Hang in there or look for a new job?
Hang in there or look for a new job?
(OP)
There are times in every job where the question comes up in our minds whether we should start looking for a new position.
I am almost afraid to post too much in the way of detail, lest someone stumble across this and recognize my situation so I'll keep the details fairly generic.
I am a contract engineer with a few different clients that i visit on site with weekly. In addition to my main clients other colleagues in my geographic area have clients that I occasionally fill in at. For instance when my boss is on vacation, I tend to go to work with his clients.
My company is a medium size nationwide firm. I like that fact, in the sense that is possible down the line that I might be able to move to another city to work for them if they have clients in that town. I would rather not move at least for a few years for several reasons related to family, etc.
In any event due most likely to company pricing being set too high, some of our clients appear to be deciding to looking for another engineering firm to work with them. I've even seen them interview a few engineers from this firm at one of my work sites. It seems the writing is on the wall here. The worst case scenario is that I could lose 50% of my client workload due to this. Unfortunately this is looking very likely as of late. I am not the only employee that would lose some work hours, my boss and at least one other colleague stands to lose some clients due to these pricing battles.
With that reduced workload, my company might be able to relocate me, however i am really not sure what will happen. I think management is taking a we will cross that road if it happens approach. On this point I can't blame them because we truly aren't sure what will happen. But it also causes angst on my part.
So if you are in my shoes, do you hang in there and see what happens, or start polishing up the resume and applying at new places now?
I'd put the probability of our company losing some work at 100% and the probability of myself losing 50% of my current workload at 80% currently, these are guestimates, but just wanted to frame it with that.
I am almost afraid to post too much in the way of detail, lest someone stumble across this and recognize my situation so I'll keep the details fairly generic.
I am a contract engineer with a few different clients that i visit on site with weekly. In addition to my main clients other colleagues in my geographic area have clients that I occasionally fill in at. For instance when my boss is on vacation, I tend to go to work with his clients.
My company is a medium size nationwide firm. I like that fact, in the sense that is possible down the line that I might be able to move to another city to work for them if they have clients in that town. I would rather not move at least for a few years for several reasons related to family, etc.
In any event due most likely to company pricing being set too high, some of our clients appear to be deciding to looking for another engineering firm to work with them. I've even seen them interview a few engineers from this firm at one of my work sites. It seems the writing is on the wall here. The worst case scenario is that I could lose 50% of my client workload due to this. Unfortunately this is looking very likely as of late. I am not the only employee that would lose some work hours, my boss and at least one other colleague stands to lose some clients due to these pricing battles.
With that reduced workload, my company might be able to relocate me, however i am really not sure what will happen. I think management is taking a we will cross that road if it happens approach. On this point I can't blame them because we truly aren't sure what will happen. But it also causes angst on my part.
So if you are in my shoes, do you hang in there and see what happens, or start polishing up the resume and applying at new places now?
I'd put the probability of our company losing some work at 100% and the probability of myself losing 50% of my current workload at 80% currently, these are guestimates, but just wanted to frame it with that.





RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
My suggestion is to setup an hour time and have a meeting with your boss to voice your concerns about your (and company) future. I would start there.
If it still seems not too good, it doesn't hurt to start looking.
Chris
SolidWorks 11
ctopher's home
SolidWorks Legion
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
If so, then the competitors may have trouble when the client base get tired of poor quality.
If not, then your firm may experience a contraction due to loss of work.
If your management doesn't recognize this as a critical-to-growth business strategy, then you have other problems.
TygerDawg
Blue Technik LLC
Virtuoso Robotics Engineering
www.bluetechnik.com
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
You should always have your resume up to date, and always keep your eyes and ears open for new opportunities.
Having said that, I agree with ctopher in meeting with the boss to discuss the situation. The outcome or tone of that meeting should help in your decision.
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
"Gorgeous hair is the best revenge." Ivana Trump
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
Dan - Owner

http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
Regards
Pat
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RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
Today at one job site, we saw them bring in a guy who might be one of the replacements. I felt pretty bad when i saw that.
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
RE: Hang in there or look for a new job?
Even if you can't find anything great and he shoots it down at least it shows you are thinking about the future instead of waiting for a bullet in the back of your head.
Cheers
Greg Locock
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