Fed up, ready to leave, how do I proceed? 6

[Gorpomon]

Hi,

Here's my situation in brief:

I'm the sole mechanical engineer (and only engineer) at a company that sells products in piping. I was hired on two years ago to steer the company in an engineering direction. Provide technical assistance to customers, provide technical support for our products, and train industry in our products. I report directly to the company owner, (a non-engineer) and we're about 20 people strong.

Two years later, that technical work is now basically by gone the way-side. I've moved into inside sales and am doing some small technical projects, nothing major or resume defining. Customers, I've found out, NEVER, need technical assistance. And with recent new sales practices, I'm tethered to my desk doing inside sales all day, and while I'm good at it, I'm miserable. At this point I've learned all I can from this job technical info wise, and about sales.

My career goals are to work for a PE so I can get hours to get my own PE, preferably in MEP/AEC, or go to architecture grad school. I'm actively searching for a job right now, but no luck. In part, I think its because this work is so non-technical...

Luckily, I've saved up a lot of money working here (30k). I live at home, few bills ($500/month all said and done, add $200 for health insurance if I leave too). I could be unemployed for a solid year before I start itching for money.

I want to leave, so I can work on projects at home full-time for a grad school portfolio, search for a job full-time and maybe travel to see relatives (my grandmother is not doing so hot....).

BIG QUESTION: Is this insane to want to leave? I'm not getting any better technically, not learning any other business aspects, not getting PE hours and am now basically feeling mistreated. But still in this economy, would you tough it out?

If its not crazy, how would you go about leaving? What should I say? I want to keep this place as a reference, but I'm worried if I do that, then my boss (who will likely be unhappy I leave), probably won't be the best reference. Having this place as a reference is my biggest concern actually, anyone know of a way I can handle/resolve that?

Any thoughtful input is required. Just to put it out there, I'm not whining in a "oh poor me" sense, I'm very lucky to have got this job when I did, it started out pretty good for the first year and just went down from there. It's just that I feel like I have the means to leave, have maxed out my learning here, and now with these new sales practices implemented, am miserable.

Again, any thoughtful input is really appreciated!

 

[GregLocock]

I keep seeing American posters whinging on about the economy and using that as an excuse not to do something. Um, get used to it. I see no structural reason why the American economy is going to change a great deal in the next 5 years. The rest of the world is into a second downturn after the GFC, we've already had one mini boom.

So, my advice would not be to dream about some future economy where engineering jobs are handed out like Smarties (M&Ms), work with what you've got.

In your case yes two years is long enough, get out. I'd be inclined to look from where you are rather than resigning first.

Cheers

Greg Locock


New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

 

[bigTomHanks]

I would leave if I were in your shoes based on the information that you have provided. You essentially have the whole world in your hands due to your situation. I would strongly suggest that you find the job that you want before you do quit. The main reason is because it will make you look mature and reliable. You are not whiny about your situation so future employers will respect your reasons for wanting to leave. While you do have the means to leave now and live off savings, there will be some employers that will not give you a shot for leaving under those circumstances.

 

[MintJulep]

All those customers that never need technical assistance presumably don't need it because they have their own engineering staffs.

That means that they are all potential next employers.

You should be using your position to get to know the hiring managers at all of your current customers.

 

[tygerdawg]

One can sense your frustration and perhaps anger over this situation. Sounds like your function has evaporated, and that will happen from time to time over the course of a career. Move on if you must, but not before you have another gig lined up. If you have a hoard of cash and no commitments/responsibilities to hold you in any one place, you have the entire world open to you. Travel, study, get another job, get a different job...the possibilities are endless. But don't waste your time being angry because your work doesn't get you fired up 24 hours a day. Just channel it into something more productive.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[OneDay11]

where i am from it is common NOT to use references from the job you are currently working in. standard practice for obviouse reasons.

 

[MacGyverS2000]

Don't forget to have a calm conversation with your boss when it is time to move on. Explain that you appreciate the opportunity the position provided, but new opportunities have arisen that are heading more in the direction you wish to go. No manager worth having as a reference can be angry at that... if he gets mad, there was no chance of having a reference from him in the first place, he'd want you there until you're dead at your desk.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[cksh]

Stay until you find a job. I never like having gaps on my resume. And any experience, no matter how unrelated to what you want to do, can be worded or explained in a way that it benefits you at a future employer. If you quit now you have two years xp, with a gap that is however long it takes you to find a job. Stay, and its xp in the bank.

 

[TheTick]

Option A (preferred)
1. Find a new line of employment
2. Quit current job

Option B (less desirable)
1. Quit current job
2. Find a new line of employment

 

[vpl]

This may not be advice you want to hear ...

You say you "live at home" -- most people do; however, I sense that you mean that you are still living in your parent's house rather than a place that you have the primary responsibility for the mortgage or rent.

If that's the case, have you sat down and had a serious talk with both your parents (not just the sympathetic one?) Are they really going to be ok with your quitting your job with no firm prospects of a new one? How do you plan to pay for grad school -- are you expecting them to cough up the money? And, without meaning to be harsh -- I seriously doubt you're going to spend a year at your grandmother's bedside.

Your $500 a month in expenses sounds like a car payment -- have you thought through all your other expenses ... car insurance, gas money, clothes, occassional dates (movies, dinners...)? And what happens when the two years go by and there isn't a job to be had -- what are you going to do then?

Before taking the bridge-burning step of quitting, ask your boss for a vacation -- even an unpaid one -- for two or three weeks. Do some of those projects you're talking about "full time" for those two or three weeks. Work in a visit to your grandmother. At the end of that time, you should have a better idea whether you seriously would spend your time "working on projects at home full-time for a grad school portfolio, searching for a job full-time and maybe traveling to see relatives" or whether your days are filled with surfing the internet, playing computer games, hanging with your high school or college friends, and generally "having a good time." If you find that your vacation time was the latter -- and especially if you're justifying how you spent your time off -- you need to keep working.



Patricia Lougheed

******

Please see FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies for tips on how to make the best use of the Eng-Tips Forums.

 

[controlnovice]

Always easier to find a job when you already have one.

It's harder to explain to a possible new employer why you were out of work (if you quit, then look for a job). If you're having this much trouble finding work now, imagine what it would be like trying to find a job when you have 1, 4, 12 months of no work on your resume.

Stay where you are until you find a job. Take vacation days or personal leave for interviews, job fairs, searches, etc.

______________________________________________________________________________
This is normally the space where people post something insightful.

 

[Twoballcane]

Controlnovice is right, you are more marketable if you are employed than not. Find new job first then quit. And, don't burn your bridges when leaving.

Tobalcane
"If you avoid failure, you also avoid success."
“Luck is where preparation meets opportunity”

 

[MadMango]

You don't HAVE to say anything. A simple resignation letter will suffice.

Dear X,

I hereby tender my resignation, effective on July 28, 2011.

Sincerely,
Gorpomon

But that might "burn bridges" since it is such a small company. If you were an asset to your company, your boss should give you a reference, regardless if he is hurt about your leaving or not, though personal egos tend to hold grudges in small companies. I have to wonder if you have ever raised your inside sales position concerns with your boss or what passes for HR there? If you have never discussed with anyone how miserable you are, then no one there can do anything to try to change your situation.

It is common to leave an employer if one doesn't feel they are no longer growing professionally as an individual.

"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."


Have you read faq731-376 to make the best use of these Forums?

 

[lacajun]

You've gotten some great advice. I can only add that if I were you, and I am not, I would only leave for a job that provided the experience/path desired or to enroll full time in graduate school, which will count towards your P.E.

If you don't quit, enroll in graduate school to continue learning and achieve your long term goals. Years ago I felt my brain atrophying a bit and enrolled in graduate school to exercise it and continued my employment. Inquire if your employer will assist w/ your educational expenses and if they'd expect some time of employment after you graduate.

You will always run into frustrations in many aspects of life. At your tender age, it may be viewed negatively to leave so quickly due to frustration. I would expect questions during an interview about that would be rather probing. Ultimately, if they apply enough pressure, you may crack during the interview process or some latent reason for leaving might be revealed. At your age, any employer will want a long(er) term commitment. If you aren't, they may discern it.

 

[Gorpomon]

Thanks so much for your replies everyone, even the stern ones. I'm just glad to hear that I'm not crazy, and it counts to hear this from other engineers, not relatives for friends who aren't industry savvy.

To respond to some of you:

MadMango: Yes, I did raise these concerns, they were swept aside. The phrase "just deal with it" came up several times.

Vpl: First, its just my mother (father passed in '06), and she's militantly for me leaving (just give them a letter tomorrow! she said). My grandmother is in India, so any trip has to be a month commitment at most, just to make a plane ticket economical. You're 100% right on the project stuff, and that's just where I know now how hard I have to work. Grad deadlines are approaching. But I will heed your words, and maybe try and see if over the next few weekends I can work hard full-time on my stuff, and if so I'll know I can pull it off full-time over the week. You're right, surfing the net and hanging with friends is no solution to this.

As far as bills go, yeah its more like $400/car $100 ins $150 student loans. Those are hard set bills. Gas is around $150/mo. + medical insurance would be $150-$200/mo. So it is more than I estimated. Since I wouldn't be leaving right away, I could save up for this stuff to cover me for a few months. Also, I already have significant cash stowed away to cover that in case of "catastrophe"

 

[MikeHalloran]

The cash you have stowed away may seem like a lot now, but it will not last a year with no income. ... and these days, it's not uncommon to be out of work for more than a year.

You have about a four week window to find another job if you quit without having one lined up. After that, HR weenies and recruiters alike will be inclined to pass over you _just_because_ you've been out of work for a month, or two, or six, or ... it just keeps getting worse.

1. Get another job.
2. Quit. Give NO reason.
IN THAT ORDER!




Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[ornerynorsk]

Tick pretty much nailed it. I was thinking "grasp door handle, push, exit" until I read that post.

I've done option B at least 4 times during the inbetween periods of owning small businesses.

Option A is safer, but much less exciting. Just walking out gives a tremendous sense of well-being and empowerment, and a surprisingly positive impetus to discover the source of the next payday.

It is better to have enough ideas for some of them to be wrong, than to be always right by having no ideas at all.

 

[buzzp]

Quitting is not a burning a bridge. If you suspect a bad reference will come of it, hire a third party to find out what the employer will say if someone asks for a reference. An ex employer can't just say you were a bad employee, legally, without proof (evaluations, write ups, etc).

I know because early in my career I bashed the President of the company (pretty badly too I might add)in a written exit interview. Of course, a few years later I applied some where else and gave this ex employer as a reference (thought for sure I had job cause had interview, etc). I never heard from the possible employer again. I suspected I got a bad reference so I hired a firm to investigate and sure enough he was bashing me beyond belief. I got a report from the company I hired, emailed to my ex employer and told them if I get another bad reference, I would sue. I have not got a bad reference from them since (they only give title and dates of employment now). I was promoted at the ex employer and always had stellar reviews so his bad reference was not justifiable. If it were, he would be within his legal right.

Anyway, I have since learned to not burn any bridges so as to avoid the headaches later on.

I would keep your job until you get another. As everyone said, it is much easier to get another when your employed. Kind of like a girlfriend - if you have one, all the women want you, if you don't they avoid you.

Good luck.

 

[KENAT]

Step 1. Download the song 'take this job and shove it' to your Ipod (or equivalent).

Step 2. Delete all useful files from your PC and set your background to be a picture of you flipping the bird.

Step 3. Learn how to operate the company PA system.

Step 4...

Posting guidelines faq731-376

http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?

(probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484​

 

[csd72]

Step 1 - find the next job
Step 2 hand in your resignation and leave.

It really is simple if you follow my 2 step process (in that order).

Use those sales skills to sell the product that you are most passionate about - yourself!