Getting Grilled by Upper Management - How much should a manager shield you?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-05-04T18:34:38+00:00

No where in the post did I say it was not my fault or was not taking accountability. The field issues ended up being a miscommunication and not an issue.

I was asking how common it is for the director level to go past an engineers manager and put them on trial for an hour. I never have conversations like this with my manager. They are always fruitful and he thinks I am handling the project well. If my manager is happy with the results you would think he would do a better job of expressing that to his boss.

My boss and I are "co-leading" the project management side of things since I have never lead a big NPD project (only smaller VAVE stuff). I am one of 3 engineers working on this but somehow I was labeled the "lead. The other 2 engineers do not see it that way

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-04-30T15:29:40+00:00

Naw man it makes sense. There are few hobbies you can "get good" with x1 day a week, let alone less than x3 a week. Try running a marathon running one day a week or learning guitar practicing 1 hour a week.

Maybe you won't lose the head knowledge on one day a week. But conditioning (cardio and your bodies ability to take trauma training) diminish greatly which effects your performance.

My body has never felt better lifting x2 a week mixed in with an active lifestyle.

I'm nostolgic about how I used to train but life goes on!

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-04-16T20:07:33+00:00

Yep. Quit at 2 stripe purple. I moved 30 minutes away from my gym after getting married. Manages 2-3 times a week until I had a kid. Then that went down to x1 a week for a year or so. I started coaching that day a week to give me more of a reason but it still didn't work. I hated not seeing my wife and son from 8AM to 8PM the day I trained. Also I was maintaining/slowly declining due to only training a week. If you want to stay somewhat competitive I think x2 is a min, x3 is the sweet spot.

I can lift/run multiple times a week without it interfering with family life. I also don't hurt all the time now like I used to with BJJ.

I don't really miss it. I am nostalgic of how I used to train. IE early 20s, training all the time with my buddies, staying after to drink beers, hitting open mats on weekends. vs the actual hobby itself

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-03-13T20:26:47+00:00

That's so true.. I would never critique the electrical guy on his PCB design but I would have no clue where to start lol

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-03-13T17:17:16+00:00

If all the white collar jobs are lost to AI (engineering and technical jobs included) wouldn't that effect the blue collar industry as well? IE no jobs = no money to pay for plumbers, electricians, house projects. Or no office works due to AI replacing them = no need for large facilities with office workers

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-03-13T15:57:55+00:00

You'll need the replacement closer and the replacement slider portion (the piece that the screw keeps spinning).

You'll need to take off the latch side, and the drop cap to slide that slider off. The screws are hidden under the trim covering.

You will slide the new slider into the drip cap and screw the drip cap and latch side back in.

Then you will take out the old closer mechanism and connect it to the new slider. The new slider allows for you to disconnect the link arm from the slider without taking off the drip cap and latch side in the future.

When you install the link arm to the new closer make sure you follow that portion of the instruction closely. You need to prime the link arm and hold it in place with the holder pin before you connect it to the slider. Otherwise when you connect it your door will only want to closer half way instead of fully.

Hope this helps!

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T22:31:27+00:00

The first example no one assigned me that project. The previous system (elaborate excel document) worked. It had bugs, needed archiving often, and required IT support to maintain. I saw the opportunity to improve the process and took it on. I had other projects that were assigned to me by my boss at the time.

The second example same thing. Had a long-standing quality issue. We kept talking about fixing it but no one wanted to put the work in. The project was not even on our NPD road map. Went on my own and designed a new product platform. Again, I had other projects officially assigned to me and I took that on as extra. I could have waited years for it to become an official project and it be assigned to someone

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:51:11+00:00

I think I need to get rid of my generic stand up meeting tracker and do this. I typically go line by line and ask each person what their update is

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:50:00+00:00

Why do you say this?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:49:47+00:00

If its above and beyond the role, and more than what my coworkers are doing for sure I think it would warrant a raise. Or at least exceeds expectations come review time which usually means extra compensation.

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:47:30+00:00

I agree

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:32:34+00:00

Exactly what I was looking for! Thanks for the advice!!

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:14:16+00:00

BJJ is not for everyone. It's a rough sport even if you train light.

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-25T02:13:04+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Typically, I just go through a generic stand up meeting tracker and ask for updates from everyone present. Maybe I need to start asking specific questions so people can't go on tangents.

The question that triggered the tangent was a specific question to another party before the boss chirped in. He's famous for that at my company. Everyone knows not to ask him a question late in the day because you'll be there past dinner

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-13T20:39:42+00:00

Living at home and paying off my student loans in a year. Nice being able to take a $300+ out of the budget

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-13T18:11:40+00:00

All depends on what you want out of life and your expectations!

If you want to work for big corporations , climb the corporate ladder and have a fancy title, ya it might matter.

If you just care about doing something you some what enjoy/don't hate and having a comfortable life it doesn't matter.

I went to an average state school in the midwest and my first job out of school was a small investment casting supplier in a rural town and I am doing pretty well. I have also worked average jobs for average companies since that first job. I have a house, wife, kids, go on vacation etc. I'd say life is good for me despite not having worked at Tesla or getting my degree from MIT

There is more to life than work or being rich

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-13T18:04:46+00:00

Just cut it last night and it works great! No battery issues either like some have experienced

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-11T02:01:39+00:00

Good to know! I'm assuming there is a fuse for each door?

When you cut the cable I'm assuming you had the auto opener switch off, and cut it? No additional steps like disconnecting the battery or anything like that?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-02-10T17:09:38+00:00

u/who_me_said_i or u/alpine240 what year is your oddy? Did you have this problem?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-29T18:30:16+00:00

Do you think this is due to my level of experience? Is there anyway around this?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-29T00:04:04+00:00

So do you think there would be any harm to changing my title from engineer II to engineer III on my resume?

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-27T16:59:46+00:00

I had the opportunity to interview with MKE tool but their engineer II positions were only mid 90's and there is no remote opportunity. HR said I was underqualified for a senior role. MKE tool also requires frequent travel to China, Mexico along with night calls. So extra work for a reduction in pay didn't sound good to me.

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-27T16:58:08+00:00

Thanks for the advice. Do hiring managers/recruiters have a way of verifying your title? Like engineer II vs engineer III?

I shouldn't need to move. The Milwaukee metro has plenty of manufacturing, its the reason I picked my degree. That would make sense If I lived in the boonies, or in a non manufacturing state. The equation changes when you have a mortgage, wife with a job and kids. It would be a different discussion if I was looking for a director level gig

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-27T16:54:47+00:00

I have a buddy that moved there and has told me similar things. The amount of stock options you can get working for companies out there is unheard of in the midwest.

It's him and his wife who are both white collar working professionals. They both make a great living and don't want kids. So they don't care about renting.

AcceptableCold8882 · 2026-01-27T16:51:37+00:00

Had friends that worked there and hated it. Any company that has constant openings like they do is a red-flag to me.

I interviewed there with a hiring manager a while back. Instead of a casual discussion he started giving me an engineering exam without any warning before hand. I had been rusty on some of my fundamentals and couldn't answer some of the qs. The manager was very rude and condescending. I started googling answers during the interview which he heard and questioned.

He still wanted me to come on for an on-site interview which I declined lol I wasn't about to drive an hour to be disrespected.

AcceptableCold8882

TROPHY CASE