Should I move on or stick it out? I guess I learned the answer the hardway.....where to next? 4

[jonbmet]

Need some career advice...again.

I posted a thread (thread732-322817) a few months back asking whether or not I should bail on a company that wasn't paying me. Most, if not all, of the responders told me to get out and fast. I should have listened. I'm now almost two months without pay. I turned in my two weeks last Wednesday. That has me quitting exactly on my 1-year anniversary with the company. I'm still concerned about looking like a job hopper so hopefully this will look ok.

I'm trying to find a path forward. The good thing is that I have a job (that actually pays) already lined up. The company I will be going to is meant just as a stepping stone. I do not want to work there any longer than necessary.

That being said I have a few goals that I've postponed working towards for the past year because of this job and would like some advice as to the best way to achieve them. I want to earn a PE along with a Masters. I'm an E.I.T. and probably have 1.5 years experience towards the PE. I need 7 years experience because I am a MET in Georgia (unless I earn a masters).

As far as working under a PE....what should I look for in the next one? The ones I've been working for really screwed me over. So far unless I'm working under another MET I don't feel like I'm ever given a shot to prove my abilities.

Since there aren't many MET PE's out there...would anyone (especially a MET PE!) have any specific advice for me moving forward?

 

[tygerdawg]

Yeah, hard lesson. Be confident in the fact that you are early enough in your career so that you may easily recover from such mistakes. Time heals many wounds. I personally wouldn't worry so much about planning for a PE as I would focusing on seeking gainful, useful employment upon which to build your resume & skill set. That's called "preparation for your NEXT job."

"job hopper", schmob hopper. As a hiring authority, I would have to question your lack of initiative in putting up with schmucks like that and continuing to work for them without pay. You should work on your story to the next interviewer to explain why you sat on your hands.

Having suffered through corporate employment dysfunction for too many years, a couple things have become clear:
[ol 1]
[li]You are completely in charge of your own career development.[/li]
[li]The "two weeks notice" is a courtesy that must be balanced against the likelihood of being asked to attend a spur-of-the-moment "short meeting" in which you unceremoniously lose your employment.[/li]
[/ol]

Carry on, solider, build your resume, and don't look back.

TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering

http://www.bluetechnik.com

 

[kylesito]

Job hopper applies when someone jumps every 6 months because all they are doing is leveraging their experience into a new position for an increment of pay. That isn't you. You have a valid story to back up why you are leaving.

PE, SE
Eastern United States

"If a builder builds a house for someone, and does not construct it properly, and the house which he built falls in and kills its owner, then that builder shall be put to death!"
~Code of Hammurabi

 

[KENAT]

It's usually a string of short duration jobs that look like a job hopper, and internships or similar wouldn't probably count as being job hops.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[TomDOT]

Have you reported them to your State Labor Board (or equivalent) yet?

This is almost certainly a violation of labor law, and if it is reported in a timely manner, they should investigate and strong-arm the employer on your behalf.

 

[miningman]

I guess the OP is unaware of the concept of loyalty or committment to an employer

"The company I will be going to is meant just as a stepping stone. I do not want to work there any longer than necessary."

I hope this man never applies to my organization

 

[TomDOT]

He's a year out of school, has worked the last two months without pay and STILL gave two weeks notice.

I'd really cut him some slack on any "loyalty" criticism. He's gotta eat, whether or not that next job is where he really wants to be.

 

[KENAT]

Plus I had a similar view about my current job back in 2005 when I took it, doesn't mean I planned to jump ship first chance I got but that I didn't plan on making a career of it.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[jonbmet]

Miningman....to clarify, the company I'm going to work for is completely aware of my plans. I've worked with them for the past few months on some side projects. My goal is to find a good job with benefits, pay, etc that I can work for ~5 years. I know they aren't the company to provide that and they know they aren't. I'm helping them with a few projects, getting their new CAD software installed / setup for what they do, and standardizing some designs. Once that's done they won't have much use for me.

The key thing is that I KNOW I can do them a lot of good....otherwise, I wouldn't go to work for them at all.