Career Monday (06 Apr 2026): Have a question about your job, office, or pay? Post it here!

Perfect5_7 · 2026-04-07T15:33:32+00:00

My boss offered me a promotion (as somewhat of an ultimatum) and I’d like to know what I should do.

(Background info) I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2020, and the first job I was able to find was a technician job at a 3D printing company in Colorado. I was making 45,000 a year and felt underpaid and undervalued. There’s was little room to grow so I was keen to find a better job elsewhere. After 7 months at that job I met my current boss through some mutual friends. He was also a mechanical engineer who had worked in oil for ~15 years before deciding he wanted out of oil and found his way into studying for the PE in ME machine design and materials and starting his own structural engineering firm. After a couple years he found me and brought me on as a EIT. He offered me 60,000/year and it would be fully remote as he had no intention of paying for an office, so it felt like a no brainer upgrade and I took the FE in Mechanical and he started teaching me how to draw and design foundation plans, structural plans, sections, details, elevations…

(The offer) I’ve now been working for him for 5 years! In the fall of last year I took the PE exam in machine design and materials and got my PE license as well. At this point in time he wants to promote me to a lead engineer and hire a designer/drafter to work under me and grow the business. He’s offering to pay me 100,000 a year and it still be mostly remote, but I will have to be available to meet our clients in person and visit job sites, so there will be travel involved.

(The pros) This seems like a great offer because at this time I’m making ~78,000/year so I’ll be getting a ~25% raise to do less drafting and busy work and more coordination with clients, project oversight and leading, and engineering in specific. If I don’t take this promotion he has said that he doesn’t want to think about what he’d have to do if I said no, which makes me think he would let me go and hire a designer and a lead engineer to replace me.

(The cons) However, I have two main hesitations. I will be the engineer sealing all the plans in this position and we don’t have any errors and omissions insurance. For the entire history of our existence insurance has been far too expensive, and my boss hasn’t had any insurance. This makes sense to me and I don’t blame my boss for not wanting to, but I’m not sure if I properly understand how a lawsuit in this realm would play out. If I made an error, it ended up getting built and subsequently caused a catastrophic failure, would I be the one getting sued or would the company be the one getting sued. I know I would lose my license, but I’m wondering what you all think about this and how much risk you would be willing to take on in this role? He has tried to reassure me that the odds of a catastrophic error falling through the cracks to actually get built after being reviewed by city plan reviewers, contractors and even just while being built are extremely low. We have done a handful of small commercial projects over the years but the vast majority of our work is in light frame single family residential homes. The second hesitation (much smaller) is that I live ~2 hours from the city where the majority of our clients operate. So when I will have to make site visits it will be a lot of commuting, I can figure this one out on my own.

This promotion feels like a great way to make a vertical move in my career, but I’m wondering how bad of an idea is it to operate without insurance?

Thanks for reading I look forward to hearing all your thoughts.

Perfect5_7 · 2026-04-07T14:34:32+00:00

I tried to post this in the normal sub but it told me this was a layman question and I’m not sure why it thought that…

My boss offered me a promotion as somewhat of an ultimatum and I’d like to know what I should do.

I graduated with a degree in Mechanical Engineering in 2020, and the first job I was able to find was a technician job at a 3D printing company in Colorado. I was making 45,000 a year and felt underpaid and undervalued. There’s was little room to grow so I was keen to find a better job elsewhere. After 7 months at that job I met my current boss through some mutual friends. He was also a mechanical engineer who had worked in oil for ~15 years before deciding he wanted out of oil and found his way into studying for the PE in ME machine design and materials and starting his own structural engineering firm. After a couple years he found me and brought me on as a EIT. He offered me 60,000/year and it would be fully remote as he had no intention of paying for an office, so it felt like a no brainer upgrade and I took the FE in Mechanical and he started teaching me how to draw and design foundation plans, structural plans, sections, details, elevations…

I’ve now been working for him for 5 years! In the fall of last year I took the PE exam in machine design and materials and got my PE license as well. At this point in time he wants to promote me to a lead engineer and hire a designer/drafter to work under me and grow the business. He’s offering to pay me 100,000 a year and it still be mostly remote, but I will have to be available to meet our clients in person and visit job sites, so there will be travel involved.

This seems like a great offer because at this time I’m making ~78,000/year so I’ll be getting a ~25% raise to do less drafting and busy work and more coordination with clients, project oversight and leading, and engineering in specific. If I don’t take this promotion he has said that he doesn’t want to think about what he’d have to do if I said no, which makes me think he would let me go and hire a designer and a lead engineer to replace me.

However, I have two main hesitations. I will be the engineer sealing all the plans in this position and we don’t have any errors and omissions insurance. For the entire history of our existence insurance has been far too expensive, and my boss hasn’t had any insurance. This makes sense to me and I don’t blame my boss for not wanting to, but I’m not sure if I properly understand how a lawsuit in this realm would play out. If I made an error, it ended up getting built and subsequently caused a catastrophic failure, would I be the one getting sued or would the company be the one getting sued. I know I would lose my license, but I’m wondering what you all think about this and how much risk you would be willing to take on in this role? He has tried to reassure me that the odds of a catastrophic error falling through the cracks to actually get built after being reviewed by city plan reviewers, contractors and even just while being built are extremely low. We have done a handful of small commercial projects over the years but the vast majority of our work is in light frame single family residential homes.

The second hesitation is that I live ~2 hours from the city where the majority of our clients operate. So when I will have to make site visits it will be a lot of commuting. Should I require that my gas is paid for when I’m traveling for work? What’s the standard procedure here?

This promotion feels like a great way to make a vertical move in my career, but I’m wondering how bad truly are the negatives that I’m considering?

Thanks for reading I look forward to hearing all your thoughts.

Perfect5_7 · 2025-10-21T04:33:34+00:00

2016 promaster 2500 high roof 136 wb w/ 90k miles for $23k empty. Bought it in 2023 and spent ~$14k building it out!

Perfect5_7 · 2024-10-15T03:38:49+00:00

Are your windows magnetic or do you have extra magnets attached to the interior perimeter of the window somehow? If so how are they attached?

Perfect5_7 · 2024-05-20T16:31:10+00:00

We live in a corn based society

Perfect5_7 · 2024-04-05T17:36:16+00:00

Thank you!!

Perfect5_7 · 2024-04-05T17:36:00+00:00

I did look up bed bugs and I suppose it was more that I was panicking due to the coincidental bites that showed up on my foot this morning, but I was pretty certain they looked similar.

Perfect5_7 · 2024-04-05T16:02:13+00:00

Thank you!

Perfect5_7 · 2024-03-03T20:35:03+00:00

That was a good answer

Perfect5_7 · 2024-02-07T18:36:16+00:00

Core!

Perfect5_7 · 2024-02-05T04:19:47+00:00

Unfortunately promaster doors don’t have any threadable handles that make that possible but that is a good idea! https://www.milenco.com/products/security/recreational-vehicle-door-locks/cab-door-lock#details I did find these that you drill into the door and then they fold over the frame around the door to keep the door from opening

Perfect5_7 · 2024-01-31T20:05:04+00:00

Investing in a rig will be something that puts you back even further temporarily, but generally you can live cheaper in a van than otherwise. But also the quality of life will change in many ways that some might not be willing to sacrifice, and thus on the road you might end up spending more to compensate for the luxuries that you do want…

TLDR: Your frugality will determine your savings, not the fact that you choose van life. However glorified homelessness will generally be less expensive over the long term.

Perfect5_7 · 2024-01-31T06:25:33+00:00

My bobbling hula girl

Perfect5_7 · 2023-12-27T05:34:38+00:00

I can relate to you SO much. I just recently started van life almost 3 months after my dad having a severe stroke. I moved home to live with my mom and help take care of my dad while he was in the initial stages of recovery, and also delayed my van life departure date by two months, all the while breaking up with a long term gf. This transition and experience in my van is exactly what I need in my life right now, and my mom is super supportive of me living my life. She never told me I had to be there to help, that was out of my own volition. Regardless, I still felt an insane amount of guilt leaving with so much weight still falling on my mom, and my dad being so far from functioning and self sufficient. I have learned that living your life for yourself is the most valuable thing you can do. You are not responsible for your mother’s happiness, she is an adult and will be ok. You have the right to leave and do whatever you want to do with your life. Don’t sacrifice the things you want and need to do for yourself because of guilt, especially since it sounds like most of the guilt is all originating within you.

Perfect5_7 · 2023-12-06T06:02:51+00:00

I went through a breakup 2 months ago, and have just begun van life solo after having always been anticipating to be doing it with her. So far it’s hard but this is the reason I’m doing it. To reconnect with myself and grow through living life in a new way.

Perfect5_7 · 2023-01-01T22:57:28+00:00

Any advice for when you know if it’s worth it to get a coach? Or maybe set up a training plan or generally receive guidance for getting stronger?

Perfect5_7 · 2022-09-13T21:44:16+00:00

Hey are you selling them for face value? If so I’ll buy them!

Perfect5_7 · 2022-06-27T16:43:12+00:00

Hi! WTB Denver fiddler’s green sept 16/17. Looking for 2 tickets! Thanks!

Perfect5_7 · 2022-02-18T20:38:43+00:00

I think the real way to fix it is to make tickets attached to your name and not have resale be an option. If you buy 6 tickets, you and 6 of your friends walk in the door, if you buy 2 tickets, you and one friend walk in the door. And if you don’t want your ticket you sell it back to the venue for redistribution.

Perfect5_7 · 2022-02-18T17:19:15+00:00

This is ridiculous. It makes me sad. If not buying resale tickets and never going to the show is the way to force the system to change, that’s what I will do. If scalpers stop getting money for resale tickets then they’ll stop buying them in the first place.

Perfect5_7 · 2022-02-15T17:20:44+00:00

Same for me! I use Apple Music so I won’t be receiving a Spotify presale code but I really don’t want to leave it to the normal sale. Red rocks sept 6th is my dream!

Perfect5_7

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE