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Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

(OP)
Hello,

During your professional journey, did you find yourself working in a role you did not like / enjoy ?
I can imagine this could happen due to various reasons: downturn / layoff, personal reasons, financial ones, undocumented decision when changing to a new job, escaping a bad manager (sort of emergency), etc. etc.

Can you share your past (or maybe even current) experience on this ? How long did it last for you ? Did you manage to get back on track easily or in a smooth manner (to do something you finally enjoy)?

Thanks
Regards
Rotw

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Yes,

We had lay-offs and they got rid of our design/drawing checker - in his 60's with decades of experience as a checker and years of experience as a designer before that.

I got asked to do the job, and foolishly having been caught by surprise and fearing further lay-offs I said yes. Also in part a 'put your money where you mouth is' situation, I believe in the benefit of drawing checking by someone who knows what they are doing so figured it would be slightly hypocritical to turn it down - especially as it wasn't meant to be long term.

Miserable couple of years. Not necessarily because drawing checking fundamentally sucks but my knowledge & experience was on the low side for the position. Also the checker got laid off in part because he'd upset people by pointing out the errors on their drawings and they'd whined to management... so that was always in the back of my mind and set the tone for the environment I worked in.

My pain was removed when they eliminated the checking position (after multiple rounds of lay-offs the last of which the 'design services' department got eliminated and my direct boss let go) and I got moved into design engineering role.

By the way, the quality of our drawings is now way down and does cause problems.

Posting guidelines FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies http://eng-tips.com/market.cfm? (probably not aimed specifically at you)
What is Engineering anyway: FAQ1088-1484: In layman terms, what is "engineering"?

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

It's rare. I know one or two people it's happened to, but it's never happened to me.

That's the nice thing about having an engineering degree. Every job is a dream job, and there's lot's of them.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

8 years and two employers into my career and so far I've never had nor felt the need to work somewhere I didn't enjoy.

Professional and Structural Engineer (ME, NH)
American Concrete Industries
www.americanconcrete.com

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Yes, for two years I worked as a Design & Releasing engineer, which is not a role I enjoyed much. The plus side is that I had cradle to grave responsibility for the subsystems I 'Designed', I learned a lot, and made a real difference to the design of the car. The downside was the flood of paperwork. So when the third headcount reduction in two years hit I applied again, and was offered a job in Development, instead. That worked for me. Other than that I must admit my jobs have been mostly enjoyable on a week to week basis, although of course all jobs have some bits that are tedious at best.

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: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Managing people -- like herding cats, for the most part, except for one or two that not only can't be herded, but need to be led to the water fountain and be told that it's a water fountain. I had one technician who seemingly got a mindwipe every weekend.

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
homework forum: //www.engineering.com/AskForum/aff/32.aspx
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

I worked for a small, family owned energy consulting firm. The boss's nephew became my supervisor when he got out of prison-sucked because I didn't smoke and couldn't easily bribe him. I was told to marry his niece and get a promotion or find another job. I discovered they were keeping double books, negotiated a nice severance bonus, and went into an entirely different field on a different continent. Have to say it was one of my best decisions, to quit a crooked firm with incestuous practices (I can't say too much, my wife's family and mine both go back a few hundred years in West Virginia). I have not had a bad engineering job since, if you don't count a stint with the Corps of Engineers.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

IRstuff,

Some cats need to go in that water fountain. In a mailbag. winky smile

I've been lucky to enjoy most jobs I've had, or at least I have found things to enjoy about every job I've had. Even the bad jobs have had good parts, although in some cases it was only in retrospect that I realised that there were actally good parts!

As I've got older I think I'm less prepared to work somewhere that I'm not happy, to the point where I took a pay cut to leave somewhere where I'd become miserable as a great place to work was slowly poisoned by bad management. I've never regretted any move I've made, although there have been plenty places I have been genuinely sad to leave.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Before I graduated with my Engineering degree, I used to work as an office guy, for a real estate company that was owned by my cousin. This guy would make sure to use every cent of the money that he would pay me for the job. In the family, he would ask me for favors and ask me to do things for him. He would basically say " Do this or I will fire you". The time was tough because it was late 2008 and early 2009. Luckily, I survived that period and now with an Engineering degree, I love the technical, analytical and professional work I do. I have not seen my cousin in years and not planning to see him again.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Be careful. A classmate of mine worked in the small office of a former professor. The boss wrote a paper on some testing that his small firm did and came up with some useful conclusions. The boss never mentioned in his paper that my classmate did all the lab work. This irritated the classmate to the point he quit, leaving the boss with work to be done on a job that caused problems. When the classmate went to other firms and listed the past jobs he had held, checking on his record resulted in the old boss giving negative comments. Result: classmate never was able to find another engineering job (that was some 40 years after we met again at a class reunion).

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Never found another engineering job? Sounds like this guy burned his bridges then gave up. In 40 years, if he kept on listing the same reference, he doesn't sound like the brightest crayon... People often over simplify their issues (especially when recapping 40 years later). It's a way to not take accountability, that you are responsible for where you are today.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

I've found myself in jobs I didn't want to do, for certain. However I've never found myself unable to find enjoyment or fulfillment in what I do. Enjoying your job is 100% up to you.

Very, very recently I was "pushed" (ok, I volunteered) into doing a project management job that took me from doing design work to working with clients directly and overseeing production and reporting progress and milestones and all that boring stuff. The person who previously filled that role moved on to a new opportunity closer to home. Our company didn't have a good replacement. I volunteered as it was a very important role our company required to be performed. I hate "managing people" or w/e the right term is. I am a designer. I was no longer designing. However, I found pleasure in satisfying those clients/customers, improving on-time deliveries beyond any year prior to my placement. I found success which is its own reward. I found ways to measure my competence and held myself to those standards. I enjoyed that.

Luckily I recently was able to move back to a design role after over a year of that role. We have a replacement that's better and more experienced that I was at it.

Doing a job you didn't expect is no reason to torture yourself.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

(OP)
Thanks guys for the inputs.

JNieman, when you were in that role have you been worried at some point in time that you could not come back to an engineering position again ? did it act as a trap to be in such a role and labeled with a profession name other than engineer (could be sales, project management, etc. you name it..) or did it act instead as complementary thing for you ?

The way am asking the question makes me feel like I am turning into a therapist :)

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

A therapist? Lucky you.

I'm turning in to Wile. E. Coyote!

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

rotw,

I talked to my boss and told him I have very deep concerns that my design skills will "atrophy" and I was worried about my future. Luckily, I kept my old title, so "officially" my career history did not change, on paper, I just had additional responsibilities. I like to think it was complimentary to me. I love to be diversified for the sake of learning new things. More poignantly, though, I believe a person with very diverse skills is also less likely to be laid off. If the needs of the company bend or require someone to "wear another hat" then it pays to be a guy who can wear multiple hats.

I did have very strong concerns that being taken away from design work would leave me with atrophied design instincts. I have to be honest - I found the "creativity" I used to have is... lessened... in recent times. I've found some good exercises that have helped me stay sharp, and to re-sharpen them though. I've taken to building things at home, and making components from scratch. It has forced me back into a "design for manufacturing/assembly" mindset that is important, as well as ensuring I maintain a creativity with geometry and even appropriate dimensioning/tolerancing if I wanted to exercise those equations.

I'm in my 30s. If I were 50, with 30 years of experience at my particular craft, then maybe I'd be more prepared to "weather the storm" in a non-design role, and be able to return to a design role smoothly.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

JNieman,

Your comments make me think of a Who song, "hope I die before I get old".

I'm in my late 50's, over 30 years experience, and still argue and fight to stay in design. What makes you think you won't get more crotchety as you get older?

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

I just figured that if you had 30 years of experience that maybe it'd be more like riding a bike than it would be for someone with 5-10? Who knows? Not me.

As for being crotchety... I've got more than my share, already, unfortunately. :) Let's hope I mellow with age, instead.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Holy Chit,

I've never had a job that was all roses. Are you all doing your passion in life? I don't see how you can ever possibly work for someone else and be happy with everything that is going on.

I was asked once by a boss that laid me off twice in the recession why I didn't own a house. I told him I never had a job I liked that well. His response was "you never will."

In my opinion (no disrespect intentionally meant to those that see otherwise or that fall into the situation or choose that "complete life") once I buy a house or start a family I am nothing more than a pawn or a slave to society to earn a paycheck to pay my bills and to fit in with the my coworkers/managers. I must be a bad coworker or a hobo or both at the moment. I have great respect for those that are willing to live that lifestyle and put up with the BS that comes with it.

What I have seen repeatedly to make me form this opinion is bad management in every company I have ever worked for. I have yet to see a manager/boss or so called leader that can consistently or half heartedly over a period of time motivate me or my coworkers by there actions. To me that is a leader. I personally don't need someone trying to undermine me, take my ideas, or put me in my place for their betterment/paycheck. Maybe I've had bad luck or maybe I'm just crazy.

Best wishes from the hobo/crazy guy.

Cat herders, really? Oh Chit, where is that water fountain I'm thirsty!

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Um, it's OK, we're grownups, we don't need euphemisms, and I suspect a substantial proportion of the forum readers have been up to their knees in 'chit' on a professional basis.

So we're left with a rather sophomoric rant on the lines of the most sanctimonious song ever "Little boxes".

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: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

(OP)
sam74,

I've had quite some difficulties trying to find what is the bottom line in your message. sorry.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Quote (sam74)

In my opinion... once I buy a house or start a family I am nothing more than a pawn or a slave to society to earn a paycheck to pay my bills and to fit in with the my coworkers/managers.
I think many of us "homeowners" would consider that a very miserable way to view life. To think we do it simply to "keep up with the Joneses" is a pretty limited view. I hardly consider myself a "slave to society" simply because I chose to take on a home loan. When I'm retired, I'll have a beautiful home to live in... you'll be moving on to your next lease.

Dan - Owner
http://www.Hi-TecDesigns.com

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

"once I buy a house or start a family I am nothing more than a pawn or a slave to society to earn a paycheck to pay my bills and to fit in with the my coworkers/managers."

So, renting isn't being a pawn or slave? Why is having a family being a pawn or a slave? And you don't pay your bills now?

TTFN
I can do absolutely anything. I'm an expert!
FAQ731-376: Eng-Tips.com Forum Policies forum1529: Translation Assistance for Engineers

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

Sorry OP, I was just trying to relate positions that were not always fulfilling to me in the spirit of your thread. Sorry to detract from your thread I thought I was getting to the root of the problem from my perspective. Might have been a little alcohol involved as well then as there is now also.

And actually I'm enjoying a wonderful 2.5 years of free housing at my current hobo job paid for by my employer. Probably won't find this again and unfortunately I've started burning bridges due to bad management. And Ah I'm getting attacked here by the homeowners/family guys. I mentioned no disrespect was intentionally meant and was just offering a different perspective from outside the little box as it was put.

No comments on bad management/ownership? I'm disappointed! Office place cliques can be just as bad. I see these things as the root of the problem, maybe others do not, maybe they are the part of the problem, or maybe their eyes are just wide shut.

I've seen several times or you could say on a regular basis on the job that immediate management belittle employees in somewhat of a joking way to make it seem more harmless in group meetings. I personally did not like it and brought that up in the same meetings although I was not the one being belittled. That is also the same management that laid me off twice in the recession. Oh well it is a principle to me to not let that go unquestioned. This typically does not happen when the immediate managers overseers or the ownership is present.

So what is the root of the problem in your opinions?

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

-optimize/minimize what you don't like about the role by optimizing processes and pushing tasks either upstream or downstream from you
-train your replacement
-get the distasteful part of the job out of the way early in the work day and then fill in with work you do enjoy

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

rotw - You asked for a history of experiences, so here it is-

I have been very lucky in that I have enjoyed every job I have had. It seems to come from advice given to me to keep options open and go toward what seemed to be best ahead.

In grade school, I enjoyed math and science and my 8th grade teacher (a German/Russian immigrant PHD of all things) steered me toward science and math and recommended schools other than public, but that was not in the cards.

In high school(grades 9-12), my counselors recommended science and math classes and recommended Engineering as a possible goal. Fortunately, I bought a 1952 Ford and got interested in how things worked and had to repair them. Also, I lived in a large metropolitan area and a good university was within commuting distance. My engineering curriculum was on the 5 year basis, with an "out" for higher grades after 4 years if you returned (total of 5-1/2 yeas)to get a MSCE. The bonus was that we could schedule the soils, concrete and hydraulics 3 hour lab classes on Fridays, so we could grab a burger and beer before the college hockey or basketball game and then driving home.

When I graduated, it was the hot times for engineers. I had 20 interviews and got 23 different job offers (some were large multi-divisional companies). I took the one that was best because of the location, salary-$5.00 more per month and that sounded interesting. After 5 years of school, I got married, bought a new car and moved from MN to CA. The engineering was fantastic and it was STRONGLY recommended to take some if you expected more than the typical 10% raise (tuition, supplies, travel expenses (30 miles RT) were paid) for 2 years at USC. The only way to get graduate school credits was in the evenings was night school because the instructors/professors were busy during the day and were not the academic types. I never bothered with getting the Masters degree.

While working in SoCal, I worked with an engineer from either Parsons or DMJM when we shook an instrumented rocket test stand during a 420 second firing and compared it to the current codes and standards (government type belt and suspenders check). About 5 years later, I did a site investigation in MN for a nuclear power plant, the engineer from Dames and Moore was the same person I worked with on rocket test stands.

I followed a suggestion from a college counselor to get 2 years of design (any type),2 years of construction (mine was heavy civil) and 2 years of general experience (mine was utilities(site selection, transmission power foundations and general facilities).

Looking back, it was fortunate because of good advise and living near a good, economical commuter engineering school.

Since graduation, (3 jobs of 2 years each) and going to law school nights for 1-1/2 years, I then made a major change. I took a job with a local concrete products company that required registration and participation in the ACTIVE national committees, being a voting member on all standards organizations like ATM, ACI TMS, etc., plus attending ALL meetings. I did that for a 50% increase.

I then took at a job with a concrete products equipment manufacturer. In addition to the 75% time in the home office (northern MI), it required domestic and international travel to about 40 countries and learning what I missed earlier regarding engineering and construction. I still am involved in many groups and still communicate with professionals I have met. I met a friend that was a large international civil engineering contractor (2nd or 3rd largest in the country)and worked for him several times to give 5 day structural and construction classes to his engineers in Turkey.

If you listen to others, think about suggestions and are flexible, the years of experience can pay off in the future. - I never expected anything more than was was proposed or offered and just did what seemed to made sense without getting too wrapped up in the daily details.

Dick

Engineer and international traveler interested in construction techniques, problems and proper design.

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

It happened at a former company.

Management continued to increase my role as a sales representative.
Apparently I did the job good enough and nobody else was really suited for.
Ultimately I just didn't enjoy sales at all so I quit.

Steffen Meier
http://www.linseis.com/en/

RE: Did you find yourself working in a role you did not enjoy...

I worked for the DOD as a civil/structural engineer for 4 years out of school . I could feel my creativity atrophy after about 1.5 years. I bounced around in the agency looking for something that would inspire but never found it. I worked in an office with something like 500 other engineers. We all got paid a lot for what we were doing, and I just found the whole thing ridiculous. We could have done the same work with 250 of us but the management and systems were so antiquated and ineffective that I could literally do my work in the first 6 hours of the week and then would have to pretend to be busy the rest of the time. In short government work was not for me. I found work in a small consulting office and gave my 2 weeks notice. I spent the next two weeks having the most fun ever, just going around and telling people how silly it was to work there and that they should get out ASAP. But the comfort of a constant paycheck, and never worrying about "sales" or revenue is really comforting for a lot of folks. I don't begrudge them there were times(2009 through 2011) where I really missed it.

So I got into a small civil firm, and now I find my work extremely challenging and rewarding. The ultimate job security is your skill set, nothing else. I never worry about being able to produce an income for my family. I have become very confident in my ability to solve problems via design and my ability to sell service; So I have allowed myself to take risks I could never imagined as a graduating engineer. In my late 30s find myself owning a couple of businesses, serving on paid and unpaid boards, consulting other businesses, talking in high school STEP classes, and involved in local politics. Just last week I was approached by some developers I know to become a managing partner in their Senior Living Center project. No idea if I will jump in or not but the though of something new is just so alluring to me. My wife loves and hates it about me.

The part I am most proud of was from 2009 through 2012 when the local economy was extremely difficult, I coaxed the small consulting office through the horrible business environment using every trick I could imagine. A stressful time but the people who worked for me were very thankful once the storm was weathered. Handling that level of stress so early in my career has really impacted how I approach clients and business in general.

TLDR - Yes, I quit and started something else. Become confident in your technical and people skills and life is a lot less stressful. The talented will always have a place to find work.

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