The 12 hours is insane.
Get out as soon as you can.
The one thing that I disliked about my first job was how they pushed the idea of it being a 40-hour work week -- salaried of course. However, you go there, and then they drop the usual bomb, "we'd like you to at least work an extra 10%". Throughout my first year, I worked the hours that I needed to (at least 40, of course). I think my longest work week was about 55-60 hours when I was put on third shift due to lack of available SIL (System Integration Lab) time. What was the comment? "Well, you only averaged about 42 hours per week" "Yes, because I usually could finish my work well within 40 hours." "Then go help someone else."
My thought? "Okay, so you want me to take up a coworker's time for him to delegate some of his work to me?" If my team leader thought that another group within our team needed my help, then he would've asked me to help them, and I would've gladly done it. In other words, it wasn't needed and it takes up time on my side and the other group's side just to set everything up and potentially teach me the things I need to know to do the job.
The biggest thing about it that bugs me? That was a defense sector job, and why does a defense company want me to work more hours? That's because I don't get paid for it, but they do. The hours get charged to the contract, which is money in their pocket. At my current job, I get comp time for any hours over 40. If I don't use it by the end of the year, it gets paid out at 100% normal hourly rate.
Why should I give up my personal time for free when the company isn't investing in me, promoting me, or paying me?
ICF - would your viewpoint change if you felt your company was investing in you, by doing things such as promoting you and/or paying for your MBA (as an example)?
Why not interview and get offers first? It's always good to maximize your number of options and then decide.
But if you are going to bail, don't wait too long, we may already be in an economic bubble, and when the music stops you want to have a chair.
At my current age, after having worked 20+ years? No. I view myself as a business and I sell my skills to the highest bidder, period.
I've had jobs that would pay for an MBA (in one case, 100%). Getting an MBA has never been a goal of mine nor even desirable, as I've never respected the degree and the market is flooded with them now. I've always been considered an elite worker and basically, it has just gotten me more work. Yeah, I got some great raises, but at the end of the day, my life sucked.
I opened my eyes about 10 years ago and came to the conclusion that my job was sucking my life out and that my job is just a means to an end, not the end itself. With few exceptions, a "career" is just a job and people need to realize that. It isn't a way of life or the meaning of your life. It's sad people think it is.
Why should I give up my personal time for free when the company isn'tinvesting in me, promoting me, orpaying me?
I opened my eyes about 10 years ago and came to the conclusion that my job was sucking my life out and that my job is just a means to an end, not the end itself. With few exceptions, a "career" is just a job and people need to realize that. It isn't a way of life or the meaning of your life. It's sad people think it is.
You should just amend your post then
I think that's what I'm realizing myself. What I realize is that most other jobs out there would probably be as bad or worse than this one....maybe it's me that's changed. If I can't find a business that I like, I, like you, should become my own business.
Well, that is basically what it amounts to. A business won't give stuff away for free, and my product is my skills/time, so why should I give it away for free?
I'm not saying I'd never work OT -- sometimes you have to do it. But that should be the rare exception and not the rule.
I've been burned too many times on promotions to even care about "moving up" now. I just hope to keep doing consulting, raking in the money, and retire with some of my sanity intact.
That attitude only really works when the market is favoring the employee. In our case of enterprise software consulting there just isn't enough supply of good employees. I'm sure you have more than your fair share of hilarious stories of gross incompetence, I certainly do. Employers are willing to pay a premium to get a good employee. However, in a market for careers like nursing do you really think the same applies?
I'm with you 100%. That's what is great about contracting my services out. I don't have to deal with lame corporate BS any longer and I have a ton more flexibility.Companies in general don't promote fast enough or keep salaries in line with market. Last jump I got a 50% and at this point I almost feel compelled to jump every 3 years to stay current with my market value. It doesn't help that I'm so fed up with corporate BS like goals and performance metrics.
It is risky and I would not have done it without having a wife to cover my benefits. Right now, I'm contracted at least through December and probably beyond that. If I don't go beyond that, I have a cushion to pay my bills for a couple of years so I can either do something else or go sign another SP contract.Do you find that going out on your own is worth the risk? Sure you make a boat load more, but you still have quite a bit of working time in front of you. Will SharePoint be there for that entire time. How do you stay current and get people to contract with you? The most successful people on my side of the fence are the ones that can jump back and forth from being independent and working for a firm. That way they can find someone to subsidize the risk and training for new products but make bank when they don't need that safety net.
The last time the bubble popped and the company that I worked for closed down the local plant, I had an interview within 2 days and a job in 5. Not saying that would happen this time but to be honest, I'm not too worried about that right now. I'm more interested in finding the 'right job', not another job.
I have been thinking about going out on my own. I'm trying to price the software and computer hardware needed right now. Would be probably north of $6,000 to get the hardware (good laptop) and the software (AutoCAD, Rockwell software, Omron software, Mitsubishi software, Proface software, etc) to get ready. Maybe more.
Of course, I could simply freelance and tell the customers that I have to use their copies of software but that's not practical and probably a customer turnoff.
I still think it's better to interview if you have a job. Maybe it's just my strategy. I like to interview from position of strength and ambivalence, like I am just testing the waters, and make them make it worth my while to jump ship. Companies also tend to value you less if you are presently unemployed than if you have a steady job. They don't know you personally, so they will think of various possibilities of why you aren't employed, most of them are not favorable to you getting a good offer.
Yes, can't fault any of that. I'm also going to discreetly start gauging interest from people that I've done business with over the last 4 years to see if they would be interested in using my service if I were to go out on my own. I could lower the rate because I don't have the overhead. They already know the work quality so I don't have to convince them on that.
You could get into some conflict of interest legal issues if your current employer finds out you are pre-poaching his customers while still employed there. I wouldn't mess with it. I think you should already know if they are there for your work or are loyal to the company. You can always poach them afterwards. If they like your work and you offer them a lower rate, it's a no-brainer.
Yea, he could fire me! :biggrin:
Yea, he could fire me! :biggrin:
u sign any non-compete forms?
It could be worse than that. Seriously, tread carefully here.
Nope! :biggrin:
Nor would I sign anything like that anywhere I work. Controls Engineering is too broad of a field to have someone try to control who and who cannot do it because they want to limit competition. Would never fly.
There are no documents signed. He would have no legal recourse that I know of. He wouldn't push it anyway. He always stated that "If you go, you go...nothing I can do about it".
If you go, you go. If you poach your company's clients while still working for them and then go, that could be a different story. Even if you signed nothing, there could be a reasonable expectation that you act in the company's interest and not your own personal one while employed there and having access to their clients.
And even if there isn't, your employer could still sue you, and you could be wiped out financially even if you win. So I wouldn't tempt fate.