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Recent content by bradpa77

  1. bradpa77

    Thoughts on breaking free and going freelance / consulting?

    I'm thinking of working towards breaking free of the corporate world and going the freelance / consulting route. I have almost 20 years experience. I have my PE in my state. I don't have a masters degree. I have spent a lot of time doing design and FEA work and I think that is likely where...
  2. bradpa77

    I need to start learning how to design and perform tests

    It looks like I am going to be given an assignment in the very near future where I will be required to design and run a test on o-rings. I've never been asked to do any testing yet. This is new territory. This project is going to be heavily scrutinized by my boss, his boss, his boss's boss...
  3. bradpa77

    What if I don't want to be a leader?

    Many thanks to all of you! I got some great responses here. It's very much appreciated. I'm glad to see that I'm not the only one who worries about this stuff and I'm also glad to see that I can have a career in engineering where I don't have to be completely in charge.
  4. bradpa77

    What if I don't want to be a leader?

    Is that so bad? I like being an engineer. I like creating stuff and analyzing stuff and generally working on my own. I understand the need for team leaders but I honestly do not feel that my personality is fit for a leadership role. Quite frankly, I don't like to give direction and my people...
  5. bradpa77

    Engineering Outsourcing

    I keep hearing of more and more companies sending their engineering work overseas. My company just recently hopped on the bandwagon and started sending my work (and many others) to India. It's kind of scary to see this happening. I'm worried about the stability of my job with this happening...
  6. bradpa77

    Resume tips

    No one would take the time to read the example they put there. Too wordy. I think short bulleted points are best but I agree with avoiding the use of cut and paste cliche words. I would rather see a bulleted list of very short project descriptions than general and overused "I'm a good worker"...
  7. bradpa77

    I lost my first! Is this the end of the world?

    Don't be so hard on yourself. Sounds like the economy hit your company hard. .... just like every other company in the world. Try not to take it as something you personally did wrong. Also, the job search is going to be rough for a while as well. Once again, not your fault. The economy...
  8. bradpa77

    Senior vs ego

    Yeah, I agree with KENAT. Don't get hung up on the title. I've been an engineer for 7 years and I just recently turned down 2 different job offers that were "Senior Engineer" positions. It's all relative to the company's definition of "senior". So, if you get a job offer as a "senior...
  9. bradpa77

    Salary Negotiating Tips for a 2nd Interview

    Sounds like the general concensus is to stay firm with my original figure. After hearing everyone's reasons, I definitely agree. I appreciate the help everyone.
  10. bradpa77

    Salary Negotiating Tips for a 2nd Interview

    Ok, so I had this interview 3 weeks ago. It was going really well and the last thing we talked about was salary requirements. Since the interview was going well, I shot a bit high with my expected salary requirements. I didn't get a good reaction from that. They seemed to be a bit shocked by...
  11. bradpa77

    Internal Job just opened ... need advice on career path

    Well, I just made up my mind. I'm going to stay away from the job. I just don't want it. That's really the bottom line. It doesn't make sense to take it. I don't want to leave a position I'm tired of (but liked initially) to go to a position that I am not even remotely excited about. I'm...
  12. bradpa77

    Internal Job just opened ... need advice on career path

    I definitely agree with you there. I work in R&D right now though, so I've been a bit worried that we would be the first to go. So, I'm not so sure that I'm in an extremely rock solid position as it is already. I agree with you though, it sounds like it could be a somewhat unstable situation...
  13. bradpa77

    Internal Job just opened ... need advice on career path

    So, I've been unhappy with my job lately and I've been on the prowl for something new for a while now. Unfortunately though, the job market is terrible and I'm realizing that right now isn't the best time to land my dream job. I do need a change though and my job search has kind of helped me...
  14. bradpa77

    Do I let it go?

    I'm going through something very similar right now. I had an interview on 4/8. I got a great vibe from them. I have all the job requirements. They said I could expect to hear from them in a couple of weeks or maybe sooner. They seemed excited about me. The last thing they asked me on my...
  15. bradpa77

    Salary increase after obtaining P.E. or P.Eng.

    To quote myself from an earlier post .... Update: I just got my review and raise. No Engineer 4 promotion. 3.5% raise. Times really are tough. At least I still have my job. I really felt like the PE would give me a shoe in for the Engineer 4. I guess not. I got my PE this year and this...

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