This week I quit my job of 17 years It was my first job out of college and has paid the bills to raise 3 kids and pay off college debt. I have a new job lined up and I start Monday morning. VP at old job stayed the easiest way to get a raise and promotion was to leave and come back. I'm only doing the first part. HR at old job has gone crazy. New hires get 10-20% more than employees with 10+ years of experience within the company. I personally know 6 engineers plus myself that meet the merit and years of service for 2 levels of promotion but no one has gotten one for years. While we excelled at completing tasks and exceeded expatations we got the same raise as those that need micromanaged just to half azz their work. It seems alot like the early 80s, union workers in the plant are making more than salaried engineer at straight time. Union is paid overtime while salary doesn't. Engineers are quitting to become union workers on the systems the designed and supported. I loved the work, the group of people I worked with closely, and my 1st level manager. The compensation was lacking. I took a job much closer to home, 550 miles, for a 10% pay cut first year. New job has COLA plus merit based raises along with bonuses. Next year I should be making more than what I would have at old company, maybe equal pay by the end of this year. I set the pay at new company a bit low to get an interview and snag the job. We both know I'm 20-30% below my market value right now. In 17 years I've had 3 kids, 3 houses, earned 3 college degrees, bought 3 newer cars for the wife that was all possible because of my old job. I'm new to this quiting a job thing.
Sometimes, it worth it to change ladders and have a new set of rungs to work with. Best of luck with your decision!
Wishing the best of luck for you and your new job. I moved to a few new jobs during my working years but fortunately got some increases in pay. Mine usually also meant a move but company paid for that and it helped a lot.
Hope everything goes your way Meche. In 2010 I quit my job after 20 years w/ the company. Spent another 6 years at a mom and pop shop then was able to leave the industry. I have no regrets. Change is not a bad thing.
Congratulations and best wishes on the next chapter in your career. The COLA and bonuses are a great perk to have, especially in these uncertain times. There’s something to be said for staying loyal to one company for that long, but the flip side is that a lot of companies get complacent with their talented employees and don’t offer as much as they could to retain them. That was my experience at my last job. I had about 12 years there when I left (not consecutive) They ended up losing about 3 dozen guys before they reevaluated further compensating the remaining people.
Im a couple months into a new job, the old one 15 years long. They got complacent, fired 2 managers at the end of '21, and 2 of us quit May of '22. 100% management turnover in less than 6 months. They lost 20 years of collective experience. New job, twice the pay, better benes, harder work. Absolutely worth it, zero looking back. There's probably no way I'd go back to the old job if they paid me. I dont think companies want loyalty anymore. Its all about money right now. Congrats on your (overdue?) move Meche. Sca
I made a big leap back in 2000...worked out really well, made a few more changes since then, but I wouldn't be where I am without the changes made in 2000. Congrats and best of luck MechE
You read it correctly. Family and I lived close to work for 10 years. I got a free ride to college to complete my PhD. Work changed my work location to college town 550 miles away. Family and I moved to college. I worked 3 years on degree and worked full time for company. Sometimes traveling and working other sites for a week at a time. One day my manager stated I needed to be onsite 550 miles away Monday morning... permanently. School was in session, oldest was in highschool, and the housing market was impossible to find a new house. So family stayed at college town and I went to work and travelled alot during COVID for work. Took 4 years to find a job that paid close to what I was making at old job. Gas tripling in cost really made the arrangement to costly. I was home with family one week a month because I worked 160 hours in 3 weeks and would use the built up comp time to go home...work called it monthly balance. I was away from home like a long haul trucker but I did engineering work.
A guy told me this a few decades back. This is how much an employer needs you. "Put both hands into a bucket of water all the way so they touch the bottom of the bucket. Now remove both hands. Look at that bucket of water now....can you see any holes where your hands were? That's exactly how important you are to the employer."
