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I graduated with a bachelor's degree in Civil Engineering from Ohio State in June of 2009 and went to work for a small company, where I have been since. Several times since then I have considered moving to a different company or changing careers entirely, and now is another one of those times. I know this will pass but I feel like I should probably lay groundwork for a potential career change while the motivation is strong. I'm 29 years old, married with an almost-2-year-old and another kid due in July. I also have a 10 year old lab mix. My wife and I owe about $240k on our house, and while her car is paid off I recently purchased a sporty car and have $10k in debt on it (more on that later). Those are our only debts. Between checking and savings we have about $40k in the bank, and combined retirement savings north of $70k. She makes about $50k/year and I make about $75k; the dog does not have a job but he is also debt-free. Financially, then, we are in a good position. Re-reading that, I would say that my wife and I are very fortunate. But as time passes, I realize more and more that I don't really belong in my workplace or, perhaps, my profession. In school my weakest subject was always math, and my strongest subjects involved literary analysis and writing. I chose engineering because my father, my grandfather, and my great-grandfather were all engineers or in engineering-related fields, and one thing they always imparted to me was the idea that even if I didn't choose to go into engineering, an engineering education would teach me to think methodically. Incidentally, the small company I have worked for since graduation is 50% owned by my father. I struggled with college, mostly because I went to a small high school in a rust belt town that didn't have the resources to challenge me and so I never learned to properly study. I abhorred most of my classes, except for the required English, and the Theater class I took. I still graduated in 4 years, rather than the increasingly common gentleman's 5. Working for my father's company seemed like a no-brainer. I like my dad, and I sorta figured that I would excel and eventually take over the business as I was quite a bit older than the other partner's kids. On one hand, I am almost sure that I am the highest-paid engineer in my age bracket at the company, based on conversations with both partners. On the other, I feel like I am pretty much constantly failing, both by my own measure and that of others. I feel pretty harshly judged by everyone at the company, which I figured I would be, and I feel like expectations for me are set unreasonably high. Last year I told the partners I was willing to change positions from a field position to one in the office to be more versatile for the company. They took my company car and didn't offer me any sort of compensation, so I had to buy a new car on my own. I asked if there was something they could do to help me with it and they acted like I was an rear end in a top hat for asking. Hell, I would have taken an extra week of vacation or something. I'm too close to the situation to be able to tell what is the truth of all of that, but either the company is failing me or I am failing the company. It feels like it would be best for both parties if we went our separate ways. I don't like many of our clients, I don't enjoy the majority of the work we do which is all very cookie-cutter and mind-numbing. I don't feel intellectually challenged by the work I do, but I do find it mentally exhausting. I guess I always figured I could be some sort of renaissance man, knowledgeable and helpful in a variety of things and respected by all. Mostly I help design bridges, retaining walls, and wastewater treatment plants for poor villages who think that the EPA exists solely to make their lives miserable. It's repetitive, incremental, and small mistakes can mean big trouble so I am constantly paranoid that something's going to blow up in my face because of one tiny detail I neglected. I re-designed a retaining wall five times last month and I'm still not satisfied with it when the truth is it was probably fine the first time around. When they build it I'll still dread any contact from the client or construction manager. While I am often dissatisfied with the job, and with the way I am managed, with the birth of my daughter and my increasing knowledge of the world around me I've come to realize that I want to have a bigger impact on the world than I currently am. Like I said above, my best subjects in school revolved around persuasion and analysis, reading and writing. Those are also the things I enjoy, which is something the vast majority of the people in my field cannot say. I want to work with like-minded people to create a positive impact on the world. Unfortunately, I have no idea where to start. I've considered writing, but "writing" isn't much of a career description, and unless I become extremely successful it's not much of a living either. At this point I'm looking for ideas on what to look into. Should I consider some form of journalism? That's a dying field that some of my friends currently struggle in and dislike. Advocating for a cause? How the poo poo do you do that? It's not like I have a lot of free time to do that stuff, and besides I like hiking and skiing and poo poo too much to do that.
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Jan 4, 2017 02:58
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What's up fellow Buckeye engineering alum. Have you considered something like city planning or urban development? I volunteer with the local bike advocacy group in my current city and we interface with planning engineers frequently. You could get involved with Yay Bikes! or some other local volunteer/advocacy group to get a feel for what that might be like to test the waters. Doesn't have to be bike-specific obviously, just a thought.
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Jan 4, 2017 17:50
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The car thing isn't weird at all to me, not sure why you expected compensation when the company was giving you a resource to execute a role which you were no longer doing. I assume from your description that you are working at a not particularly large firm where your father is a partner. I would advise you to switch jobs for no other reason than to stop working at a firm where your father is a partner. If you like persuasion and analysis, consulting might be a decent fit.
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Jan 4, 2017 18:02
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The car thing isn't weird at all to me, not sure why you expected compensation when the company was giving you a resource to execute a role which you were no longer doing. It had been specifically put to me a when I received it that the vehicle was part of my compensation package, since I was allowed to drive it to and from work and use it for personal errands. I drive 30 miles each way (and at the time I received the vehicle it was 50), so all in it added a few thousand a year in expenses with the cost of gasoline and a car to commute. I figure I pay around $150/mo for gas now when previously it was close to 0 and I also have a $200 car payment, not to mention the cash I put down. All that said, if you want to say it was entitled of me to think that way I'll take that criticism. With respect to working with my father, I guess I figured that since he did the same thing and was successful for 20 years that I could do it too. Of course, that company was 10s of thousands strong. As far as bike advocacy goes, that's not a bad idea. Some sort of local advocacy for SOMETHING might be fun to get involved in. I think my short term solution is going to be to get my resume out to local engineering postings and engineering-related postings, especially when it comes to as Saint Fu suggested urban planning. That seems like something I might enjoy. Anyhow, I guess as I close in on 30 I realize more and more that I've been miserable most of the time I've been at the company and have stayed there mostly out of loyalty to my dad, and because a lot of that time was during the recession.
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Jan 5, 2017 00:24
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KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:The car thing isn't weird at all to me, not sure why you expected compensation when the company was giving you a resource to execute a role which you were no longer doing. Consulting is a great choice. Engineers, particularly those who have demonstrated real-life rigor of comprehensive problem solving and delivery of real projects are strong candidates. If you can hold a human conversation on top of all that you're a stellar candidate. PM me if you want to talk further.
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Jan 17, 2017 04:19
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