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Well this is pretty hosed. That company I've been interviewing with since November just got back in touch with me after about two weeks of silence. They decided to bring on a more experienced engineer in May for the projects they have starting then, and want to have me start later. August later, and of course nothing in writing so there's no guarantee I will actually have a job at that time. So, on the 8th of this month I was told the details of the job offer and was informed I would be getting sent a formal offer letter that night or the following day. It never came, and a whole lot of nothing later I get that lovely news.
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Apr 24, 2015 08:47
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Xeom posted:So I'm coming up on my fifth month as a working "engineer". Officially my title is process engineer, but I do near 0% engineering. I support several plants at my company, and most days I just feel like a yes man. I'm here just to prove things that are already known and obvious. Engineering here has 0 say over anything. The plants decide what they'd like to implement, and they just poo poo on anything we say which they don't like. A bunch of git'er done bullshit. I got flack (and still do) for leaving my first job after 14 months. I hate to say it's a character building exercise, but stick around and use your position to learn about the industry. You will be discriminated against if you leave after 6 months. The thing is, process engineering sucks for flexibility and proactive problem-solving. Your job is to keep things steady-state and be reactive. Just do your time and use it as a stepping stone. We (Controls Engineering consulting) hire a lot of process engineers who have done their time and they ALL have stories. See if you can get into startup support, it is the most "engineering" experience you will get in process outside of designing the plants. Crazyweasel posted:I'm sure there are a lot of articles on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Gen Y/Millenials but I'm lazy and want to talk about myself a bit so i'll phrase it as a question to you all. It's a risk-rewards payoff. You can hop into startup culture and ride the wave, but you're risking your career's ramp-up time. You aren't going to hit your stride in a big company without doing your time. The big shops aren't going to be early-adopters, so let the other guys get the credit for working out the kinks. If your company isn't adapting, take your career somewhere else. Vaporware fucked around with this message at 13:50 on Apr 24, 2015 |
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Apr 24, 2015 13:45
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Xeom posted:It's nothing as serious as safety. It's just a lot of small stuff. Has anybody ever turned down relocation money/signing bonus to prevent this situation? Between this post and the long saga of Sundae over in the Why I Hate Corporate Thread, I'd really rather not be trapped like that at any potential job that I was offered. On the surface, it seems like any company would be happy to give you less money, but I wonder if they'd treat you like a flight risk right from the get go.
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Apr 24, 2015 14:22
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Party Alarm posted:Well this is pretty hosed. This is a pretty huge red flag that you wouldn't want to work for this company anyway. If this is some sort of magical dream job (or if you're currently under/unemployed), you might want to continue, but after being jerked around for half a year I personally would give their HR or whoever you've been in contact with an ultimatum. There are tons of other companies that won't do this to you.
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Apr 24, 2015 14:23
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ChipNDip posted:Has anybody ever turned down relocation money/signing bonus to prevent this situation? Between this post and the long saga of Sundae over in the Why I Hate Corporate Thread, I'd really rather not be trapped like that at any potential job that I was offered. On the surface, it seems like any company would be happy to give you less money, but I wonder if they'd treat you like a flight risk right from the get go. Depends on the amount of money. The assumption is that for a first job you won't have the resources to move by yourself. You can write it off as "gambling losses", 
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Apr 24, 2015 14:41
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Crazyweasel posted:I'm sure there are a lot of articles on the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) and Gen Y/Millenials but I'm lazy and want to talk about myself a bit so i'll phrase it as a question to you all. What makes sense depends heavily on your industry. Field engineering, construction and resource extraction for instance seem to reward jumping around. A structural design engineer, on the other hand, is going to take four to ten years of maturing at the beginning of their career and if they jump around every six months they'll never have enough continuity to gain the experience they need to function effectively. Realistically, though, hold on to a position any time you find somewhere where you like the people, you're given the space to live your non-work life and there's some amount of fair treatment and room for challenge. If you hate the work or the environment, gently caress it. Don't stick around out of a sense of duty or the need to look right on a resume. Life's too short. If this happens a couple of times in a row, it probably means you're in the wrong industry.
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Apr 24, 2015 20:31
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Random thermo(?) / nuke ops question for the thread--and good luck to everyone on job stuff, sounds like a few lame situations. I'm trying to do a complete water balance for a nuclear power station and have no idea where to look/how to parametrize water use for spent fuel pools. I know the volume is going to be very low relative to other things going on but am going for comprehensive...so...any experience or ideas, thread? e: nvm, forgot that nukes have unusually detailed design data on the internet. boberteatskitten fucked around with this message at 07:36 on Apr 28, 2015 |
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Apr 28, 2015 07:22
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I tried finding data on mass balances for coal plants years ago for creating low-accuracy simulations and that's internal-design-team-only knowledge. It's not like you can't work it out based on fuel inputs and published efficiencies, but it's not a day or two effort. Easier to rough it in it for appearances and qualify that it was a generalized simulation.
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Apr 28, 2015 12:34
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Wow Xeom posted:It's nothing as serious as safety. It's just a lot of small stuff. you agreed to that? Seriously?
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Apr 28, 2015 18:20
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B4NSGlCnqidJAabwVLds tomU7FhXTmChQaHRVvo6 onyjT0qN2UWhvl2Z96Kp PTmgC2jhGpdABJdJ1eOK 5abMjpSj7eoJsEFvmt3P nfUkAb7oGEnh8uOlSs3M 7dYd4ftjlozefe1uboLm nds799MGnA4CGwUAG0iu BRFGz7VWkzoEwzA0wp7e UB64OeEwQ7Li3FOmSCxS Plasmafountain fucked around with this message at 23:21 on Feb 27, 2023 |
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Apr 28, 2015 18:42
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mitztronic posted:Wow If I remember correctly, he did not have many options since his GPA was sub-3.0 and he was in an area without much industry.
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Apr 28, 2015 22:55
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Well, good news at least. I have an interview with the Crane division of the Naval Surface Warfare Center on Friday. I presented research at the annual Naval Engineering Education Consortium meeting and made some good contacts, and apparently the liason between NEEC and my university wants to hire me. I sent my resume this morning as was immediately contacted by their HR to set up a phone interview. Also holy crap they're a lot more professional than the other company I was dealing with. I also told the department head about what happened. I consider him a good friend, he's a great guy. He told me he has contacts in John Deere and Cummins, and also has former students working for Tesla Motors. Looks like that other company's screw up is going to lead me to better opportunities.
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Apr 28, 2015 23:08
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Thoguh fucked around with this message at 16:24 on Aug 10, 2023 |
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Apr 28, 2015 23:08
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Thoguh posted:Having to pay back relocation/signing bonuses is pretty standard if you don't stick around. What about that seems weird to you? actually signing the drat thing. a two year relocation contract is a long time to be stuck in a lovely job you don't like and can't quit without paying back the costs of a move.
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Apr 29, 2015 03:53
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They're pretty standard but one year seems to be more common. Time flies, buck up
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Apr 29, 2015 05:48
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It's incredibly common for companies to offer relocation that's dependent on you staying X amount of time. That said, you could also get a new company that wants to hire you bad enough to give you a "signing bonus" to offset the repayment, maybe. That'll probably be a tough pull for a brand new engineer, but a lot of places will do that. My current place outright refused to pay for my relocation or even to fly me out to interview, but then after interviewing me (I was in town on vacation, so it didn't cost me any extra) and determining that they really wanted me, they tossed in a "one time bonus" that more than offset my moving costs before I accepted the job.
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Apr 30, 2015 03:14
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If you go into oil at one of the Majors, they offer both a signing bonus and relocation, but like others have been saying, the relocation package will likely require 1-2 years. When you are a student, even if you have interned, it can be challenging to move across the country. If you're an experienced hire and are dying to get out that quickly, you probably should have researched more, but I don't blame a fresh engineering graduate for taking that kind of deal.
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May 1, 2015 02:18
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So for doing Mechanical, I guess I'm gonna have to learn to use some modeling/CAD software at some point. I've only got one class this summer, so I'll have a lot of spare time to fiddle around and learn stuff like that. Are there any industry-standard programs that I absolutely must know? I figure AutoCAD and Inventor/Solidworks at a minimum, but what else should I look at?
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May 3, 2015 20:26
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Fucknag posted:So for doing Mechanical, I guess I'm gonna have to learn to use some modeling/CAD software at some point. I've only got one class this summer, so I'll have a lot of spare time to fiddle around and learn stuff like that. Are there any industry-standard programs that I absolutely must know? I figure AutoCAD and Inventor/Solidworks at a minimum, but what else should I look at? Catia V5 (Honda, Toyota, Subaru, most of their suppliers) and NX (Nissan, Chrysler, GM, some of their suppliers) are big for auto industry. NX is probably better to learn as other industries use it heavily while Catia V5 isn't as widespread. Catia V5 has a $100 student version available as well.
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May 3, 2015 20:43
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It would be beneficial to know either SolidWorks or Creo, but really you want to focus more on fundamental skills as oppose to a specific software. As long as you have a good understanding of parametric modeling, as well as the concept you need to use to create a model, it is not that difficult to go between SolidWorks or Creo. it is also worthwhile to have a good understanding of how things should be dimensioned to get what you want ( tolerance stacks, GD&T, how things are actually made.)
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May 3, 2015 20:50
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Enourmo posted:So for doing Mechanical, I guess I'm gonna have to learn to use some modeling/CAD software at some point. I've only got one class this summer, so I'll have a lot of spare time to fiddle around and learn stuff like that. Are there any industry-standard programs that I absolutely must know? I figure AutoCAD and Inventor/Solidworks at a minimum, but what else should I look at? Bentley Microstation is another option. It's functionally similar to CAD, but can tie in to a lot of other products Bentley manufacturers. Good for industrial design/analysis, like autopipe and autoplant. Autocad is better and more 'standard' for what it's worth, but knowing both isn't too hard and can save you headaches if someone else only knows one but you need to produce in the other.
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May 4, 2015 03:12
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For what it's worth, we use CATIA. However, anyone that uses CATIA goes through a week/month long training pipeline in how to use it correctly depending on their role. Getting the software installed requires you to have first passed a written test and a practical.
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May 4, 2015 03:39
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CATIA V5 is pretty standard for aerospace; as far as I know, all major airframers use it. At least on the commercial side, I have no idea what goes on the defense side of things.
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May 4, 2015 04:11
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torpedan posted:It would be beneficial to know either SolidWorks or Creo, but really you want to focus more on fundamental skills as oppose to a specific software. As long as you have a good understanding of parametric modeling, as well as the concept you need to use to create a model, it is not that difficult to go between SolidWorks or Creo. it is also worthwhile to have a good understanding of how things should be dimensioned to get what you want ( tolerance stacks, GD&T, how things are actually made.) I have seen more NX than Catia. Also if youre going to do analysis/design you should do some FEA once you get decent at CAD. ANSYS R15 is wonderful and has full day online training through their customer portal. ANSYS is very easy to use IMO compared to the others I have used (Solidworks Simulation, FEMAP, NX FEM/SIM)
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May 5, 2015 03:53
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Hello thread! How crazy/unheard of would it be to transition from EE to environmental engineering via a masters degree? Background: -Graduated mid 2012 with a BE EE. -Have been working at an electrical utility (transmission and distribution) since then. -Am 26 now. -Am looking at converting to environmental via a 2 year (+prereqs, potentially) coursework masters. It looks like most of the course units are available remotely so it's theoretically possible to juggle work and study. However the lab and field work has been compressed into a set of intensive courses. -I'm in Australia and the course is certified by the local peak engineering body and thus subsidised a bit by the government. But I will still be out of pocket by ~$17500AUD. My company has a great working environment and culture plus decent pay, but after 3 years exposure to various roles in this industry (designing connections, doing planning studies, managing contractors, etc) I'm just not feeling it! I still feel like engineering is a good fit for me, just not electrical. (I'm not interested in an MBA at this point) I like working with infrastructure and data and I've become really interested in sustainability, so environmental feels like it would fit me better in the long term... Is a shift from one end of the engineering spectrum to the other sane? Is attempting it while working significantly less sane??
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May 12, 2015 14:39
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Currently working in San Diego with a Mechanical Contractor and looking to move to a mechanical engineering consulting/commissioning firm. I got a phone interview for a firm in LA last week from their HR department, and another one coming up on Wednesday, but had a couple concerns. I'm currently making about $60,000 in San Diego at a mid level contractor, so when the HR department asked me what I was looking for as an Engineer II I told them in the 60-70k range. After doing some research this sounds way too low to me now, especially considering cost of living increases in LA. Am I screwed or can I tell them I changed my mind on what I wanted my salary to be? If I got the opportunity to renegotiate, I was going to ask for something around $75k...is this still too low or should I aim higher? The only thing is I feel kind of behind the curve being stuck at a contractor these last three years because I don't have a ton of experience in MEP CAD programs (I've done product design/manufacturing with CAD after graduating, but never anything in MEP CAD programs like Revit) nor do I have experience with load calc programs. I am very familiar with how various different type of systems (including VAV/AHU 4 pipe systems, VRF, and WSHP) work and probably have more intimate knowledge on the minutiae of installation that some senior engineers who have never been on the contracting side don't even have. But I feel like a bit of a tweener between an entry level engineer and a level II guy and think that if I ask for too much no firm is going to take me. Also any tips on the follow up phone interview? The guest list is going to be a few engineers from the company...what type of quesitons can I expect? Never been interviewed by a consulting firm before. seniorservice fucked around with this message at 18:13 on May 18, 2015 |
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May 18, 2015 17:24
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Panzer Pirate posted:Hello thread! I'm an environmental engineer via master's. But my start was biochemistry so I'd have a different frame of reference. It's a fantastic field to be in in the USA due to all of the intense regulatory requirements. From what I understand, in america this means you're potentially intimately involved with operations in any number of industries. In other countries with a more relaxed (or informal) regulatory scheme, Environmental Engineers tend to be more hired in remediation and or water treatment type roles. If that's what you like, your electrical background could come in handy. PLCs are huge in the environmental field from CEMS (continuous emissions monitoring systems) to treatment systems lots of what we do are dependent on electronics and if you sell yourself as such could be very beneficial.
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May 18, 2015 17:59
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"As a condition of your employment, you are also required to sign and comply with a Confidential Information Invention Assignment Agreement (the “Agreement”) that requires, among other provisions, the assignment of patent rights to any invention made during your employment at BLAHBLAH, and non disclosure of BLAHLBLAH'S proprietary information. In the event of any dispute or claim relating to or arising out of our employment relationship, you and BLAHBLAH agree that (i) any and all disputes between you and BLAHBLAH shall be fully and finally resolved by binding arbitration, (ii) you are waiving any and all rights to a jury trial but all court remedies will be available in arbitration, (iii) all disputes shall be resolved by a neutral arbitrator who shall issue a written opinion and (iv) the arbitration shall provide for adequate discovery. Please note that we must receive your signed Agreement before your first day of employment." Should this worry me? I know some sort of agreement re: patents is standard fair in engineering but this seems pretty broad. e: Apparently the Great State of California has some protections in place regarding that very thing!
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May 18, 2015 18:09
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quote=/edit whoops
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May 18, 2015 18:12
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I signed something exactly like that.
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May 19, 2015 01:17
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Party Alarm posted:"As a condition of your employment, you are also required to sign and The jury waiver and binding arbitration seems to be getting added to a lot of big companies wavier things lately. I'm not even sure if such a thing would stand up in court outside of California anyway if challenged. That said a situation where you have a money generating patent where it could be argued you developed it without company resources while full time there is exceedingly slim. Patents that make money in the first place after subtracting legal fees and appeals are a very very tiny subset of all patents anyway. Probably the only patents that make independent inventors big money are methods for factory line improvement, especially for consistently making some material without flaws... other engineering problems usually have too many 'good enough' solutions for a single patent to matter, you usually need a large number of them for one technology sector to get any kind of market advantage (patent portfolios blah blah). And since you're working as an engineer you don't have enough money to create a legal patent portfolio yourself 
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May 19, 2015 01:44
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Thanks folks! So that firm in LA - the CEO called me to talk to me about the offer waffling and they finally sent me an offer letter, after contacted me last week saying they wanted me in ASAP. They want me to start at 65k in one week's time - Tuesday of next week. Given the previous waffling and the fact that I have already committed my time this month to working in my professor's research lab, I was thinking about asking for 70 with a start date two weeks later. Is this reasonable? I am asking too much for someone fresh out of school? This is product development mechanical engineering work. The median starting salarys for ME 1 jobs seem to be in the mid 60's though some sources report more in the high 60's to low 70's. It's a small business of 20-30 employees and I recall someone saying that typically in these positions there is not much room to negotiate salary. They seem to be pushing hard for me to drop everything here and come ASAP, but the extra time and salary concessions would make me happy. Given the previous interactions and the misgivings both I and others have expressed for that fuckup, I feel like I should push for them or consider other opportunities. I'm also waiting on an offer from the Navy and it would allow me to compare both. Thoughts?
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May 20, 2015 00:31
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How are the benefits?
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May 20, 2015 01:41
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The company eats all of health care costs - no deductible, no premium, medical dental vision. They do profit sharing, and 401K contributions. They have that whole "unlimited PTO!" thing, which isn't really because it will be dependent on project workload. Benefits seemed pretty good, particularly the healthcare
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May 20, 2015 01:55
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Party Alarm posted:The company eats all of health care costs - no deductible, no premium, medical dental vision. Those are substantial benefits, and the only thing keeping me from advising you to tell them to go screw -- 65k is peanuts in LA, and frankly you'd probably make out better taking 5-10k less in another locale. Do you forsee the profit sharing adding substantially to your takehome? Is the 401K matching limited? Do you have any other offers on the table? The medical is nothing to sneeze at, for sure, but it's not so very worthwhile if you have to live like a pauper to get it. You said you had an interview with NSWC, correct? Do you think you'll hear from them soon? I actually used to work at their MD location, and I can say that if you're on the government side (as opposed to contractor) it's a pretty sweet gig.
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May 20, 2015 02:24
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Already had it, had to give them some paperwork and was told I should have a job offer in about a week or so. I'm pushing the LA company for more time so I can weigh my options - they were trying to have me start in a week which involves relocation from Nashville. e: "We realize this is not a quick move on your side and are definitely willing to move the start date. It makes more sense from a "coming up to speed" and project perspective for your to start sooner rather then later. Considering all the above the latest we can move the start date is June 1st. You can always take some vacation time to go back take care of things if you need to." Go gently caress yourself. Time to look at other opportunities! What a waste of time. Party Alarm fucked around with this message at 03:45 on May 20, 2015 |
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May 20, 2015 03:25
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It really does sound like they're jerking you around. Stall as long as you can for the sake of keeping a bird in the hand, but you're absolutely right in thinking that you've got better prospects available.
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May 20, 2015 04:49
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I took 60K in a midwest town out of school from a BS, which included full health care, a 401k and a pension (!!), with normal PTO. There was also a bonus which amounted to ~5K. I also ended up with an 8 minute commute. This was in the middle of an economic maelstorm. What I'm saying is that 65K in LA is a kick in the butt. I'd like to hear what other people think, but for LA I'd want 85k...
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May 20, 2015 15:23
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Party Alarm posted:Already had it, had to give them some paperwork and was told I should have a job offer in about a week or so. I'm pushing the LA company for more time so I can weigh my options - they were trying to have me start in a week which involves relocation from Nashville. They think they're getting a good deal and want to get you moved and working for them before you can spend any time having second thoughts about the offer. The bit about using your vacation time is a big red flag to me.
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May 20, 2015 15:59
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The Chairman posted:The bit about using your vacation time is a big red flag to me. It's unlimited, so they are offering PTO if he has things he needs to take care of in his origin town. Unfortunately that's not why he needs more time. I wouldn't call specifically that a red flag. They don't know he's waiting for another offer, they're trying to work with him Uncle Jam posted:I took 60K in a midwest town out of school from a BS, which included full health care, a 401k and a pension (!!), with normal PTO. There was also a bonus which amounted to ~5K. I also ended up with an 8 minute commute. I don't even make that with a master's and four years of experience in the bay area. Why did I get into aerospace again??? mitztronic fucked around with this message at 19:57 on May 20, 2015 |
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May 20, 2015 19:55
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