Contract Engineer

Off Topic
41

OP - it almost seems like (and this is not the first time I’ve felt this way about your posts) you’re posting as if you think you’re being open minded but in actuality you ignore most posts with all of the reasons you think they’re not applicable, just waiting for the statements you wanted to hear in the first place.

Being young and naive is not an insult and the 40+ yr old guys would say the same thing about me. Whether they have an engineering degree or not I’d take what they have to say in to deeper consideration if I were you.

42

well, thanks for the advice about taking advice (seriously, not sarcastic)…

Go back and read what I said?.

I said I would listen as* closely* to non-engineers. Not that I would disregard what others say. And again, read through this thread, you have responses going from ?sounds good to me, I?d go for it? to ?stay away it?s a trap?. Now how am I suppose to make sense of that?

Of course anybody is going to pick and choose what advice they take. I really liked the point earlier about how contract positions are for those who can?t find real jobs.

One of my points lines up with what captinoblivious said, to invest in myself, but you all chose to ignore that.

Again, I am eager to leave my company cause I know there is more money to be made out there. But like some have said, I shouldn?t let myself fall into a trap.

43

Yeah, perspective is everything. No reason to limit yourself to “same-field” people.
Just imagine if Bruce Lee did that? Huh? Imagine that? Are you imagining that yet? Good.

44

First, I have a BSME degree, so I know you will take my advice into consideration… :slight_smile:

There is always more money to be made out there. The question is, have you demonstrated that you deserve the chance to take on more responsibility? Once you proven you can handle it, as an employer I would then and only then reward you with more pay.

Every year there are thousands of new Engineers entering the job market, so keep that in mind.

Good luck with your job hunt. But in the short term, I would work on figuring out a way to change your perception of your current job. Figure out how to not “hate” your boss and coworkers, but instead lead by example and show them the right way to conduct yourself. You don’t have to like them, work is not your Facebook friend circle. Kick ass, take some names, and maybe some new opportunities will present themselves.

45

[quote]Stoney56 wrote:
First, I have a BSME degree, so I know you will take my advice into consideration… :slight_smile:

There is always more money to be made out there. The question is, have you demonstrated that you deserve the chance to take on more responsibility? Once you proven you can handle it, as an employer I would then and only then reward you with more pay.

Every year there are thousands of new Engineers entering the job market, so keep that in mind.

Good luck with your job hunt. But in the short term, I would work on figuring out a way to change your perception of your current job. Figure out how to not “hate” your boss and coworkers, but instead lead by example and show them the right way to conduct yourself. You don’t have to like them, work is not your Facebook friend circle. Kick ass, take some names, and maybe some new opportunities will present themselves.[/quote]

You mean to tell me that everyone with a BSME isn’t a special snow flake? Get out of here broski!!!

46

*Disclaimer, I don’t mean to come off as a dick…

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
I said I would listen as* closely* to non-engineers. Not that I would disregard what others say.[/quote]

Not to be a stickler, but you actually said:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to.
[/quote]

You’re limiting the available advice, which to me is foolish. We (people our age) should be careful not to dismiss advice given so easily.

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
And again, read through this thread, you have responses going from ?sounds good to me, I?d go for it? to ?stay away it?s a trap?. Now how am I suppose to make sense of that? [/quote]

It’s difficult, I agree.

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
One of my points lines up with what captinoblivious said, to invest in myself, but you all chose to ignore that. [/quote]

I don’t think anyone is ignoring this. My guess is it’s one of the few things you’ll get 100% consensus on so there’s no need to repeat.

No disrespect to captinoblivious, but he has detailed his own employment struggles on here before. So you’ll take his advice (which is good, imo), but disregard the advice of others not in your field, why?

Be honest with yourself, is it because it fall in line with your preconceived ideology?

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
Again, I am eager to leave my company cause I know there is more money to be made out there. But like some have said, I shouldn?t let myself fall into a trap.
[/quote]

Everyone wants more money. Everyone thinks they deserve more money. We went through this when you wrote about your lack of a raise above 3% (if memory serves), but to my recollection you could never point out where you added value that deserved a raise higher than basically a cost of living adjustment. What have you done since then (that was months ago right?) to better yourself?

For what it’s worth, I am all for jumping ship to increase income to a point.

47

USMCCDS423,

None taken, reminds me I need to update that thread!

48

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.

49

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you donâ??t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something thatâ??s technical and in-demandâ?¦

YOUâ??RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesnâ??t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.

50

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you don’t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something that’s technical and in-demand?

YOU’RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesn’t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.[/quote]

Heh, ok.

I was just wondering. Despite the fact that I have “Software Engineer” in my title, there’s a part of me that actually finds it a bit disrespectful to “real” engineers. Not that the work we do is any less serious, but I think there’s still a difference.

Sort of like how a psychiatrist isn’t considered a “real” doctor, even though they’re MDs.

Just curious as to people’s perceptions.

But yeah, my advice is still pretty much “based on your list of expectations, I don’t think contracting is the right fit… but I also think you should consider adjusting your short/mid-term expectations a bit… and if you find a great contracting organization, give it a chance”.

Very brief story-time:

I was basically in a dead-end job writing software at a small company with limited company-provided opportunity. It was through working on and supporting an open-source project outside of work (with some very high-profile users) that I ended up getting an opportunity to make a move. Otherwise I was pretty much stuck, since I already had the best gig in town… and it wasn’t going anywhere.

And so I moved a few states away, doubled my salary, and had a great job until corporate financial mismanagement and politics left me without a job. I talked to several contracting companies, and ended up working for the best one in town for a bit and got some good out of it. Saw the good sides of contracting companies (mine), heard horror stories of the bad sides of contracting (many of the others).

And now I’m working for a great company that gives a good amount of what I want, placed by a corporate recruiter that put far more work into getting me a job than I did.

But one thing I suggest. Go onto sites like Monster and Dice and pull together a list of the requirements that keep popping up, job after job. Get a feel for what kind of qualifications that everyone’s asking for, and then a) figure out how to get the experience you’re missing, and b) tailor your resume to highlight those things.

A lot of job searching is a game of keywords these days; make sure you show up when they look for those keywords.

51

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you donâ??t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something thatâ??s technical and in-demandâ?¦

YOUâ??RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesnâ??t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.
[/quote]

Well if that’s the case I had several offers 8 months before I graduated.

Accounting FTW.

52

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you don�¢??t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something that�¢??s technical and in-demand�¢?�¦

YOU�¢??RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesn�¢??t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.
[/quote]

Well if that’s the case I had several offers 8 months before I graduated.

Accounting FTW. [/quote]

YES.

Everyone needs an accountant if they plan on making money.

I’m glad that my GF is involved in the accounting field. Do you have your CPA? how detrimental would you say the CPA to an accountants career? How does salary change with the CPA? how hard is it to get a CAP without a bachelors in accounting?

53

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you don�??�?�¢??t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something that�??�?�¢??s technical and in-demand�??�?�¢?�??�?�¦

YOU�??�?�¢??RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesn�??�?�¢??t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.
[/quote]

Well if that’s the case I had several offers 8 months before I graduated.

Accounting FTW. [/quote]

YES.

Everyone needs an accountant if they plan on making money.

I’m glad that my GF is involved in the accounting field. Do you have your CPA? how detrimental would you say the CPA to an accountants career? How does salary change with the CPA? how hard is it to get a CAP without a bachelors in accounting?

[/quote]

If you work public accounting a CPA is a must.

You don’t have to have a BS in Accounting, but you do have to take a certain # of accounting course to sit for the exam (It’s like 30 credit hours I believe). There are also other requirements.

Some of the required courses include:

Tax I
Audit I
Financial I-III
Advanced Accounting
Cost Accounting

Most firms won’t give you a promotion past senior until you’re a CPA.

54

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LankyMofo wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
TBH, I listen very closely to what the engineers here have to say. Anyone without an engineering degree is not someone I am going to pay that close attention to. [/quote]

So where do I fit in since I’m in software? Just curious.[/quote]
Since you don�??�??�?�¢??t hold a cereal box degree, and you have something that�??�??�?�¢??s technical and in-demand�??�??�?�¢?�??�??�?�¦

YOU�??�??�?�¢??RE IN!!!

I got out of school and had 2 interviews and 2 offers within a month, that doesn�??�??�?�¢??t usually happen with cereal box degrees (as I understand it). Being and Engineer (of any type) I believe* the hiring process/experience is vastly different.
[/quote]

Well if that’s the case I had several offers 8 months before I graduated.

Accounting FTW. [/quote]

YES.

Everyone needs an accountant if they plan on making money.

I’m glad that my GF is involved in the accounting field. Do you have your CPA? how detrimental would you say the CPA to an accountants career? How does salary change with the CPA? how hard is it to get a CAP without a bachelors in accounting?

[/quote]

If you work public accounting a CPA is a must.

You don’t have to have a BS in Accounting, but you do have to take a certain # of accounting course to sit for the exam (It’s like 30 credit hours I believe). There are also other requirements.

Some of the required courses include:

Tax I
Audit I
Financial I-III
Advanced Accounting
Cost Accounting

Most firms won’t give you a promotion past senior until you’re a CPA.[/quote]

Thanks!

I’ll have to gently pass this info along to my girlfriend. I’ve already suggested that she makes it a goal to eventually get her CPA.

55

[quote]Stoney56 wrote:
You don’t have to like them, work is not your Facebook friend circle.[/quote]

Incidentally, I went to a conference about a year ago with a session on managing for generational differences. The youngest generation in the job market (call them whatever you like) is seeking specifically that… to not just have a bunch of coworkers, but friends at the workplace. Well, that and older, father-like figures to support and guide them.

They are also the most confident of all the generations, but least able to overcome adversity.

56

[quote]SkyzykS wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
well I had the interview today.

Everyone was really honest and I was told that it was essentially a terminal project (not a contract position though, that was made clear) that would end at the end of 2014 with the chance that upper management would continue the project into the future depending on economics etc.

I was told straight up “I would not take this position if I were you, it’s more for someone who is between jobs or doesn’t have a job currently”

But, the interview went incredibly well and this company (large construction company) is the epitome of what I want to be doing. When I met with the managers, they said they have other positions available (“open-ended”) and are going to see what they can do to possibly get a position for me etc. They seemed to like me, it would be a dream to work there.

So my conclusion is that a contract position is still to be avoided, but it was still worth it to suit up, and show up. Sometimes all you need is to get your foot in the door.[/quote]

What do they build, if you don’t mind me asking? I’m endlessly curious about fabrication and construction projects.

Also good job on the interview. Sounds like you made a good connection.

[/quote]

This division is paving equipment specifically. But the company does it all. One of the largest worldwide construction equipment companies. Think of 2 or 3 companies and you are probably thinking of them.

57

[quote]usmccds423 wrote:

Everyone wants more money. Everyone thinks they deserve more money. We went through this when you wrote about your lack of a raise above 3% (if memory serves), but to my recollection you could never point out where you added value that deserved a raise higher than basically a cost of living adjustment. What have you done since then (that was months ago right?) to better yourself?

For what it’s worth, I am all for jumping ship to increase income to a point. [/quote]

As a project Engineer/manager, my job is to NOT make mistakes. So with my current position it’s somewhat hard to point at performance and say I deserve more money.

But as I said in that other thread, I am “managing” a lot more efficiently than the new guy that they will have to hire after me. I save time of the people above me by handling my shit and not creating issues (wrong jobs issued to the shop, drawing errors resulting in more CAD use). I do as I am told by those above me and don’t ask questions or create hold-ups. Since I am such a strong leader I give firm direction to my team members based on our companies standards so that my superiors don’t have to step in, in order for projects to move along. I step forward to snuff out issues before they become issues. I care enough about schedules and my quality of work to ensure that our customers receive their systems equipment built accurately to their needs, and on time (as much within my power).

You can be a complete fuck up at my work, or work very hard, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is treated the same and receives the same raise and recognition.

Just yesterday I was the one to initiate getting correct equipment to our international customer after the electrical engineer failed to enter correct quantities. My supervisor (same supervisor for the electrical engineer) told both of us to make revisions to our equipment quantities prior to shipping. I did mine, but the elec guy didn’t. our customer emailed us pissed offâ?¦.long story short the elec guy wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it so I had to step forward and get things going as I always do.

My supervisor said “why wasn’t this electrical equipment sent out correctly”?
â?¦[Gee I dunno, why don’t you ask the guy you told directly to do it]

stick your neck out and get it slit I supposeâ?¦…anyway

58

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
As a project Engineer/manager, my job is to NOT make mistakes. So with my current position it’s somewhat hard to point at performance and say I deserve more money.

But as I said in that other thread, I am “managing” a lot more efficiently than the new guy that they will have to hire after me. I save time of the people above me by handling my shit and not creating issues (wrong jobs issued to the shop, drawing errors resulting in more CAD use). I do as I am told by those above me and don’t ask questions or create hold-ups. Since I am such a strong leader I give firm direction to my team members based on our companies standards so that my superiors don’t have to step in, in order for projects to move along. I step forward to snuff out issues before they become issues. I care enough about schedules and my quality of work to ensure that our customers receive their systems equipment built accurately to their needs, and on time (as much within my power).

You can be a complete fuck up at my work, or work very hard, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is treated the same and receives the same raise and recognition.

Just yesterday I was the one to initiate getting correct equipment to our international customer after the electrical engineer failed to enter correct quantities. My supervisor (same supervisor for the electrical engineer) told both of us to make revisions to our equipment quantities prior to shipping. I did mine, but the elec guy didn’t. our customer emailed us pissed offâ?¦.long story short the elec guy wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it so I had to step forward and get things going as I always do.

My supervisor said “why wasn’t this electrical equipment sent out correctly”?
â?¦[Gee I dunno, why don’t you ask the guy you told directly to do it]

stick your neck out and get it slit I supposeâ?¦…anyway[/quote]

Ah, you have much to learn. Just a simple statement of fact; I mean no offense by it.

It’s this line in particular that’s probably going to hold you back sometime down the road: “I do as I am told by those above me and don’t ask questions or create hold-ups.”

And maybe I sound a bit like an asshole saying this, but I’d guess that plays a part in why you haven’t been offered the opportunities and the raises that you want.

59

[quote]LoRez wrote:

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
As a project Engineer/manager, my job is to NOT make mistakes. So with my current position it’s somewhat hard to point at performance and say I deserve more money.

But as I said in that other thread, I am “managing” a lot more efficiently than the new guy that they will have to hire after me. I save time of the people above me by handling my shit and not creating issues (wrong jobs issued to the shop, drawing errors resulting in more CAD use). I do as I am told by those above me and don’t ask questions or create hold-ups. Since I am such a strong leader I give firm direction to my team members based on our companies standards so that my superiors don’t have to step in, in order for projects to move along. I step forward to snuff out issues before they become issues. I care enough about schedules and my quality of work to ensure that our customers receive their systems equipment built accurately to their needs, and on time (as much within my power).

You can be a complete fuck up at my work, or work very hard, it doesn’t matter. Everyone is treated the same and receives the same raise and recognition.

Just yesterday I was the one to initiate getting correct equipment to our international customer after the electrical engineer failed to enter correct quantities. My supervisor (same supervisor for the electrical engineer) told both of us to make revisions to our equipment quantities prior to shipping. I did mine, but the elec guy didn’t. our customer emailed us pissed offÃ?¢?Ã?¦.long story short the elec guy wasn’t going to do a damn thing about it so I had to step forward and get things going as I always do.

My supervisor said “why wasn’t this electrical equipment sent out correctly”?
Ã?¢?Ã?¦[Gee I dunno, why don’t you ask the guy you told directly to do it]

stick your neck out and get it slit I supposeÃ?¢?Ã?¦…anyway[/quote]

Ah, you have much to learn. Just a simple statement of fact; I mean no offense by it.

It’s this line in particular that’s probably going to hold you back sometime down the road: “I do as I am told by those above me and don’t ask questions or create hold-ups.”

And maybe I sound a bit like an asshole saying this, but I’d guess that plays a part in why you haven’t been offered the opportunities and the raises that you want.[/quote]

You need to step into my small company for a day to understand.

I ask. All to he questions and challenge the things that I question, no doubt about that.

But there are times when you just do as your told (like dealing with the owners kids for example) without any flak.

I got our companies standard raise dude. There’s a reason that EVERY person who has my position ends up leaving in no more than 3 yrs at the company, CAUSE THEY DONT GET THE MONEY THEY DESERVE. It’s a revolving door I’m telling you…

One time in a meeting I was simply explaining something to our owner in the meeting. My boss and the vp weren’t there so I was the only voice from our department. When my boss was back from vacation, our service manager told him that I was “talking back” to our owner, I learned my lesson.

I also listen to what people say about how the company is run, and pickup on the atmosphere, I’m playing my cards right for the ones that have been dealt to me

60

[quote]carbiduis wrote:
One time in a meeting I was simply explaining something to our owner in the meeting. My boss and the vp weren’t there so I was the only voice from our department. When my boss was back from vacation, our service manager told him that I was “talking back” to our owner, I learned my lesson.
[/quote]
Stupid.