What to do, what to do

[serspec]

Hey guys,
So here's the story. I just recently got my BSME and am now working for a good company doing CAD stuff. I have only been here for about 8 months now but i am starting to hate it. I get along with all co-workers and management and really enjoy the work, when i have stuff to do that is. There are times that i seriously work 8 hour days and do MAYBE 30 minutes of actual work. The rest of my time is spent online and reading articles found around the office. I have taken it upon myself to try and find things to do but it just isn't there. I am having trouble deciding what to do now. It seems like everyone else in the company is satisfied with doing nothing all day but I'm the type of person that likes/needs to be challenged. I just feel that I am not getting the experience I could be getting for a first job. I know that spending less than a year at a first job is frowned upon, but i don't know if i will be able to take these looooong boring days with absolutely nothing to do much longer. Any advise on the situation would be greatly appreciated.

 

[salmon2]

How about the salary?

 

[serspec]

I could be making at least 10k more somewhere else.

 

[ykee]

Are you ever busy? Is everyone else lacking work?
If no one is ever busy, that's not good -- strong possibility fo layoffs in the future, although without knowing more details, maybe that's a stretch.

It does not hurt to look for work. Use your spare time to build up your network with clients & others in your field. Don't worry if you don't spend a year in your first job, but DO worry if you keep spending less than a couple years in subsequent jobs.

 

[serspec]

I am occasionally busy but it will never last for a whole week. Maybe a day or two i will have work but then back to the waiting. It seems to me that about 50% of the employees here are busy all the time. They have never had layoffs here and i don't see that happening any time soon. My main concern is if you guys think i should try to stick it out until i reach that 1 year mark or should i try searching for another job now?

 

[MiketheEngineer]

Start now - it may take a year to find what you want. IF this is a "BIG" comapny - you might be suited to a smaller- fast paced operation. If you are in the Mid-West and have a structural background - let me know -- I could use someone good and who wants a "CHALLENGE"

 

[ykee]

Find out what it is that the 50% busy people do, and figure out how you can do that too.....or spend your time looking for work!

 

[serspec]

I totally agree with you on the smaller- fast paced operation. As of recently i stated doing some contract work for a local company and have been MUCH busier there than my full time job. And yes it is a "big" company, A global fortune 500 rubber company. And i dont have much of a structural background but hey im a quick learner

 

[GregLocock]

Go and talk to one of the people who is always busy, and seems to be doing the sort of work you want to do. Offer to lend them a hand.



Cheers

Greg Locock

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

 

[IRstuff]

Seems like an ideal opportunity to really learn and do stuff without the pressure of time or delivery schedules.

As others have suggested, you can certainly go to one or more of the busy people and volunteer to help out. Since you are underloaded, you can spend the time to do those jobs well and right, which should lead to more work for you.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[plasgears]

QC would love to see your work instructions for your specialty. In modern industry it is a requirement to publish work instructions. If you read between the lines, it will qualify you for supervisory positions before others.

I have written 14 work instructions on all aspects of gear and gearbox design, life analysis, and testing. You can begin to do this kind of thing in your 'spare time.'

One manager a long time ago called it 'examining your navel,' which means doing meaningful detail analysis for future use.

 

[serspec]

Yeah i agree with you all about trying to help out other people with their work. I'll continue to try that out and will most likely start the search. Thanks all!

 

[SomptingGuy]

I have seen many large companies where nobody seems to be doing anything. There are a few dynamos. Try to be one of them or find one to be mentored by.

- Steve

 

[Sideswiper]

I also hate being at work when I have nothing to do. Both of my industry jobs since college I've often felt bored and underworked yet been given raises and pats on the back. It's pretty confusing to be rewarded when you aren't proud of your accomplishments.

But getting those first couple of years of experience is really important. Soon I'll have enough experience to get my Professional Engineering license (my first job in technical writing didn't count), which is my foremost goal lately and keeps me getting out of bed in the morning.

Also there is nothing worse than being unemployed and looking for work, so remember that it could be worse!

All I can say is that I feel your pain, keep looking for tasks to do and things to read. Be helpful and positive at work and try not to complain. I choose to stay in my situation and focus on what is important to me at this stage: experience and salary. I have to remember every day that this is a temporary situation and I am using this to create new options for myself.

 

[KENAT]

As other said find someone who needs help. Maybe go a bit beyond what you'd expect to do.

For insance, you might be primarily a CAD jockey but maybe someone has some basic analysis you could help with. Or maybe you could use the CAD to get images for Tech Pubs or something.

Do any tutorials etc on the CAD that you haven't already done.

Make sure you superiors are OK with what you do. Sometimes it's easier to ask forgiveness than permission but maybe not for such a new engineer.

A lot of Engineers seem to frown on guys that mostly do drafting/CAD etc, they don't see it as real engineering. In fact in some states time spent doing drafting doesn't count towards PE. So, you may want to think about if this concerns you and find some more hardcore engineering to do when you aren't busy.

Perhaps you don't need to do a stress analysis on that part you're drafting but you could in your spare time. Maybe do both hand calcs & FEA if you have both to validate results etc. Just be careful to still meet deadline for the basic drafting of the part and not hold it up because you're analyzing it. Also be careful what you do with the results, if you think you find problem you obviously need to bring it to someones attention, just make sure and be carefull how you do this. This is even more so if it's not a real problem you find but a potential improvement.

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[serspec]

Yeah, right now i do pretty much just do CAD stuff and that's part of the problem too. Although i love doing that stuff, I would much rather be helping more in the design of the parts rather than being told what to "draw". When going through the interview process, I was told that analysis was going to be a good part of my responsibility, as well as designing test fixtures and gauges and such. Problem is I haven't done anything like that yet.
I really just want to stay here as long as needed and move on to somewhere that i could get more into product development. Unfortunately I do not see myself moving up in this company any time soon so moving on somewhere else almost seems inevitable. I guess the only problem now is when?!?

 

[IRstuff]

I wouldn't be so quick to bail. Better the enemy you know, than some totally new one. You've been given lots of suggestions, so I would recommend trying them first, to see if you can become one of the busy ones. If that doesn't succeed, then you can seriously look for a new job with no regrets and no stone unturned.

The next job might be worse... there's never any guarantee of a better environment. I quit from a job that I thought I would hate to a job where 30% of the entire division was laid off the Friday of my first week. Ironically, that job that I gave up is what I've been doing for the last 20 yrs.

TTFN

FAQ731-376

 

[KENAT]

Just doing CAD stuff may be their way of making you pay your dues/getting familiar with their products and the way they do things etc.

Be carefull what you wish for, you may get it. Being given even a relatively simple design task to do if you don't have much experience can be daunting.

Learn what you can from the drafting, ask a few intelligent quesions about what you're drafting. Look at doing the CAD work well, complying with company/industry best practices, tolerance analysis etc.

Hopefully you'll get your chance sooner than later, but like IRstuff says, don't be too quick to jump although the 10k might be an issue for me!

KENAT, probably the least qualified checker you'll ever meet...

 

[OnTarget]

Count your blessings....

Sure, it would be great to be challenged with technical problems that filled your day with lots of work. But can you take it upon yourself to proactively fill your day with engineering innovation?

Many grizzled engineering veterans complain that we don't have enough time to innovate new ideas and designs because we are too busy fighting everyday fires. You seem to have some time for innovation that these veteran's would kill for.

Think about how you can apply your energy to improve the company and its products:
1) Can you think of improvements for current products?
2) What new product ideas do you (or your colleagues) have that you can prototype in your CAD models?
3) What problems are baffling other engineers in your company that can use your second set of eyes.

The people that are not busy in a company are usually the ones that nobody wants working on their projects (assuming work is available). You need to become someone that everyone wants on their project. If you can make improvements like these, you'll climb up that list.

That said, if there is not much work in the business, then use the available time to make the business better and the products more valuable.

A friend of mine once said, "There is no engineering downtime. You are either developing new ideas, designing them into new products, or debugging the existing products." Where can you fit in?

Vince Socci

http://www.ontargettechnology.com

 

[ykee]

I think you've got to step up to the plate and show some initiative!

Read the article in this thread:

http://www.eng-tips.com/viewthread.cfm?qid=216753&page=2

Read the comments too, just so you can tell when you are being productive and when you are being a sycophant.