The ship is going down! UPDATE!!

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Eagle43 eager leaver

Good one!

[slepyhed]

I thought I'd dredge this thread back up. There's a happy ending.

After the layoffs, I decided to try to get a certain proffesional certification to enhance my marketability. That took until October, and I got my cert and felt really confident that I should be able to find a better job. I was planning on starting an all-out job search in the new year.

Meanwhile, my friend who got laid off (the one I mentioned earlier) managed to find a job at a place 10 minutes down the road. They liked him a lot and after a month they asked him if he knew any other people with his skills that wanted a job. So he reffered me to them.

By the time I showed up for an interview, they were already sold on me. They were satisfied that I was for real and put through a rush hire for me right away. All of this was in December.

I took a 2 week Christmas vacation from my old job for the end of December. When I got back into the office yesterday, the first thing I did was wish the boss a happy new year, and BTW I'm quitting.

I have 2 weeks left to work at the sinking ship place, then 2 weeks of not having any boss at all, then I start my new job.

Frankly, I got lucky!

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by slepyhed Meanwhile, my friend who got laid off (the one I mentioned earlier) managed to find a job at a place 10 minutes down the road. They liked him a lot and after a month they asked him if he knew any other people with his skills that wanted a job. So he reffered me to them... By the time I showed up for an interview, they were already sold on me... Frankly, I got lucky!

No luck in any of that. Congratulations and "good luck" on the new job.

[DRiP Guy]

I won't go over the gruesome details of my own situation yet, but I would like to thank all of those who originally contributed to the thread and slepyhed for giving an update.

I loved the term eager leaver, and if I were in an earlier 'arc' of my own career and were going to definitely look for new work, or if I were on the other side and had already amassed over-ample funds for a clear road to easy street, then I probably would have been just that - an eager leaver.

I like to be engaged, entertained, and challenged by work, not morose and part of a waiting game. That said, however, I find myself at an inflection point where riding out the worst of things, with a reasonable severance at end, would likely be just enough to kick start me into FI/RE. So I will go in this year and take stock... and see what the lay of the land is... and wait.

I will offer that I did what many do when they are recognized as technical achievers - I was fast tracked, and then eventually, around five years ago, the next promotion was into management, and although it is not my love, I was seen as being relatively successful at it (not quite Peter Principled out yet). By showing in act and word that I was not interested in building an empire, or cut throating peers who *did* want to claw their way further up the corp ladder, that left me in a relatively solid position with my own direct reports, my peers, and my executive managers, even as we have restructured several times. However, all of the political stuff, morale issues outside my own department, failing of innovation due to remote senior management not "plugged in" to our sector, etc, etc, I am ready to pack it in, mentally.

As a person who was always a go-getter, who loved action and a challenge, I can't tell you how personally corrosive and disappointing it is to see this in myself, even if I can rationalize it as being understandable given the conditions. And, I can't follow my first instinct which is to grab the bull by the horns and "fix it", because the situation is pervasive and beyond anyone individual's control, esp at my level. change must come, but when it does, it is going to bring chaos, unhappiness, and just plain work that is largely not technical in nature -- it is all challenge and the only reward will be in not screwing it up too badly.

I feel personally responsible for those under me, who likely do not even understand the degree to which I both make sure our department is healthy and therefore protected from cutbacks, but also the toll it takes on me emotionally to straddle the various factions and realities that have to be negotiated to get the job done. I also have been losing my technical currency as I spend more time in management, and so the idea of going 'backwards' in pay and position may not even be a very viable option.

Oops, I guess I broke my earlier word not to give details, but even this is just a brushing over. To wrap up, it is good to see others struggle with what sounds like similar circumstances, so I would love it if people who have something worth adding would come on in, even if they normally just lurk or would not typically share those details.

Thanks much.

8)

[donheff]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRiP Guy I like to be engaged, entertained, and challenged by work, not morose and part of a waiting game. ... ... By showing in act and word that I was not interested in building an empire, or cut throating peers who *did* want to claw their way further up the corp ladder, that left me in a relatively solid position with my own direct reports, my peers, and my executive managers, even as we have restructured several times. However, all of the political stuff, morale issues outside my own department, failing of innovation due to remote senior management not "plugged in" to our sector, etc, etc, I am ready to pack it in, mentally. As a person who was always a go-getter, who loved action and a challenge, I can't tell you how personally corrosive and disappointing it is to see this in myself.. I feel personally responsible for those under me, who likely do not even understand the degree to which I both make sure our department is healthy and therefore protected from cutbacks, but also the toll it takes on me emotionally to straddle the various factions and realities that have to be negotiated to get the job done. .

Those quotes are very close to the situation I found myself in when I ERed. I liked the work in general, I liked my staff and most of my peers but the "BS bucket" aspects got too heavy and I lost any confidence that I could change things to the point that I would be able to overcome the stress. I figured someone younger or more oblivious could bring the level of engagement that the job demanded. I was two years ahead of when I planned to retire but FI so I pulled the plug.

The nice thing about going before I fully burned out was that I actually believe my staff and peers wished that I would stay. My staff saw me as a good buffer from BS and my peers saw me as a good mediator to limit theirs. Those were among my best skills and they are in top demand. It is a shame when your greatest skills are not your passions.

[DRiP Guy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by donheff The nice thing about going before I fully burned out was that I actually believe my staff and peers wished that I would stay. My staff saw me as a good buffer from BS and my peers saw me as a good mediator to limit theirs. Those were among my best skills and they are in top demand. It is a shame when your greatest skills are not your passions.

Could have came from my mouth. The military has a term "ROAD" = Retired On Active Duty : , and I saw quite a few of those types and vowed I never would become one. So far, I haven't, and I'll pull the plug myself in my current position before that happens.

[Nords]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DRiP Guy The military has a term "ROAD" = Retired On Active Duty : , and I saw quite a few of those types and vowed I never would become one.

Ah, yes, the ROAD Scholars...

... at many of my commands they usually ended up becoming the XO's "Special Assistant". That was a pretty powerful motivator to return to being a contributor.

[lil_p]

I've been in similar situations. By the age of 23 I had been laid off twice. One airline went bankrupt, and another one outsourced myself and my department, I however ended up flying out to train my replacements and then eventually left, it was very strange.

I think it was the best thing that ever happened to me, as it made me realize I had to go back to school so I wouldn't end up like my co-workers which were freaking out. I think that if I had taken some of the worry out of the situation, I would have dealt with things a little better as far as utilizing my time off better and sneaking some travel in

I hope it all works out for you!

[HobbyDave]

Just thought I'd add in another ship going down story.

I was a technical cog in the wheel, one member of a team under two management people. Things went along ok for a number of years, though morale was fairly low. Then the atmosphere started declining (projects being announced late, deadlines which were far too aggressive, etc). At one point in time, I found out that every single member of the team I was on was looking for new jobs (including myself)

Then one member found a new job, and his position was not replaced. One of the managers was let go, and soon afterwards the other manager was transferred away. It seemed like only a matter of time before my small team would be gone. I thought about jumping ships, and came very close. Then the sale went through, and they suddenly needed my team back in action. Since I was still around and performing, I was moved up into management. I've been able to hire replacements in my team, and have been expanding the team.

So I suppose I'm repeating what others have said. When companies are having a bad time, sometimes it's a good thing to jump ship, and sometimes it becomes an opportunity.

[mjarzoms]

Thanks for the update slepyhed. Glad things worked out well for you and you made a great exit.

My 2 cents. When you can see the signs and know things are not going to last long is a depressing period. Hanging around can work out for you or not, your fate may not really be up to you. In the past I stuck around until being let go but I don't think I would do this again. Your financial position at the time has a lot to do with the decision. Living paycheck to paycheck will leave you little options but hopefully we all know this looking towards E/R.

-Mark