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Where to now?
3

Where to now?

Where to now?

(OP)
I am a Civil Engineer by general profession.  I have a general bachelor's degree as well as a Master's degree.  I have been out of work for 11 months as I was laid off January 19,2009. I am sure January 19,2010 will come along without anything on my plate.  

I have more than 3.5 years mixed experience.  I spent 2.5 years in site civil designing parking lots. I never really liked it so I went back to school and got the M.S.C.E. studying structures.  I even left my job in 2006 to go full time to finish up by May 2007.

I was successful finding a job and began working for a firm designing underground structures, retaining walls, and the like.  I spent most of my time working in the field.  I took quite a bit of crap from some people at that firm.  I may not be a Nobel Prize winning engineer, but I will spend the time to learn something and even cut some time off my timesheet. I had no problem with where my time went. Things fell hard and I was cut from their staff. I left against my will with 1 year 3 months experience in geotechnical Structural Engineering.  I even asked if I can check with them later, and the HR man said "It does look it going to get better."  I cannot believe they laid me off without giving me an option and then hired someone 2 months later.

I was able to qualify to take the P.E. exam this coming April.  That's the only thing that is driving me right now.  I do not think I will be able to find work in the near future.  It seems like I will be in a strange predicament with only 2 years of Geo/Str work experience.  I really can't stand site/civil work. I really liked geotechnical stuff. I enjoyed myself within it.

I am pretty lost right now.

RE: Where to now?

hi HSNIC

If you were made redundant I presume you were and that being the case haven't your old company acted ilegally in employing someone else to do your job after only two months.

desertfox

RE: Where to now?

"hired someone 2 months later" doesn't necessarily mean it was for exactly what he was doing.  Unfortunately, if the person they hire is doing the same thing he was, but also brings Finite Element Analysis to the table, and opens up different leads, then they have potentially filled a different position. Very fine line though.

RE: Where to now?

That's not illegal in the USA.  It's almost SOP.

I once met my replacement in the HR office (I didn't know he was my replacement, nor did he), and I gave him the same advice my precursor had given me:  "Can you get your old job back?"  Some jobs, and some companies, are just 'broken'.  The jobs are open pretty regularly, and the companies are always hiring.

 

Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
Hey guys, I appreciate the responses.

Be it technically illegal or not, I believe it was morally wrong.  They may have not replaced me directly, but they had the room in their budget.  I would have flexed on there wishes.  I was making $32/hr.  I would have taken that paycut.  It was clear they did not want me.

RE: Where to now?

hi HSNIC

Why did they not want you? what issue's did you have? so you won't approach them for a reference for your next job?

desertfox

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
I am sure the biggest factor was economical.  They were making tons too, and raises given out were ridiculous up to 11%. I felt that instead of lowering there profit margin they cut us to keep it.  

I used them a reference. My immediate supervisor endorsed my P.E. application. He's a real stand up guy. Other people in the business know of him too.

I worked for this one P.M. who is a real jerk. A stupid mofo! His estimates were expensively conservative.  He would hand me the work and the disappear out of the office in a cloud of smoke. I talked to other people there and they said he would do the same to them. Asshole.

I did not have much time with that company to think that my opinion would matter.  I wrote a letter to a company principal. I even included one of the idiot's calculations and how overly absurd they were. He calculates a 12" metal sanitary sewer pipe @ 1700#/Linear Foot!!! Flowing Full, no less!! Absolute comedy!!

I am glad this Eng-Tips has a forum board to vent, haha.

    

RE: Where to now?

Hi HSNIC

All I can suggest is keep looking for a job even if its not what you like doing, you can always move on, Concentrate on your PE and once you have that under your belt it might help you get where you want to be.
Don't critisize your old company or work colleagues if you get a job interview it won't go down well.

best of luck

desertfox

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
Hey I know I should not be bashing ex-coworkers even if they were out of line.  It just felt good to talk about it on here. Thanks, DF.

RE: Where to now?

They're starting to dig some big holes between NJ and NY.  I just saw a press release about another contract being awarded.

Seems like there should be work with someone with your background without having to go far at all.

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
The ARC tunnel project.  I have sent resumés to some of the companies involved.  I had a good lead with one of the engineers at a construction company.  He told me that the money to pay for their leg of the project is still being held up in the bidding process.  I would love to be on that.  It's history in the making.  I will give another look.

 

RE: Where to now?

Well you've probably given enough clues by now that your future employers will be able to give you an 'interesting' interview. Perhaps it might be wise to consider the proposal that a public forum is not an ideal place to vent.

Cheers

Greg Locock

I rarely exceed 1.79 x 10^12 furlongs per fortnight

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
Please.

RE: Where to now?

HSNIC,  I was laid off in September right before my birthday.  A friend moved in on Oct 1 and announced she was moving out on Oct 20.  I was unsuccessful at finding a new room mate so I was forced to move out of my place. I spent Chistmas day packing and sharing a can of chicken  soup with my two cats. I spent New Years eve cleaning my old apartment.  A former cowoker sent me a Happy New Year email and mentioned that he has been doing my old projects, work that my former supervisor promised I'd do on contract.

Today I hurt my back moving boxes around an art studio I rented as an office and can barely move. So I fully understand the temptation to rant about a former employer or coworkers. I could fill a book with descrptions of my own vengfull thoughts. I just try not to let them out in public however well deserved the recipient because in the end it just makes you seem off balance and has no real effect on the target

spend that energy on getting your PE    

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
I'm sorry to learn about your situation, casse.  I hope that back injury is minor.  Back pain can become chronic easily.  

I am pretty thankful for what I have.  Trust me if it weren't for this economic climate, I would not be making a spectacle of my recent career shortcomings.  I was just looking for a channel.  

RE: Where to now?

I'll be OK. It's ready better after taking some Motrin and laying on a heating pad for a couple of hours watching the Bait Car marathon
 

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
BaitCar Marathon! Shut up!! I saw a couple of videos on youtube about that last week. Was arguing with someone about that being entrapment by the authorities.  I say it is, but it does 100 times more good than bad.

RE: Where to now?

I think it's entrapment but worse, the police record video and sound in the car and use that as evidence. I understand in CA that vidoe is OK but you are not allowed to record conversation without informing the other party.

I still like the show for some reason. Nobody getting caught that isn't at least a little criminal in the making.  

"If you are going to walk on thin ice, you might as well dance!"

RE: Where to now?

Quote:

I worked for this one P.M. who is a real jerk. A stupid mofo! His estimates were expensively conservative.  He would hand me the work and the disappear out of the office in a cloud of smoke. I talked to other people there and they said he would do the same to them. Asshole.

I did not have much time with that company to think that my opinion would matter.  I wrote a letter to a company principal. I even included one of the idiot's calculations and how overly absurd they were. He calculates a 12" metal sanitary sewer pipe @ 1700#/Linear Foot!!! Flowing Full, no less!! Absolute comedy!!

RE: Where to now?

Quote:

I worked for this one P.M. who is a real jerk. A stupid mofo! His estimates were expensively conservative.  He would hand me the work and the disappear out of the office in a cloud of smoke. I talked to other people there and they said he would do the same to them. Asshole.

I did not have much time with that company to think that my opinion would matter.  I wrote a letter to a company principal. I even included one of the idiot's calculations and how overly absurd they were. He calculates a 12" metal sanitary sewer pipe @ 1700#/Linear Foot!!! Flowing Full, no less!! Absolute comedy!!

So you sent a letter to your supervisor's boss to explain to him that your supervisor was incompetent? That wasn't very professional.

RE: Where to now?

HSNIC, why do you think it is morally wrong to terminate someone that does not fit-in at a private firm?  No one owes you a job!  In the same sense that an employer has the right to terminate you, an employee has the right to quit.

After reading your statement, "I wrote a letter to a company principal.  I even included one of the idiot's calculations and how overly absurd they were... " I would question your ability to work with others, especially those that you believe to be inferior to yourself.  Moreover, your attempt to discredit one of the firm's project managers on a public forum says much more about you than the firm you are trying to discredit.
 

RE: Where to now?

2 thoughts.

First consulting firms are notorious for cutting people the minute the market changes.

Second I hear the Geotechnical firms have the highest Insurance rates in the Engineering Consulting field.  This means that their overhead leads them to cut people even sooner.

So I guess what I am saying is your situation sucks, but is not unique, learn from that last job, and go get another.  But first take a couple of weeks to "get it out of your system".

 

this message has been approved for citizen to elect kepharda 2008

RE: Where to now?

(OP)
abusementpark,

The man was not my supervisor.  He was a P.M. in the firm.  I have a great relationship with my ex-supervisor until this day. he signed my P.E. endorsement and answers my every email.  They even know he was incompetent.  I was reinforcing the issue. I said nothing my whole time I was there.

CRG,

Question my ability?  Go ahead and question it.  My ability will answer you.  I kept my mouth shut even though I saw something very wrong with the estimate.  I was new and so was my experience level.  Losing confidence in people and likening the workplace to an episode of Hill Street Blues is clearly not the way to go.  The man had a decrepit personality.  I designed a concrete slurry wall and instead of telling me the rows were too close, he went into a tirade.  I could just imagine him when he was 5 yrs old on his birthday. He could have told me they were too close and go back to recompute the MathCad sheet.

I would never in my life make a big stink about someone's inferiority.  I come from humble beginnings, myself.  I have helped people at the firm with the simplest calculations and techniques, and yet I never go around telling people how incapable someone is.  

I was not the only one who had run-ins.  I talked to someone else about the P.M. This one fellow asked for a P.E. endorsement, and instead of declining to do the endorsement the P.M. checked-off the "No" box at the end and wrote a letter why the employee is not capable.  If I was that same P.M., I would have told the kid to get the endorsement from another P.E. in the firm.  He seemed to go out of his way to discredit the young man.  Once something like that goes to the state, do you know how much red tape you have to go through to right the wrongs?

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