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Would you go back?

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nuche1973

Structural
Apr 29, 2008
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Several months ago, me and my cad-tech were laid off. Call this person my cad tech because he and I worked together for nearly 4 years.

The company's stance on training was that if a person, cad techs in particular, wanted additional training, they would have to accquire it on their own. I didn't agree with this policy because it meant that our cad technicians were at different levels of expetise and ability. Which leaves the engineers in a position to either train as they go along or draw their own projects. The majority of engineers did their own drawings. (Ironically they used the excuse that the cad tech's were not knowledgeable to fully draw the projects!)

So, I took this person under my wing and everytime we started a new project, we had an unofficial training session. As you can imagine the more we worked together the more proficient he became. He eventually became my "go to guy" and I could rely on him to coordinate other cad techs. So, that's it for the back story, now on to my question.

As I stated before, we were laid off at the same time. I found employment with another company in another city. He remained in the same small city and is still unemployed. Moving is an option, just not viable, right now. He has been looking but the offers have been few. Recently, he contacted me and said the old company wanted to interview him, for a different department (we were structural, the interview was for an electrical position). He went. It went well and they offered him a job, at the same pay. The attraction is that he learned BIM, Inventor, and Revit, all on his own. I feel that he should at least get a small raise. Since he has shown the initiative to learn new skills at his own expense. I also feel that the old company is taking advantage of him and at least make the offer comparable to his experience.
I am curious to see what your input on this.

Would you go back? If, yes, would you go back at the same pay scale? Especially when another layoff arises, you'll be the first for consideration (last in, first out).

There are days when I wake up feeling like the dumbest man on the planet, then there are days when I confirm it.
 
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loki, you may want to start a new thread with that question as it's not directly relevant. In summary it will vary based on industry sector, employer and even individual engineer.

I at least sometimes do my own modeling, drafting, detail assembly instructions, prototype building, trouble shooting, project management...

Posting guidelines faq731-376 (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: faq1088-1484
 
... and other companies may not even allow the engineer access to the CAD program the designer used to create the design. Go figure...

"Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor." - [small]Robert Hunter[/small]
 
I think me going back would be highly dependant on how I was treated while I was there. If I was treated well but the company was on tough times and someone had to go and it was me, I'd consider strongly going back, especially if it was another department. But if things weren't so great for pretty much any large reason (not just the little stuff; every place is gunna have something you don't like) then I would feel perfectly fine staying away.
 
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