I guess today I became the only Mechanical Engineer at my company. The company laid off 4 people and the other ME was one of them which kinda sucks cause it was nice learning from someone who had designed a number of things that flew on the space shuttle and had over 20 patents.
you got to stay because you're cheaper. sucks for the other guy, but good for you, i guess.
the guy i bought my house from was in that guys shoes, he was out of work for nearly 3 years and the only job he got offered was barely above entry level and they tried to rescind the offer when they found out he made twice what they were willing to pay at his last job.
i'd polish up the ole resume if i were you.
In reply to Strizzo:
Yeah. I am doing that tonight.
Good news is that guy was part owner of another company that owns the rights to the technology we use in everything except mining, gets royalties as part of the agreement where the company I work bought the rights from the company he part owns plus he has social security, military retirement and a pension from Teledyne Brown so I am sure he will be fine but I see a lot of longer hours at work.
About 3 or 4 years ago, the company I'd been with for the previous 10 year went through a few rounds of layoffs. EVERYONE was polishing up their resumes, fear was running rampant. I didn't get laid off, but within a year after the layoffs I and at least a half- dozen other ME's all jumped ship. Whether the company had intentionally tried to frighten some folks into leaving is up for debate...but since I left the company my pay's increased 33%. And I've gotten 2 offers from that place to come back.
Change is frightening, and sucks in the short term, but you can use it to your advantage.
93EXCivic wrote: plus he has social security, military retirement and a pension from Teledyne Brown so I am sure he will be fine
Although it sucks it sounds like they were cleaning out some of the older, potentially higher paid guys?
Datsun310Guy wrote:93EXCivic wrote: plus he has social security, military retirement and a pension from Teledyne Brown so I am sure he will be fineAlthough it sucks it sounds like they were cleaning out some of the older, potentially higher paid guys?
One of them was that. Not sure about the other three they weren't in engineering. Our division of the company got hit the lightest.
This is what happens when people get to optimistic about sales projects without talking to people actually involved.
I once got caught up in the first round of several layoffs. The reason was I wasn't an ass kissing, brown nosing prick , I just did my job. I heard the national boss (the prick) said he was afraid that people would start jumping ship, which they did.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: About 3 or 4 years ago, the company I'd been with for the previous 10 year went through a few rounds of layoffs. EVERYONE was polishing up their resumes, fear was running rampant. I didn't get laid off, but within a year after the layoffs I and at least a half- dozen other ME's all jumped ship. Whether the company had intentionally tried to frighten some folks into leaving is up for debate...but since I left the company my pay's increased 33%. And I've gotten 2 offers from that place to come back. Change is frightening, and sucks in the short term, but you can use it to your advantage.
This^^
The are typically two ways to get a big bump in pay, get promoted or change jobs. Otherwise it tends to be the annual raise of 3% (if you are lucky and get one) each year that keeps you from falling too far behind the cost of living.
Some industries are more reliable than others. As an ME in medical devices even during the low points of the last several years there were always openings to move companies if you wanted to.
Before putting too much polish on the resume I would recommend checking to see what industries in your area are most active and if you are open to change gear it towards that industry as part of the polishing.
jstand wrote: The are typically two ways to get a big bump in pay, get promoted or change jobs. Otherwise it tends to be the annual raise of 3% (if you are lucky and get one) each year that keeps you from falling too far behind the cost of living.
This really pisses me off: nearly every employer I've ever worked for considered the 3% raise a "merit" increase. Now, I'm not the smartest person in my zip code, but I did minor in economics and I'm fairly observant besides...3%, in reality, even during the past 5-8 years of economic doldrums, just barely keeps pace with the rising cost of living. The fact that employers continually hype it as a "merit" increase is laughable and insulting. 3% is treading water, and anything less (I know lots of folks who've gotten no increases for several years) is essentially the company saying to you that you are less valuable to them now then when they hired you.
volvoclearinghouse wrote:jstand wrote: The are typically two ways to get a big bump in pay, get promoted or change jobs. Otherwise it tends to be the annual raise of 3% (if you are lucky and get one) each year that keeps you from falling too far behind the cost of living.This really pisses me off: nearly every employer I've ever worked for considered the 3% raise a "merit" increase. Now, I'm not the smartest person in my zip code, but I did minor in economics and I'm fairly observant besides...3%, in reality, even during the past 5-8 years of economic doldrums, just barely keeps pace with the rising cost of living. The fact that employers continually hype it as a "merit" increase is laughable and insulting. 3% is treading water, and anything less (I know lots of folks who've gotten no increases for several years) is essentially the company saying to you that you are _less_ valuable to them now then when they hired you.
Yeah no kidding. My company did give me a better then 3% raise but I get this feeling that the reason I will end up leaving this company is because of money cause even though sometimes I feel like some management decisions are very strange, I enjoy my work for the most part. It is very varied and usually interesting.
Sucks to be the last man standing. I'm the only survivor from our magazine editorial crew simply because I know online as well as I know print. Never stop job hunting, always keep a few aces tucked up your sleeve just in case. You don't have to being going on interviews all the time, but simply keeping in touch with key people can make a huge difference.
I watched a rumor spread though an IT department once that there were going to be huge layoffs soon. There was a stampede of IT folks out the door within two months but the rumored layoffs never happened.
volvoclearinghouse wrote: This really pisses me off: nearly every employer I've ever worked for considered the 3% raise a "merit" increase. Now, I'm not the smartest person in my zip code, but I did minor in economics and I'm fairly observant besides...3%, in reality, even during the past 5-8 years of economic doldrums, just barely keeps pace with the rising cost of living. The fact that employers continually hype it as a "merit" increase is laughable and insulting. 3% is treading water, and anything less (I know lots of folks who've gotten no increases for several years) is essentially the company saying to you that you are _less_ valuable to them now then when they hired you.
I think your take on the 3% increase not being an actual "increase" as it relates to inflation is correct.
The portion of your statement saying "essentially the company saying to you that you are less valuable to them now then when they hired you." is also accurate but there is another factor here. That factor is market forces.
If the company can retain you with a 3% increase, they will. Economically it makes sense for them to pay you the minimal amount necessary to retain you as an employee. If other companies in the area are offering 6% increases for you to make a move to come work for them then your company may have to offer 5% increases to retain you.
The reason 5% works is that most people don't need a matching offer to stay. Move's can be painful, unsettling, etc. More so to folks who hate change in which case most often a tiny increase of some sort will keep people in their current jobs.
The example I gave is how market forces work. An example on downward pressure on salaries would be if there was a glut of ME's looking for work in which case you wouldn't get a raise at all as the cost of hiring ME's would be very low. Much lower than say giving you a 3% increase. You'd stay because finding another job would not be easy and take some considerable time as competition would be fierce.
What I see in this current economy is employers that are incredibly profitable and doing their damnedest to keep worker salaries low. All while paying company leaders massive amounts of cash. It's a E36 M3 situation that has to change. The middle class drives the economy and should have had take home pay increases quite awhile ago. The economic recovery is starting to stall due to the middle class not being allowed a part of the profit pie that companies and their leaders have been gobbling up for almost a decade now.
Back on topic - keep your head up and your resume polished. ALWAYS. I constantly check what my worth is as an employee. If I can move for more money than what is being offered via "merit" increases I'll do it. Money isn't the only factor but it's a big one considering I use cash to the pay bills. Employers ceased having my loyalty when I realized they'd lay me off or fire me for the flimsiest of reasons. One of those reasons being short term profits. They'll say it's nothing personal, just business. I feel the same way.
slefain wrote: I watched a rumor spread though an IT department once that there were going to be huge layoffs soon. There was a stampede of IT folks out the door within two months but the rumored layoffs never happened.
I love it. Workers having options is the best defense against layoffs, salary cuts, or benefit cuts. I'll bet those employees would've stayed if they had faith in the company and it's leadership. Also, being treated well and with respect helps.
In reply to Xceler8x:
I think more the less what he meant is that they claim to have a merit increase of 3%, but they never give that out citing some BS.
I work for the same company, and probably the most impacted by the layoffs, and will say there were a variety of reasons for it. Mostly having to do with the depressed state of the mining industry world wide, and the utter shambles in the US.
The man 93EXCivic was referring to was indeed a wise one, and I am very sorry to see him go. He is definitely not hurting by this though, and was the most logical choice as bad as that is. We lost one person from every department. Yesterday was a bad day.
Did the former NASA guy save some lives in South America a few years back?
Wow! I feel for you guys. I've closed two manufacturing plants in the past.
Last Friday I resigned after 10 years with a Medical Device company. Got a 2% raise this year!
Oh boy!
Found out this morning from a colleague at another Medical Device company that the management team here is in a panic at my departure. I'm the sterilization specialist and the one who validates all the packaging machines along with presenting/defending that data in all audits both regulatory and customer.
Seems that a representative from DuPont was here earlier this week to discuss the Tyvek transition (new process) which affects all companies who package there sterile products using Tyvek. She went to my friends plant the next day to conduct trials to validate the effectiveness of the transition. The DuPont reps words were 'that company's management team is in a panic'.
Start new job on the 12th. I'm pumped. Good company, more money, and I do NOT need to relocate.
My background is ME and MBA.
trucke wrote: Wow! I feel for you guys. I've closed two manufacturing plants in the past. Last Friday I resigned after 10 years with a Medical Device company. Got a 2% raise this year!
We are interviewing Quality Engineers with specialization in sterilization right now. We've been Gamma forever, picked up some EO about a year ago as part of some aquired business, and are now moving some of our legacy product to EO as well.
I'm just south of Asheville, NC. The new gig will be awesome!
Process Improvement Engineer for an organic herbal supplement company that is growing 18% + per year. Will get to employ my lean, six sigma, project management and FDA experience for a new cause.
Thanks for letting me know about EO sterilization opportunities in GA. I've looked at a few jobs around Atlanta, but we like living in the mountains.
In reply to Xceler8x:
You're exactly right, of course. And having a minor in Econ I understand how market forces work. Or how they are supposed to. :-/ Most companies, though, CAP increases to a certain amount (3% is common), so that's the maximum any employee is ever eligible for. Although if you chnage jobs within the company, or sometimes if you come in with a counteroffer from another potential employer, that rule can go out the window.
Rule I heard a while ago: Employers will pay their employees just enough so they don't leave, and employees will work just hard enough to not get fired. It's a very pessimistic outlook on the economy, but to some extent or another it does hold true.
trucke wrote: Wow! I feel for you guys. I've closed two manufacturing plants in the past. Last Friday I resigned after 10 years with a Medical Device company. Got a 2% raise this year!
happy for you Art ... you still going to have surplus OR towels ?
really happy for you 
edit: I've now read the rest of the posts ... and see you're off to a new industry ... still happy for you .. good luck
happy for you Art ... you still going to have surplus OR towels ?
really happy for you
edit: I've now read the rest of the posts ... and see you're off to a new industry ... still happy for you .. good luck
I'm losing the source of OR Towels and Laparotomy Sponges, but gaining access to herbal supplements like 'Prostate Health'.
You'll need to log in to post.
