How do you get an electronics job when you're "not popular"?

[Faringdon]

Hi,
I recently finished an SMPS design and build project,  so when   that finished I put my CV on the web……the market seemed very very buoyant.
Loads of  companies with SMPS projects and  various Electronics projects were contacting me for interview availability. Then I interviewed at a place who said they wanted multiple SMPS’s designed.
It seemed great, and £55k salary.
At the interview, the boss told me (with a steely grin)…”if you take the job, then you should never leave”.

Anyway, they gave me the job and I started. For the first two days  they had me sat in the office, and told me just to read my company employment manual. Then after two days, they gave me a computer, which had limited access to their projects. (I found some “test” schems, but no specs, and no BOMs, and the “test” schems had no component values or part numbers with them).
Anyway, there was still no talk of work that they needed me to do…just vague murmurings of vague jobs which might need doing at some point. I tried to get the spec off them for a current source which they had which needed production pot tweaking, but they woudln’t give me the spec for it. I also  asked for a schem of an SMPS which they were currently doing EMC testing on, but the manager , grinning, shook his head, and said “you don’t want to see a schem”.

Anyway, after 7 working days of being sat in that office, and not being tasked with any work, I decided, that this was a job that involved just sitting around “just-in-case” any work might turn up. It seemed odd that they had said I should “never leave”, since would they want to pay me forever to do nothing?
Anyway….even though I started mid October, they had actually said they woudlnt pay me till end of November, but would backdate the pay to mid-october. I strongly doubted that they would pay me at all..specially since I wasn’t doing anything.

So after work on the 7th  (non) working day, in the evening, I wrote them an email saying I woudlnt be coming back in, and asked them not to bother paying me, and apologised for any inconvenience.
I decided instead to put my CV back on the web, and see if I could get into one of the great many opportunites that  had been  around before I took the “do-nothing” job.
Anyway, this was a few days ago…and not only have all the opportunites that were previously around dryed up, but even worse, is that the “do-nothing” company are still trying to recruit for their role, and are telling employment agencies not to send my CV, since I “ just  cleared off”.
This is meaning that these employment agencies are not keen to consider my CV for other electronics jobs…also, when I go for a job, they find out, and tell the employer not to employ me because I “just cleared off”, from the previous place.

Also, to make things worse, my previous job was at a start-up, and I wasn’t payed, so was out of the tax system for 6 months…and companies seem to find out about this , and it really puts them off me.

How do you get round this?

[MK14]

Is this as a permanent employee/job, or as a temporary or long term contractor?

[Faringdon]

It was a perm job  on a "should never leave" basis.

[Fraser]

Post removed by author as it will not help the OP

[MK14]

It was a perm job  on a "should never leave" basis.

Firstly, you should always (with extremely few exceptions), stay in the original permanent job, until you have sorted out a definite job offer, in writing, with a new company.  With rare exceptions, such as when you are retiring, etc.

Secondly, leaving a permanent job, after a couple of weeks (approximately, from what you seem to have stated), is VERY bad form.  You should almost NEVER do that!

If you absolutely can't stand it, and can't face it.  This should be discussed with your immediate manager, or similar.  Then something can be sorted out.

[Fraser]

Post removed by author as it will not help the OP

[Bud]

Does not seem to be anything conspiratory the from the employer's side, let alone them "testing" the OP. The company was a startup and It is understandable that startups may be in a state of chaos and disarray for some time.

[Bud]

You may have to volunteer to work a period for nothing to show commitment to the new company ...

Maybe this is a thing in the UK but sorry it sounds silly for an adult engineer to do so.

[Fraser]

Bud,

It was his previous job that was a startup and not the one he quit with no notice.

[Bud]

Right, I misread that one !

[Fraser]

Post removed as it will not help the OP

[AndyC_772]

Something doesn't add up here (though quitting without a new job already lined up was a mistake and turning down payment for the time you were there was another).

Every time I've been hired for a new full-time job, there was a reason the company needed another engineer, namely a long list of projects they needed doing. I still recall the 'day one' meeting with one particular new manager... after rattling off a list of about 10 tasks, I asked which he wanted doing first, to which he replied 'all of them'. He wasn't kidding.

It just doesn't make sense to be going through the process of hiring - a process which is costly, frustrating and time consuming - if they don't have a genuine business need for that new engineer.

You probably have dodged a bullet by getting out asap, as there's clearly something more going on. I don't believe people get hired without work already queued up for them to do - at least, not at a level of seniority above a student doing work experience.

[pcprogrammer]

He basically quit because they did not listen to his advice on ESD https://www.eevblog.com/forum/manufacture/carry-pcb-across-carpet/msg4489225/#msg4489225

Or is all just another waste of our time

[armandine2]

I haven't followed the replies closely, so far , but in my experience an employee's reputation with their recruitment agency is often shaky and ultimately runs out. Also, the early period in a job can be bewildering to what it is they actually do. And, a 55K salary is well over the mean and most of us who need to work to pay the bills would be reluctant to leave it for long term unemployment.

[MK14]

Post removed by author as it will not help the OP

Please don't take this the wrong way, and I don't know (for sure), why you removed the original post.

I liked the original post, but you are perfectly welcome to amend or remove it.

I'd just like to say, I happily, left my advice.  Because even if this turns out to be another one of the OPs stories, and gets posted on other forums (that is, with identical or somewhat identical, opening stories.  Typically with different forum names).  The advice given, can still be used, by other engineers and so forth, who happen to be in similar circumstances.
So, it should still be useful, one way or the other.

Also, I was planning to get to the bottom of the situation, and hence establish the reliability of the OPs story.

The thing is.  Even if the OP was relatively truthful in their opening post.  We would only be hearing one side of the story.  The employers, might paint a completely different story, especially as they have actually met the OP (assuming they actually exist).

[Fraser]

I realised that my comments were not really helpful to the OP and as I do not know them, or their circumstances, I would not want to post critical comments that could lead to mental harm. Having looked into the OP’s posting history, I decided to remove the posts contents. Better to be safe than sorry. The OP has “messed up” and your post was kinder than mine.

Fraser

[MK14]

I realised that my comments were not really helpful to the OP and as I do not know them, or their circumstances, I would not want to post critical comments that could lead to mental harm. Having looked into the OP’s posting history, I decided to remove the posts contents. Better to be safe than sorry. The OP has “messed up” and your post was kinder than mine.

Fraser

That makes sense.   

It can be quite tricky, responding to forum threads, for exactly those reasons.

As regards the OP, despite seeing/reading, perhaps hundreds or even thousands of their posts.  I'm still not really clear, exactly what is going on.  Things kind of, never really seem to properly add up.

E.g. With this threads OP.  How come they are not worried, that the affected employer, fellow workers, employment agencies.  Might happen to come across this thread.  Given the sensitive nature of the details.
Also, I'd perhaps ask the OP, what fellow workers, said about that companies situation (if the story is true).

If the story is true.  The OP seems to have been doing this sort of thing (leaving, somewhat shortly after starting a new job), rather too often.  And should try and NOT do that.  I'm not really sure exactly what the problems/issues surrounding/causing it, to offer better advice.

If I have to guess.  The story seems to have too many elements of previous threads (such as secretive/hidden schematics), to be readily taken as 100% truthful, at this stage.

[pcprogrammer]

If I have to guess.  The story seems to have too many elements of previous threads (such as secretive/hidden schematics), to be readily taken as 100% truthful, at this stage.

At any stage I would say. The list of threads started by Faringdon is quite long and most of them are weird to say the least, and also a bit contradictory to my opinion. Left a job here, talking about leaving a job there, starting up a company, not starting up a company, and so on. Just take a look at the gas valve using tokens story. It is for kids, oh no it is for Ukrainians. To me utter bullshit.

I'm curious about what is behind this all though.

[AndyBeez]

You may have to volunteer to work a period for nothing to show commitment to the new company ...

Maybe this is a thing in the UK but sorry it sounds silly for an adult engineer to do so.

Yes, we call it an "unpaid internship" or "skills try-out" in trendier speak. You work for them for free and in return, you get f****** over. You bring your own computer, tools, software, desk, chair, car and anything else the business refuses to provide. At least you can put their name on your CV. Internships are not just for daddy's daughter in the summer, but for anyone who wants to try their hand at being an EE, a network engineer, a web programmer, or even an airline pilot. Just be sure you are 100% qualified and certified for the role before you apply. The UK has a "skills shortage". No s***.

[coppercone2]

some bosses just see human personnel not different then buying a esoteric piece of equipment that is used once in a while. Someone was certain that there will be a problem eventually related to your field.

It might have been like buying a flee market spectrum analyzer while working on a broken power supply, you know that it won't be used for a while. He probobly suspected that there would be gouging by a consultant in the future, and overall it would be cheaper to have you around.

I suggest getting an unlimited data plan if you are in this situation. And nothing is preventing you from drawing up some future plans, or vaugely related projects/equipment that might be useful for what you think the job entails. I.e. research switchmode circuit aspects while you wait, in a academic way that is related to corporate. Maybe not research pure transfer functions, but learn about manufacturers, trends, component vendors, styles, nuances, etc.

[Faringdon]

And, a 55K salary is well over the mean and most of us who need to work to pay the bills would be reluctant to leave it for long term unemployment.

Thanks, i am pretty sure it would have gotten reduced down from £55k...since it seemed to be a "do-nothing", dead-engineer job.....like a spare engineer.....
The company was very very rich, with a solid product range which has been perfected over the years.
Main tasks just seemed to be supporting production....not that they seemed to have many problems since all the production "bugs" had been mostly ironed out over the years.......from a business point of view....they had little reason to re-design the power supplys in their products....i guess they would think...if it aint broke, dont fix it.

The company also have a Chinese Engineering design and manufacture department, in China, and they design and build  all of the highest power products....so i guess the company, if it really wanted new power supplies.....would just get them to do it, as it would likely be cheapest.

Not that it bothered me much, but in the employment contract , (the one they had me reading for 2 days)  it stated that  i could be layed off at any time, for any amount of time, and that i would not be payed for this time.
Also, the employment contract said that the company could , at any time, instead of laying me off, simply offer me a different job in the organisation, if they so chose to do so.

I still recall the 'day one' meeting with one particular new manager... after rattling off a list of about 10 tasks, I asked which he wanted doing first, to which he replied 'all of them'. He wasn't kidding.

Thanks, thats pretty well my ideal job....i am sure you kind of like it too....at least you're going to be doing something meaningful.

[MK14]

And, a 55K salary is well over the mean and most of us who need to work to pay the bills would be reluctant to leave it for long term unemployment.

Thanks, i am pretty sure it would have gotten reduced...since it seemed to be a "do-nothing", dead-engineer job.....like a spare engineer.....
The company was very very rich, with a solid product range which has been perfected over the years.
Main tasks just seemed to be supporting production....not that they seemed to have many problems since all the production "bugs" had been mostly ironed out over the years.......from a business point of view....they had little reason to re-design the power supplys in their products....i guess they would think...if it aint broke, dont fix it.

The company also have a Chinese Engineering design and manufacture department, in China, and they design and build  all of the highest power products....so i guess the company, if it really wanted new power supplies.....would just get them to do it, as it would likely be cheapest.

Not that it bothered me much, but in the employment contract , (the one they had me reading for 2 days)  it stated that  i could be layed off at any time, for any amount of time, and that i would not be payed for this time.
Also, the employment contract said that the company could , at any time, instead of laying me off, simply offer me a different job in the organisation, if they so chose to do so.

Your story, doesn't quite feel correct and right, to me.  It seems to have too many elements, of your previous stories/threads/posts.  You have now introduced, one of your apparently desirable talking points. China, into the equation, again.

But to avoid offending you, maybe it is 100% true and correct, since I don't know you.

It seems to have too much similarity, to your other stories, for me to accept it, as being 100% real.

[SiliconWizard]

Uh. The "should never leave" doesn't make any sense. There is no work contract in the world with a "should never leave" mention in it. 
Mentioning that as an employer doesn't make any sense, it's stupid, rude and shows both disrespect to the employee and to the law. If that was really what they said.

Now having it easier to find a job if you already have one (as opposed to being in between things) is a given. That's always been the case. That's social proof. Probably in times of crisis does it become a bit more obvious.

What you could have asked is just "why did you hire me if there was no actual need?", instead of just leaving. Sure we don't know the whole context, and there may very well be stuff you are not exposing here. But as it is, leaving a job after a short while isn't going to help you find a new one, it's just going to make things worse. People talk.

[MK14]

Also I have a vague recollection.  That if you leave a permanent job (which was placed and sorted out, via an agency).  If you leave too soon (is it 3 months or 12 months, or something different?), the agency either don't get paid, or gets paid significantly less.

Therefore, it would be no surprise, that the agency(s), wouldn't touch you with a barge pole.

Also, I can't quite understand, how you can suddenly get another job, or something different to your business adventures.  Without having to move to another part of the country, with all the hassle, that involves.

Isn't this a similar story, to one you told on here (under a different user ID, I suspect), a while ago?
(with some changes, of the details and stuff).

Also, if this story is true.  Why would you be intentionally declining/refusing all payments?
That doesn't really sound right (already mentioned before, in this thread, I think).

[thm_w]

You probably have dodged a bullet by getting out asap, as there's clearly something more going on. I don't believe people get hired without work already queued up for them to do - at least, not at a level of seniority above a student doing work experience.

How the hell is that dodging a bullet by leaving a paying job without an alternative? lol
Its a terrible decision, if it even is real.

Also I have a vague recollection.  That if you leave a permanent job (which was placed and sorted out, via an agency).  If you leave too soon (is it 3 months or 12 months, or something different?), the agency either don't get paid, or gets paid significantly less.

Therefore, it would be no surprise, that the agency(s), wouldn't touch you with a barge pole.

Also, I can't quite understand, how you can suddenly get another job, or something different to your business adventures.  Without having to move to another part of the country, with all the hassle, that involves.

Isn't this a similar story, to one you told on here (under a different user ID, I suspect), a while ago?
(with some changes, of the details and stuff).

Also, if this story is true.  Why would you be intentionally declining/refusing all payments?
That doesn't really sound right (already mentioned before, in this thread, I think).

It stinks of BS. A so called "large company" would not hold your payments back. As you said, all the story elements have been posted here before.
You could ask Treez for proof, but, conveniently there is none, as there was no paycheck.

And even if its true, yeah, you don't bail on your agency, they'll look like fools for recommending you. And they won't get as much commission, yes, depending on the place. Many here skim directly off the paycheck so its better if you are actively working.

[m98]

I also know the situation of starting to work at a big enterprise and having no real projects assigned for the first few weeks. Sometimes, there's just some inertia to be overcome. You've already got your office and your computer only two days after starting, that's relatively quick. Why not first get to know your colleagues, learn what's going on in your department and make yourself familiar with the lab.
Also, you mentioned they where doing EMC-testing of some SMPS, why not ask the responsible team if you could've joined them for that?

Not much to do about it now, but IMHO, don't just quit a permanent job after little more than a week when you get bored.

[SiliconWizard]

Also I have a vague recollection.  That if you leave a permanent job (which was placed and sorted out, via an agency).  If you leave too soon (is it 3 months or 12 months, or something different?), the agency either don't get paid, or gets paid significantly less.

Therefore, it would be no surprise, that the agency(s), wouldn't touch you with a barge pole.

Oh if you were hired through an agency, absolutely right! That puts you right in the black list.

[Dundarave]

Back in the day, when I was doing contract work in project management, I used to know the headhunter/recruiters personally, as whenever I applied for a job through them, they would always want to “lay eyeballs” on you before they submitted your CV to the client for consideration.

If that situation is similar where you are, I suggest you make personal contact (“have a coffee with”) a few different headhunters, and make that personal link.  They all look at you as “sellable meat” anyway, so you just need to give them a reason not to fear offering up your CV.

As long as you won’t make them look bad to the client, they don’t care, so if you can provide them with an explanation that satisfies them that it was a one-off situation, they’re likely to start marketing your CV again.

[pcprogrammer]

Uh. The "should never leave" doesn't make any sense. There is no work contract in the world with a "should never leave" mention in it. 

Welcome to the business, you can check out any time you like, but you can never leave 

[Faringdon]

Also, you mentioned they where doing EMC-testing of some SMPS, why not ask the responsible team if you could've joined them for that?

Thanks, yes i tried to get in on this, but the guy who had come out to do the testing said id be in the way....TBH, it was a very small lab.

[Black Phoenix]

So the company is a big one but the lab is a small one? Heck, you can't even create a credible story...

[Faringdon]

In that particular premises, most of the actual space was given over to Production/Quality/Stores/Offices.
The company already had a very big selection of products.
All were very mature, all shipping in high numbers , and failure rate insignificant....and virtually no (at least EU) competitors in sight.
Whether the bean counters would think replacing the power supplys in them was needed.....who knows....

..i think maybe  i could have stayed there 10 years doing nothing, in order to find out...but wouldve probably been a waste of time.

[MK14]

In that particular premises, most of the actual space was given over to Production/Quality/Stores/Offices.
The company already had a very big selection of products.
All were very mature, all shipping in high numbers , and failure rate insignificant....and virtually no (at least EU) competitors in sight.
Whether the bean counters would think replacing the power supplys in them was needed.....who knows....

..i think maybe  i could have stayed there 10 years doing nothing, in order to find out...but wouldve probably been a waste of time.

How near to where you live, was the new job?

[Faringdon]

TBH, i dont want to identify the place, just that it was needed to leave, in order to actually get a job where some  actual work might have cropped up......but what's the secret of getting out of the "mud" that inevitably gets stuck to you when you have to do this kind of thing?.....ie, so that you can actually get another job.

[MK14]

TBH, i dont want to identify the place, just that it was needed to leave, in order to actually get a job where some  actual work might have cropped up......but what's the secret of getting out of the "mud" that inevitably gets stuck to you when you have to do this kind of thing?.....ie, so that you can actually get another job.

On reflection, maybe this is a TRUE story, after all.

So if you found this switch mode power supply, job.  How come you didn't stick with it?

Leaving such opportunities, is NOT a good idea.  If that is what you want to do, as a job, in life.

You can't say, something like, "I had to spend time reading and sorting out, some paper work, at the beginning of the job", which is why I left.  Because it sounds perfectly normal/reasonable, to have to do that, at some points during a job.  You can't just expect to immediately sit down, and just design switched mode power supplies, all the time.

If there was little or no activity, early on in the job.  That doesn't necessarily mean, things don't get a lot busier, later on.  So again, not a particularly good reason for leaving a job.

EDIT: Removed information that might affect the OPs privacy.

[Faringdon]

Thanks, i must admit to having worked in some 43 or so  different electronics companies.......and having the first 7 whole days where there was no  solid talk of solid work is a record for me, by quite a long way.
Given all the other details ive put forward in this thread, it seemed like the best way was to apologise, claim no money, get out and try again for another job.

[MK14]

Thanks, i must admit to having worked in some 43 or so  different electronics companies.......and having the first 7 whole days where there was no  solid talk of solid work is a record for me, by quite a long way.
Given all the other details ive put forward in this thread, it seemed like the best way was to apologise, claim no money, get out and try again for another job.

The thing is.  Your immediate manager/boss/team-leader/senior-engineer, might be very busy, and perhaps has been called away on business, to a different location for the first 7 days, or thousands of other possibilities.  Because the company/department, was so busy, that's why they have been looking for more employees, in the first place.
Perhaps there are big projects, coming up in the somewhat near future.
7 days, would seem to be too soon, to judge the new job, in that respect.

Surely you should have asked these details, and more.  During the interview process?

Sometimes, you have to stick with a job for a couple of years (exact length is highly debatable).  In order to get the experience, and a foot-hold, into a new career direction.  Then with a solid 2 years behind you.  You could stand a better chance of getting a better job, if necessary.

If this story is true, and given your past posting history.  I'm not sure if the trouble with the new company, you just left, is with them or on your side.
But leaving a claimed 43 jobs, after a relatively short period of time.  While NOT contracting or going in for quick problem solving.  I.e. Permanent jobs.  Would seem to at least slightly hint, on problems on your side.

[cgroen]

Thanks, i must admit to having worked in some 43 or so  different electronics companies.......and having the first 7 whole days where there was no  solid talk of solid work is a record for me, by quite a long way.
Given all the other details ive put forward in this thread, it seemed like the best way was to apologise, claim no money, get out and try again for another job.

FORTY THREE different jobs  Either you are very very old, only does contract work, or something is wrong....
Maybe the new company used the 7 days to read your posts on EEVBlog and that was why they were acting strange ?

[Faringdon]

..Thanks.....maybe they were just hoping i would bog off and disappear!
Seriously though, not many would expect a company that is already getting its higher power products designed and manuf'd in China, to embark on Design & Manufac of the same products, at lower power, in UK.

Maybe they'd need someone to oversee it...but they already had a very  highly competent, consultant level SMPS designer working there....and many SMPS consultants, including the original designer, standing ready to be contacted by the company, if needed.

[cgroen]

..Thanks.....maybe they were just hoping i would bog off!

Yes, I would definitely not rule that one out....

[MK14]

..Thanks.....maybe they were just hoping i would bog off!

Was this in the UK, or another country?

[Faringdon]

UK, i havent ever worked in the EU proper, but would gladly consider opps in Germany Belgium, Holland, Lux...any offers?
There seems to be an enormous industrial area around Duisberg, Essen, Dusseldorf, Dortmund, Wuppertal.
Looks like an engineer's paradise.

[Gyro]

..Thanks.....maybe they were just hoping i would bog off and disappear!
Seriously though, not many would expect a company that is already getting its higher power products designed and manuf'd in China, to embark on Design & Manufac of the same products, at lower power, in UK.

Maybe they'd need someone to oversee it...but they already had a very  highly competent, consultant level SMPS designer working there....and many SMPS consultants, including the original designer, standing ready to be contacted by the company, if needed.

I think after 43 employers , you have exhausted the apparent match between yourself and SMPS and power electronics design. It seems a mistake to keep attempting the same thing and expecting a different result. Why not try making a break and trying a different career direction, for instance S/W, maybe Java. That sounds like easier money and relatively easy to learn.

[MK14]

..Thanks.....maybe they were just hoping i would bog off and disappear!
Seriously though, not many would expect a company that is already getting its higher power products designed and manuf'd in China, to embark on Design & Manufac of the same products, at lower power, in UK.

Maybe they'd need someone to oversee it...but they already had a very  highly competent, consultant level SMPS designer working there....and many SMPS consultants, including the original designer, standing ready to be contacted by the company, if needed.

Reading between the lines ...

Are you really saying, (possibly subconsciously), that you want to be THE designer of the SMPS's, and you felt like they had put you in, at a low rung of the ladder (so to speak).

I.e. You wanted to be treated as a senior, top SMPS expert, but they wanted someone who was doing work, at a much lower level?

[T3sl4co1l]

I wonder, is there ever a "need" for a butt-filling a position?  A "window seat" from-hire? (... ??)  Examples that might come to mind: a need for a domestic engineer on staff, due to whatever combination of policy (internal or regulatory), but not for them to actually do the work (which presumably would be handled offshore and, if not also fully completed offshore, then either passed along, or filled out, by management; presumably, a shady---but not necessarily illegal---arrangement?).  Or some kind of internal policy, to meet like, a hiring quota or something (implication: same post is first to the chopping block at the next round of layoffs); seems bizarre that an engineering or manufacturing company would have this, but Amazon for example indeed works this way...   Or maybe just some bizarre (or worse) personal? preference of the (supposedly grinning) manager?

Regarding the "unreliable narrator" trope, it's undoubtedly the case here; but the interesting question is, in which directions are we being misled (or fabricated, or misdirected, or just omitted -- or indeed at all); and is it intentional (what personal prerogative is it serving?), or could it simply be accidental (e.g. neurodivergence, certain interpersonal communication cues are simply being missed and thus not related in later storytime)?

Tim

[Faringdon]

Are you really saying, (possibly subconsciously), that you want to be THE designer of the SMPS's, and you felt like they had put you in, at a low rung of the ladder (so to speak).

I.e. You wanted to be treated as a senior, top SMPS expert, but they wanted someone who was doing work, at a much lower level?

Thanks, TBH,  i sympathised with the SMPS consultant level guy that was there...in over 4 yrs at the co, he had just  done minor mods to a couple of boards.......he was working way beneath himself.

[MK14]

Thanks, TBH,  i sympathised with the SMPS consultant level guy that was there...in over 4 yrs at the co, he had just  done minor mods to a couple of boards.......he was working way beneath himself.

Unfortunately, the reality of life, sometimes/often is, we can't all get the jobs that we feel we deserve and would be most interested in doing.

That's part of the reason why, the messages that are sometimes thrown at people, when they are younger.  Such as "Work hard at School/University/etc, get the best grades you can, and get a place at a top University.  Then study hard there, and get the highest degree (or higher), you can.".

But not everyone, listens to such advice, and/or is not really geared up, for various reasons, to be a high flyer, academically speaking.

Also, past experience, and how good/hard/well, one is at their past jobs history.  Did they create 19 published patents, become a bit famous in the relevant engineering circles, and are they highly desirable, for future/prospective employers.

For everyone else.  At least some of the time.  A job is some sort of compromise, between what you want to do, at what technical difficulty level, etc, and the reality of the actual job.

If you really insist, on only doing exactly what you want, at a specific, technical level, and only within one type of electronic circuit design types.  You will either become very lucky one day, or spend most of your time unemployed and/or unemployable.

[Faringdon]

Thanks, i would agree.....thing is, if your doing literally nothing, and not likely to ever do anything.....then it kind of changes things a little. Better to do "something", and i believe you would agree.
That company didnt loose anything by me leaving, thats the main point.
I must admit, maybe i should have given it more time....though when i hear companies have a Chinese engineering (design and manufacture) division though, i must admit my "trigger finger" gets twitchy, as ive worked in others co's with a similar set-up, and they end up just being "token" companies, the Chinese company doing the great mass of the work. This isnt knocking China, they are superb workers, and have the best power electronics engineers in the world there.

[MK14]

Thanks, i would agree.....thing is, if your doing literally nothing, and not likely to ever do anything.....then it kind of changes things a little. Better to do "something", and i believe you would agree.
That company didnt loose anything by me leaving, thats the main point.

All the various work tasks, need to be done (with somewhat rare exceptions).  From sweeping the floor, repairing broken electronics from the assembly line, writing reports.  Being team leader, manager, right up to the chief executive officer(s, CEO), and maybe chairman.

Just about everyone, is required.  Otherwise, problems in various areas, would tend to stack up and get worse and worse.
E.g. An airline Pilot Captain, is in charge of flying the plane, perhaps with 300 people aboard.  But if the airplane flight service engineer, has used the wrong bolts, to reattach the wing.  That might cause serious issues, later.  When/if the wing starts falling apart.

So, actual work you did/do there.  Should be very useful, to the overall performance of that company.

In some massive public (PLC) companies, the top man, the CEO has been working for the company for decades, and moved up the ranks, since starting out at the lowest apprenticeship grade within the company.

As other(s) have said.  It can take time, for your workload and usefulness, to build up in a company.  Perhaps weeks, months or even years.

[fourfathom]

Thanks, i must admit to having worked in some 43 or so  different electronics companies

As a consultant or contract worker, or as a full-time employee?  I know this has been asked before, but I have not seen a reply.  If even one-third of these were ostensibly full-time positions then I think we know where the problem lies.

[rsjsouza]

Somehow that whole discussion about doing meaningful things on the workplace in *seven* days brings me to Simon Sinek's interview (at 8:30 the job discussion starts)

[pcprogrammer]

Somehow that whole discussion about doing meaningful things on the workplace in *seven* days brings me to Simon Sinek's interview (at 8:30 the job discussion starts)

But is he "RIGHT?". 

Count the number of times he says "right" and call this number xxx-yyyy-zzzzz to win the price. (Dopamine) 

[thm_w]

I think after 43 employers , you have exhausted the apparent match between yourself and SMPS and power electronics design. It seems a mistake to keep attempting the same thing and expecting a different result. Why not try making a break and trying a different career direction, for instance S/W, maybe Java. That sounds like easier money and relatively easy to learn.

Or stocking shelves. Nothing wrong with that.
Maybe keep OP away from a computer and avoid distractions.

[nctnico]

Something doesn't add up here (though quitting without a new job already lined up was a mistake and turning down payment for the time you were there was another).

Every time I've been hired for a new full-time job, there was a reason the company needed another engineer, namely a long list of projects they needed doing. I still recall the 'day one' meeting with one particular new manager... after rattling off a list of about 10 tasks, I asked which he wanted doing first, to which he replied 'all of them'. He wasn't kidding.

It just doesn't make sense to be going through the process of hiring - a process which is costly, frustrating and time consuming - if they don't have a genuine business need for that new engineer.

You probably have dodged a bullet by getting out asap, as there's clearly something more going on. I don't believe people get hired without work already queued up for them to do - at least, not at a level of seniority above a student doing work experience.

You have to ask yourself: is this story for real or another hallucination in Faringdon's brain due to smoking the wrong stuff? I tend to assume the latter.

[armandine2]

I haven't asked myself that question - or believed the previous youtuber's video for a millennial's analysis.

I appreciate Faringdon's post but suspect they're tiring looped.

[coppercone2]

So the company is a big one but the lab is a small one? Heck, you can't even create a credible story...

I think its real, thats totally normal for the same company to have departments with funding differences similar to somalia and saudi arabia, or in the terms of colonies, the indies vs roanoak.. weird tech is like bad weather, they don't survive 6 months on the first winter, while other places never have a winter

If a big company does a horizontal offshoot that uses different technology thats not understood well (and the value is erratic/dubious/esoteric/avant garde), you can expect serious scarcity. When someone knows they have a MAD steady cash flow from something that is huge and old, they see like 500x more weird problems with new tech then you ever will.. so they are always cautious

Some people go after expansion like england, where the imperial might (airbase, port, hospital) is spread through the new area, and other people basically claim abandoned island and put a wooden building and flag on them. Will it survive to a expeditionary force? No. But the single guard might be enough to scare away some settlers on a sail boat. And it makes for a great vacation spot for visitors and stuff to take up 10 minutes of minor explanations to spruce up the place. but he might starve to death

the reason for the expansion is often just to be able to say 'we have claims there.' Usually its a big bluff but its low risk if you don't invest in employees and capital equipment, and it looks good on power points, graphs, etc.

Not every explorer is going to have the grace of the armada to help them... and usually in any capacity it helps the company understand things better since they can locally see 'related' technology and interact with it. Cuts down on consulting, but if you hire idiots that bullshit too much and totally give them no resources, it leaves a bad taste in the mouth of people, despite the fact that the idea was solid.

[josuah]

What I would be tempted to do in such a case is:

* Take some time to observe the workflow: email communication? a phone line per team/person/none? some software to organise the day-to-day tasks?
  Maybe someone simply forgot to point the big board with all tasks to pick-up to you...

* Start doing something related to the company. Regardless what. Your own personal hobby project is fine.
  This will help with knowing where to find things, and the first real project you would get onto your hands, you would be ready to start right away.

* For each day of "non work" at work, write a report of what you did through the day, and mail it to your manager with always the same title (so that they can gloss over it).
  Eventually only once a week after the first week.

That way, if they forget about you, then you just got hired for working on your hobbies, which could eventually provide value to them some day.
They can never accuse you of avoiding work if you send a daily mail saying "in the meantime that I get anything to do, I tried to be productive doing [...]. Looking forward to get assigned to anything.".
If the colleagues ask questions, also ask them whether this is normal to keep waiting that much. Maybe that is how things start in here.

In case you cannot simply ask "is it normal that I stay here doing not much for a while? Is it going to change?" to your new boss,
getting blindly productive doing "something" in the honest hope they can make use of it would drain out some of the guilt.

[BillyO]

43 jobs??!!

Wow!  If I take out the part-time jobs I had going to school and university I've had 7 jobs in a career spanning 42 years, the longest lasting 12 years, and I thought I was a rolling stone!!

Something smells like the floor of a barn here.

Bot??

[Warhawk]

Hi,
I recently finished an SMPS design and build project,  so when   that finished I put my CV on the web……the market seemed very very buoyant.
Loads of  companies with SMPS projects and  various Electronics projects were contacting me for interview availability. Then I interviewed at a place who said they wanted multiple SMPS’s designed.
It seemed great, and £55k salary.
At the interview, the boss told me (with a steely grin)…”if you take the job, then you should never leave”.

Anyway, they gave me the job and I started. For the first two days  they had me sat in the office, and told me just to read my company employment manual. Then after two days, they gave me a computer, which had limited access to their projects. (I found some “test” schems, but no specs, and no BOMs, and the “test” schems had no component values or part numbers with them).
Anyway, there was still no talk of work that they needed me to do…just vague murmurings of vague jobs which might need doing at some point. I tried to get the spec off them for a current source which they had which needed production pot tweaking, but they woudln’t give me the spec for it. I also  asked for a schem of an SMPS which they were currently doing EMC testing on, but the manager , grinning, shook his head, and said “you don’t want to see a schem”.

Anyway, after 7 working days of being sat in that office, and not being tasked with any work, I decided, that this was a job that involved just sitting around “just-in-case” any work might turn up. It seemed odd that they had said I should “never leave”, since would they want to pay me forever to do nothing?
Anyway….even though I started mid October, they had actually said they woudlnt pay me till end of November, but would backdate the pay to mid-october. I strongly doubted that they would pay me at all..specially since I wasn’t doing anything.

So after work on the 7th  (non) working day, in the evening, I wrote them an email saying I woudlnt be coming back in, and asked them not to bother paying me, and apologised for any inconvenience.
I decided instead to put my CV back on the web, and see if I could get into one of the great many opportunites that  had been  around before I took the “do-nothing” job.
Anyway, this was a few days ago…and not only have all the opportunites that were previously around dryed up, but even worse, is that the “do-nothing” company are still trying to recruit for their role, and are telling employment agencies not to send my CV, since I “ just  cleared off”.
This is meaning that these employment agencies are not keen to consider my CV for other electronics jobs…also, when I go for a job, they find out, and tell the employer not to employ me because I “just cleared off”, from the previous place.

Also, to make things worse, my previous job was at a start-up, and I wasn’t payed, so was out of the tax system for 6 months…and companies seem to find out about this , and it really puts them off me.

How do you get round this?

You don't mention if this was a small company or a big corporation. I used to hire people for my team. Often, the corporation had new projects upcoming. However, you can't start working on projects without personell. I remember situations when we had hired people and they were doing "nothing" for several months before the project ramped up. We assigned them to different projects or let them work on something they came up with, or we have not had a time to do (cleaning up schematics, finding second source parts for existing projects, cross-checking calculations, simulations...). Naturally, this was boring but people stayed, we had very little fluctuation, and it was a great working environment. I still meet with my ex-colleagues even though I started my 8th year somewhere else (and in a different country).

This may be a cultural thing but the fact you bailed after only one week (over the email ?!)  is hardly acceptable. (It is like breaking up with a girlfriend over the text message).
You could have used time differently. You could browse semi-vendors web for new parts releases, memorize colleagues, draw down the org-chart, finally reading appnotes that you have never time for, etc. Nevertheless, it is not only your fault. I would expect your direct supervisor talking to you. But again, in such cases you need to proactively talk to people. Leaving the job without having the plan B and C is .... not smart.



Oh never mind, I read the rest of the posts (the ESD carpet story, 43 jobs,..). If I were you, I would first stopped smoking that stuff.

[MadScientist]

You leave a good paying job with a low workload !

Ok there’s some logic I suppose,  but I cant see it now future employers see you as a “ runner”