Have you ever regretted quitting a good job ? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 05:46:15 pm
content: Hi folks. I do not expect you guys will help me with my decision but I am just curious.Have you ever regretted quitting a good job just because you felt that you need a change ?I am one of a few engineers who had a luck with his first job. Right after university I started with a hardware design for industrial automation. Not only small things, but a real high amount product(s) which some of them are already on the market. It was a very challenging task and I am proud to my career. I have a passion for electronics (like everybody here on the forum I guess) and should be more than happy that somebody allowed me to work for him and do the one-man-show designs with BGAs, ASICs etc. right after a school.However I have been working there for nearly four years and I have a real necessity of a change. I am also trying a luck abroad to see a something else but it is not straightforward.Well, company is excellent, coworkers are mostly my friends, salary is not bad at all, but that strange feeling....So back to the question. Have you ever regretted ?

author: KJDS
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 05:54:29 pm
content: It is always better to regret something that you have done.Just make sure that the place you're going to contains something better than where you are.

author: djacobow
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 06:03:47 pm
content: I have left a lot of jobs where I had gotten to a point where I wasn't learning all that much anymore. I really like being on the steep part of the learning curve.It has always worked out for me until very recently, where I think at my age people want to see that you are an expert in something. I'm not; I'm a very well-rounded generalist with better than generalist skills in a bunch of things, but probably not world-class in anything particular.Honestly, I think our world, where specialization is increasingly everything is going to be a boring one for work.If I had to do things over, I think what I might change is that if I was part of an /organization/ I liked, I would try harder to find my next job /inside/ that organization.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 06:09:34 pm
content: Quote from: KJDS on August 29, 2014, 05:54:29 pmThat is the pitfall. I need to tell my boss next week if I want a new project or if I leave. He is a cool guy which knows what I am thinking about and we are both gentlemen as well. If I say yes to a new project, I need to stay there till project finishes.I keep a "screw-you-money" (Dave's recommendation) but I do not have another employer in mind, however. Neither loans..

author: jlmoon
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 06:46:36 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on August 29, 2014, 06:09:34 pmI like the "screw-you-money" recommendation... ehh .. money's way overrated.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 07:06:57 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on August 29, 2014, 06:09:34 pmIMO stay at the current job and find a next good place(s) while doing this project. Otherwise you might end running out of money without finding a better place. That would force you to accept some shitty job while your pride won't allow to return to the old one. I wouldn't quit unless have a money to live at least 6-12 month without earning anything so can find a next thing to do without a hassle. Personally I have such a financial pillow so can say screw you at any moment without regret (makes life perception much easier). You can say screw-you-money (I sometimes do) when you have some, but unfortunately can't when you don't have what to eat.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 07:45:57 pm
content: Quote from: wraper on August 29, 2014, 07:06:57 pmI have been saving money for an apartment or house to buy since I started my career so money pillow is not a deal. I can survive here for a long time but that is not a solution.The problem is that we have simply here a different relationship with an employer. Deal is that when I agree with a new (different) project I can not quit untill it's propriet. It is my boss' s kind offer so it is simply gentlemen's agreement and I will definitely not screw up with him.The Reputation is more than sallary ,especially in our small country.Sorry guys. I don't want to bother you with my stuff. I am simply thinking aloud and interested in your opinion because of a different culture.The engineer's life is not always about a PN junction and I really appreciate other's EE experience.

author: German_EE
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 07:53:02 pm
content: If I were in your position I would approach the boss and ask him for some work that's more of a challenge, that way you get to work on more interesting stuff AND stay with a company that you like.As for your original question, I've never regretted quitting a good job but I have walked away from a few bad ones. When the boss spends more on his Mercedes and his Ferrari than on wages it's time to think about leaving.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 08:03:09 pm
content: Quote from: Warhawk on August 29, 2014, 07:45:57 pmI would not screw up my employer either with leaving job half done unless it is reaction to something unacceptable from that side. Will that project last so long that you just cannot wait? My country population is 5x smaller.

author: wraper
author_rank: Unknown
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 08:09:52 pm
content: What I mean is that spontaneous decisions are the worst. You should have at least minimal plan what to do. Think about it like are you sure enough that you will find your new wonderful job much faster than you complete this project. Otherwise it might be better idea to stick with current job and making a good plan what you will do next when this project ends.

author: SirNick
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 08:11:54 pm
content: I'm not an EE, but in a tech field. I tend to change jobs every couple of years. Often that's because my employer will find some more valuable work for me to do, so I move internally. Others have been due to cutbacks, end of a project, or a better offer somewhere else.I wouldn't leave a good job, working for and with people I like, doing something I enjoy, for pay I think is fair and adequate. However, I understand the sense of wanderlust. Sometimes you have to trade the BS you're sick of for new BS, or just find something new and interesting to learn.I do agree with djacobow, though -- at some point you realize that everyone else seems to be narrowing their focus to some particular thing, and getting really good at it. Being good at a lot of things is helpful, if for no other reason than you can communicate on the same level as a lot of people coming from different perspectives. But there's gotta be a need for that skill, and so in a way, being a generalist is like specializing in broad expertise. And as such, you have to find an employer who needs that particular skill. In some cases, that means hanging up your soldering iron and becoming a project manager. (Not always a desirable move if you really like being a tech.)To sum up: Don't leave a sure thing unless you have something else lined up. Screw-You money is a failsafe in case of intolerable circumstances. If you can face another day at your current job, keep going there. Use your time on the next project to look around and start developing relationships with other employers. See if anything fits, and make a deal to explore opportunities with them when you are available.

author: chickenHeadKnob
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 29, 2014, 08:32:10 pm
content: Young engineers tend to over-rate the importance of technical aspects of their job function and under-weight the socio-political aspects of the job environment. That new company you contemplate jumping to will not reveal all of the internal politics going on in an interview, but with bigger companies it is generally worse. Sometimes new hires are specifically chosen as a tool to be used in Machiavellian power struggle amongst middle managers. Been there.

author: VK3DRB
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2014, 12:04:28 am
content: I have never regretted leaving a job. I have had only 5 employers in 35 years. Always had a good reason to leave and they are varied, including companies failing or being sold off.If you leave... never look back.Reasons to considering staying:- The company is long term stable and has good prospects- Salary is competitive- Job is fun- The company is fun- You don't work with psychotic, rude or arrogant colleagues- The atmosphere is socially all inclusive- The management is decent- You have good parking (if you drive there)- The workplace is close to home- You are not working 14 hour days and weekends- The company is making exciting new electronics products- There is always something new you are working onOn the final point, it is better to tend to be a generalist than a specialist. For a start you are more employable. Variety is the spice of life.Larger companies can sometimes paint people into boring places, especially if you are seen as a guru in a discipline and the management is crap. With smaller companies you get to do a lot more variety. Larger companies are like large filtering capacitors. When the times are good or bad, the employees are often buffered from the effects. Smaller companies are like small filtering capacitors. When the times are good or bad, the employees feels the effects more rapidly.

author: amyk
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2014, 01:30:32 pm
content: By my definition a good job is one I would not quit, so the answer is no.

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: August 30, 2014, 03:12:58 pm
content: Quote from: amyk on August 30, 2014, 01:30:32 pmA good job can easily be quit for a better job. There isn't just one good job out there.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2014, 08:15:47 pm
content: I would like to thank you all for telling your experience and your thoughts. I decided to keep my jobA new project should bring a fresh air and hopefully make everything honky dory (I love when Dave says that).

author: tszaboo
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2014, 10:02:47 pm
content: You know you can just ask for a change. If you were doing part A of the design you can just ask if you can be involved in the other part, under different manager, working in the different country etc... Worst thing that could happen is that they say no.

author: Warhawk
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 02, 2014, 10:44:43 pm
content: Quote from: NANDBlog on September 02, 2014, 10:02:47 pmI was told that I am a guy expecting doing a cosmic science..... I would rather follow IC pioneers eg. Jim Williams, than to do a digital stuff, but after long time of thinking I realized that I am still somehow naive, although I am not 18 any more.I will work on my new lab and patience. Maybe one dayedit:yayyy, just won Fluke on ebay...

author: tggzzz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2014, 08:41:32 am
content: Two equally valid career decisions with different risk/reward tradeoffs: become a narrow specialist or a broad generalist. (It is great if you are a world expert in xerox toner mechanisms - until inkjets arrive!)Only leave when:you have somewhere else to go - far easier to get a job if you already have oneyou are going forward for good reasons not bad reasons - where good means there is something positively better, and bad means you are running away from something non-criticalIf leaving turns out to be a mistake, be wary of returning to the old job (or girl/location) - you will probably remember why you left in the first place.VK3DRB's comments are sound

author: george graves
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2014, 09:05:35 am
content: Does college count as a "job"?

author: sacherjj
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: September 03, 2014, 03:14:41 pm
content: Quote from: george graves on September 03, 2014, 09:05:35 amIt seems like it when you are in it, but you quickly learn that it wasn't even close.