Given someone else's work... 1

[Nodiggity]

I was given another engineer's work cause he wasn't getting it done. This is in addition to my own work. He wasn't fired and now doesn't have much responsibility. He sits there and reads the paper while I work. He's been around a lot longer than myself, is one title above myself, and probably makes $20,000 more than me a year. I'm by far the youngest in the department and I get results.

Should I ask for a larger (8% or greater) raise?

Should I request to be promoted to the same title?

Am I being taken advantage of?

 

[MedicineEng]

Dear All:
We are speaking about working hours, if 40 is too much, if 50 is Ok. We are engineers. We care about outputs, productivity. I can give you my example:
I was used to work around 11-12h/day. Then, last year I enrolled in a MBA in a post-labour schedule, and I was "forced" to reduce my working time. Now I work an average of 9.5 hours/day. A 20% decrease on the working time.
Did my work suffered with it?
I cannot say that it didn't, specially in the first times while I was organizing myself to the new schedule. After that, I don't think that it is so noticeable the impact. In fact, I even think that I've improved my productivity, since I think that I can make maybe 95% of the work that I did previously:
-I delegate much more;
-I don't count on "Well, in the end of the day when everybody's gone I will finish this";
-I organize my work better.

So working hours doesn't mean anything. What means is what comes out of those hours. Of course that is not the point of view of most of the bosses. For them, you could even bring your bed and stay in the office.
What I don't understand is the concept of "open-ended" work. Is there no deadlines? Are they constantly overrun?
Idf yes, then your work is not open ended. You are making it open-ended. That's different.

Sorry for the long post.

PR

 

[APH]

BJC,

Sure, I thought about work from the day I wake up to the day I'm about to go to bed. I agree with all of you about what comes out of those hours. What I'm saying is that, at some point, you have to be able to say NO to your boss. I have experienced that I work 60 hours/week for almost 4 months for most days of the week, and it got me bad. And it happened like that because I can't say no to my boss, worrying what he's thinking about me, so he kept shufflying work to me while he gots the credit. Now, it it my boss fault, NO, it's mine because I can't convince him that this situation will not benefit both me and company in the long term. Even when I was sick at home one time, he called me to give direction to others on how to solve the problem. After 4 years, I quit and find a new job.

This is only my 2 cent.

APH

 

[Thane]

Expectation breeds more expectation. If you start regularly putting in 50 hours a week, your boss will get used to it and begin to expect you to put in 50 hours or more a week. If you decide to work a standard 40 or 45, then your are not meeting expectations. If you are expected to put in over time on a regular basis, then you should be justly compensated for it (either a corresponding salary adjustment or over time pay). Occasionally putting in a few extra hours to finish a project is part of the job; but if it becomes a continuous expectation or becomes the norm, then corresponding compensation should come along with the extra hours.

Engineers are professionals; however, that does not mean that we should be expected to donate our valuable time on a consistent basis.

Thane

 

[Nodiggity]

You know what? I have a life outside of my work. I enjoy spending time with my friends and family. I also enjoy my free time and hobbies. It blows me away that people will spend 60 hours a week at work on a consistant basis. The United States is the most overworked industrialized nation on the planet. German workers get a mandatory minimum 5 weeks of vacation. I get 2.

 

[HgTX]

And yet we still have a reputation for being lazy. I can understand the "Ugly American" stereotype, but I don't get the laziness one.

Hg

 

[APH]

True...true..

APH

 

[HVAC68]

1. Work smarter - doesn't necessarily mean work hard.

2. Enjoy your work. You won't feel the hours passing by. It's great to do what you enjoy and yet get paid for it.

3. If you are not enjoying your work - change your job or find ways and means of making your work enjoyable.





HVAC68

 

[aamoroso]

Having been in this situation my whole life, going back to being a Machinist, there is one important thing for the younger guys to remember:

If you are learning, keep learning and it will pay off at this job or the next. Perhaps as you learn to your tasks completed better your boss will realize that he does not need to keep the other guy around, that still leaves you where you are at. My point is if they fire the other guy you may still gain nothing except even more work.

If you are gaining knowledge you will be rewarded eventually. As I stated earlier, I began my career as a Machinist, actually just running a saw cutting stock for the lathes. 17 years later I have worked my through CNC Programming, Production Management, R&D Management, Project management, Product Design... Here I am today working in Engineering (without a college degree) I have hands on experience with all aspects of manufacturing (welding, programming, laser machining, quality control, design, analysis...) and I am not the highest paid person in my department. I get up every day and go to work with a smile, do the best I can do, learn as much as I can learn and come home feeling pretty good about myself. 17 years ago I was running a cut off saw in a third rate rats nest of a machine shop making $5.00 an hour, but by taking on everything thrown my way, showing a will to learn, making the effort to learn and achieve, in return I have been rewarded with a good career that many machinists could only dream of. I have had the fortunate opportunity to work some large companies on some very large projects, and I love it. Life is long, look at the big picture, appreciate where your life could be heading.

 

[Ron]

aamoroso...good advice.

I gather from the posts that many of you work 40 hours per week for a salary in a clearly defined position where you perhaps do not get opportunities to show individuality, initiative and self-motivation, or at least it appears to be unrecognized when you do. To remedy that requires communication with your supervisors/mentors.

The engineering profession is clearly divided into two factions of practice...licensed practice and non-licensed practice. For those who have engineering degrees but choose to practice in a non-licensed capacity, be aware that this aspect of the profession is heading toward hourly pay scales, non-professional status, and in some cases unionization. All are sad days for the engineering profession.

How would you feel if you physician said "OK, it's 5:00. Time to go home. We'll finish this heart transplant in the morning."? No, engineering is not often "life and death", but it has an importance in society that is often forgotten by the public and even by those of us in the profession. We provide important functions for the betterment of life and the public. We are charged (as licensed professionals) with the protection of the health, safety, and welfare of the public at large in our practice of engineering. That charge is a significant responsibility, for which we should be proud and for which we should be appropriately compensated. If we continue to act like hourly employees on a loading dock, we'll be treated accordingly.

Keep the standards high and meet them. It is the only way our profession survives.

 

[GregLocock]

Oh really Ron.

" For those who have engineering degrees but choose to practice in a non-licensed capacity, be aware that this aspect of the profession is heading toward hourly pay scales, non-professional status, and in some cases unionization. All are sad days for the engineering profession."

Have you any objective evidence that this trend is the case, across the profession as a whole? Increasing unionisation seems a tad unlikely given the general trend (not that it is a bad thing, and don't kid yourself that a professional association is anything other than a union, the best union I know of is the AMA).

By the way I am non licensed and 25% of my job IS life and death, for those of you who persist in buying SUVs and won't wear seatbelts.



Cheers

Greg Locock

Please see FAQ731-376 for tips on how to make the best use of Eng-Tips.

 

[automatic2]

My experience says; stop looking at exterior justifications for where you are now. You alone have the ability to drive your career. Sure, hard knocks come and some can be bruising, but you decide your path and timing. Take a day off and look around the country, the economy, industry. Is your career path secure?, what will it provide on a national average?, what doors will it open so choice is available down the road?. Envision what it is you want to be when you grow up, feel it. Where do you need to be in five years, forget the hassles of today. It's so easy to manage anothers expectations, because larger in the end, you can tell them to take a hike, but where does that leave you. Your needs are the hardest to manage, and require the most skill and consideration. Forget the dog, he's not your concern.

 

[FalsePrecision]

My 2 cent's worth:
If you feel you are being victimized, look for another job...be careful to not do anything to sully your reputation where you are working now. I had a worse experience in a field office; just myself and my manager. My manager did very little real work, mostly surfed porn on the internet. He embezzled, cheated on his expense account, etc....when I proved this to management, they gave him a slap on the wrist. He was forced to pay back only a small amount of the money he had embezzled. Typical office politics. Rather than let this eat me alive with bad emotions, I felt a lot better to quit, with one week's notice.

 

[EddyC]

Ron,

The license exempt engineers that you claim are "nonprofessional" send us rolling down the road in cars, get us flying around in airplanes, design the ordnance that defends our nation & world and put men on the moon. I am continually amazed at the innovative products that are continuously being created by license exempt engineers in industry. I've worked in both industry and consulting. The licensed engineers that I've met in consulting are no more "professional" than the license exempt engineers that I've met in industry.

nodiggity,

I'd give them a year or two and see if they properly reward you for your efforts. If they do, stay where you are. If they don't, then find another employer who does reward good work.