New job and lack of mentorship.
New job and lack of mentorship.
(OP)
Hi everyone,
So I'm a recent (2010) grad. I have one year of work experience so far in product development which consisted of a six month internship and six months at my current job. Before I moved to take the new job, I was informed that my boss had been let go. Ordinarily this wouldn't have troubled me as much, but it is a small company and now I'm the only technical person at my location. I was assured that they were looking for a replacement and I figured it would be a good learning experience in the mean time.
Lately there has been a lot of confusion and disarray in the company. I have a difficult time getting clear direction and I find myself with a lot of downtime between projects. The person I now report to lives in a different city and, to make matters worse, spends a lot of time traveling. There is really no one I can turn to in the office to get solid technical guidance from and I find myself spinning my wheels quite a bit. Our clients have even begun to question our technical competency. I brought this up with the ownership and they responded by questioning my maturity and commitment level and reminding me that I could be easily replaced. On the plus side, I'm well compensated and I'm getting some good exposure. I do worry about my long term technical development though, as I more or less feel like I work in a vacuum.
Part of me wants to stay put for a while and ride it out. The other part of me sees attractive job postings elsewhere and is considering jumping ship. I would appreciate your advice and insights. Thanks.
So I'm a recent (2010) grad. I have one year of work experience so far in product development which consisted of a six month internship and six months at my current job. Before I moved to take the new job, I was informed that my boss had been let go. Ordinarily this wouldn't have troubled me as much, but it is a small company and now I'm the only technical person at my location. I was assured that they were looking for a replacement and I figured it would be a good learning experience in the mean time.
Lately there has been a lot of confusion and disarray in the company. I have a difficult time getting clear direction and I find myself with a lot of downtime between projects. The person I now report to lives in a different city and, to make matters worse, spends a lot of time traveling. There is really no one I can turn to in the office to get solid technical guidance from and I find myself spinning my wheels quite a bit. Our clients have even begun to question our technical competency. I brought this up with the ownership and they responded by questioning my maturity and commitment level and reminding me that I could be easily replaced. On the plus side, I'm well compensated and I'm getting some good exposure. I do worry about my long term technical development though, as I more or less feel like I work in a vacuum.
Part of me wants to stay put for a while and ride it out. The other part of me sees attractive job postings elsewhere and is considering jumping ship. I would appreciate your advice and insights. Thanks.





RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Get your resume out there and start applying for a different job. If you are not gaining marketable experience at this stage of your career, it will bite you later on.
"Gorgeous hair is the best revenge." Ivana Trump
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Get another job, then quit.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I wouldn't advise you to do so without complete consideration of your future and current aspirations.
The job market is a hard place at the moment, you place may seem bad, but have you really looked with an experienced eye. I don't know what you do, but can you get the experience required thru other means? I have gained a lot from my clients, associates and non technical people over my life time, I try to get blood from every stone. how many stones have you tried?
http://www.nceng.com.au/
"Programming today is a race between software engineers striving to build bigger and better idiot-proof programs, and the Universe trying to produce bigger and better idiots. So far, the Universe is winning."
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Mike McCann
MMC Engineering
http://mmcengineering.tripod.com
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I've also thought long and hard about where I want to be and how this job can help me get there. If things change (a senior is hired) then it could be great. But I get the feeling thats not going to happen for a while as they don't have enough work to keep ME busy all the time. On average, half my working hours aren't billable (its been this way for months). Combine that with my relative inexperience, and you see how that could be a problem for a small company. I'm also a little disturbed because I think they were planning to let my boss go well before they hired me and neglected to mention I'd end up working alone.
On top of that, this place has a bit of a history of letting juniors go when times get rough. I know for a fact that we've had some financial issues. Lastly a close mentor of mine helped me get this job. I don't want to burn any bridges there either. Its complicated, I know. Thanks for your advice.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
You're being petty, if you expect them to tell you of their hiring and firing plans. Do your job and stop creating drama.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Understand you aren't the only one out there. I've had about a year at my work were I wasn't happy at all. It has made for stressful situations with my girlfriend because all i seem to talk about is how bad work is. Although when i look back i see it was all relevent to me because it shows me how a company is and is NOT to be run.
Now for me comes the difficult task of running through this transition period where i go from one job to the next. I've never left a job before so it will be new waters for me.
I think as you grow up a bit you will see that it will actually help you rather than hinder you. and money well thats great that you are compensated well. If i were you i would test the market and see what you are worth. Also it may take 2 or 3 interviews before you land an offer. It took me 3... Good luck dinosaur
I wish you best of luck in this hard time. And brother i have been there -- rest assured there is light at the end of the tunnel; i promise.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
"You should always be in the market for a new job."
This is good advice, but I would file it under the category of "Whatever you are doing, there are ways to improve upon it."
I try to look for increased productivity and efficiency in everything (even ironing my shirts). I feel that attitude has served me well in my career and allowed for continual personal and technical growth.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I have one engineer here (a PE) that routinely comes into my office and says he can't do this or that. I do one of two things:
1. Tell him to take the project down the street (literally) to our competitor and I am sure they will figure out a way or -
2. I give it to another engineer to complete.
His days are numbered......
Do you want a little cheese with that whine??
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Mike - did you pat yourself on the back before or after you moved that mountain all by yourself? Not to be confrontational but you sound like you would be quite difficult to work with/for. Have you tried to develop this person or is it your way or the highway?
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I think you are learning valuable non engineering skills, but for being young I think it is very important that you work under experienced engineers to help you build a strong foundation. Even if you don't want your PE, go to work for a bigger company with an engineering department that wants to see you succeed. You will learn a lot and gain a lot of confidence.
Best of luck.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I'd say quit browsing those job openings, and start applying to the ones you want. There's no harm in doing that, and if you land a few interviews, attend them. You know the working environment you are in now, so you should have a pretty good idea of the types of questions you need to ask your future employers. Don't forget to let them know what you want out of them.
"Art without engineering is dreaming; Engineering without art is calculating."

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RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I wish I had had proper mentoring when I started. I learned much of my stuff by trail and error. Don't think the errors will not follow you around.
I suggest the new job.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I have nurtured, trained and held the hands of dozens of engineers - most went on to very successful careers.
I have trained dozens of people in product use, software use and given numerous seminars. Always got rave revies for training.
Right now this is my "FROG" - something I have to eat and get rid of.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
If they do a good job - I reward them and let my boss know that this person can be trusted and groomed.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I made a ton of mistakes, made some projects late but they all got done, alot of sink or swim scenes. Even sometimes had outside help, but hey that time I was sinking.
So was it worth it? I don't know, all I know is I don't make those mistakes anymore, only because they are painful memories burned into my brain. Is all the stress worth it? Was all the experience worth it? To me thats a personal call. If I could do it again, I think I would not of taken that job.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
The good thing was I was able to spend alot of time on Eng-Tips and use it like a mentor.
I also used the time to over analyze any real engineering work i needed to do. I.E. learn and know alternative equivalent bolts for the a connection why the company did it one way...
But i can say the best thing i did was quite and go to another company with 6 engineers 2 which are very senor.
The best part of my quitting was, talking to the PE and having him till me he was quitting because he did not feel comfortable with the way all the MBA's were using our engineers and that were trying to cut cost on stuff that was "industry standard" for safety reasons. He then said I should find another job because they were unfair to me, and would probably press me to make decisions above my ability, and pay.
I told him "Can I'll call you back in 10 min?"
I took my letter of resignation down to my boss, handed it in.
Returned to the phone, "I just resigned too, I had the letter on my desk and just needed a kick in the pants."
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Or.. you could quit, go to another job and be mentored more.. and be someone else's 2nd banana for another 3-5 years.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
"You're an engineer you should be able to control the weather right?"
Sincerely
Greedy Moron
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
This company sounds like dysfunction junction, and you need to play the team-player role to the hilt until you find another job, but definitely get looking sooner rather than later.
Best wishes, and I hope everything works out in your favor.
TZ
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
That is bullying and it is wrong. It creates mental stress you, and they, don't need. I'd say it's pretty mature, commendable and demonstrates integrity to be concerned about the customer's perception of the competency of your company. After all, that's how your company makes its money, i.e., keeping its customers satisfied and confident they're buying a good, solid product. Customers walk, positive cash flow walks.
He can admit his mistakes, which is a good trait to have. He may have had a bad day, when you discussed the customer's perception. But remember, his first response is the reaction of a bully.
Getting rid of employees is usually not a rush decision. That was my personal experience. They knew years in advance.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I ended up getting let go. The reasons given were that they couldn't afford to give me a boss, pay for my learning curve or give me the exposure I needed to be successful. They felt that I needed a lot of supervision and they wanted someone that could work autonomously. The strange thing is that they even gave me some recommendations on where I should apply. The good news is that I have been on the job hunt for months now and I'm starting to get some interviews/interests. I worry about how to explain this previous situation as I don't think people want to hire employees that have been cut.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
My advice is not to be too worried about being cut/fired/whatever. Be upfront and honest with future employers about why you're between jobs. Most places wont place new engineers in a vacuum, but in an environment where they are expected and encouraged to learn. Good luck with your job search.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
There are engineers out there who can hit every curve ball like Mike mentioned, but those types of engineers generally dont have a leg to stand on if something should go wrong.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
"I brought this up with the ownership and they responded by questioning my maturity and commitment level and reminding me that I could be easily replaced."
To me, that is time to start looking for something better to move on to.
I'm glad to hear you found something else so quickly. I was in your situation once and got laid off too, it took me almost 6 months to find anything new.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." -Scott Adams
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
The main purpose of this site is so you have people to bounce ideas off.
Regards
Pat
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RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Also, I can only ask for help if I know I need it. There's an old machinist here who'll snoop over my shoulder every so often and catch a glaring error in my design before it gets to be a huge problem. I can only imagine the sort of stuff an old engineer would catch.
"Engineers like to solve problems. If there are no problems handily available, they will create their own problems." -Scott Adams
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
You sound young and so inexperienced that you don't yet know enough to be afraid of your own lack of knowledge.
Hint. What you learned at university falls far short of what you need to know in the real world.
Regards
Pat
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RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
@designosaur... If it were me I would take the downtime between projects to further your knowledge in the form of research and studying the fields that you feel you are lacking in... I'm not saying that you don't already do this but you can learn a lot on your own WITH EFFORT... Good luck!!!
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
This sounds like more of an opportunity to shine than a bad situation to me, but I can see where there is difficulty. MOST companies understand that when an employee leaves, there is often a small period where productivity will drop off if there is no immediate replacement. All you can do is make sure you are doing your best and try to stay positive. I would stick it out and make the best of it, but from a lot of the posts I have seen, I have a rare outlook on some of the situations that have been presented on these boards.
Boottmills
RE: New job and lack of mentorship.
I guess I forgot to mention that The engineering department is myself and the new engineer, and I have only been working here for a year and some change. The company is quite top heavy and I feel like I am being under compensated for my time and efforts.