Is this viewed as flaky behavior? 1

[huskybuilder]

Could someone offer me some advice on how my resume will look to potential employers? I graduated college in 2009 with a B.S. in Civil Engineering and took a job at a consultant who I had interned with one summer. I stayed at that job 21 months and then moved cross country for a job with a government agency. That was a huge mistake, mainly because I didn't know what I wanted. I thought I wanted to travel the country with that position, but I didn't. Also, the work was mainly administrative, not 'engineering.'

I left after 5 months with a late funding offer to grad school back in the region of the country I'm from. It's a year and a half funded program for an M.S. with a hydraulics emphasis that is thesis track. I'm not positive I want to work with hydraulics, but as I saw it, it was my best option to move in a direction I want and this was my best chance to get a hydraulics focused position if I decide I want to do that type of work. I'm kind of hoping I might be able to return to the first company now that I know more what I want, even though they don't do a lot of hydraulics work but time will tell. I would make a VERY firm commitment to them this time around.

Do I look like a flake?

 

[KENAT]

Not necessarily a flake overall depending how you put it on your resume, but your initial employer might take some convincing that you are "VERY" committed this time and they should take you back.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[huskybuilder]

Kenat, I guess in my mind, without doing any research on professional etiquette, I'm thinking I could offer to sign a contract. Other than the economic slowdown, the company is very stable so I wouldn't be committing to a potential bad management situation in the future. That's what I mean about a firm commitment. Again, this may sound naive, but I haven't done any research to how I could approach the situation.

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Try the "mouth" method. Call your old boss, tell him what you have been doing, ask him how is, wife, kids, etc are doing and "feel" him out.

His reaction will probably dictate where you go from there....

Why do telephones weigh 2,000 lbs????

 

[KENAT]

Well, as others have pointed out, this arguably isn't the best place for legal advice which is territory you're straying into.

I've heard of 'relocation expenses' or reimbursement for education etc. being tied into guaranteeing to work for the employer for a certain amount of time or else having to pay it back. However, outside of this nothing springs to mind of a promise to work for the Engineering employer at least X years or similar.

Though now I've typed that, I may have heard similar for high level execs or even folks in entertainment, so maybe, but sounds questionable.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[pmover]

there is nothing wrong with contacting your former employer/boss by telephone and asking about future employment provided you left the company/boss on good graces/terms (i.e. would your former company consider hiring you again based on your past performance and how you departed?).

as far as "signing a contract", employment agreements are more likely the norm for nearly all employees (i.e. at-will employees). for example, if your employment ends within x-months of hire date, you will reimburse the company for moving expenses.

try not to over-complicate matters . . . appears you picked up that behavior while working at the gov agency . . .

regardless, good luck!
-pmover

 

[tygerdawg]

We are all programmed to believe that an engineering career consists of a progressive series of steps of linear steps. Folks have all kinds of valid reasons why that isn't the case. Now is the time to develop your sales & marketing techniques for yours.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[jpankask]

Leaving a job for grad school will not raise a red flag with most employers. The willingness of your previous employer to take you back will be completely dependent on the manner in which you conducted yourself while there and how you left. 21 months with an employer after graduating is not a long time to prove yourself, but if you worked hard while there and left on good terms, and they have a position, most companies would rather hire a former employee than a new one since you already know the ways of the company and you're not such a risk.

I would not offer to sign a contract, just contact your old boss, explain to him you have gone back to grad school and will be looking for a position and that you enjoyed working at the company and were looking to return. They won't expect that you are planning to spend your entire career there, and you shouldn't either...you never know what might come up to change your situation. If they do ask you to sign some kind of contract, and you're willing to, go ahead...but don't offer, it may make you seem desperate. It's pretty standard that you pay back expenses paid by the company (relocation, hiring bonus, education, etc.) if you leave the company with 2 or 3 years.

 

[bridgebuster]

If your old employer doesn't do a lot of hydraulic work now, what makes you think they'll do a lot of it later?

Mike is right - call your old boss and feel him out.

 

[huskybuilder]

Thanks for the responses everyone. To address a few of the questions, I have stopped back and talked to my employer while I was with the government. My boss made a comment along the lines of "Keep stopping back" which I take as a very good sign. That was before I left my new job quickly, however. Also, even though my old employer doesn't do a lot of hydraulics work, I think my grad program will benefit the work I could do for them. They do a lot of stormwater management work, and this should be beneficial for that.

Has anyone had any experience returning to a former employer? How did it turn out?

 

[B16A2]

You definitely sound lost, but it's not a bad thing at your age. Maybe civil engineering design isn't the career you should be following? Many of my friends meandered around like you're doing and eventually just came to the realization that it really was because they weren't cut out for engineering. They're happier and make more money now in their respective fields.

My suggestion would be is if you aren't sure about pursuing hydraulics, dont spend the time getting a MS in it just to fill your time. It will make employers red flag you if you try to get a job in anything else. Consider investing in a MBA or even a JD if you want another degree.

 

[huskybuilder]

B16A2, your post kind of bothers me. Probably because it struck a chord with me. I've kind of wondered if engineering is for me in the past, but I have no idea what else I would do. Do you really think the MS could end up hurting me? I don't want to do it but I figured it gives me the best chance to get a job again. I had to leave my last position and have been happier for it and wanted some engineering continuity to my resume. I figured the extra knowledge of hydraulics could benefit things such as storm sewer design, or water distribution system design, which many firms do, even if I don't stick with river hydraulics.

I basically regret leaving my first employer because of the quality of life I experienced, in general, and was trying to get back on track. This move got me back in the area I want to be as a first step, with lost work experience and income because my main opportunity costs.

 

[B16A2]

I think you need to ask the specific question of what a MS in hydraulics is going to get you. Maybe some other eng-tippers in that specific field can chime in. Your old boss would be an excellent place to start. If you dont want to bother him, just call a few random firms and ask to speak to the CE managers. I've found they've always been more than happy to help out a young engineer with a question like this. They may say that you're wasting your time, or not. Then you can make the decision if it will help, hurt, or just fill 2 years of your time. Dont listen to anyone at the university because they typically have no idea what is or isn't useful.

I'll quote your first thread

"I went to a pretty good school, at least in my region, got good grades, but didn't make a lot of special connections or do anything special with civil engineering related clubs or competitions. I'm worried this company is kind of getting me off track for getting into a large company with interesting projects to work on because it is a smallish (40 people) regional firm. The work is very bread and butter - urban street reconstructions, other municipal work, some highway design and dam rehabilitation, etc.

An important thing to note is I LOVED my classwork in college. It was really stimulating work and I felt like I had a lot of interesting things in my future, but I don't know that I've really applied any 'engineering' to the work I've been doing. It's been a lot of project management, actually. The work just feels so asinine... hearing local residents complain all day, fighting with rogue contractors, trying to build off of plans drafted by lazy designers that aren't properly reviewed..."

From what I can tell, you really just want to be close to family, make a decent wage, and work for a cutting edge company. That's commendable, but how realistic is it based on your family's location? It sounds like your family is located in a smaller type city/town area so your options may be limited and you'll have to make some hard decisions or branch out into something else. The work your first company does just doesn't sound like a good fit for you.

Honestly the sky is the limit. You're still really young and have a lot of time to make up for any career change. Does anything in the medical field make sense? Heck, you could go into pharmacy school now, and even with the extra tuition would still come out way ahead. How about looking into law? Having a civil background is useful for several branches of law. I would have mentioned getting a PhD in civil, but that could make you end up anywhere in the country.

 

[lacajun]

Start the MS program and see where you go. More education is always a good thing for you personally.

Talk to your former employer and be honest with him. Sometimes old farts forget what it's like to be young and uncertain about life but they will remember, if you talk long enough. Lots of older people want to help young people but they don't ask. He may not rehire you immediately or ever but if you work at that relationship, you may be able to rebuild it. You don't know until you try. He may not think ill of your departure anyway. Don't build walls where they don't exist. That's one way I see people, including myself, defeat themselves before they even try.