Help on Career choices

[sparkie]

So I've now been out of school for a couple years, and been a PLC and instrumentation tech at my current company for two years.

This entire time I have been overwhelmed by both work and the politics of the place. Some examples include but are not limited to:

Me being expected to do any and every project that involves a PLC (about 70ish PLC's)
A significant portion of machine control work in general
Take care of every industrial scale in the plant (about 60ish scales)
Be in at 4:30 every morning to start up the plant while most of my work has to be done after the day's production run
Be expected to analyze, order parts, build and program every project on my own and be questioned for every little item on the BOM

Basically I'm expected to do the job of about 4 skilled techs by myself. So I put in my notice and now I'm thinking about leaving. I'm also back in school working towards an EE degree. The thing is the company has not helped with a dime towards school or training and I was told today "don't you feel like you owe us for giving you this position." I have been debating the leave, but honestly I think I would rather just work as a general maintenance tech if I have to so that I can earn my bachelors. I just wanted some advice from the members here.

This company DID give me a chance and experience with the right job title, but at the same time I had to go into it blind and dig into manuals, search the net, talk to techs where I could and just work my *** off to learn every thing I taught myself. I have began adding up the general cost of the work I have done and compared it to the hourly rates of contractors and I have easily saved WAY past my salary.

What do you guys think of leaving a job just because you are unhappy and even though they want to try and fix it now you know these kinds of things will not change? I don't have a current gig, but I have enough money saved to get by a few months and I don't see myself having a hard time finding employment with my resume and skillset. It may not be what I want but it will pay the bills.

 

[John Morris]

Two sides to this coin.

First they want the high road for giving you a position and a title. Then they want to load all the **** on you that no else understood or cared about.

Your position was missionary and your title was clean up. AND...they didn't understand why you weren't completely overjoyed.

Second ( and this really depends on where your next job is ) in any shop ( Budapest to Boston ) being the young inexperienced newbie, your going to get put through the ringer. your going to get tested, then your going to get pushed, and when they think your qualified you get to join the brotherhood, or union, or just clock out with a little more respect, then when you clocked in. Until you get seasoned, and have a little seniority your going to catch some sort of S**T job. Get used to it

I worked Manufacturing for twenty five, twenty seven years. She is a demanding unforgiving, selfish, relentless machine. The people who run her are in it for the money, and the more they can get out of you, for less money, is more in their pockets. Don't kid yourself, that's were their incentives come from.

Some one famous once said "love what you do and you'll never work a day in your life".

Your skill set is all about making machines run, run better, run faster, run more productive. I have two degrees and every where i went to work I was paid top dollar according to their "internal economics". If I wanted a raise I had to get another job.

Oh yea, another famous person once said "don't leave the first job till you have another job"....I think it was my dad.

Any manufacturing maintenance type job will have either a little or all of what you are experiencing right now.

try OEM

 

[Timbert]

Based on what you said, they didn't give you anything (except may too much of a workload). You earned the title by doing the work required of someone in that position. You don't owe them anything. The two of you entered into a contract (employment) that they would pay you $xx/hour for your work. Sounds like you did exactly that.

How would the boss feel if the reverse was true? What if they were laying you off after working a decade there and you went in asking the boss, "Don't you feel like you owe me for working in this position for ten years?" I'm pretty sure they would reply something along the lines of that is what we paid you for.

Unless you signed a contract stating that you work there for x years there should be absolutely no expectation for you to stay.

If you're really unhappy, time to leave in my book. Layout your reasons to the boss like you did here. Tell them you appreciate the opportunity they gave you but you're simply working too hard. Tell them how it impacts your further education.

I delayed going back to school in my tech days, the company gave me more money and more responsibility to keep me. Finally, came time to make the jump to an EE position and they said sorry you never completed your degree we can't do it. I quit on the spot and took a job at a University to finish my schooling.

 

[DwSoFt]

I delayed going back to school in my tech days, the company gave me more money and more responsibility to keep me. Finally, came time to make the jump to an EE position and they said sorry you never completed your degree we can't do it. I quit on the spot and took a job at a University to finish my schooling.

Wow. That is brutal. Sorry for that

And sparkie. The job can be very demanding. But I still love my job. Being unhappy is no way to.live. I agree you should.move on. Personal though I always find a job before quiting the first. Regardless good luck

 

[danw]

It always looks better to a prospective employer is the applicant is currently employed.

If you are out-of-work the tendency is to not be as discriminating in your decision making, just like the person shoping for a car because their current on blew the engine. Gotta have wheels. . .

It is time to move on, but get the next position first.

You owe them nothing beyond your hourly labor.

 

[James Mcquade]

Sparkie,

This is me and my opinion.
You put in your notice and now you're thinking about leaving??
if you put in your notice, you are telling the company good by in x days/weeks.
to late to think about leaving.
Now the company knows your plans and if you are serious about staying, don't know what to tell you. You might goto the HR manager and explain when you arrive, what you do during the day in detail, and when you leave
at the end of the day.

I worked for a boss who was a real ***, and it wouldn't supprise me if they want you to stay and end up training someone, then out the door you go, or
do something sneaky and blame it on you.

Save as much as you can just in case.
Good luck.

james

 

[PLC]

James
Good point. Some companies would have escorted him out right then

 

[just the cowboy]

Sounds normal

So I've now been out of school for a couple years, and been a PLC and instrumentation tech at my current company for two years.

Out of What school? High school, Tech School?
This entire time I have been overwhelmed by both work and the politics of the place. Some examples include but are not limited to:
Politics is everywhere, get use to it.
Me being expected to do any and every project that involves a PLC (about 70ish PLC's)
A significant portion of machine control work in general
Take care of every industrial scale in the plant (about 60ish scales)
Be in at 4:30 every morning to start up the plant while most of my work has to be done after the day's production run
Be expected to analyze, order parts, build and program every project on my own and be questioned for every little item on the BOM.
Find out Why You have to start up the plant, so you can shorten up your day,
Basically I'm expected to do the job of about 4 skilled techs by myself. So I put in my notice and now I'm thinking about leaving. I'm also back in school working towards an EE degree. The thing is the company has not helped with a dime towards school or training and I was told today "don't you feel like you owe us for giving you this position." I have been debating the leave, but honestly I think I would rather just work as a general maintenance tech if I have to so that I can earn my bachelors. I just wanted some advice from the members here.
Sounds let you have a learning experience most would love to have, but are not seeing it that way. It takes years to learn the trade this was your chance.
This company DID give me a chance and experience with the right job title, but at the same time I had to go into it blind and dig into manuals, search the net, talk to techs where I could and just work my *** off to learn everything I taught myself. I have begun adding up the general cost of the work I have done and compared it to the hourly rates of contractors and I have easily saved WAY past my salary.
This is right pocket money vs left pocket money you can't compare what you think you are saving them. Double your salary and that’s about what it costs for the company.
What do you guys think of leaving a job just because you are unhappy and even though they want to try and fix it now you know these kinds of things will not change? I don't have a current gig, but I have enough money saved to get by a few months and I don't see myself having a hard time finding employment with my resume and skillset. It may not be what I want but it will pay the bills.
I think if was foolish to quit before you had a job. It is VERY HARD these days to get a foot in to a good job.

Good luck

 

[kolyur]

This entire time I have been overwhelmed by both work and the politics of the place.

Politics is everywhere, unfortunately it's just something you have to get used to. Everyone's situation is different of course, but I wouldn't suggest going somewhere else with the expectation that that portion of your job will get better.

Me being expected to do any and every project that involves a PLC (about 70ish PLC's)
A significant portion of machine control work in general
Take care of every industrial scale in the plant (about 60ish scales)
Be in at 4:30 every morning to start up the plant while most of my work has to be done after the day's production run
Be expected to analyze, order parts, build and program every project on my own and be questioned for every little item on the BOM
Basically I'm expected to do the job of about 4 skilled techs by myself.

That's pretty much my job description too (minus the 4:30 am part ), as well as that of many others on this forum I'm sure. And how do you know you're doing the work of four people, especially since you've only been doing this for two years?

I had to go into it blind and dig into manuals, search the net, talk to techs where I could and just work my *** off to learn every thing I taught myself.

Again, that statement applies to myself and many others here. One of the key traits of a good engineer or technician is the ability to solve problems on your own, especially those you haven't run into before. Yes I went to college but the vast majority of what I do every day has been self taught. My advice would be to be on the lookout for people who really know their stuff and learn as much as you can from them. Trust me, they're out there, sometimes you just have to sift through quite a bit of deadwood (at any company) to find them.

I have began adding up the general cost of the work I have done and compared it to the hourly rates of contractors and I have easily saved WAY past my salary.

Of course you have, and that's why they keep you employed--you add value to the organization. If you only saved what you earned, what would be the point of keeping you on? And keep in mind what cowboy said, it costs them about double the amount of your paycheck to keep you on the roster.

What do you guys think of leaving a job just because you are unhappy and even though they want to try and fix it now you know these kinds of things will not change? I don't have a current gig, but I have enough money saved to get by a few months and I don't see myself having a hard time finding employment with my resume and skillset. It may not be what I want but it will pay the bills.

I can't tell you whether you should stay or go, but I will just offer this advice: be professional. Keeping your cool and acting like a grownup will get you farther in life than the alternative. Don't be one of those guys that chews out his boss and slams the door on his way out. I've had opportunities to do that and it can be tempting in the moment, but looking back I'm always glad I didn't.

When you say "they want to try and fix it now" do you mean you aired some grievances and they're listening? That sounds like a good sign and I wouldn't just assume that nothing will come of it. Personally, I think that working toward your degree should be your A#1 priority right now, especially if you want to make a career out of this type of work. Perhaps the company would be willing to reconsider helping you with that?

 

[FactoryTalktotheHand]

So I've now been out of school for a couple years, and been a PLC and instrumentation tech at my current company for two years.

This entire time I have been overwhelmed by both work and the politics of the place. Some examples include but are not limited to:

Me being expected to do any and every project that involves a PLC (about 70ish PLC's)
A significant portion of machine control work in general
Take care of every industrial scale in the plant (about 60ish scales)
Be in at 4:30 every morning to start up the plant while most of my work has to be done after the day's production run
Be expected to analyze, order parts, build and program every project on my own and be questioned for every little item on the BOM

Basically I'm expected to do the job of about 4 skilled techs by myself. So I put in my notice and now I'm thinking about leaving. I'm also back in school working towards an EE degree. The thing is the company has not helped with a dime towards school or training and I was told today "don't you feel like you owe us for giving you this position." I have been debating the leave, but honestly I think I would rather just work as a general maintenance tech if I have to so that I can earn my bachelors. I just wanted some advice from the members here.

This company DID give me a chance and experience with the right job title, but at the same time I had to go into it blind and dig into manuals, search the net, talk to techs where I could and just work my *** off to learn every thing I taught myself. I have began adding up the general cost of the work I have done and compared it to the hourly rates of contractors and I have easily saved WAY past my salary.

What do you guys think of leaving a job just because you are unhappy and even though they want to try and fix it now you know these kinds of things will not change? I don't have a current gig, but I have enough money saved to get by a few months and I don't see myself having a hard time finding employment with my resume and skillset. It may not be what I want but it will pay the bills.

You don't owe them a thing. It's not like they were completely doing you a favor for giving you a job. They need you. They don't want to lose what you bring to the table.

Some personal experience. I used to have a job that was very similar to yours. In early every morning. Working every weekend. Constant piling on of responsibilities (I was programming PLCs, troubleshooting machines that went down, writing custom VB apps, maintaining a database for production data, coordinating construction and expansion projects, and a lot more), but my pay didn't increase with my skill and responsibility level. Also, it was a pretty crummy work environment (poultry kill plant) and sickness was rampant. People would routinely come into work sick because you were penalized for calling in. You had up to two days you could take off, without pay, but on the third day you were either written up or had to get FMLA to be excused. I would get deathly ill for weeks at a time 1-2 times a year while I worked there because people would come into work and spread their germs around so they didn't lose a day's pay.

I put in my notice and I've never been happier. They ended up splitting my one position into three after I left. A company may be overworking you, but if you do the work and don't quit, they have no incentive to change their practices. My leaving created 2 jobs, jobs that are less stressful than mine was. But if I had stayed? Who knows what they would have done. Let's say they cut something like PLC troubleshooting out of your job description. Do you really think if a machine is down and you're the only one in the building who can fix it, they won't come to you with "look, I know it's not your job anymore, but just this once could you help us out?"

 

[mbartoli]

A number of good points here. I started out like you over 25 years ago, with the same type of conditions. In this business, the demands and hours are not uncommon. It may be difficult to swallow, but it is a learning and growing experience. Could be worse; I did a stint as field service for an automotive OEM and it actually got worse, flying into a customer plant in Edison NJ at a minute's notice to get the line back up and running because someone hung their jacket over a safety photocell (but I digress).

Just make sure that if you do leave, avoid writing KMAGYOYO on your desk blotter... it does not go over well!

(Kiss my *** goodbye, you're on your own!)

 

[sparkie]

Thanks guys. I'm taking all of this to heart.

Luckily for me, several people at the director level in the company have a lot of respect for me, and they really want me to stay, but I just don't see it working for several reasons. Some of it is just the company's culture and some is the practice.

I am grateful that I was given this position, but the man who gave it to me told me that the position wasn't offered to me because I am a pleasant person, but because the company needed someone who could do the work and I was the man for the job. He also said that he knew it was a 4-person job and and that we were trying to do it with me and one person who just doesn't have the skillset to do it.

Believe me, I am aware of certain aspects of this industry, such as the fast-paced environment, unpredictable hours and the politics. That doesn't bother me a bit, it is just the way situations are handled.

One example, Monday morning we were told that we are moving an entire section of a process by the following Monday and had a $10,000 budget. Also we were going to do it in a single day and it had better be running come Monday. I alone have purchased $5k in parts for my section of the system. Then to top it off, another employee told a local distributor not to sell me wire because running the wire was his job, yet has not spoken to me at all about what wire I need where. This is not the time for a ****ing match, it is time for all of us to pull together and get the job done.

I DO have work lined up with a local Master electrician though. He said I can do residential and commercial jobs with him and he would be open to bidding smaller controls jobs as well. He mentioned a few companies have asked him about support contracts for controls work. I won't have a problem paying bills in the interim.

This is just kind of a huge step for me, but even if I start at the bottom of the barrel and have to work my way back up I'm fine with that. As silly as it sounds, my ideal is being the bottom of the barrel dumb guy doing all the **** work for a team of veteran tech's and being able to pick up on their knowledge and experience. At the moment I'm the go-to guy for this stuff. That being said, it has made me one hell of a tech and a pretty decent programmer.

Also just to address the problem of "thinking of leaving now after I have put my notice in," the answer is I have intended on leaving this company this entire time and they are trying to convince me otherwise. I'm quite skeptical of counter-offers though because of the situations mentioned above.

 

[PLC Pie Guy]

My guess,
You'll be crying to go back to control work after a few months of pulling wire through an attic in an August heat wave covered in insulation.
I could never go back now. Stress free? Yes.
As rewarding as being the guy who programmed the entire project, no way!

 

[sparkie]

My guess,
You'll be crying to go back to control work after a few months of pulling wire through an attic in an August heat wave covered in insulation.
I could never go back now. Stress free? Yes.
As rewarding as being the guy who programmed the entire project, no way!

Haha, oh ye of little faith.

 

[OkiePC]

Quitting a job where the environment sucks is very liberating even if you have nothing lined up. I have done it more than once. I have regretted it...never. If you are skilled with controls, there will always be work.

I am blessed now to be doing about the same thing I was doing in a factory only now I get to pick and choose hardware, I get to work for a very flexible and intelligent boss and I get paid better than I did before including sales incentives. I still get to be responsible for a lot, work long hours, but I don't have to fight with power-mad non-technical managers and supervisors.

I say go for it. Your description of what you have to put up with reminds me of what my life was like in several different places not so long ago. It reminds me to be thankful for taking the chance and for my current situation.

Good luck.