Thinking about making the jump. 1

[LostHippie]

So, I am a recent college graduate that has been working with a small diesel engine spinoff company of a larger transport corporation for about 7 months. The job pays well below the average starting salary for mechanical engineers, and gives a flat, yearly pay increase of 2%. The benefits and vacation policy blows, its in a crappy area with pretty much no access to civilization within an hour of the building, and on top of that the job is so simple a high school graduate could learn to do it in a month or less. I took the job because of a time constraint issue, and do my best to be as productive and friendly as possible, but for some reason my supervisor has decided that I am his mortal enemy, and continually squabbles with me over silly things that do not affect the company nor the quality of my work. Recently he has halted any progression towards adding responsibility or importance to my job function, and yet other engineers that hired on at the same time as me are moving on to bigger and better projects. I know I am not incompetent because all of my coworkers constantly comment on the quality of my work.

So now I have a potential in with an industrial lighting company, where I (along with several other recent graduate engineers) will be developing a line of industrial LED lighting units, and later will assist in retro-fitting older facilities with said lighting solutions. The pay increase is not much (3%); however, it will be 20 minutes from a major city in my state, and 1.5 hours from several of the largest cities in the state. On top of all of this, I may actually get to do some real engineering work for the first time since I graduated, which I admit the lack of engineering has been killing me.

I go in tomorrow to check out the facility and talk with the director of engineering, I'm pretty sure I'm a shoe-in from the phone conversation I had earlier this week. I'm wondering if it is worth the risk of relocating and all of that jazz (especially since I haven't gotten in a full year with this company) for what I would classify as an upgrade in geographical satisfaction? I'm not sure how my new boss will be, or if the general attitude of the workforce will be any better, or any of that.

Any comments or suggestions would be very helpful,
LostHippie

 

[MacGyverS2000]

You'll be closer to work, closer to civilization, an increase in pay (no matter how minor), a chance to due something that interests you, and a chance to start with a manager who may actually respect you (though there's no guarantee)... sounds like the decision kind of makes itself, don't you think?

Relocating jobs so soon isn't that big of a deal so early in your career, particularly if it's to move to what you consider a more appropriate (sub)field.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[MintJulep]

Sounds like almost a no-brainer.

But...

A 3% increase over "well below the average starting salary" is still below the average starting salary.

If you are moving closer to a city then your costs of living will increase. Probably more than 3%.

Anyway, your current job seems to suck, so not much to lose.

 

[JedClampett]

I would leave. You don't like the job, your boss, the pay or the location. Besides that, what else is there? Is the cable TV better where you are?
If anyone asks why you left after seven months, you can honestly claim it wasn't a good fit. If they pursue that explain the geographical and engineering reasons (leave out the mortal enemy with your boss stuff) and that should end it.

 

[TheTick]

Bummer, dude. What a bring-down.

 

[debodine]

If I may make a recommendation, if you decide to go be positive and upbeat in your attitude toward your former employer and yes, to your current pain-in-the-neck boss. (Don't throw grenades of vitriol as you leave.) You never know if and when you might see them again, and you have a long career ahead of you for that to happen.

One story for illustration and I will drop the subject. Many years ago I had run across an engineer who for some reason decided they did not like me. Even though we had never worked together I think he was given some info by a former colleague and based his dislike on that. A couple of years after he formed this dislike our paths crossed because I had applied for a job with a company that happened to have him on staff as an engineering manager. I found out from an internal source he went to HR and said NO WAY. And yet, about 15 years later, completely out of the blue, this engineer has worked up to VP at a company that needed engineers with my skills and he contacted me and offered me a job!

I was shocked out of my shoes, but stammered something like, "Please send me the details and I will give it a thorough and open-minded review and get back to you." I eventually turned down the offer (I really did give it an open-minded look but didn't want to move across country) but at least he and I were on good terms at that point.

The moral of my story is the bridge between he and I had been burned (I thought) but I was wrong. If you burn any bridges yourself, you might not be so lucky as to have the other person rebuild that bridge for you.

Good luck with whatever decision you make!

 

[LostHippie]

@JedClampett:
haha actually I do not have cable at the moment, Netflix only.

@Mint Julep:
Actually I will save money by downsizing to a smaller apartment (my apartment is bigger than I need, and is built so crappy that I will end up cutting my utility bill in half, and cut my rent by 25%. And the 3% increase is supposedly a pre-determined starting salary, but the company claims that experience and performance is taken into consideration during the yearly raise % determination.

So, since this is my first time leaving a job (I hope I hope I hope) what is the most professional way to break it to my boss that I am leaving? Besides the whole two weeks notice, are there any standard courtesies I should be aware of to make it as painless as possible for my current company?

I appreciate all of the replies! Thanks
LostHippie

 

[LostHippie]

Sorry to double post...

@debodine:
Yea I'm not sure what his problem is, but I hold no grudges. I am mostly just confused by his actions but try my best to work with him, he just seems to be under a lot of stress lately and has decided that I will be his punching bag for the time being. I certainly don't intend to burn any bridges by any means.

Thanks for the advice, I will definitely remember these words should I ever happen upon this situation, and given the amount of my career that lies ahead of me I'm sure that at some point I will stumble into said situation.

LostHippie

 

[MintJulep]

You don't owe a current employer any reasons at all. "I've accepted an offer of employment from another company" is sufficient. If you want you could add "I feel it's in my own best interests to accept."

Give two weeks, but don't be surprised if you are shown the door on the same day you give notice. You are still entitled to your two weeks of severance pay.

 

[KENAT]

Don't be overconfident just because the phone interview went well. Still give your best at the face-face interview (if it's not too late).

As to resignation notice, there have been lots of threads on that.

General consensus seems to be keep it short and to the point, don't go into details of why you are leaving. As to common courtesy, make sure your files etc are in a reasonable state and perhaps a summary email to your boss and immediate colleagues saying where your files are etc. giving status of open tasks etc.

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[IRstuff]

I wouldn't get too concerned about your resume, just yet. As others have said, you're still young, and restlessness and whatnot is typical. If, however, you develop a train of 3 or 4 of these tenures, THEN, I'd be concerned about hiring a jobhopper. Even then, if that's interspersed with some decently long tenures like 5 yrs, then it's balanced back out.

For your physical interview, I'd ask as many questions about the company you can, as well as research the company on the web, if possible. How long have they been in business? Are they profitable? How many layoffs have they had? etc.

TTFN
faq731-376

 

[MacGyverS2000]

You are still entitled to your two weeks of severance pay.

Depends upon your area... but I'm not sure I've ever lived in an area where two weeks severance was a requirement. If they want to walk you out of the door that instant, they're only required to pay you up until the time your butt hits the pavement.

Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

 

[patprimmer]

It's really a no brainer and just wild speculation, but I wonder if your current bosses dislike is something to do with a personality trait that would lead you to even bother to start a thread about something so obvious. It does tend to indicate a certain lack of confidence or ability to make decisions without being spoon fed.

DO NOT criticise your current employer or boss. Simply say the work was not what you where looking to do or was not a good fit to your training, aptitude interests etc. ie as others have said, not a good fit.

Try looking in a mirror with your bosses eyes. You hopefully might learn something useful. Remember when you look at yourself, mirrors tend to be like those in old amusement parks and they tend to somewhat distort the image.

You will of course never really know. It could be based on any sort of gossip, backstabbing, jealousy, prejudice, personality conflict or whatever. For all you know you may have flirted with his secret mistress.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

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

for site rules

 

[GregLocock]

I wouldn't even do that. I'd just say I've had a better offer. No need to criticise the current job.

Cheers

Greg Locock


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

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

 

[KENAT]

Heck, just saying you're resigning and giving the date of your last day is all that's really required isn't it?

Posting guidelines faq731-376

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

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

 

[patprimmer]

I was referring more to answering questions asked in the new job interview. On re-reading my post I realise I did not make that clear.

Re letter of resignation and possible exit interview. I agree with both Greg and KENAT.

Re notice. Know what the legal requirement actually is and give at least that. Any extra is optional. One pay period is often considered normal.

It does not hurt to say, that although 1 week is all that is legally required I am prepared to make it up to say one month if that is implied somewhere, like in the pay period. Negotiate to mutual satisfaction from there if possible.

Generally your new boss will respect your desire to do the right thing by your last boss.

Regards
Pat
See FAQ731-376 for tips on use of eng-tips by professional engineers &

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

for site rules

 

[rerig]

The last place I left went like this...

Me: 4 years without a raise, long hours, salaried position, boss just came back from vacation and announced he was only going to help where he thought necessary (He was working Commercial Aircraft, I was working Military Aircraft), but he wasn't going to do any of the routine work any more. Oh, and you have a new college graduate to train.

Owner: we really respect you here, but he is the department manager.

(There were only the 2 of us in the department)
So I handed him the attachment. (2 weeks notice)

You just know when it's time to go!

Rerig

 

[LostHippie]

Yea, as much as this current job sucks...it doesn't suck enough to jump to that job.

Oh well, I'll keep looking...if anything it helps me appreciate the job I have a little more, and patprimmer, thank you for the incite into my potential personality conflicts that I may have not noticed. I will be paying much more attention to that in the future, and hopefully can improve the relationship b/w me and my boss.

All in all though, I think this interview as well as this discussion has helped my overall perspective, and gives me some stuff to think about. Thanks for the help guys and gals!

LostHippie

 

[DHambley]

Repeated advice - Don't burn bridges.

You're sick of your present boss & job but when you leave, force a fake smile and lie, "nice group of people here but, I'm really interested in this new project that I'll be working on at X company."

15 years from now, your present company will have re-grouped, the old boss will be long gone, and they will have a new project which needs you.

 

[strengr02]

With respect to the issue above, just wondering how many years should one stay at a company prior to jumping ship without being frown upon? If there is no issue at the current company, but if one were to accept another job with a different company simply because it is at a location that would provide a better overall lifestyle. In a large company, if one was to leave say after 2 yrs, would it be difficult (or easier) to join the company again with different department (at a different location).

Thanks.