Are these things typical with most engineering jobs? 3

[bradpa77]

I've been working here at my first job for 4 years. There are several things about this job that just drive me crazy. The thing is, I'm not sure if these things are typical at most engineering jobs or if this place is just disfunctional. I sometimes think of leaving but I don't want to go to another job and find out that these things are just typical of the real world no matter where you go. Here are just a few of the things that bother me:

1.) No training - very difficult to learn

I was never formally trained here. Also, learning how things work around here is near impossible. I found that if I ask the same question to 5 different people, I will get 5 different answers. I usually have to learn by my mistakes. It seems like no matter how much research I do up front on a project, it's always labeled "wrong" by someone after I'm done.

2.) No ryhyme or reason to design

I ask why certain designs are the way they are and the most common answer is "because it's been that way for 30 years". A lot of our designs are just copies of old designs and no one ever questions them. The draftsmen will tell me that my designs are "incorrect" because they don't agree with drawings from the past. They will pull out a reference drawing and use it as a template for a design for a new part and if you try to stray from that design, it is labeled "wrong". I have to spend a lot of time and energy fighting to keep my designs as they are from the draftsmen.

3.) The information is extremely choatic

The information around here is so scattered and unorganized it will make your head spin. Trying to find a reference drawing takes more time than actually designing the new part. Half of the drawings are on one system, some are on another system, some are only printouts that are poorly organized in reference books, the search feature in the electronic system doesn't work half the time. Then when I finally find a reference print, someone tries to tell me that it's "wrong".

4.) I have to do lots of drawings and pro/e

I always preferred the analytical part of engineering and I really am beginning to hate pro/e. We are short on employees so I usually have to do my own drawings and I spend a lot of time doing pro/e models.

5.) The company isn't doing good

I'm sick of hearing how bad our company is doing. I'm tired of rumors of the company going under. I'm tired of feeling like my job is constantly in jeopardy.

Are these sorts of things typical at anyone elses job? If anyone can give me a bit of info, it would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

 

[Comcokid]

As Morpheus said to Neo in Matrix "Welcome to the real world."

I hear you. I currently feel somewhat the same way. However, after 8 companies in my 26 year career I have found that every company to one extent or another has similar issues. Only for brief periods at two companies did things seem "Right" - just before the hostile takeovers or the sudden sale by the parent organization!

 

[Ashereng]

The simple answer is yes and yes.

Very few places work exactly as we wish it. That's the way it goes.

Most places display dysfunctional characteristics. The trick it to be on the right side of it.

Everything you mentioned is old news, as Comcokid also confirms.

You need to decide whether there is sufficient pro's to offset the con's in your situation. The next place you go to will have a different set of pro's and con's.

If you find a place with only pro's, let me know. I'd love to work at a place like that.

 

[PhilBW]

Companies are like people, each has its own personality. There are pros and cons no matter where you work, but they differ from one company to the next. At the company where I work, none of the above situation exist except some of the time #4. However, there are other things around here that bug me. This is my 4th job in 25 years of engineering, and each has had its own quirks. While no company is perfect, you should be able to find one that is more compatible with your own priorities and work habits.

 

[UcfSE]

Sounds like we work for the same place. It's not just you, just where you are.

 

[ziggi]

I find that a company and it's employees are a reflection of its leader, if the company is disorganised, lazy and dysfunctional, look up the food chain and you'll most likely see those characteristics in the leader.
I used to be at a place where the leader was insecure and paranoid....the place was run the same way, everyone was distrustful of everyone else and no one shared info...it went under.
Currently I'm at a new place and am glad to be here, the leader is a hard arse, doesn't take anyone's nonsense and yet is still quite amiable, the place is run efficiently and yet everyone gets along well. There are issues of course but after my previous employer this place is Shangri-la.

I suppose it also helps that my immediate superior listens to my suggestions and occasionally even asks me to find problems and solve them. And most importantly of all the issues get RESOLVED.

In your case I would say resolving issues depends on your superior, if he's behind you, you can accomplish alot; if he's stuck in a groove...good luck, you're better off discretely finding support from higher up if you want to solve the problems, although be prepared to loss your job if you're found out....but then again what's the point of living if you don't leave a mark .

 

[CarolinaPE]

Let me guess, you work as an ME and your company manufactures a product. Did you think of looking for something outside of manufacturing and in the consulting world? Starting over after 4 years may be painful but it will only get worse.

 

[MikeHalloran]

1.) No training - very difficult to learn

Nobody will pay to train you, either in the tools they use, or in the way they do things. If you are lucky, you will survive through the introduction of the next new technology to hit the company, and you will get whatever training comes with the package. Do pay attention; you will need it at your next job, and they won't train you. Example: Everybody wants trained Pro/E drivers today, and nobody is willing to train a candidate without it.

2.) No ryhyme or reason to design

Proven designs mirror the pressures that caused them to evolve. It's worth studying them, hard, so as to infer what those pressures were. An alternative design is not better just because it's 'new'. If it mirrors the pressures that still exist, _and_ the pressures that are new, then yes, it may actually be better. It may take you several years of experience within a narrow specialty to be able to perceive the design pressures, and truly understand why particular designs survive for decades, and produce designs that truly are better.


3.) The information is extremely choatic

Most outfits are still reeling from, or undergoing, a transition from paper records to electronic records. Startups have it easier in a way, because they have no traditions to change. They have it harder in a way too, because they have no traditions to guide them.

4.) I have to do lots of drawings and pro/e

The simple facts are:
They paid for Pro/E by firing the designers.
You are lucky to have a job; some outfits paid for it by firing the engineers.

5.) The company isn't doing good

The entire world is in flux; you are not immune.
That said, repeating rumors or even listening to them wastes the time for which the company pays you, and thereby makes the rumors more likely to come true. Keep learning, and you may survive whatever fate awaits your employer.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[bradpa77]

So it looks like these things are pretty typical at most engineering jobs. Thanks for the info everyone. It really helps to get an idea of what other engineers are doing at their jobs. Being that this has been my first real world job, it's difficult to know what a common on-the-job annoyance is. I'm glad to hear that my company isn't the only one with some organizational issues. I guess I'm still on the school mindset where everything is cut and dry and there are solid answers to each question and there are books to learn from. It's tough to break out of that mindset. You spend the first 20 some years of your life learning how to do well in school, then you go into the real world and it's nothing like school. I guess I'm still learning how to succeed in the real world. I'm getting there but it's mostly been a lot of stumbling around. It can be really frustrating to me. I just wish I could get the hang of this stuff. I really enjoyed engineering school and I like to think that I got really good at it. Now the rules have changed and I feel like I'm having a hard time adapting.

 

[MrMojito]

bradpa77,

It is not only the engineering world that displays the traits that you described, it is the entire working world with every type of job included. Don't get too discouraged and learn to work within the boundaries that are available to you. Somehow, in spite of the defects in most work environments, some very interesting products and technologies are constantly created. These breakthrough products are the reason why engineering appeals to so many who choose it as a profession.

 

[pmover]

sounds like your working for a government agency . . . no surprise if true. of the 4 outfits i've worked for in the past and my associations with many other organizations, the government agency is by far the worst (you adequately described it). frankly, that just may be by design . . . that is communication between individuals, departments, agencies, etc. is fragmented; thus an inefficient workplace and frustration.
if the current pasture your grazing in has a lot of crab grass and weeds (does not taste too good either), then perhaps a change is warranted. regardless, accentuate the positive, remember what you have learned (good or bad), filter the negative, and grow from it. this is part of what makes a good employee/engineer.
like other responders have stated, we do not live in a perfect world - sorry.

good luck in your adventures!
-pmover

 

[HgTX]

Why did the engineers cross the road?

Because they looked in the file and that's what they did last year.

Hg

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