Work Dilemma Take Two

[David]

Some of you may remember a thread I made some time ago now looking for some advice on my current job situation (Original thread: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=2151.msg29205#msg29205) and you may remember the video that Dave made discussing it:



A few months on and I still have similar feelings towards the job. I recently decided to put my CV online and see what other jobs were out there. I was quite overwhelmed with the number of responses I got and opportunites for interviews, many of which I turned down for various reasons.

To cut a long story short, I have an interview this week for a fairly small company that seems like it could provide everything I want...lots of hands-on design without pages of procedures to follow. Now here comes my dilema with moving to a job like this. I have quickly learn't that the Aerospace Industry pays very well, my job is very stable and I have lots of other great benefits (pension, work hours etc). The company I currently work for also has quite a "presitgious" image and is one of the world leaders in what they do. I am worried that if I go for a smaller business that I will lose all that stability and possibly throw away a great chance. However, I am fairly certain that my current company can't offer me what I want and that I will be typing reports 95% of the time, no matter what my position there.

Anyone been in a similar situation or have any advice?

Dave

[Excavatoree]

If you like the other job, then take it.   The risk you are taking by leaving the larger more stable company is more than offset by doing the job you prefer.  If the worst should happen, you'll have some great experience to share with your next prospective employers.  However, your enthusiasm and hard work at the new job will help prevent that from happening.

[Uncle Vernon]

You have to consider yourself fortunate to have the options. Young  an unattached you have the option to take chances and follow your heart. Some pay off some don't, the grass will always look greener on the other side of the fence. Sometimes it turns out to be, sometimes it doesn't.

Only you can decide what is right, there is no reason for staying in a position you don't enjoy, no reason that is unless you have other mouths to feed and provide for and/or a mortgage too big to jump over. Many don't have the luxury of choice with a pay packet being the main motivation for getting out of bed each morning.

If you can find a job/situation that you love and can cope with the remuneration offered then go for it. whether  one day the decision will be a cause for regret only you can decide.

I'm not helping much, I know, but I think I've offered an honest assessment.

[Ed.Kloonk]

Can I offer some advice from an old nutter who is not in your industry?

What you've got to realize is the big companies are always going to be around. The small company you are considering investing time with may not be around very long given the economic climate. However, they might be onto something big and just not telling you yet. 

As suggested above, I doesn't matter if you fall flat on your arse at this point in your life. You can always get a gig with a big company again. You'll kick your self if you stay put and watch the small company strike it rich. And if the small company runs into trouble, you might be in a position to take it over fully or run it as a top-level manager. Less chance of that opportunity in a big company I think.


If all else fails, do what I do. Get a cheap bottle of plonk, get wasted and throw a dice. 

[benjius]

Hi David !
The world is a big place but our human experiences tend to be quite close !

Let me give you a brief story of my work experience, I started working in electronics with a very close friend back in 2000, It was happy times for me, I was 21, the LAB was a mess, we did everything all by hand, I was the half man orchestra that I’ve always wanted to be, we had a crappy scope and a cheap PIC programmer !

But then our investor pulled out and I ended up going to the big city to find another job and something meaningful to do with my live.
I was lucky enough to get a job at IBM.... I was thrilled about it, my first two years I worked my ass off all day, until I meet DILBERT and started to look at think the way they really are.

I thought pushing papers around was something temporal and five years later It was worst than ever before, I started to feel very depressed, the money was good but something was missing in my life...

Even though I've my lab at home and I spent some time in my own projects I was always very tired and unmotivated to start anything, my tools basically accumulated dust over the year.

Back in 2010 I had three different managers, they where there not because of their technical or social skill, they where there just to put a face to the words "NO", "CANT DO THAT", "NO PAY RISE THIS YEAR", "NO BONUS" etc... It was enough for me, I had a huge fight with him and I told him I wanted to go back to my old team, Next thing I know he fired me...

But here I am, I'm working as a freelancer, it's not heaven, but I can choose the projects I'm interested in, I cut a few expenses here and there, I'm slowly putting things back together, my lab is a mess again, cables and boards all over the place, I'm not ultra happy but I'm doing okay.

Do I miss the old days in the big company? well yes and no... I think is the ups and downs that make us feel alive and that's what the human experience is all about !

Also one final word, I have had these kind of conversations with my coworkers in the past, but their opinion is always very subjective, you have to trust people who puts their actions where their mouth is, people usually hate the job as much as you do but they won’t look for a change, be aware of such people, be aware of the mediocre people, big companies are full of those individuals !

Regards.
Ben.

[FreeThinker]

My old boss said to me when I was an apprentice 'you'll never learn to stand on your own two feet if you don't fall down' If you can follow a dream and  afford to fail go for it, the big boys will always be on the lookout for newblood to suck the life out of.

[trentland]

Big cog in a small machine or small cog in a big machine?  Young, \no kids- no brainer.  Build the option.

[Sionyn]

agree freethinker

like the one that goes
'behind every great man is a lot of mistakes'

[Mechatrommer]

if only i have an option.... i'd rather work from home.... like dave now, but... what? so i think i'll continue with my current job

[David]

Update: I went for the interview yesterday and the company was not what I imagined at all! (Not all bad...) Essentially they currently import generic pcb modules from the far east and modify/put them in an enclosure and attach their software before selling. The team is <10 people! The electronics knowledge is current very limited and they are relying on one guy to cover all the technical issues. Now originally the MD said he was after someone to be able do the same tasks as the one man band guy incase he's ill etc. That was until he showed me one of there products and I told him I could probably design it in-house and match, if not decrease the unit cost. We had a very long chat (>2 hours) but to summarise, if I were to join the company then I'd be able to work on my own project of looking into the feasibility of designing an in-house product and then doing the design myself....

I can spot a huge possibility here to change the company and hopefully start an in-house team of electronics engineers in the future. Of course it's very easy to get carried away with it all...The major problem I see is that I would be responsible for it all and would have no one to turn to for technical support etc. This is definitely the kind of high risk, high reward start-up company my colleagues spoke of.

[Mechatrommer]

be careful, whats be spoken of sometime is not what the reality is. talk with someone far below the rank, and ask about how things go, about the boss etc.

[trentland]

"I can spot a huge possibility here to change the company and hopefully start an in-house team of electronics engineers in the future."


Make an impact AND get paid.  Beautiful.

[Rufus]

I can spot a huge possibility here to change the company and hopefully start an in-house team of electronics engineers in the future. Of course it's very easy to get carried away with it all...The major problem I see is that I would be responsible for it all and would have no one to turn to for technical support etc. This is definitely the kind of high risk, high reward start-up company my colleagues spoke of.

Not sure I see where the high reward bit is coming from. If you are a partner or have shares in a start up that grows you might make money, otherwise you are just an employee who will get paid the going rate for the job you do, or if you are lucky and the owners/managers are generous a bit more than the going rate. In a small growing company you might get promoted to more senior positions faster than in a large company, but, equally they might fail or sack you after you have redesigned their one product. The only reward I would count on is getting paid enough to do a job you enjoy and it sounds like this job has potential for responsibilities and pressure which will make it less enjoyable. My advice would be to look around some more and attend some more interviews to get a better idea of the possibilities. Maybe the first interview you attended will turn out to be for the job you should have taken, but, such is life.

As for staying where you are, apart from accumulating some cash to give you options the longer you stay the less likely you are to leave. I haven't been employed by any military/aerospace companies but I contracted for a couple and absolutely hated it. I aspire to being smart and getting things done, being smart and getting things done is what makes me happy. My experience with such companies is that for every guy trying to get something done there are nine others trying to make sure he doesn't. Maybe where you are isn't that bad, or maybe it is.

[benjius]

Hi All,

I just wanted to write a few lines regarding the events following up my dismissal from a big company (IBM).
To be honest after you leave a big company you'll find yourself looking for a similar job, and there are two big reasons for that.
Number one, small companies and start up's wont hire you !, why ? well basically because they just can compete in both salary and benefits so they fear you're going to run away, and more important they can't exploit you the way they would like !
Second reason is pretty much tied to the first one, once you get used to the benefits of a big company you're screwed, the only chance you have is for you and your employer to acknowledge this fact face to face, you either get a fair deal or you walk out the interview.
You can't go to an interview and say, "I would like to have a fun and rewarding job I don't care about money and benefits" It doesn't work like that.
Ideally you wouldn't want to put all eggs on the same basket, no single job will give you exactly what you want, maybe you can have a job that pays the bills and another to do what you really like.
It's hard but is possible....

Regards
Ben