What Do You Do For Work?

[Ohdang]

I've ordered shirts for things I've sponsored and will definitley be using you next time. I also just like some of the designs for gifts and personal. And you have tank tops!

I got my class shirts done maybe 7-8 years ago, they were really nice! If I had a need for custom t-shirts I'd go there again. At the time his shop was in Wooster, had to go there to pick them up. Not sure if they're still in the same place.

That seems like a lifetime ago. Since then, I've moved to North Carolina, become an immunohematologist, and am currently running my own lab at a non profit blood bank in Raleigh. Things have been crazy lately, but I definitely love what I do.

 

[kevinoc0]

Handle the accounting/fp&a for a talent agency representing sports broadcasters. Really interesting industry to be in for a very unglamorous line of work, but love it. Work from home in CLE and get to travel into NYC once a month, which is perfect. Get to be in the city a lot, but get the Midwest cost of living.

Talent agencies are getting absolutely crushed right now, but we’re hanging in there.

 

[David.]

Looks like I do instacart now

And starting on the 28th I do unemployment

 

[FrontPageNews]

Well I was a steel worker... until the 19th.

 

[MGMT]

I was a branch manager for a major home healthcare company. I couldn’t stand it so I quit and I haven’t worked since. I’ve been trying to transition into a different industry and I haven’t been able. It’s been exceptionally difficult and depressing.

 

[Huber.]

I find mannequins on the side of the road or in trash bins, put makeup or clothes on them and then sell them online.

Our very own Jigo was featured on TLC

 

[N7RobBob]

Haha. 2020 will be the year I do that. Guys in corporate suck more than ever.

Totally got out. 2 months into my new job and I'm given the opportunity to go home early for a 5 day weekend. I have way too much free time already to spend on here. This is nice.

 

[Kouki]

Would I be hijacking this thread if I asked about career advice?

There's some old old career advice threads.

Anyways I'm going to hijack it and if I get banned for life oh well.

TL;DR - have opportunity to work for my old boss as he got promoted, I would take his old role. Wasn't crazy about his management style. Not sure I am ready for the opportunity. I am young and would be managing 11 people ranging from maybe 25 to 55 years old. In engineering you can go down the management path or the engineering path and idk which I really want.

Longer version

I work in engineering, I have been with the same company since I graduated college 9 years ago. Four years ago I worked for Bossman A who seriously opened up opportunities for me because he was a long term thinker and I was the executor. Bossman A got promoted, Bossman B became my boss reporting to Bossman A. Bossman B and I had a good relationship and we still do but his management was frustrating at times. Had to move heaven and hell to convince him to do things, bringing pace to a crawl, and felt like I could never execute what I really wanted to. The work was technology development, so think like prototypes.

I ultimately got a bit frustrated, wanted more ownership so I moved to being in charge of development projects with real deliverables, decisions and consequences (product as opposed to prototype) - kind of management-light.

This was around the time my relationship with my wife was going to shit and I just wanted to challenge myself, get uncomfortable. I am terrified of public speaking, low self esteem, etc but know I have good potential so that move was to force me to work on it.

Then COVID hit, my future ex wife got pregnant. Lot easier to be in charge of big meetings when its virtual. 2020 took a toll on my mental health for sure and 2021 probably won't be easier as we move towards separation. I am also a recovering alcoholic from 2020, shit got really bad months leading up to birth of my daughter.

The reason why I took my current role (responsibility, ownership) is slowly slipping away. It's complicated (actually due to Bossman A) but it wasn't due to my performance deficiencies. Getting that same feeling of disenfranchisement.

Anyways Bossman A got promoted to director, Bossman B got promoted, and Bossman B wants me to take his old job, so I would quite literally be responsible for executing the vision I wanted to a couple years ago.

This move was always something that was in the back of my mind - go get this product experience then come back as a manager having been on both sides of the equation. It just happened a lot quicker than I expected.

Also the group ballooned to 11 people with a recent re-org, and it's kind of a hodge podge of experience and age. I'm 32 but would be managing people anywhere from 25 to 50's. Again this isn't unheard of in engineering, some just want to be engineers for life and be able to drop work at 5pm. I would definitely be young for the role though.

This would also include likely presenting material directly to the CTO at times, the thought of which freaks me the fuck out. I have mild PTSD from bad presentations in the past. I don't mean to use the term lightly, my therapist said it, lol.

Luckily I have a good enough relationship with Bossman B so I can talk to him about all this, including the things I didn't like about his management style.

Believe it or not I've tried to trim this down like four times now.

 

[bob2the2nd]

Would I be hijacking this thread if I asked about career advice?

There's some old old career advice threads.

Anyways I'm going to hijack it and if I get banned for life oh well.

TL;DR - have opportunity to work for my old boss as he got promoted, I would take his old role. Wasn't crazy about his management style. Not sure I am ready for the opportunity. I am young and would be managing 11 people ranging from maybe 25 to 55 years old. In engineering you can go down the management path or the engineering path and idk which I really want.

Longer version

I work in engineering, I have been with the same company since I graduated college 9 years ago. Four years ago I worked for Bossman A who seriously opened up opportunities for me because he was a long term thinker and I was the executor. Bossman A got promoted, Bossman B became my boss reporting to Bossman A. Bossman B and I had a good relationship and we still do but his management was frustrating at times. Had to move heaven and hell to convince him to do things, bringing pace to a crawl, and felt like I could never execute what I really wanted to. The work was technology development, so think like prototypes.

I ultimately got a bit frustrated, wanted more ownership so I moved to being in charge of development projects with real deliverables, decisions and consequences (product as opposed to prototype) - kind of management-light.

This was around the time my relationship with my wife was going to shit and I just wanted to challenge myself, get uncomfortable. I am terrified of public speaking, low self esteem, etc but know I have good potential so that move was to force me to work on it.

Then COVID hit, my future ex wife got pregnant. Lot easier to be in charge of big meetings when its virtual. 2020 took a toll on my mental health for sure and 2021 probably won't be easier as we move towards separation. I am also a recovering alcoholic from 2020, shit got really bad months leading up to birth of my daughter.

The reason why I took my current role (responsibility, ownership) is slowly slipping away. It's complicated (actually due to Bossman A) but it wasn't due to my performance deficiencies. Getting that same feeling of disenfranchisement.

Anyways Bossman A got promoted to director, Bossman B got promoted, and Bossman B wants me to take his old job, so I would quite literally be responsible for executing the vision I wanted to a couple years ago.

This move was always something that was in the back of my mind - go get this product experience then come back as a manager having been on both sides of the equation. It just happened a lot quicker than I expected.

Also the group ballooned to 11 people with a recent re-org, and it's kind of a hodge podge of experience and age. I'm 32 but would be managing people anywhere from 25 to 50's. Again this isn't unheard of in engineering, some just want to be engineers for life and be able to drop work at 5pm. I would definitely be young for the role though.

This would also include likely presenting material directly to the CTO at times, the thought of which freaks me the fuck out. I have mild PTSD from bad presentations in the past. I don't mean to use the term lightly, my therapist said it, lol.

Luckily I have a good enough relationship with Bossman B so I can talk to him about all this, including the things I didn't like about his management style.

Believe it or not I've tried to trim this down like four times now.

As an engineer myself I have no interest in ever being management. My direct supervisor is a chemical engineer, The guy that hired me and is above my direct supervisor is a mechanical engineer. We are three of the four engineers in a 40 person team and the fourth one is a chemical engineer on assignment to a much higher level, they all want leadership roles, I dont. I kick ass at what I do and management supports me no matter what. If that's all you want then go find that.

The company duPont figured this out a long time ago that sometimes scientists just love being scientists and don't want to be elevated to management. in fact often make terrible leaders. That doesn't mean they should get paid less just because they don't want to be management. If you can't get cover from either of your bosses then go somewhere else and kick ass there.

 

[Kouki]

We have the same setup, you can advance up the tech ladder or the management ladder. Not sure how typical it is for 32 year olds to know which they want to go up but I don't. My one co-worker who I am friends with went up the tech ladder and ultimately became tech expert with no actual direct product responsibilities, basically he's a consultant for technically challenging stuff, manages design guide, etc. So he's involved in a lot of different things which is cool but at the same time doesn't do anything regarding longer term strategy, new technology, etc which I'm really drawn to.

Pretty much what you said - a lot of the people in those roles were former managers, directors, etc who weren't cutting it at managing/directing and instead got these special technical liaison/adviser roles. I'd love that role but historically you have to get promoted one step too far and then get "de-moted" to that role in a sense, and I'm not naïve, those people did have 20+ years of experience before assuming those positions...I have 9.

My dream job would be having the resources to lead technology development and mid term strategy without the stress of having to report to the friggin CTO of a multi-billion dollar company (who also came from engineering and is very capable of asking technically difficult questions - you better know your shit and be able to speak in engineering terms - something I'm not excellent at).

 

[prf100]

Would I be hijacking this thread if I asked about career advice?

There's some old old career advice threads.

Anyways I'm going to hijack it and if I get banned for life oh well.

TL;DR - have opportunity to work for my old boss as he got promoted, I would take his old role. Wasn't crazy about his management style. Not sure I am ready for the opportunity. I am young and would be managing 11 people ranging from maybe 25 to 55 years old. In engineering you can go down the management path or the engineering path and idk which I really want.

Longer version

I work in engineering, I have been with the same company since I graduated college 9 years ago. Four years ago I worked for Bossman A who seriously opened up opportunities for me because he was a long term thinker and I was the executor. Bossman A got promoted, Bossman B became my boss reporting to Bossman A. Bossman B and I had a good relationship and we still do but his management was frustrating at times. Had to move heaven and hell to convince him to do things, bringing pace to a crawl, and felt like I could never execute what I really wanted to. The work was technology development, so think like prototypes.

I ultimately got a bit frustrated, wanted more ownership so I moved to being in charge of development projects with real deliverables, decisions and consequences (product as opposed to prototype) - kind of management-light.

This was around the time my relationship with my wife was going to shit and I just wanted to challenge myself, get uncomfortable. I am terrified of public speaking, low self esteem, etc but know I have good potential so that move was to force me to work on it.

Then COVID hit, my future ex wife got pregnant. Lot easier to be in charge of big meetings when its virtual. 2020 took a toll on my mental health for sure and 2021 probably won't be easier as we move towards separation. I am also a recovering alcoholic from 2020, shit got really bad months leading up to birth of my daughter.

The reason why I took my current role (responsibility, ownership) is slowly slipping away. It's complicated (actually due to Bossman A) but it wasn't due to my performance deficiencies. Getting that same feeling of disenfranchisement.

Anyways Bossman A got promoted to director, Bossman B got promoted, and Bossman B wants me to take his old job, so I would quite literally be responsible for executing the vision I wanted to a couple years ago.

This move was always something that was in the back of my mind - go get this product experience then come back as a manager having been on both sides of the equation. It just happened a lot quicker than I expected.

Also the group ballooned to 11 people with a recent re-org, and it's kind of a hodge podge of experience and age. I'm 32 but would be managing people anywhere from 25 to 50's. Again this isn't unheard of in engineering, some just want to be engineers for life and be able to drop work at 5pm. I would definitely be young for the role though.

This would also include likely presenting material directly to the CTO at times, the thought of which freaks me the fuck out. I have mild PTSD from bad presentations in the past. I don't mean to use the term lightly, my therapist said it, lol.

Luckily I have a good enough relationship with Bossman B so I can talk to him about all this, including the things I didn't like about his management style.

Believe it or not I've tried to trim this down like four times now.

Sounds like your choice is obvious. Worst case scenario, it doesn’t work out, and you’re plenty young to recover and / or change approach.

 

[Out of the Rafters at the Q]

Would I be hijacking this thread if I asked about career advice?

There's some old old career advice threads.

Anyways I'm going to hijack it and if I get banned for life oh well.

TL;DR - have opportunity to work for my old boss as he got promoted, I would take his old role. Wasn't crazy about his management style. Not sure I am ready for the opportunity. I am young and would be managing 11 people ranging from maybe 25 to 55 years old. In engineering you can go down the management path or the engineering path and idk which I really want.

Longer version

I work in engineering, I have been with the same company since I graduated college 9 years ago. Four years ago I worked for Bossman A who seriously opened up opportunities for me because he was a long term thinker and I was the executor. Bossman A got promoted, Bossman B became my boss reporting to Bossman A. Bossman B and I had a good relationship and we still do but his management was frustrating at times. Had to move heaven and hell to convince him to do things, bringing pace to a crawl, and felt like I could never execute what I really wanted to. The work was technology development, so think like prototypes.

I ultimately got a bit frustrated, wanted more ownership so I moved to being in charge of development projects with real deliverables, decisions and consequences (product as opposed to prototype) - kind of management-light.

This was around the time my relationship with my wife was going to shit and I just wanted to challenge myself, get uncomfortable. I am terrified of public speaking, low self esteem, etc but know I have good potential so that move was to force me to work on it.

Then COVID hit, my future ex wife got pregnant. Lot easier to be in charge of big meetings when its virtual. 2020 took a toll on my mental health for sure and 2021 probably won't be easier as we move towards separation. I am also a recovering alcoholic from 2020, shit got really bad months leading up to birth of my daughter.

The reason why I took my current role (responsibility, ownership) is slowly slipping away. It's complicated (actually due to Bossman A) but it wasn't due to my performance deficiencies. Getting that same feeling of disenfranchisement.

Anyways Bossman A got promoted to director, Bossman B got promoted, and Bossman B wants me to take his old job, so I would quite literally be responsible for executing the vision I wanted to a couple years ago.

This move was always something that was in the back of my mind - go get this product experience then come back as a manager having been on both sides of the equation. It just happened a lot quicker than I expected.

Also the group ballooned to 11 people with a recent re-org, and it's kind of a hodge podge of experience and age. I'm 32 but would be managing people anywhere from 25 to 50's. Again this isn't unheard of in engineering, some just want to be engineers for life and be able to drop work at 5pm. I would definitely be young for the role though.

This would also include likely presenting material directly to the CTO at times, the thought of which freaks me the fuck out. I have mild PTSD from bad presentations in the past. I don't mean to use the term lightly, my therapist said it, lol.

Luckily I have a good enough relationship with Bossman B so I can talk to him about all this, including the things I didn't like about his management style.

Believe it or not I've tried to trim this down like four times now.

I had similar opportunities. But, I basically ran the shop from a technical role, allowing the manager above me to just do administrative tasks, like reviews and paperwork, and not have to worry about actually leading the group of engineers.

I moved to another role where I could continue to be technical. I let my buddy who I trained up to replace me eventually take over that management role.

I say let... but I wasn't offered the role. I probably could have gotten it if I asked, but I wasn't going to do that.

It's still one of the best decisions of my life. But, I'm also weird. I'm happy in a role where I make "enough" and look to maximize my home life. We have two high-income jobs, both work from home, and couldn't be happier. I'd hate to be on the hook for more responsibility. I've told my current company that as long as I get cost-of-living raises, I could do my current role for 10 years and be happy.

So... to each his own. Any path you choose could work for you. You just have to figure out what you want... or retroactively tell yourself you lucked out.

If you think you're not ready, fuck that. Nobody is ready except for the dumbass who is too stupid to realize his own limitations.

Personally, I believe that, in a good work environment, people don't get promoted until they're already doing the job and have trained their own replacement. So, if you're already the person on the floor that all the other engineers look to for leadership and advice, then it's a natural fit for you. If you're not that person, and you leapfrog over people to take this role, it might be uncomfortable.

 

[DJTJ]

I have absolutely no engineering background, so if I’m speaking out of my ass, so be it. We are similar in age and while in different fields, there is growth in both ladders.

As a side thought, if you were to leave company after say... two years- going elsewhere, would two more years as an engineer versus two years as a manager change your ability to get hired elsewhere? In my field, it’s almost unheard of for a manager to jump elsewhere to be a manager. They almost always restart on the other side. If that’s the case, and the money is negligible, I’d say do what you’d prefer from a daily task. If the money is drastically different? I’m always picking money.

 

[Cavatt]

It sounds to me like you are afraid of being vulnerable to your boss. I used to be very scared of authority. Got vibes from your description. I don't know the CTO, but he is going to know you are young. If you tell him something like, "I just like to be on the same page. If you give it to me straight, I can handle it. I am young and just want to know what is going on. I feel confident in my ability to handle this job, but I will need advice on the management part."

All the rich dudes I know just ideally want to do things the most efficiently. Tell him you fears, but not in a way to make yourself seem weak, but eager to learn.

 

[N7RobBob]

Sounds like you have the right ideas, talk with boss man B to make sure expectations and duties are aligned with each other. if something jumps out that you are adverse to, talk it out. see if you can come up with a viable alternative, work around the presentation part. maybe he takes over that or maybe one of the engineers would like that opportunities.

If do accept the position, work with those under you to find a healthy leadership style. 11 people are going to have different expectations and what they want out of you. more hands on more hands vs productivity and results.

Good luck with your decision it sounds again like you are going through the right steps. I'm assuming time with your child might factor in too. Been a huge impact on my change last year.

I was miserable, wife even could tell I wasn't enjoying my job. Left and now I actually have family time. time to finish school and still time to do things for myself. But those moments with my daughter would've been much fewer if I stayed at my old job. ie work/life balance with a little one in the picture