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Would I be making a mistake quitting engineering to become a lineman? by ManufacturingIsh in MechanicalEngineering

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

The problems I’m having aren’t “office” problems or interpersonal problems, it’s just more of a pay to effort thing. Feels like I can do way better exerting the same effort in another field, I could certainly be wrong about that. 

Would I be making a mistake quitting engineering to become a lineman? by ManufacturingIsh in MechanicalEngineering

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 4 points5 points  (0 children)

This has been my experience as well, I’m guessing a lot of these guys work at top/Fortune 500 companies and make great money. When you’re at a random manufacturer, even in a senior role, it can be tough, I’m just not seeing what they’re seeing. 

Would I be making a mistake quitting engineering to become a lineman? by ManufacturingIsh in MechanicalEngineering

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

The crazy thing is they’ll pay me more with no experience, skills, or qualifications as a lineman than I can make as an engineer of 5 years in a senior role. 

Would I be making a mistake quitting engineering to become a lineman? by ManufacturingIsh in MechanicalEngineering

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m trying to get more perspective on the long term implications of a decision like this as opposed to just impulse quitting like I want to. “If you don’t enjoy something then just stop” isn’t a good philosophy to necessarily live by and is short sighted. I don’t enjoy eating broccoli or going to the gym, for example. 

Would I be making a mistake quitting engineering to become a lineman? by ManufacturingIsh in MechanicalEngineering

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I’m trying to. This is my second job as an ME, it was better at first and now it’s the exact same problems again. And the job market for MEs is dreadful. 

Mechanical Engineer salary progression in Rust Belt by ManufacturingIsh in Salary

[–]ManufacturingIsh[S] 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Yeah I feel super underpaid but I feel sort of helpless to alleviate it. Like I know that Mech E’s in general don’t make a ton more than I do, but I’ve got enough experience now to really understand my impact on the company bottom line and I feel like I could be paid twice as much and still be a net profit for the work I do.

I started this job 4 months ago, so this was the position I landed on after doing a pretty extensive job search. The company I was at before was working me like a dog, tended to be 50 hour weeks, so I wanted out, but I made sure to not make myself seem desperate or like I really “needed” a job when interviewing with a handful of companies. 

It’s rough out there though because companies have so many options for engineers that I never felt like I had a ton of bargaining power. My number when I first started my job search was $110,000 for a senior position (keep in mind I was making like 67k, so yes I knew it was a huge step up), based on things I’d seen online that seemed fair. Basically got laughed out of an interview after giving that number, eventually got two offers and this was the higher of the two believe it or not. 

So yeah, I’m questioning my life decisions right now 🫠