PMRacing said:A couple days after giving notice I had a call with my Sr. Director. He apologized for the situation they put me in last year and understood why I was leaving. Today I get an email from the VP of our business unit apologizing for the situation and wishing me luck. I think they know they messed up.
Wow - my current and past job always twist it and blame the person leaving. I always suggest we look in the mirror and see where we failed but the management guys I know never do.
In reply to OHSCrifle :
2 weeks in. It still has the new job smell. However, I have accomplished more on my intended career path in two weeks here than several years at my last job. Well, that may not be completely correct...I learned a lot at the last job to apply to my career, and it gave me a big theory that I wasn't able to apply in full previously, and it is a big part of my master plans now. And my last manager was a great mentor (still is) and taught me how to build a robust engineering process. So maybe it wasn't an intended path, but a necessary one to gain the knowledge required for when I returned to my intended path.
I am the only one at the company with my particular skillset, and one of my jobs is to bring together a team of current employees to take full advantage of the tools available and to work together to accomplish my goals as well as theirs'. I already had a meeting with them yesterday and can see the enthusiasm. Now I just need to figure out how to organize it.
I'm still trying to keep my enthusiasm tempered just in case. It is only two weeks in. But I'm not dreading to go into the office anymore. It hasn't been easy, but it's not frustrating problem solving, customer fire fighting anymore (although I know the frustrating stuff will be there in the future). It is more of here's what I need to do, what is the best way to get it done, what tools do I have/need to do it, and who can help me/how can I help them along the way?
I'm also taking a completely different approach to this job than past ones. I'm going for it. I'm not going to step on toes, but I'm not going to ask for permission every step of the way. I've already talked to the CEO and invited him to a pretty cool demonstration from a potential supplier - he thanked me for inviting him. I plan on having future discussions with him and keeping myself on his radar (in a good way). I am only one step down from him in the management chain anyway. I'm also going to try and help more people along the way. In an environment like this, everyone needs to chip in where needed. In a larger company it is sometimes difficult to do that and everything is more managed. Here, stuff just needs to get done and if you can help, do it.
I have a feeling of real purpose now, not just being another gear in the machine. I was "necessary" at my old job, but it didn't feel like it, and I didn't have a sense of opportunity. Now I can see the opportunities, paths forward, and not only what I can gain but what others can as well.
Right move, right time.
Cool. I hope you continue to enjoy this job. It's a cool company.
One month anniversary update!
Still going well. I am learning my way and building my toolbox so when I start getting fed data, I can start doing what I was brought into do. I needed some parts ordered for testing purposes, and I didn't need to jump through 100 hoops. I just had to state the purpose and ask if we can do that and boom, parts ordered! One they arrive, I'll be bringing them to my previous employer to run some tests on. Good thing I haven't burned any bridges.
Speaking of former employers, yesterday, I got to bring in some former colleagues from two jobs ago to do a demonstration and Q&A session on their product. Funny thing is, I have been using it as a customer for the past two jobs. It's interesting having the perspective of a former tester/developer of a product to using it as a customer. Good thing is I have a lot of insight to use it in ways a typical customer does not, and I'll be able to do some cool stuff with it that many people would not know about. It's fun simulating things in the matrix. You can perform tests that provide real results, but are impossible to do in the real world.
I've been meeting more people and everyone seems very enthusiastic about the company and the opportunities available. All speak well of the CEO and current management. I still agree with my last line of my last post. Right move, right time.
In reply to PMRacing :
the startup vehicle atmosphere is exciting and flexible but also unstable and therefore stressful. i'm not sure i'm cut out for it, but i do like the pay premium vs established companies.
In reply to PMRacing :
Would you mind passing on your coach's contact info? I'm not looking to go anywhere from current job, but some help really getting my resume and LinkedIn page tip-top would be nice.
I've been approached about a few remote jobs that would be LARGE increases, but wasn't ready to apply because I don't have everything lined out.
PMRacing said:One month anniversary update!
Still going well. I am learning my way and building my toolbox so when I start getting fed data, I can start doing what I was brought into do. I needed some parts ordered for testing purposes, and I didn't need to jump through 100 hoops. I just had to state the purpose and ask if we can do that and boom, parts ordered! One they arrive, I'll be bringing them to my previous employer to run some tests on. Good thing I haven't burned any bridges.
Speaking of former employers, yesterday, I got to bring in some former colleagues from two jobs ago to do a demonstration and Q&A session on their product. Funny thing is, I have been using it as a customer for the past two jobs. It's interesting having the perspective of a former tester/developer of a product to using it as a customer. Good thing is I have a lot of insight to use it in ways a typical customer does not, and I'll be able to do some cool stuff with it that many people would not know about. It's fun simulating things in the matrix. You can perform tests that provide real results, but are impossible to do in the real world.
I've been meeting more people and everyone seems very enthusiastic about the company and the opportunities available. All speak well of the CEO and current management. I still agree with my last line of my last post. Right move, right time.
FWIW that can vary even in established companies. In a previous career, I was the leader of a group, in charge (in theory) or a 3MM budget including salaries and expenses. Usually they called in Feb or so to take some away, and even when I wanted to spend it, I had to get three approvers to agree that I could spend my money and then three different approvers to approve the actual payment of the thing.
In this new role, in which I am not in charge of anyone or any budget, I can expense as many thousands as I want on my credit card and nobody will even ask me what it's for.
In reply to z31maniac :
Sorry I missed this when you posted. PM sent.
4.5 month update. Things are trucking along. There has been some turnover and today got a shock that my boss was let go. I can understand why but it also kinda sucks because I liked the guy and he opened this door for me and gave me the opportunity. I'm sure I'll find out more reasons in the next couple of weeks. I know a start up can be a bit rocky at times, but I'm staying the course and keeping my vision and goals in sight. A couple of yellow flags are showing but no red flags. I still enjoy what I've been doing and hope to apply it in practice soon. I have a 100 day meeting with my coach this weekend and have a lot to review.
One year update!
Man, time flies. I'm still at the "new" job, although it isn't so new anymore. The work has been challenging, but satisfying as well. It's definitely been a roller coaster ride. There have been weeks, where I come home pumped and know we're going to make it. Then there are weeks where i question if I'm staying or should I start looking again. Turnover has been very high but I think it is still trying to find the right people for this kind of job. My career coach says turmoil is often part of start ups while they try and find their feet and get the right team together. If I still believe in the product and the goal, I should stick with it. I do, so that's what I'm doing.
I'm in a place I haven't been before. I'm waiting for vehicles to start testing. I've been helping in other areas. We have a lot of younger, less experienced engineers. So I've been trying to keep them pointed in the right direction regardless of the noise and issues. I have people coming to me for advice and to bounce ideas off of. But I'm not a manager. There have been some interesting title changes, deserved or not, and some people don't quite agree with those changes. Hopefully in my 1 year review I get some sense of future direction. But right now I'm focused on our plans for vehicle tuning.
I've also got a patent pending with some other engineers. There was an issue that needed to be resolved and we came up with a unique solution. No one has seen it yet so we've got the paperwork moving.
Company wise, I think we're stable. Another company took majority control of us, but we are still independent with our own CEO and plans with cash in the bank, so we'll be getting to production roughly on time (given the supply chain and manpower issues). But there is still a path forward and a goal to meet.
Am I still happy with the move? Yes. While there are rough days and caution flag days, overall, I am in a much better place than when I started this journey. I still speak with my career coach and get advice. Any stress I feel now is more, "how do I attack this problem?" vs. customer pressure and fear of screwing up. And no more burn out. I'm enjoying myself again.
Last thing...we are hiring! PM or email (philmatherracing at geemale dot com) me for info as I don't like to post company info here. I will caution you if you want to work with me, though. You need to be a self starter. You have to filter out naysayers and stay focused on the goal. Attack problems as challenges and not issues. Figure out how to get things done without the proper resources or help (it's getting better though!). If you're up for the challenge and interested in working on EV commercial vehicles (and eventually a badass SUV and pickup) in SE Michigan, let me know!
PMR: Sounds like things have gone well in your new role.
Would you recommend the career coach you worked with to someone that wants to consider a career change? I'm seriously thinking about a change in field and I could use guidance & tasking to get to a good new role. I'm not in a rush but I want to make a change and plan on constant work to get there, hopefully within a year or so from start.
EDIT: Sent you a PM so there's that to respond to if you can.
PMRacing said:In reply to z31maniac :
Sorry I missed this when you posted. PM sent.
No worries, any chance I could get you to resend it? I accidentally blew away a bunch of emails cleaning out my Gmail account earlier this year.
PMs replied to!
Much obliged!
1. We're hiring like crazy! We NEED good engineers!
2. First drive of our prototype!
Holy crap, half a year since the last update!
I'm still here! It's been a roller coaster but still worth it. I've got our first truck almost fully tuned dynamically. Our next round of prototypes have started production and I start tuning those in a little over a month. It is still a start up but we've made it further than a lot of similar companies and I'm hoping that bodes well for our future. The demand for this type of truck is huge, so we just need to get to production and have a reliable vehicle to make it big hopefully.
That said, WE NEED HELP! Please check out our careers page here. It is constantly being updated. There is one big thing that you need to work here. Drive. If you are the type that can take a job and run with it, please take a look. Also you'll find yourself stepping outside of your job. I've been on three other areas besides my core responsibilities. I've never learned so much in such a short time. PM me if you have questions or reach me at philmatherracing at the gee mail. Thanks!
Well, over another year since the last update.
To quote our founder "Holy E36 M3! We berkeleying did it!" (He actually said that today in front of government officials, investors, and board members in his speech!!!! I love it!)
Start of production was this week. Today was the official launch. Trucks are beginning to roll off the assembly line. It's a relief and terrifying at the same time. We actually made it happen, but the paranoid engineer in me is always thinking "what did we miss?" Hopefully not much. Production will ramp up slowly, but we've got orders. The work on the next generation has already begun.
It's coming up on my 3rd year of employment here, over 4 years since this saga started. I wouldn't change a thing!
If GRM would like a test drive, let me know and I'll put you in contact with the right people :)
Congratulations Phil. That must be a really exciting time for you and the whole team.
Awesome. I'm glad you found. Your place.
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