Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
(OP)
Hello,
I was hired at my company about a year ago as a mechanical/thermal design engineer. Long story short, there was a good engineering department of the company 3 years ago. Then management had the idea of moving the engineering to overseas, which has proven to be a very bad decision. So they hired back one 'engineer' who was actually more of a draftsman. About 6 months ago the engineer they hired back left the company to go work for our competition. There was really no overlap in knowledge as close to none of the design files survived the transition. The current place doesn't have any systems set up with dealing with the engineering because they have never had engineers at the manufacturing site.
Most of my time is spent doing CAD work and working on quotes for sales. Management is very determined to expand the product line with less engineers on staff than were at the old site. I would like state that I am currently the most experienced engineer.
I really feel that my skill-set is not being utilized and that my engineering training from the real work is going rather slow since there is no experienced engineer on staff. I'm basically keeping the place running by 'swim or drown'. I want to be in the technical side of engineering in 20 years with a P.E. and a Master's degree. My parent company has a P.E. I talk to a lot to sort out technical matters that require experience. He also said he would validate me for my P.E. License when I pursue it.
Should it be time to look for a new job?
I was hired at my company about a year ago as a mechanical/thermal design engineer. Long story short, there was a good engineering department of the company 3 years ago. Then management had the idea of moving the engineering to overseas, which has proven to be a very bad decision. So they hired back one 'engineer' who was actually more of a draftsman. About 6 months ago the engineer they hired back left the company to go work for our competition. There was really no overlap in knowledge as close to none of the design files survived the transition. The current place doesn't have any systems set up with dealing with the engineering because they have never had engineers at the manufacturing site.
Most of my time is spent doing CAD work and working on quotes for sales. Management is very determined to expand the product line with less engineers on staff than were at the old site. I would like state that I am currently the most experienced engineer.
I really feel that my skill-set is not being utilized and that my engineering training from the real work is going rather slow since there is no experienced engineer on staff. I'm basically keeping the place running by 'swim or drown'. I want to be in the technical side of engineering in 20 years with a P.E. and a Master's degree. My parent company has a P.E. I talk to a lot to sort out technical matters that require experience. He also said he would validate me for my P.E. License when I pursue it.
Should it be time to look for a new job?





RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
What a bunch of idiots.
My opinion...
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Once a client hired me to do some layout work and when I showed up they took me to the engineering office. It was a large room with 30-40 desks, drafting boards, and filing cabinets everywhere filled with the records of decades of work. Not a single body in the whole room. It was sad. And the company knew they had made a mistake. But is was too late.
None of that helps you in your decision. I would just say to be loyal to yourself, because no one else will be. I try to look at all jobs as learning opportunities, and you are certainly learning a lot there. When you start to see the learning opportunities fade from your future, look elsewhere.
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
The experience will only sadden you.
It can add too little to your professional development.
Find another job.
Then quit.
In that order.
Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Me, I would rather hang around folks who like me, or at least respectme, to some extent.
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Get the new job first! Then quit.
In a situation like the one you describe, it will take just one more thing for you to say "Thats it I'm out of here." Resist that temptation , Get the new job first.
B.E.
The good engineer does not need to memorize every formula; he just needs to know where he can find them when he needs them. Old professor
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
You've said they want to get by with less engineering staff than they had in the past, do they actually have a plan to achieve that?
If not, put a plan together. Work with your PE to make the numbers sensible.
Cheers
Greg Locock
New here? Try reading these, they might help FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm?
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
However, I've asked for more people, especially a CAD guy. The response I've gotten is that our 'budget' doesn't have room for more staffing. The CAD work we do can be done by a college student as most of it is basic layout of the item. I have tried to get a temporary person from the local college, but again, no room in the budget I've been told.
The P.E. has told me that we need to invest a large amount of resources into R&D to re-figure out some of our products if we wish to remain competitive.
It is very challenging to rebuild an engineering department and keep producing products. The one thing I do make sure is done are the calculations to verify the safety. I will not let an unsafe product leave our facility.
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
If you leave without doing this, you are selling the job short. And your next job might not be any better (and could possibly be worse). In this economy, there are any number of reasons why a job becomes available in a given company. People rarely leave a company that they actually like working for, especially now. Many of the available positions usually have something that is disfunctional about them in some respect (much like the job you have now). So you may not be improving your situation by moving on. If you do decide to look elasewhere, follow the advice given previously - land the next job first before you quit.
Maui
www.EngineeringMetallurgy.com
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Although SNORGY made me laugh, Greg and Maui made some good points.
Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?
Companies are successful when they have a good product to sell. And if they're smart they'll have more in the pipeline because the first will eventually run its course in the market. The only way to have more in the pipeline is to invest in R&D.
If your company seems to understand this principle, go with Greg's recommendation and become VP of engineering in due course.
RE: Employer fired most of the engineering staff, time for a new job?