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How to know when its time to move on

M. Roberts

Cast Iron
Joined
May 11, 2021
All,
This is not a bitch, but may be considered a gripe. Before I continue, I will ask the question, what has made you leave your job in search of "greener pastures"? Was is the lack of mental challenge? A boss that didn't understand your job, and the importance of tools, or was it just money? And to add to that, do you have regrets? I have been with my current employer for 22y, 7mo, and 25days (not like I'm counting)...and I am considering a change...

Mark
 
All,
This is not a bitch, but may be considered a gripe. Before I continue, I will ask the question, what has made you leave your job in search of "greener pastures"? Was is the lack of mental challenge? A boss that didn't understand your job, and the importance of tools, or was it just money? And to add to that, do you have regrets? I have been with my current employer for 22y, 7mo, and 25days (not like I'm counting)...and I am considering a change...

Mark
I left one job when an old guy broke a Carlton radial drill and my boss (George S.) talked me into taking the blame because that guy had a bunch of kids and needed the job much more than I did (so George said).

At Jim Robbins seat belt Die shop, a very good job making die details and building dies, some progressive dies.

The drill had a motor wired in reverse and so the stop safety did not work and so let that drill head only go up after the safety was passed. If you ever run a machine and it seems that control is going the wrong way then likely this is the problem.

Jim Robbins and his family got killed when his lear jet slammed into a mountain..what a shame.
It seemed lear jets were having problems at that time.

Jim had the patent on car seat belts or the buckle and so became a multi-multi millionaire. He even had an Indianapolis race car, crew, and driver.

One of Jim's patents:
US3610361A - Electrically operated seat belt retractor
- Google Patents
 
When your gut is tied up in knots at the end of the day, it's a pretty clear sign.

Be bold, lots of opportunities out there for good workers.

Pretty good advice right there^^^^^^^^^^^

I had about the same amount of time in at previous employer.

When I discovered my boss taking credit for my die designs, I started looking. When they fired my apprentice after we let them know we would all be willing to take turns getting layed off, I was gone withing a month.

If you're good, and can still concentrate, you can write your own ticket.

A good die maker/mold maker/ tooling guy is in VERY high demand right now.
 
Guys,

I have spec'd out and purchased (with company money) all except one piece of equipment in the shop. I was the sole machinist, when a few years ago, my boss asked me if I wanted a helper to manage. I accepted. Went thru the process of writing the add, reviewing the potential candidates and interviewing. Choose one guy, older and more knowledgeable than me...made him an offer and he accepted. Afterwards, I was told that he can't report to me because he "makes more money that you"; thats a kick in the crotch! My dentist tells me that I need a night guard for my teeth...I really believe that I grind them during the day when I am here in the cell block...
 
you should find a new job before you really even consider quitting. Or else,

Why did you quit your previous employment?

Well, the boss was an asshole, the guys I worked with were lazy and incompetent, they weren't paying me what I was worth, the benefits sucked, etc, etc.

We'll let you know.
 
We have since hired 5 additional guys in the shop; all have started out as temps, which since, they have been hired on full time. In addition, my boss hired one of his friends, who they have real estate ventures together outside of work. Review time is coming up, and I'm pretty stressed out about it...I want to go bat shit on him, but what does that do? Absolutely nothing. He will never see things the way that I do....
 
My quick story. take from it what you will..

One night I was just yelling at my girlfriend, and it was about work..

*Click*.. the light bulb went on...

I stopped dead.. I apologized. And then I said I'm putting my notice in
in the morning.. And I did.

That was the best night sleep I had had in years.


* I wasn't yelling AT her.. But I was venting, and her ear happened
to be the one I was chewing on.. And I was getting pissed, and she
shouldn't have to put up with that. *I* shouldn't have to put up with
that.. Therefore I QUIT!!!
 
One other thing I'd suggest is doing an honest self-assessment (which is pretty hard to do). Are there any areas that you should try to get additional training on, or types of work functions that you're not as good at? These can influence how you're seen in the current workplace as well as at prospective employers.

Sometimes it's tough to do a "real" self-analysis, so if your state offers any job training or similar services you might want to take advantage of them to get better feedback.
 
Most people I know that stick it out with one employer for more than 7-10 years, really miss out on two things. Widening their experiences and making a lot more money.
I have always been loyal to the companies I worked for but there comes a time when things will get stagnant and it is time to broaden your horizons. (IMHO)
I take nothing away from someone that works at the same place most of there lives, there is one thing you can get from that...stability and stability is a good thing. But I have learned much more by working multiple shops (5 in my career) and jumped up my salary each time significantly...and I have never worked for a place less than 5 years

I wish you luck in your decision
 
It always seems easy to find a job when you have a job. If you go into the interview with a job, you have a confidence that people will recognize and they feel like they are stealing you. If you don't have a job they are wondering what is it about this person that is unemployable.
 
I've decided it was time to leave for the following reasons:
1. I did not want to relocate with a job (started remote during grad school, would have needed to relocate away from my spouse's schooling to go full time, and the offer wasn't that great).
2. I needed to relocate (spouse got out of school, had an offer to good to turn down, and I knew I was employable in the new area).
3. I was taking home a huge amount of stress from the job, AND I was unhappy when I was there*. Pay was good, but an a$$&(* boss and a boring job that isn't going anywhere only goes so far.
4. It's only ever been a contributing factor, but when I have a lack of faith in upper management and can see my employer struggling at times that our competitors are not, it's a good time to leave.

In every one of these situations I've accepted an offer with the next job before resigning at the old one. Sometimes it takes a week, sometimes it takes well over a year. It might be illegal to base employment decisions off of someone's current employment, but that doesn't mean it doesn't happen, so why risk it?
I also expect at least a moderate raise when moving. I've always figured that if I can't find a place willing to give me at least a slight raise then maybe things are better than I think where I'm at and it's worth sticking around. That said, if it came down to getting a divorce or early death due to stress or taking a 50% pay cut, I'd take the cut.

*I've had jobs where I love the job, but ,as still take home a ton of stress. With effort these can be fixed without changing jobs.
 
What do you like about your current job? Be honest and really walk yourself through a normal day step by step in your head. I'm guessing the list will be pretty long since you have been there so long.

If the list is short and you are blinded by all the things you hate then its time to move on.

Also if you have a few different job prospects and made up your mind to leave the current job now is the time to have some fun. You can say things now you wouldn't before out of fear of losing your job. It may just be you get what you want and decide to stay. Or it could blow up but those pesky what if moments down the road what come to get you.
 
I went thru this mental dilemma several months back...company B was offering 35% increase in salary over my company A. Well in the end I didn't leave...I DID negotiate a salary bump though. IF you want to stay with your current company then go get a competing offer from another outfit and say "I will leave, can you come close to matching this?"

If the company actually values your 22 years of work experience with them they would bend over backwards to meet whatever demands you throw at them. If they don't, they will show you the door and thank you for your service. Well you don't really want to be with a company like that, now do you?

I have no knowledge of your particular specialty or geographic area. What I do know is that there are several companies in my metro that are offering wages of $40-50/hour for qualified machinists and programmers. Button pushers are making $20-25 round here. Lots of opportunity in this economy as a job seeker!

If you aren't making that, you should consider exploring your worth with other companies via offers. It is always a good idea to see what is out there and if you are being paid fairly. Worst case scenario is that you realize you aren't being paid the market rate and you can fix that.

Getting paid fairly can really offset a lot of negatives about a particular job or position, I will say that! I can put up with a lot of bullshit for good pay.
 
I worked for dad for just about 30 years. As much as I loved him, it was clear he was never going to keep his promises and was willing to let the business suffer and die, just so he could have his way. So, I started my own. I've had jobs with others as well, but my little shop was always in the background, waiting patiently. Now, I work for myself full time, and I'll never go back.

I've worked for a bunch of different shops, and a major MTB, but really, being my own boss is, as the old Lincoln Continental ads used to say, "The Final Step up." I work for me, now, and couldn't be happier.
 
I left one because the owner said if he paid me more than x he may as well go fishing. The next weekend when I was working on my own stuff off the clock (a supposed benefit) he blew up at me that all the machines were not running. I loaded up my toolbox that afternoon.

I left a job that payed better than the next one, but it was not that pleasant of a place to work and upward mobility was blocked due to my young age. So I could do the job of a 50yo toolmaker/machinist but since I was 20 I should be payed 1/2. I took a small pay cut for a year and then quickly passed my previous wage.

I left one because after 5-6 years the erratic schedule was getting hard on my young kids and marriage. I realized most of the guys in that role had gotten divorced, and decided that while I "mostly" loved the job I would go get a different one that better fit the life stage we were at. #Stillhappilymarried
 
People leave for all sorts of reasons: More money, Benefits, location, Fellow employees , bad bosses. the company is a sinking ship

If your job satisfaction has hit the basement, move on....

Personally,

I'm always after: Money, Benefits, Job is interesting or challenging, Job satisfaction.....more vacation....

My old man had a saying after 7 years move on if you haven't moved up in the company........After years of working, I figure it should of been 5 years instead of the 7years.

.I have violated that year rule multiple times......I've got too comfortable, skill set is rusting away doing simple shit.

I currently spend more time doing millwright / mechanical type work than machining....

Sometimes greener pastures is just another shade of brown.
 
I quit the last job for a number of reasons ,but under it all was how many years I have left ......no use having lots of money and working to day you die .....just making ingrates wealthy .....as I explained to my son in law......legacy money is bad for the soul......pretty sure he s willing to risk it.......Funny thing is everyone says they want to spend that last dollar the day they go,yet a well known TV star here died a few years ago with about $100 in the bank and there was a big deal made of it.
 








 
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