More or less same for me. I realized though that I was getting more exposure to management (and the politics was going to make me stagnate in a very junior management position for a long while) so I decided to look for something else where I can gain more technical exposure. You’ll get a big pay cut though. I saved and invested for 16 years before I left engineering. Seriously, it is very sobering when you realize that you are smarter and harder working than 90+% of the idiots around here driving their $70,000 BMWs, and I probably won’t be able to get even an entry-level engineering salary unless I go back into the hell-hole. But I am taking some of your advice to meet with an adviser in my program to see what the best course of action is. But just when I started training, I held back my tears (so that no one in control room would see me) when I felt that my brain was not able to learn and grasp everything in my training. Have you transitioned from your last job? Computers will keep improving with or without me. Do you have an update? Why is the guy who engineers the solutions making less money than the mechanic he is instructing??!! Yes, there are bad teams, there are bad managers, and there are no doubt jobs where people feel trapped. Keep trying different jobs, maybe you’ll find one that’s a good fit. I have asked him to at least talk to his current manager and see if he can get back on track to what he was hired for, or at least a workload that is somewhat doable where he can feel like he is making some head-way. I am working part time right now on a retail store ( not IT ), so not to get bored. It was the same for me. It’s great to look forward to going to work. The comments on this post are excellent too. Choose wisely because each action has a consequence.” More than 15 years later, I can say this advice rings true for myself and most of those I have encountered in the professional workforce. “Management” as conceived by the Harvard Business School is a massively overrated. Outsourcing safety sounds like a terrible idea in aviation. Really good article. At this point, you’re in a great position to secure your financial future. Sign up to receive new articles via email. Is it some MBA consulting ideology? I used to be a tax consultant. I was unable to escape this even when switch jobs multiple times. I know this has been a really long rant and cry for help, but please any suggestions or comments to help guide me are much appreciated. If you like the technical side, it seems your career will be a short one. This was so true for my engineering program too. Job #5 lasted 2 1/2 years and the site was unceremoniously closed in 2003. Unless you are a real Type-A .1% blue-chipper that is more accomplished than almost every other engineer around, you would be better served abandoning the technical toolset and craft that you painstakingly developed in favor of a 100% commitment to project management or other type of job where you are not competing with younger and cheaper labor. I still like to believe people can always transition their skill sets too but its not for everyone and those that love technicality will eventually feel intellectually suppressed. I’m sorry to hear that. After you get an engineering degree enroll to get a MBA as soon as you can. At some point, there has to be acknowledgement that work is either a means to an end, or the end itself. Engineering is a great field to get into. Very soon i will put myself out of this life. AND I WAS OBSESSED WITH ARCHITECTURE SINCE CHILDHOOD. a few guys admitted that they felt they lost jobs due to that, and I think I did too. That’s why they always try to get rid of highly paid senior people who are individual contributors. A company making retirement software drilled my coworkers in interviews – and that company doesn’t even pay well (their ad encourages H1 visa holders to apply and advertises a $45k salary at the low end of the range). Thanks for your thoughtful comment. I hope you can improve it somehow. Being at one company for for decades is good for securing your financial future but ultimately became unfullfilling. However, I see my husband’s mental health being affected(works 14 hours somedays) because the stress is over the charts at this company!! Then just find a part time to cover monthly cost as I won’t have to invest anymore. I marched in this morning and told them I quit because my wife, my kids, and my health (both mental and physical) were more important. By clicking “Accept”, you consent to the use of ALL the cookies. I can totally relate to getting out of engineering. It would be fine for me to keep doing the same job and getting minimal raises, but that’s not enough for the company. I think engineering is the greatest thing in the world. If it is yes for you two, then you are also a retiree. It was good when I was young, but it’s not a good fit when I got older. Resigning from work and turning to vlogging was a frightening thought for Moss, who had been an electrician for 10 years and had a lot of financial responsibilities. Even so-called ‘sales’ requires a pre-existing CO-OP nowadays. Had a hard time getting a job with no experience so had to go overseas for cheap but rigorous engineering labor. So far so good on my front. The real burnout was due to the slow disintegration of benefits, constant layoffs, forced vacations, zero raises, and in one year they actually docked the entire company’s salary 5%…. Now that he’s going to school full time, I can spend more time on Retire by 40. Lack of interaction with people, no physical movement, and a mentally taxing job feels like I’m just selling my soul. I can’t imagine still working 40 years from now! The manager indicated to me that he believed he made a mistake hiring me as he felt my experience level was inadequate for the workload and his expectations (he said he should’ve asked more detailed design questions in the interview. So sure, if Matt Damon, Robin Williams, and the MIT professor started a hedge fund and Damon’s algos generated millions of dollars then sure, it’s a real win and he and Minnie Driver could live happily ever after, whether or not she attends Stanford Med in Cali, since having money makes plane trips rather cheap. I’m sure you’ll do well since you sounds like you’re having a lot of fun. Most people don’t have the planning or forethought as you had, so that’s why I enjoy following your journey. One of my friend’s husband is still working in chip design and loves his job. When the weekend is up, you do it again. If you have questions you ask for help. I want to switch my line but still puzzled as to where. “Well, you received such and such promotion and such and such raises.” Well, I never asked for them, you gave them to me! Good luck in finding your next career when you are ready! I realized engineering just wasn’t for me, it helps to know that there are people out there that have experienced that in the workplace. It’s not easy. I came to it 7 yrs ago with a personal goal of either getting into engineering management or leaving for a related job internally. There were few women — I could count the female engineers with one hand — and so you had testosterone fueled egotism in the mix. It’s a cautionary tale. I got put on a layoff list mainly due to politics. I would go for Oceanography! You will have invested so much time in it that it will be extremely difficult to change course. Stressed beyond measure and unable to disconnect when not at the office. I think management jobs are better than the slaves doing engineering. Good luck! He is an engineer and I am in accounting/finance. It’s not glamorous and it wasn’t what he did as a full time job. what do you think? My school offers a lot of resources but the one thing they all is an actual person from the field. I think engineering is still a good field to go into. An electrician quits her current job, which pays $40,000 per year. He was probably high when he said that. Thanks for sharing. You will understand what we do here.”. My husband is going to quit his engineering job in a year. Good for you I say. Purchasing just the unit will set you back anywhere from $30 to $300. I also like volunteering for the same reason (mental challenges) and meeting new people. Intel’s culture is the WORST. I finally got to premium! Intel is a huge company. And I doubt I will like it if I do get one. If you can get a position, I’d say go for it. I found the engineering aspect fascinating, it certainly broadened my ability to solve complex math problems, but that’s really all I got out of it. Good luck. Yes, I think it’s a better idea than being a full-time blogger. You can travel, have fun with friends, and do things to lessen the stress. Which one fulfill better the human soul most? I’m no slacker (my boss even said so) but I was starting to get fried from all the stress and pressure (every single day was approx 10 hours (lunch not included) since I started there). If you are a senior-level engineer, do you still enjoy your job and will you continue with it until full retirement age? My immediate family are all engineers, except for me. It’s the stupidest way you can possibly generate income! I’ve always been available to do more but asking for extra work usually falls on deaf ears. It’s great that you are saving and investing now. Be prepared for the career to lose its luster eventually so that you can change careers or retire without drama. (I don’t even know what it was.) If you want to do music business in the future, for sure you will need some capital. We all know those people and they are not fun. I don’t think I’m cut out to be a manager, though (I’ve only led small 3-5 person groups). Ohm’s law had not been repealed, I became a PE for awhile (I gave that up after a cross country move – I don’t really need it for the work I do), and the C language is still in use and even taught to EE students at my alma mater. Looking forward to seeing you next week. I guess I’m just really looking for any thoughts from those of you out there who have gained the work experience and potentially have made the switch of careers. . I was eventually promoted to program manager, which in the old days was a VERY prestigious position. I suspect only a few people can become a successful entrepreneur in tech. All paid for by the company. I worked with some PE when I was there. I now work for the Department of Veterans Affairs as a Training Specialist and absolutely love it. This is one of the challenges that you might face if you want to find career opportunities is UAE Hospitals. I know this unrelated to your RB40 story, but I am curious on how you dealt with the transition from highschool to college? What it is … is the equivalent of the back office engineer, whose job is about to become automated. Its like for tech doubts, they can ask anyone about the problem – they can literally turn to anyone (or google) to solve their issues or clear their doubts on how to use or operate something. Like you said it has the potential to be a rewarding career, but it’s definitely not for everyone. A PA, on the other hand, can burn the midnight oil with extra shifts, from let’s say ages 25 to 45 but then, cut back the hours to let’s say ~24 hours/week, and still be able to enjoy those fruitful years between ages 45 and 65. You never know how it’s going to turn out. Engineers should recognize that it’s a lot harder to spend your whole life as an engineer. I hope you don’t take this as an attack, because it’s really not. I am 20+ years into an engineering career and currently with a big tech company. Meanwhile, develop some skills on the things you’re interested in. I think this MS/BS combo program was a great idea. For some reasons, I majored in ECE. Thanks for your input. And a principal should be charging $500 per hour or more. These classes take up lots of my personal time with homework, assignments, projects, and labs and I feel discouraged and unhappy with it right now since I can’t really seem to fully understand this stuff even with hours of studying. Be strong in your convictions early on and determine what kind of work-life balance you want to achieve. Needless to say, it’s a very small company (80 employees, 7 engineers) with completely unreal workloads and development schedules. I want to reach out and experience that things that a young 20 something year old should be (creating awesome products, working on collaborative teams, enjoying work/life), instead of grinding out code all day on test equipment. I am going on 16 years as an individual contributor in the same job. I’ve been working 3 years as an engineer in computer hardware (servers) and see the writing on the wall. However, some people may enjoy engineering/enjoy the career path. As you can see from the 90% of people who dropped out around you, most people cannot get the degree. It sounds like you are doing pretty well in your leadership role. Are you looking or will you stay where you are for now? Chemical Engineer here, 7+ years of experience. To me, this was the best period as an engineer. Save as much as you can and try to get some passive income rolling while you still make good money. However, this seems to be the only thing in my job that allows me to create on my own. Heyer's mother, Susan Bro, said she wanted Heather's name to become "a rallying cry for justice and equality and fairness and compassion". Most importantly – even with all the things that I’m doing as a “slash”, I’m STILL working less hours than I did as a technical lead, and I’m much happier and healthier. Good luck! I’ve only been there three months and it seemed like three years. I’m seriously considering getting out altogether because this same scenario has happened to me too many times in a row. I come from a family of doctors and sometimes I feel very inconsequential compared to them. I would just add that I totally agree with you here. Entry-level at a good organization, they give you tasks and you do them. Technical only carries you so far. When my daughter was born, my wife resigned from her online technical job with her boss in the USA who pays her hourly rate and free of taxes. I think I’m going to have to respectfully disagree here. I got a job right out of college with Intel, a great tech company. It’s nothing personal against any of the companies. In short, if anyone offered me $10 million to go work as an engineer (or any other corporate job) for one year, I wouldn’t consider it even for a nanosecond. My employer, a small defense contractor that is actually a branch of a holding company is having hard times. I think it’s great that you can handle both the technical and leadership aspect. I got a good GPA (3.4) upon graduation but I seriously hated it. I didn’t ask ANYTHING this time (other than how many workers were at the site – a few just for the sake of having questions), and I got the job. I have also been learning investing/trading for about 6 months now and have taken the plunge into attempting to make money with it – I found that I have a passion for trading and have been profitable. They make too much money and don’t work as hard as young engineers. It’s a different world today for kids with their tablets and smartphones. At the same time, I feel like I’ve become that person that they always wanted me to be because that’s what I had been doing for my entire life. I became more senior and the expectation was to sit in god awful meetings all day, make slides sets, and influence others. I earn $60k and work 60 hours a week (this isn’t including travel and all that crap). And one can still pursue an undergraduate degree part-time, just in case, a white collar/management track opens up in the construction (or infrastructure) industry, though I imagine it’s probably a better lifestyle just to be in a union, than to spend time in management just to tell others that one’s white collar. There is no rule that says you cannot play cut throat right back. EDIT: Holy shit thank you everyone for the awards! The perfect invention is not something big complex, but finding how to make something work by just a simple idea, a little tweak that nobody thought about, because the do not think out of the box. Those were just things I liked to do. As I said, I’m terrible at managing people. He was a degree-holding geologist who ended up taking this job because it paid better. All that traveling sounds terrible. I liked it at first, but all the corporate BS that came with it just killed it for me. If that doesn’t work, they get laid off due to “rightsizing”. Thanks for sharing. I guess you can work for the federal biology department or become a professor with an Oceanography degree. Wow, I would consider $10 million for one year. Most skilled blue collar jobs pay equal to or more than most engineering jobs. Why management, in my area of work I never see or have seen managers travel more than 10% of the time on a 5 day basis. I looked at savings, assets, etc and on paper at least, I am at FI. Quite a few older folks were forced to retire over the last few years. Hasbro, the company that makes the potato-shaped plastic toy, is giving the spud a gender neutral new name: Potato Head. Thanks for sharing. Very intersting view. I started looking for a new job, but I am exhausted bet getting better. I can relate. I was convinced I failed Chemistry, but I got a C. If it’s hard for you, it’s probably hard for your classmates too. I'm an apprentice electrician now and I wish I'd skipped college entirely and gone in 5 years sooner. A real moron, who’s only goal was to work there for a year so he could collect his $200,000 retainer. I have worked in several large organizations as well as a mid/small sized non-profit. I think you can get into the management position pretty quick if you like that. If you find the right company and culture, you might last a bit longer and have a chance to build your wealth. Since beginning my short career I’ve seen 4 layoffs hit our organization and they’ve only gone after senior engineers/individual contributors, one with 25 years at our company. Arizona also has many defense and non-defense jobs. That is one of the biggest concerns for me. Joe, it sounds like pure burnout on your end, and I’m sure the engineering community is poorer without you around. He made around $110k at the former company – with 20+ years of experience. Good luck! But you need to be passionate and extremely dedicated about this in order to succeed at this. It might lose its luster at some point, but I’m enjoying it right now. I’m sure some senior level engineers are happy with their jobs and still enjoy their time at work. This is my first time reading it and I knew you were an engineer, but I didn’t know you were ECE. Think about it, a PA has nearly all the tasks of a general internal medicine (GP) doctor but w/o the rigged, overpay structure of the M.D. There are some new challenges ahead, though. I work for a pretty good company, the work is enjoyable, and my boss is awesome. Sign up for a free account at CrowdStreet to check out their projects. I quit for different reasons. Here’s my advice to you … since you’re in a decent career track now, start to research jobs in the government. I thought the product was cool, and as an engineer back then with a decade of experience, I was excited at the start to be part of the company. It seems like an easy thing for a computer to do. Not every org is like this – by far – but a fair number are. I think the corporate culture really killed off many good engineers. Avoid watching HGTV for career advice (but keep watching for personal enjoyment) as these shows only focus on some residential jobs. At my job, there’s the same old men, writing programs and eating the same leftover lunch every day.
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