Thinking about quitting as engineer after management promotion 1

[claesa]

Hi everyone,

I'm an ECE with seven years of experience at a tech company. I've started to struggle with lack of motivation and interest after being forced into management at my company. I feel that this shift has killed my interest in engineering, and I even question myself if I want to work as an engineer in the future. It's too much stress, I feel exploited by my boss, and I'm working with stuff that doesn't give me meaning and purpose.

I want to know if there's other people out there in a similar situation. If so, what are your biggest issues with your engineering career, and how are you addressing them? And regarding your career, what would you wish for more than anything else? Do you think those wishes are possible to actualize given how corporations work today?

It would be nice to get some perspectives on this, so I can make better decisions for my career ahead.

 

[Agent666]

Talk to them (people who want you there and can enact change).

I've been there (not a management role, but a type of specialised work I was doing that gave me little satisfaction).

Explained myself & what I want out of my role otherwise noted I'll eventually leave.

Lots of promises and opportunities but alway stuck on things that gave me little satisfaction with no time to take on other work I'd rather be doing.

No change in situation over time, bored out of my brain basically so ended up leaving, seemed to come as a huge surprise to management.

https://randsinrepose.com/archives/bored-people-quit/

 

[IRstuff]

Seems to me that it killed your interest in MANAGEMENT, not necessarily engineering. I had a co-worker that quit management and went back to pure engineering and loved it. If the situation can't be solved at your company, find another.

TTFN (ta ta for now)
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BKorP55Aqvg

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[TheTick]

I've manage to stay in the design seat for over 20 years. Many wonder why I never moved up, and many more envy me for not giving up what I love to do for the sake of status.

 

[Ron]

IRstuff is right. I've held management positions from department to branch office to corporate level, always staying involved in the technical side. I've never been happy in a management role. I just don't enjoy it. I like being in a leadership role, but not management. There's a difference. I've also held technical positions at the department, branch office and corporate levels. Those are good. I started my present company almost 15 years ago and vowed I would not manage people. I set it up so that we work as a consortium with each engineer working both independently and collectively on projects. It works well and I don't have to deal with a corporate structure, managing employees or paying a lot of overhead costs. Each of the engineers in our group has worked with me for at least 20 years, either in the current company or our previous employers. I am an engineer first and it's what I do and what I like.

As IRstuff noted, if your present company can't solve the issue, then move on. Don't give up on engineering...you spent a lot of effort to achieve that.

 

[engineering.coach]

This is a classic dilemma for engineers. If you expect to continue to grow in salary and complexity of work, you'll have to increase in your influence in some way, but this doesn't necessarily have to be as a manager. As a senior engineer, you can take on a role as a mentor/trainer for other engineers as well.

Though I would say this - you need to look inside yourself. Take a bit of time to get out of your logical engineering brain (we all know what that means) and examine more about how you feel and what you want. What would be ideal in 1 year, 2 years, 5 years? I'm talking beyond career as well. Personal, Professional, People/relationships, and Play/experiences. Some people in psychology call this "future cause" - if you know where you want to end up in the future, you can start charting your way there.

There is no reason to stay in a role that makes you miserable. I was there a few months ago. I had a very frank discussion with my management - we can explore other options for a better fit in the company according to my skills/desires, or it can be time for me to leave. In the end, it was time to go, but because of the way I did it I ended up with a severance package and a lot of support on my way out.

Employment is a partnership. If either employee or employer is not getting good results, there is no reason to keep it going. And if you're hating your job, you're probably not delivering as great of work as you are truly capable of doing. So decide what you want, and instigate the change.

Jeff
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