Heart not into job anymore

BradLTL wrote: I used to be addicted to my job. It was weird. It was hard, I worked crazy hours (did 54 straight one time), but because of the people around me and the thought of opportunity to contribute to something bigger, it was addicting. In 5 years we grew a company from $14M to over $200M in revenue. Then it all went wrong. Big corporate took over, reorganized, created "utilization", and got rid of most of the management (one way or another). Now, that company is just a shell and is in corporate bizarre-o world filled with politics, non-decisions, and TPS reports. I would like to get back to something that I can feel like a part of, not just a company I work for... which is why I think I need to work for myself.

Sounds like the last 6-8yrs of my life (I was with the company for 20). Drove me nuts to see the small & innovative company to which I'd dedicated myself becoming yet another plodding behemoth, following the herd. When the layoffs finally came, those of us who were leaving were the happy ones.

I think I've decided that I never again want to put so much emotional energy into a workplace. Do I want to do good work? Of course. Do I want my entire life to revolve around whether a company is successful? Not anymore, unless I own it. I'm no longer looking for a "career"..I just want a "job", so that I can take care of me & mine--and hopefully focus upon the part of my life that doesn't involve being at work. That's why I "threw away" retirement to buy the stinking house.

One of the things that has astonished me for years about my European friends is that when you ask them, "What do you do?", you usually get a list of their hobbies, instead of what their job is. They seem to think that jobs come & go, and what you do for a living isn't a great indicator of who you really are as a person. At the moment, I'm inclined to agree with them.

I'm not one of those folks claiming that the "American Dream" is dead..I'm just saying that there are other ways.

This thread is a bit depressing. I really like the work I am doing. I get to learn new things all the time. I get to solve problems. The problems are not always the same day to day. My issue is that I am totally set up for failure like someone else posted back on page 1. The workload that I have used to be handled by at least 6 engineers. Now it is me. I figured this out about a month after I started and told my boss and his boss that I was being set up for failure and that more people are needed to make the project a success. I was told to be more efficient. I gave up lunch breaks about a month ago and a lot of days don't have time to go to the bathroom. I've been working 15-20 hours of overtime a week to try to keep up, but just fall farther and farther behind. I tell them, but people who can fix this problem are in denial about it. My immediate boss understands and actually told me today how amazed he is that I've managed to keep things from imploding for as long as I have and that maybe I should just start failing spectacularly so I can get some help.

This week, no overtime was authorized, but my workload went up. I am a dumbass and so far have put in about 9 hours this week of volunteer time. We don't have a flex time policy, so I guess these are hours that I won't get back.

Sometimes I can pull off the impossible, but not all the time and not forever. This is why I dream of being Amish minus the beard and religion plus electricity.

T.J. wrote: This thread is a bit depressing. I really like the work I am doing. I get to learn new things all the time. I get to solve problems. The problems are not always the same day to day. My issue is that I am totally set up for failure like someone else posted back on page 1. The workload that I have used to be handled by at least 6 engineers. Now it is me. I figured this out about a month after I started and told my boss and his boss that I was being set up for failure and that more people are needed to make the project a success. I was told to be more efficient. I gave up lunch breaks about a month ago and a lot of days don't have time to go to the bathroom. I've been working 15-20 hours of overtime a week to try to keep up, but just fall farther and farther behind. I tell them, but people who can fix this problem are in denial about it. My immediate boss understands and actually told me today how amazed he is that I've managed to keep things from imploding for as long as I have and that maybe I should just start failing spectacularly so I can get some help. This week, no overtime was authorized, but my workload went up. I am a dumbass and so far have put in about 9 hours this week of volunteer time. We don't have a flex time policy, so I guess these are hours that I won't get back. Sometimes I can pull off the impossible, but not all the time and not forever. This is why I dream of being Amish minus the beard and religion plus electricity.

I think this is a major reason why so many engineers are unhappy. A similar situation caused me to leave my last job. When the economy went bad, they cut hours and pay, but the workload stayed the same. When the company explained times were tough and everyone had to sacrifice, I think it was easy for the engineers to be logical and say, "OK, that makes sense, I'll help do my part".

But as things have started to get better and pick back up, I think a lot of companies are continuing the low pay/high work, and it's disenchanting a lot of people as they begin to feel taken advantage of.

These days, on a $/hour basis, there are a LOT of other jobs that pay what an engineer makes, that can be a lot less stress and more fun.

Thought I would share this, it seems topical...

http://lifehacker.com/5834025/if-you-wouldnt-do-your-job-for-free-then-quit

In reply to BradLTL:

That seems a bit much. There are aspects to my job that I'd do for free and have plans to do things when I retire. But on the whole? Not a close call. If that's the yard stick, only job I'm cut out for is being rich and retired.

I guess I'm lucky...I'm an engineer in a firm with hundreds of other engineers, and as far as I can tell no one is unhappy.

Well, of course we're not all walking around all day with giant grins on our faces, but no one's out on the window ledge like some of you guys sound.

fast_eddie_72 wrote: In reply to BradLTL: That seems a bit much. There are aspects to my job that I'd do for free and have plans to do things when I retire. But on the whole? Not a close call. If that's the yard stick, only job I'm cut out for is being rich and retired.

I'm not sure someone would pay me to sit around and to........nevermind.

Interesting conversation. I'm surprised at the number of engineers that are less than happy.

I've done the suck the life out of you jobs before, where the first thing that goes through you mind in the morning is, CRAP it's a work day. After two years of it I quit and took a job making half as much and loved going to work every day. Well, almost every day. The problem with it was, no money. Then I'd wake up in the morning and think CRAP, there's a bill due.

Now I'm at the happy medium. I won't say I love my job, but there is a definite satisfaction in it, and I'm damn good at it. Honestly, probably one of the best in the business. It does a pretty good job at paying the bills too. I'll never be rich, but that's because work is a means to an end for me rather than the end itself. I'm also working for myself which gives me some flexibility. If I need a day off for a race or a school event with the kids, I take it. I don't have to schedule it months in advance. Monday, we spent the day helping my business partner put the motor back in his 65 Fury. Not all of it is fun and games, and there are times I wished I still worked for the man, but as a rule, I wouldn't go back.

I wouldn't quit if I were in your shoes, but I'd definitely be working on my exit strategy. A soul sucking job isn't a place to stay, it makes you miserable and everyone around you as well. Life's too short for that.