Career Path Thread: Money is happiness

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Career Path Thread: Money is happiness

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

ProFootballGuy posted:

Adding on to this, from your company's perspective it's not just "you" who did the job. They had to find the client, build the relationship with the client, and sell the client on the services. You might have done the actual work, but from the company's perspective you're one of dozens of engineers who "could" have done the work they positioned and sold. Unless you're truly amazing, your "talents" are somewhat fungible.

Adding to this, they also trained the employee in question, provided support staff, and overhead.

Going to the boss and saying "I did it all and I deserve to be paid more" is more than likely not going to have a whole lot of traction.

# ¿ May 27, 2013 22:05

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 06:47

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

cheese eats mouse posted:

I've never worked with technical recruiters and have a few messaging me on LinkedIn. Can anyone give me a run down if they're worth working with? I thew some a bone and now they want to talk to me, but I'm not quite ready to move yet, plus one sent me a lisitng for the same position I've seen advertised for a few months now by that company (could apply independently if I wanted to is my point).

I like my job but I'm way underpaid at about 10k for the area.

I've had crappy experiences with staffing/recruitment agencies before, but that was at the high school and not career level, so I'm just wary of any staffing agency now.

There is a huge thread here, including an amazingly good first post, on job-hunting through LinkedIn. It might be useful for your situation.

# ¿ Oct 22, 2013 01:37

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

C-Euro posted:

I feel like there are a few threads where I could post this, but this one gets the most traffic so please just direct me to the proper thread if this isn't it.

After graduating with a Master's degree in Chemistry last June, I started my first post-school job last September in a QC analyst position with a food chemistry company in the Midwest. Given the degrees or even attitudes of other people in my department I'm hitting below my educational weight class (and hitting way below on pay but that's a whole different post), but I took the job because I really enjoy food chemistry and see it as a way to break in to the industry, and I don't have a problem putting in the work to "prove my worth" somewhere or to someone. They also came to me at a really low point in my life so I'll go ahead and say I was a little desperate for any work, but at the same time I got the impression that they were a great company to work for and talking to other area professionals they all say "Oh you work for X? That's a really good thing they've got going on there"

Later this month I'm coming up on my first-ever mid-year performance review with my manager, and most of the review is supposed to be focused on employee development and career planning 3-5 years out. What's the best way to have this discussion with my boss if my immediate career plan is "get the hell out of this department and onto a title and payscale that I deserve, preferably but not necessarily here"? Lately, I've been feeling more and more over-qualified for my position to the point of almost being bored most days. I don't really feel like I need my degree to do the job well, much less a Master's, though this is something most of us in the department lament (most have Bachelor's in chem or bio but only a couple of us have graduate degrees). There are other formulation or R&D positions in the company that do interest me, but I'm not eligible to changes positions internally until February and even then there's no guarantee that a position will open up right away. That said I do want my career path to go more into the wet chemistry/synthesis/design side of industrial chemistry, rather than just checking other people's stuff, so I'm trying to learn more about those positions from people in other departments here.

I also know that my current supervisor respects the hell out of me and I know how grateful he is that I'm in the lab performing at a consistent, high level, so I don't want to burn that bridge even a little bit. And I have an appreciable amount of loyalty to my boss/the company for hiring me when things in my life were as bad as they were, and while I get that I should be loyal to myself first that might make me hesitant to change companies if it's necessary. In the nine months I've been here I've had four different people in four different departments tell me something along the lines of "why are you here, you could be doing better than this", but I'm looking for a diplomatic way to tell my manager these feelings. I'm probably over-cautious because it's my first time through reviews like this, but any advice?

E: Forgot to mention that while I enjoy food chemistry, I was exposed to enough different types of chemistry in grad school (and it's all still somewhat fresh in my memory) that I could move to a different field without too many growing pains. And if I do stay in food chem but want to look elsewhere, there are lots of food-related companies in my area and incest between them is fairly common.

I apologize for quoting an old post, but it's perfectly acceptable to tell your manager that you see yourself as more of an R&D guy. Tell your manager that you're absolutely committed to being the best employee for him while you're there, but that you want to be on the innovation side of things. In the mean time, with your supervisor's approval, spend some time figuring out how the other departments work. Hang out in R&D and ask them questions. Build rapport. Demonstrate that you can figure things out.

One of the guys at my company took a job in QA, but totally has an R&D mindset. After 3 months on the job, two other manager and myself wanted to poach him for our teams in R&D. And his manager was totally cool with it, because he knew that the guy was going to be in R&D either here or somewhere else.

# ¿ Jul 19, 2014 22:25

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Tacier posted:

After turning 30 years old last week I've been having a huge, prolonged panic attack about my non-existent career. I've been working as a GIS Technician for the last 7 years and make $29k/yr. I started immediately after getting my BA in Geography and chose the job because I felt like I should do something related to my degree. Unfortunately I don't actually have any real interest in GIS and I'm totally disengaged from the grunt work I'm doing all day in addition to not being particularly good at what I do. I recognize that I somehow let seven years elapse in my current situation without improving my skill set, and that's fairly shameful, but there's no point in beating myself up over it now.

I know the only real career path for a pure GIS person is to essentially become a programmer, and I don't have any natural talent in that area. I feel like in perusing this path I'd be bashing my head against a wall trying to make myself fit into a purely technical role that plays into my weaknesses.

So I'm adrift without any technical skills apart from the basic Excel/Access/Word stuff and I'm seriously considering applying to an entry level office job at my local university in hopes of parlaying it into a more satisfying Student Services position that might eventually pay ~$50k. Is this a dumb idea? I generally like academia and feel like it'd be a good environment for me.

On the other hand I feel like I'd somehow be screwing up by abandoning my "career path" at 30 just because I don't derive any satisfaction from it. Of course I never made any headway in that career to begin with, which makes starting over a little less painful (particularly since entry level work here already pays the same as my current job).

Apologies if any of this sounds whiny or like I'm not willing to learn new skills. I recognize that I'll need to. I was just very complacent and naive about my career for a long time and am paying for it now with a lot of mental duress. Any advice is welcome.

What are you good at and what do you want to do? Obviously if you lasted 7 years at your current job, there is something about it that you like or are good at. What is it? Seriously, if you hate what you do and you're not good at it, you don't last 7 months. Let alone 7 years.

# ¿ Sep 9, 2015 03:45

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Coin posted:

I quit teaching about a year ago. Currently I'm doing insurance processing work (I liked my last position, but this one seems like it's not going to work out in the long run) and working on an associate's in computer science. (It seems like lots of jobs like people who know SQL, and I might even turn out to be an okay Java or .NET programmer)

Anyway, here's my question. How do I turn a master's in English lit into a positive for a future employer that isn't a college? I can't hide it well, because I taught English for seven years. That's a hell of a gap to have on a resume.

I know not every employer is going to like it regardless of how it is framed, but it would at least be nice to be able to make it stop looking like a negative.

It's all about how you sell it and your attitude. Every job involves teaching and communication. You're a proven expert at both.

# ¿ Jan 7, 2016 23:39

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Betazoid posted:

So, I guess I just want some perspective. Any advice / feedback is welcome.

I live just outside Washington DC and a lot of the jobs in this area are in federal contracting. I worked on the business development side of contracting (proposals and bid management) for 2.5 years before joining a contract team. When my contract ended, I found an opening for a Communications Editor at another contractor. The description of the responsibilities (editing, proofreading, organizing documents, coordinating contributions, etc.) fit my skill set really well, and the pay is $65k, the most I've ever earned. I have a master's degree in poetry and a BA in English, so earning this much as a typical liberal arts softie is amazing to me.

Anyway, the contract was delayed a bit, but I was supposed to start on Monday. On SUNDAY I got an email that the position I was hired for has disappeared due to restructuring and my new title is Technical Writer. The responsibilities have totally changed, and now I'm responsible for organizing meetings, writing agendas, collecting content for a newsletter, and other secretarial duties like the logistics of an annual off-site. My long-term career track is focused toward editing and publishing, so Technical Writer is a downgrade from Communications Editor.

I pitched a fit to HR, but there's no way to get me back to the original role; it's gone. I didn't/don't want to be a glorified secretary who distributes action items and writes memos.

I have an interview a week from today for another Editor job similar to the one I got hired for. I would be working with a cool nonprofit in educational research and doing document coordination and publishing. The salary range they provided is $53k-$55k, and "maybe we could wring a couple more thousand" to get me to $57k. The benefits for both jobs are good, with slightly more PTO at the $57k job than the $65k job.

What the hell do I do? The $8k difference would be a big help to my household. I feel like I got Charlie Browned on this whole deal, with my job title and responsibilities changing the day before I started, and now I'm trapped by the money. Any feedback would be helpful.

I would run like hell from the contractor who demoted you before you even started. They're just going to gently caress with you even more when you're actually working for them.

# ¿ Feb 13, 2016 01:28

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Teeter posted:

How much of Lean and Six Sigma is fluff and how much of it provides actual, real value? I mean both sides of value, as in practical value that's useful to a company as well as selfish personal value i.e. increased job prospects, marketability, or higher salary purely from adding extra keywords to a resume.

My work has classes that I am taking, mainly because hey it's free education, but I don't know if I should just treat it as a reason to get away from the desk for a few days or if it's worthwhile to go all in and get a green belt in hopes of opening doors later.

Mostly fluff if you have common sense and know basic statistics. Six Sigma and Lean are political processes to communicate technical information to marketing majors.

# ¿ Mar 4, 2016 00:04

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

The_Angry_Turtle posted:

I've looked into some analysis type jobs but feel terribly unqualified for them. I've mostly been applying to GIS technician type gigs and out of the 20+ apps I've only gotten an interview for one. I'm clearly lacking something but I'm not sure how to go about getting the qualifications they want. Going back to school is unappealing but maybe taking some classes is the answer.

I'd like to do work relating to land use change and urban development. Or at least I did. Ideally I'd be doing something where I could investigate the results of policy decisions to see what works and what doesn't. Thats what I was initially working towards. I've talked to my therapist about career plans but he can't really help. I need concrete advice from someone in the field

Four things:

1. If you can write scripts in R, you're qualified to be an analyst.
2. Every job description ever describes the perfect candidate, which doesn't exist. 3-5 years experience means entry level. Apply anyway. Post your resume in the resume thread if you need help.
3. Burning out from academia is pretty common. Just say you had to withdraw for medical reasons, and you're looking to get back into the field. If you did any volunteering or anything while recovering, put that in the blank space in your resume.
4. 1 interview from 20 unsolicited applications is actually a really good rate. Send out more applications.

Edit:

One last E/N point: Your hedging and self-sabotage speak sounds a lot like depression bullshit. Don't hedge. You're a smart person who deserves good things.

Dik Hz fucked around with this message at 06:31 on Mar 9, 2016

# ¿ Mar 9, 2016 06:29

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

kloa posted:

Imposter syndrome is a bitch

Impostor syndrome is a sign of competency.

# ¿ Mar 10, 2016 01:01

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

HOG ILLUSTRATIONS posted:

I graduated with a Bachelor's in Electrical Engineering in May of 2014 and have been working as a field service engineer ever since. It was alright for a while, but over the past 6 months I have become completely burned out. I am only home on some weekends, other than that the travel is constant. My job is making me miserable, and I'm missing out on so many things going on with friends and family. I am also in a new relationship, and it is suffering because I can only see her a few times a month. Also, I'm not developing any new skills. The work is intellectually unrewarding, and the job is a dead end.

About 3 months ago, right as I was going to ask anyway, my boss approached me and told me that if I was getting burned out, they don't want to lose me as an employee would find me a new position at the company, whose offices are in town. I immediately said yes. He talked to his bosses, who are very new to the company, who both told me that unfortunately there are no open positions and they would not create one for me. The said that when one opens up eventually that is a good fit I can transfer, but could not tell me when that would be. Since then, they have made no attempt to bring me in on projects part time or anything like that.

I am now dead-set on finding a new job, but I don't know if I should quit this one first or not. It is extremely difficult to wage a productive job search when I'm working longs days on the road. I have already missed a group examination for a DWP job I applied to due to my travel. At most other jobs I would just take sick days when interviews come up, but in my situation travel is booked weeks in advance.

I guess my question boils down to this: should I quit this job before I have a new one lined up? I have enough savings to pay all of my bills for 13 to 17 months, my personal life is suffering, and I am miserable. About 60% of the articles I've read on line say "Yes do it! You'll find a job you enjoy soon enough!" and the other 40% say "No! Only an idiot would quit without a new job lined up!" Another wrinkle is that I'm not even 100% sure I want to stay in electrical engineering, but I have no way to figure out what else I want to do when I'm working on the road 24/7. Any advice would be greatly appreciated!

If you're miserable, you've already answered your own question. Have you actually applied to any jobs yet, though? Applying to jobs when you're in a poo poo job makes the poo poo job much more bearable. Because you know it's not forever.

It is always easier to find a new job when you currently have a job. I'd say suck it up and deal with it while you search for a new job. But if you truly are miserable, you gotta take care of yourself first. Start applying to jobs and see if that makes your current job more bearable. If it doesn't, then you have your answer.

# ¿ Aug 13, 2016 00:15

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

JIZZ DENOUEMENT posted:

I live in an expensive city with a pretty good job. Compensation is below average in a vacuum and when considering the city it's very low. This position is somewhat related to my field.

There is an organization in my city much more related to my field, in addition, it includes an avenue to develop programming skills on the job (which I want to do). I know a person who just left the organization and another person who still works there. I was going to apply for the position that the friend that is now vacant because he left.

Unfortunately, I found out today that the position;
1. might not be created again due to internal restructuring and
2. if it is created, it will likely be available 3-6 months from now

The organization did, however post an entry-level position that is below my initially desired position. It is in the same department, and could be a decent foot in the door. I am wildly overqualified. However it offers compensation that is a 10% pay cut. Not to mention that my current firm pays for my phone and subsidizes my auto insurance (and I get to work from home, so no bus pass). If I was making decent money around $66k, I'd take the 10% pay cut no thinking. But I'm making way less than that. I went into my chosen field because I wanted to make a difference, not make money. And I accept that, but such a paycut would leave me with only 3 digits in the black per month.

The organization listed the max salary and there is no negotiating above it because it is a public organization. If I applied and got an offer, I don't know if I could afford to take it.

My silly plan; I should apply and hopefully get an interview. If I get an offer, I would act like I didn't know there was no room for salary negotiation. Ponder it over, and then reject the offer but thank them greatly for their time and discuss how much I love the organization and hope that we can patch up together down the road. This way my name at least pops up and my face gets recognized.

This is a terrible plan right?

Pretty much. If they read what you wrote here, you'd probably be blacklisted for yanking them around. Of course, if they read what you wrote here, they'd also know your user name is JIZZ DENOUEMENT which might also raise questions. Why not just tell them the truth: You're more interested in the other position and they should reach out to you when they're looking to fill that position. You applied for the current opening because you were interested in learning more about the current position. But the numbers just didn't add up.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2017 13:48

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Saeku posted:

Cross-posted from SAL because I could really use advice on this:

I've just finished Applied Math undergrad and wasn't considering grad school, but an offer fell into my lap and I'm considering it but unsure how it would impact my career goals. The offer is for a 2-year funded M.Sc. in Applied Math under a supervisor specializing in operations research and game theory, and I would get a chance to do a thesis on something directly relevant to my career interests and pick up some technical skills I didn't get from my undergrad. My dream would be to work for a startup in operations. I currently am about to finish a RA contract, have no permanent job locked down, 3+ years experience starting and managing a retail business, and no other relevant experience.

My concerns:

With my current funding, if I took this degree I would likely incur an additional $15K of student debt over two years. (Currently have $20K debt and $13K savings)

As part of my degree, I MAY have an opportunity to work with a major corporation on a project that is perfectly related to my interests. It would be incredibly valuable experience and likely lead to a job at that company, but it's not 100% locked down. If I don't do that, I would not have an opportunity to do internships during my degree.

I don't know if this will be more valuable to my career than two years in the workforce, and I'm concerned about waiting until then (at age 27) to start my first professional job.

On the other hand, I have only gotten a few interviews, and I feel under-qualified for the places I'd like to work for the most.

Thoughts?

Get the MSc. Do everything in your power to make the co-op with the major corporation happen. That would be the most valuable part of the whole scenario.

# ¿ Jul 14, 2017 13:52

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

TheOtherContraGuy posted:

I have an undergrad degree in biochemistry and a graduate degree in Data Science (all coursework, no thesis). I lead a team of four data scientists at a job I really enjoy and pays me well. I've been working at this company for about 2 years.

I have brain worms and want to do research. Should I quit my job and do a PhD? I'd specifically like to be an applied machine learning researcher for a biotechnology company or university. Is my professional degree going to really hurt me here?

Do you want to make $25k/year for 6 years to qualify for a job that pays less than you're currently making? If so, get the PhD.

If you can lead a technical team and deliver results, I think your next 6 years will probably be better spent beefing up those skills and making connections in the industry.

# ¿ Oct 31, 2018 02:19

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

DaveSauce posted:

Yup, that's main reason I've held on this long. As much as I hate this situation, I KNOW it's better than being unemployed... but like I said, it's getting harder and harder to stay motivated, and it's starting to take a toll on me.

I've been here a couple weeks shy of 5 years. That's one of the other reasons I didn't quit sooner... if I hold on a bit longer I'll get the next 20% of my vesting .

Just phone it in. Keep showing up, but take it easy on yourself. Take your pride and ego out of the job. Given what you've put here, nobody reasonable is going to judge you negatively. If they do lay you off, you're in the exact same situation as if you had quit, except you get unemployment.

And it's always easier to find a job when you have a job. You got this.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2018 22:38

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Lockback posted:

If it's actively hurting your mental health, a small gap because you wanted out isn't TOO big of a deal, but it'll be easier if you had a job honestly. Job market is also usually slowest right around this time and gets much better in January as new fiscal year/quarter money becomes available.

I'd suggest taking Dik Hz's advice if possible, but ultimately you know what's best for you.

Agreed. However, sometimes if you give yourself permission to quit, you'll find the job suddenly becomes bearable again. Some of the other advice I've heard is to treat it like you're a sociologist researching a dysfunctional alien civilization.

# ¿ Nov 21, 2018 23:39

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

buglord posted:

Is job shadowing a thing you can ask companies to do for you? I applied for a place, I'm 99% sure I wont get in, but even when I wont, I still want to see what people in this particular business do. Is this something I should have asked about before applying?

No. Any company that would say yes is shady as gently caress.

If you're serious, you can ping people on LinkedIn or contacts in your network for an informational interview. Basically you ask them about their job and what it entails. Don't do this to try to get a job offer, though, because that's really annoying.

# ¿ Jan 11, 2019 03:20

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

SA Forums Poster posted:

Ok, need some career advise.

Background:
I'm in my mid-30's, I have my BA, worked many different types of jobs, have management/supervisory experience, but no real career.
I've been working in the back office of banks for 6 years, worked my way up from teller.

A year ago, I applied and received a transfer to the compliance department at the bank where I currently work. Became a compliance analyst. Finally a good career I can focus on. I've been reading and soaking up all of the knowledge I can get my hands on for compliance.
Compliance officer/manager really likes me, told me how she can see me as becoming a compliance officer when she retires. Wants to put me in charge of the bank's compliance data analyst program.

She hires a deputy, second in command, weeks later my manger's boss retires and the replacement is someone she can't stand. My boss retires years early.

New deputy is promoted to officer/manager, but doesn't know about any previous plans. I feel like I made a bad first impression on my new boss with my work.

How do I go about talking to the new manager about what the last boss's plans? Or do I just keep my head down, get more experience and apply to other banks?

Invite your old boss out to lunch and ask her how to handle the situation. She knows the situation better than we do, and she apparently likes you and thinks you're good at your job. She may also have connections that could get you a new job for more money.

# ¿ Feb 10, 2019 22:13

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

moana posted:

Targeted the BBW market with curvy heroines and hunky shapeshifters. Her fan base is rabid.

So you're saying they're hungry for new content?

# ¿ Aug 6, 2019 02:17

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Lockback posted:

^^^this is $200/hr advice.

100% agree. That is the single best breakdown of learning sales skills I've seen.

# ¿ Aug 16, 2019 13:57

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Lockback posted:

High paying
Interacting with people
Low barrier of entry
Not being in an office
Recession proof
Low stress (in terms of sudden deadlines)

Evangelical preacher/cult leader?

Kidding aside, KillHour's suggestion of corporate trainer seems to check the most boxes. Although, you'd be at 80% travel and corporate training is the first thing companies cut in recessions.

# ¿ Aug 19, 2019 23:02

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Guinness posted:

Just FYI, Agile is not an acronym so don't put it on your resume as such, it'll be an immediate red flag.

Explain that to 95% of job postings that mention Agile.

# ¿ Sep 4, 2019 00:06

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Guinness posted:

�But it�s cheap to live here!� is like the worst selling point for any sort of competitive or skilled profession, and it almost always means that the place suuuucks. It�s cheap because there�s likely not much going on and little opportunity.

Not necessarily. Greensboro NC, Madison WI, Rochester MN, Blacksburg VA, and many others are dirt cheap compared to high CoL places and offer decent salaries, plenty of stuff to do, and plenty of opportunity for their main industries.

Then again, I'm the guy who'd be happy to live in Des Moines, so my judgment is probably off.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 01:10

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

TheGreyGhost posted:

These are hustling hustling metropolises compared to the town in question I was referencing

No doubt, but they are all towns that use "low cost of living" as a selling point when recruiting. Sorry, I was responding to Guinness's post and not trying to refute yours.

# ¿ Sep 6, 2019 01:39

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Thumbtacks posted:

That's what I'm gonna do when I leave the company, but for now it's my little secret.

Be very careful there. If it's a tool you developed at your job to do your job easier or with greater productivity, it's probably going to be considered property of your employer. You might want to consult with an attorney if you go that route.

# ¿ Sep 16, 2019 21:56

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Thumbtacks posted:

Yeah I'm still not sure about that, I need to do some research. It was developed entirely on my own time and doesn't use any resources that I can only get from my employer, so I'm pretty sure I'm legally in the clear. I'll figure that out later, I'm not planning on leaving for at least a year or two.

Given the numbers you're talking about and the blow-back potential, I think the best way for you to do research would be to consult with your employment attorney about the details of your contract, job, and invention.

# ¿ Sep 18, 2019 22:08

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

mekyabetsu posted:

Thanks for this. This is what others have been telling me as well, and yet reading popular job search sites like Monster brings up an endless number of articles by "professionals" talking about the dangers of leaving an employer on bad terms and how important it is to get a good reference before leaving. From what you and many others have said, it sounds like these days, companies tend to almost exclusively give neutral references. Should I even put my boss down as my reference, or should I just put the head of HR? And is it still important to get permission before listing someone as a reference? Some of the poo poo I've read makes it sound like getting a reference is like asking someone to marry you.

This varies a great deal between industries and locations. If you're in a tech hub and want to stay in the local area, your hiring manager probably knows the other hiring managers in your area and will just reach out and ask them directly about you. However, if you're in a big corporate industry, that kind of stuff doesn't matter very much.

# ¿ Sep 22, 2019 18:47

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

JIZZ DENOUEMENT posted:

get an mba, there's a bunch of conventional tracts like operations or marketing that now include lots of emphasis on sustainability

and that way you will actually get paid

Only get an MBA if someone else is paying for it. They're hella expensive and they won't open any doors.

# ¿ Sep 30, 2019 01:05

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Altamir posted:

I'd appreciate some outside perspective on my current career "fork in the road".

I've been with the same company for roughly 20 years. I started designing fire protection sprinkler systems and moved over to fire alarm and special hazards. It's more or less doing the same job. I've taken on more responsibility and slightly different roles. The overall chances of upward mobility have been slightly limited. I've been told often I'm too good at design to risk being put anywhere else. (which I think is poop, but whatever, thats the past). Overall, I cannot complain, I only have an associates degree, and I make roughly ~$65k a year, not including maybe a $4k bonus and some overtime.

In the past two years, things have tremendously accelerated. I've taken on high profile work with a very demanding but well paying customer. And I've done exceptionally well. My boss this thrilled with me. Our company is expanding and he has offered me a position to start up and manage a division of the company in Baltimore. (I currently live in Central NY). There is an established branch of my company there, but only doing fire sprinkler work, not any alarm or special hazards. I'd be a huge step, and my foot in the door. Long term, my boss will need help to continue to expand the division across multiple branches. If things go great, I could see 5 years down the line, basically being his second in command of our offices in the south, while he manages the offices in the north (we are mostly up and down the northern eastern seaboard). This seems great, a real path up the ladder.

The catch is two fold. One, the salary, seems low. I've been offered $87.5k a year, which seems like a big jump from my current salary, but in my opinion low compared to what I should be getting paid, and taking into cost of living (which appears to be 17% to 20% different) and the housing market (which seems like it's more 35% to 40%). It does not feel like a lot. I would be getting in addition, a $550 a month vehicle allowance, a gas card, and be put into management bonus structure, worth probably $20k. Which certainly sweetens the pot, but still feels a bit off. It's a lot of risk for myself and my wife.

The second catch is my wife. She's against it pretty much through and through. She works from home and makes a very good living $120k. We have no kids. But have a GREAT house which I love. She is telling me the deal is poo poo, and other opportunities will come along. I don't exactly disagree with her, but after 20 years of grinding, this is my first real chance. It's hard to pass on. I trust my boss, my wife does not. I know we have to agree on a path together. I'm more just asking, am I blind sided by my first real chance at upward mobility, that I can't see what a big mistake this is? or what a crap deal this is? I'm still waiting on a second offer after shooting down the first. But I don't expect a hell of a lot more.

Thanks for your time and perspective.

Living in Baltimore sucks. Do you actually want to live there?

Have you thought about starting your own business? Your family has a stable income above median and you have no kids. You have a rare and valuable technical skill, a proven track record, and you routinely interact with top-level clients. Heck, put the business in your wife's name so you get preferred status on federal contracts.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2019 12:23

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Altamir posted:

As far as finding another company. It's difficult. The biggest thing holding me back is we have a very lucrative employee owned profit sharing plan, which has constantly and consistently out preformed my 401k. I am not counting on it to have a successful and comfortable retirement, but it could be potentially hundreds of thousands of dollars lost if I don't hang with this company until I retire.

If it's vested, it's already yours. If it's not vested by now, it's essentially worthless. Also, past returns don't guarantee future performance. It's high risk to have your retirement savings invested 100% with your current company.

# ¿ Oct 25, 2019 12:28

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

AquaticIguana posted:

Looking for some guidance.

I'm in my early 30s and work in legal cannabis as an inventory manager. I've been with the company for just over 5 years and have been in my current position for just shy of 4. I started as a budtender while taking a break from school. As it turns out, all the medical weed workers that switched to recreational were pretty bad at running a business and got themselves fired, giving me a chance to move up a couple times fairly quickly. Currently I manage the inventory for a small chain of stores; I manage scheduling, intake processes, product compliance, etc and make $75k.

My issue is that I'm starting to feel stuck and I don't like the culture where I work. The management style of the owner and opps manager is impulsive and toxic. Some coworkers were let go recently for really stupid reasons and I feel like I should get out before I'm on the chopping block for something equally stupid. I've also learned and grown about as much as I can here. Most everything I've done here has been self-taught or came from trial and error. That said, I'm proud of the work me and my team have done as the company has grown. I feel that my lack of a degree (which was thankfully overlooked in weed and gave me the ability to prove myself) is a huge liability finding work outside the industry. Within the company I've moved as high as I can. I report to operations manager and they aren't going anywhere. I haven't really decided if I want to stay in cannabis or not.

So my main questions:

1. Am I threatening to piss away a good thing? This is the most money I've ever made and there's a part of me that feels like if I walk away it'll be hard to find something higher-paying if not the same.

2. I have a hodgepodge of credits I earned in community college. They're kind of all over the place but I believe I have enough to get my AA. Is there any point in doing that? Does an AA carry any real value beyond just being a stepping stool to your BA?

3. Instead of going back to school, I'm thinking about taking this certificate program (https://www.pce.uw.edu/certificates/project-management) and trying to transition to project management. I think I would enjoy it and I'm thinking it's a program that can help me whether I stay in my current industry or switch out. Am I right? Or is this something that you really need a project management or other degree to benefit from? Are these certificates in general a good band-aid if combined with experience?

Really I feel like I'm at a point that I need to evaluate where I am and think of my next move. Thank you for any input!

How do you feel about supply chain? We have product category managers that kinda do what you're describing, make similar salaries, and don't really have degree requirements. The AA will do less than you than your 5 years of experience.

# ¿ Nov 18, 2019 23:59

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

no cert will be as useful as a bachelor's

Yeah, the career path is probably BS->PMP->MBA paid for by the company.

# ¿ Nov 20, 2019 00:12

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

SlyFrog posted:

I can say I am a good writer, and it is very difficult to quickly prove me wrong (or right). I can say I know how to build a suspension bridge that will support a certain weight of traffic, and it will very quickly become apparent that I'm full of poo poo.

I do not even think, however, that it is people lying. Everyone wants to believe they are good at basics like writing and reading comprehension. I'm wondering if there was ever an interview in the history of time where someone said, "Yeah, I'm not a good writer."

You show you're a good writer by having a well-edited efficient resume that's easy to scan.

# ¿ Nov 23, 2019 03:13

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

Ossipago posted:

Something else to keep in mind is that college accreditation standards change over time and credit hours can expire or become nontransferable. An AA is an actual completed degree, no expiring credit to worry about, and as was mentioned already if you ever want to get a bachelors it's easier to transfer. You don't want to decide to go back to school in 10 years and find out you have to start from scratch.

And it just feels nice to finish it.

Counterpoint: Nobody gives a poo poo about an AA 10 years later. If it's costly to get the AA now, it's better to just work and get relevant experience (and cash money, homey)

# ¿ Nov 26, 2019 03:48

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

22 Eargesplitten posted:

Does anyone have experience negotiating some temporary exception to the standard at-will conditions of employment in a state with at-will employment when starting a new job? I hate my current job for many reasons (demotion on conversion to FTE by way of "Oh no, this is what you've always been, I have no idea why the paperwork you got before had a different title", pay cut on conversion to less than I was making at my last job, which was in a lower CoL area, not doing the job I interviewed for) but with the economy like it is I'm not really interested in being the newest person and therefore first on the layoffs chopping block. Someone in one of the IT threads mentioned something like a guarantee of employment, not sure if they were American or European or Canadian or what, it's something I never heard of before. The idea being that your employment contract states you can't be terminated without cause for x period. Currently going through a particularly lovely day at work and started considering applying for jobs and then if I get an offer, not taking it unless I can get something like that in the contract. Like I said though, I never heard of that before I read it in the IT thread, not sure if it's a more common thing in European Socialist (hellholes/paradises, select per your preferred politics).

My biggest concern aside from fruitless soul-crushing job hunting is that if things get bad enough the company might just decide to build up a case for termination with cause using stuff like "showed up two minutes late three times over six months," the kind of case that can be built against anyone but would require a lawyer to fight in court. Normally I don't think a company would even consider it, so it's a long shot no matter what, but I think it's pretty understandable that someone with a job right now wouldn't want to move without some kind of guarantee.

Sorry if this is disjointed, like I said, really bad day at work, having a hard time stringing thoughts together coherently.

To my knowledge, that's not a thing in the US. And asking for it would come across as oddly pessimistic to a hiring manager. Hiring managers, in general, hire people they want to keep around.

# ¿ Apr 21, 2020 12:05

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# ¿ Apr 29, 2024 06:47

Dik Hz: Feb 22, 2004; Fun with Science

teardrop posted:

Am I a bad team player? In 10 years, I have tended to get along well with managers because I do very well on the work I own, and less well with supervisors/leads because I�m less enthusiastic about getting loaded down with work they get the credit for anyway. Basically when someone locks down my whole week I feel lousy, and when I have nothing on my schedule I work on what I think is most valuable and feel great.

I�m looking to change jobs and I�m wondering what I do with that. I�ve been looking for lead roles/reporting to a director, partly hoping to avoid thankless busywork by having less people delegating to me. But since it seems like the core issue is just ownership would it make more sense to look for individual contributor roles with high autonomy? Also I�ve had mostly inexperienced leads/supervisors and it�s possible I�ve gotten a bad sample. Maybe I just needed to negotiate boundaries and ownership better with leads.

Honestly not sure I have a real question here, I overthink everything and sometimes am just wondering if I�m making sense.

Nobody's going to be able to give you a straight answer because it's completely different from place to place. Just apply to everything and screen them out at the interview stage based on what you've said here. You're not asking for anything unreasonable.

# ¿ Nov 19, 2020 00:57

The Something Awful Forums > Discussion > Ask/Tell > Business, Finance, and Careers > Career Path Thread: Money is happiness