Home Non Cigar Related

Work dilemma

0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
So I was told last week that the manager position may come open and I may be able to work out of my home area. Our manager may move up.
It really isn't much more money than I am making now and the upper management is less than favorable. 
I qualify and would probably be offered the position, but there are so many variables that keep me questioning whether I want to go for it or not.

Time away from home is probably the biggest, although some summers I spend a lot of time away as it is, then there is the upper mangler issues.
I would be in charge of the techs in the west side of the state.
Which is cake. These guys know what they are doing. They are the elite of techs.
So while dealing with them wouldn't be any issue, it's the management team that makes me balk at it. On the other hand, my manager now, would be the next manager up's boss.
So that might make things smoother.

I'm at a crossroad on it and a lot of the techs are telling me to go for it, but there is still that nagging discomfort in the back of my mind saying, "Hell no."

I keep going back and forth on this.
I love being in the position I'm in, as I'm basically the manager of my area equipment, but it would get me out of wrenching and probably be a lot less hard on my body this last 5 years of my career, but the idea of changing is hard.

I've been in charge of fleets for over 35 years. The idea of no longer being a tech is a tough one to deal with.

In Fumo Pax
Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

Wylaff said:
Atmospheric pressure and crap.

Comments

  • ForMudForMud Posts: 2,336 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Go with your gut instinct...... I know it's a simplistic answer, but it's severed me well.
    I always make my mind up first thing in the morning after tossing it around in my head the day/night before, things always seem clearer that time of day.
    What does your wife think?  
  • 90+_Irishman90+_Irishman Posts: 12,408 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I agree with Julian on this, think it over and go with your gut but talk to your wife and get her opinion and decide together. Best of luck To y let us know what you decide and how it goes, hope things work out how you want!
    "When walking in open territory bother no one. If someone bothers you, ask them to stop. If they do not stop, destroy them."
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Haven't yet talked to the boss lady about it.
    Been battling in my mind with it the last couple days.
    Will know more about the status of things tomorrow and planned on going over it tonight with the boss lady to see what she thinks.
    But I've been getting texts all day today to see what I plan on doing.
    There are a couple other techs who want to go for it, if I don't.

    I told them even if I go for it, they should too, but they don't seem to be wanting to do that. Well, except for one guy and no one wants him as the manager. LOL!

    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • TX98Z28TX98Z28 Posts: 2,448 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Unless they are offering you a substantial pay raise/benefits it could be not the way to go. More to manage usually = more stress. Depending on how much more you’d be making could put you in a higher tax bracket also which means that raise might not be what it seems. If you love what your doing now and they arn’t offering you a substantial raise it might not be worth it. On the same note this could open other doors for you that were not foreseeable good or bad, I like to be positive and say good. Long talk with the wife as others mentioned is a wise choice.
    If you quote me do the @TX98Z28 in your text or I won't be notified of your quote, Thanks.
  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    Two or three things come to mind.  
    First, talk to the wife, soon.  If you don't you could end up in one of those "Why haven't you told me?"  /  "I'm telling you now"  /  "But why didn't you tell me before?" things that women like to do.  Maybe your wife is different, I don't know.
    Second, it gets a lot harder on the ole body pulling and lifting on cold steel as you get older.  You know this.
    Third, that guy who "no one wants to be manager".  Is there a real chance that could happen?  I've seen that play out.  Blecch!
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
  • IndustMechIndustMech Posts: 4,661 ✭✭✭✭✭
    A bump in pay might mean an increase in your retirement. being the boss might be better than working for an A-hole boss

    I know, You're a big dog and I'm on the list.
    Let's eat, GrandMa.  /  Let's eat GrandMa.  --  Punctuation saves lives

    It'll be fine once the swelling goes down.

  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited September 2018
    Third, that guy who "no one wants to be manager".  Is there a real chance that could happen?  I've seen that play out.  Blecch!
    Definitely talking to the boss lady tonight when she gets home.

    Fortunately, I'll have a say in it (who gets picked, if it's from my crew).
    So there is a benefit to being a front runner. LOL!

    The bump in pay would be about $500/month. 
    And that's only if they put me in at top pay rate, which may not happen.
    So really, the pay increase, while it does make a difference, it isn't much of a difference. A couple hundred dollars take home. 

    At this point, even if I don't want to consider it, I may go ahead and put in for it, just to see how much they are willing to go on the pay rate and concessions they are willing to make. If nothing else, to see a few people squirm a bit.
    The crews I manage the equipment for will most likely have a fit.
    The crews tend to get protective over the techs, meaning they get the "MY tech" attitude. And they hate field techs transferring or leaving.
    Especially when they work well with them.

    And most of the coordinators and managers of the crews I deal with, I've worked with for over 10 years. One of the crew managers is my nephew and he's not likely to take it well. Which I will discuss with him tomorrow. 

    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • dirtdudedirtdude Posts: 5,641 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Go for it brother, gets you out of the rain and the mud and you can just coast to the finish line. Make them pay you top dollar, if they want save a couple hundred bucks tell them they can get that guy who "no one wants to be manager" for that.
    A little dirt never hurt
  • StubbleStubble Posts: 8,177 ✭✭✭✭✭
    0patience said:

    So, it seems I will put in for it and see what happens.


    Good.
    Hey, you gonna eat the rest of that corndog?
  • CalvinAndHoboCalvinAndHobo Posts: 2,929 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Would this be something you could do, and then if you didn't like it, would they let you step back down to your previous position? It sounds like you have some leverage here so there are questions you could ask and then take the position only if you like the answers. Either way, congrats on being a good leader and someone people want to follow, that's a great sign of your character. 
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Would this be something you could do, and then if you didn't like it, would they let you step back down to your previous position? It sounds like you have some leverage here so there are questions you could ask and then take the position only if you like the answers. Either way, congrats on being a good leader and someone people want to follow, that's a great sign of your character. 
    Thanks, I appreciate that.

    I'm not sure once I took the position, that if it didn't work out, I could go back.
    They would have to fill my position, unless it was interim, then they will move a tech from one of our main shops to my area for the term or rotate them to my area.

    It may take several months for the process, so it may be January before anything actually gets done. Govt, you know. LOL!
    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 15,322 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I would stay put and not take the opportunity and just ride it out until retirement.

    Don't be like me.
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • WylaffWylaff Posts: 5,270 ✭✭✭✭✭
    From all I've seen, women tend to have a better gut response to these things than we do. If the wife say's try it out, try it out. At the very least you know you'll have her support. 
    "Cooking isn't about struggling; It's about pleasure. It's like sǝx, with a wider variety of sauces."

    At any given time the urge to sing "In The Jungle" is just a whim away... A whim away... A whim away...
  • YankeeManYankeeMan Posts: 2,654 ✭✭✭✭✭
    It been said in a couple of ways so far.  Do what will make you happy.  If it is something that will cause grief, it is not worth it.  I took a position once because of the money and I was miserable.  I could not wait to get out of that position.
    If you're happy, you're really not working.

  • TX98Z28TX98Z28 Posts: 2,448 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Hey Tony if you get the job that extra lettuce can fund a badass LQ9 or Darton resleeved LS2 motor & truck build! You already got that Mag blower waiting to be slapped on...would be a tire fryer!
    If you quote me do the @TX98Z28 in your text or I won't be notified of your quote, Thanks.
  • Diver43Diver43 Posts: 2,135 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Having been in that position before, I have to say GO FOR IT.
    Why?  Well more money for today and after retiring for one.  Also, depending on your upper level management and how they work.  Say they need to cut positions by 10%
    They will tell you to let X amount of people go. You get the undesirable decision of who to let go, but it will not be you in your last few years before you retire.  It seems as though you are already a supervisor, so you know how, less time out in the elements as we get older is a good thing, doing more paperwork is not fun, but part of it.
    And finally, you get to mold the guys/gals under  you, you have been there and know what and how must be done. You also have the opportunity to be that buffer between "the guys" and upper management. You have been there a while and they sometimes may even listen to your opinion/recommendation.  Being a supervisor you also have the opportunity to weed out trouble makers, under producers/achievers.  Unless they are the big boss' nephew or something.
    Logistics cannot win a war, but its absence or inadequacy can cause defeat. FM100-5
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    So they hired a new fleet operations mangler.
    My manager didn't get the job, instead, they gave the job to someone who has no experience with fleet. Typical useless govt. And they talk about ethics. What bullshit.
    So me moving up is out the window.

    Not that it really matters, in the past 30 years, only 1 field tech has ever moved up and he took a lesser job to put himself in a position to get that job.

    Right now, I'm so disgusted with where I work, that I may go to work somewhere else and make more money. Amazing.
    But the problem with going somewhere else is it will kill my body.

    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • deadmandeadman Posts: 8,804 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Sorry to hear that. Seems common for companies to do that nowadays. It’s harder to replace someone that can actually do a job than a manager. 
  • 0patience0patience Posts: 10,665 ✭✭✭✭✭
    edited October 2018
    I got in trouble a while back, cause one manager was going on about how we weren't taking care of equipment recalls fast enough, even though we don't always get the notices on them.
    I made the comment, "Sorry, we didnt our bananas today."
    He asked what I meant by that.
    I told him that we're just a bunch of monkeys and we don't always get our treats of bananas, so sometimes we make mistakes.

    He didn't appreciate the sarcasm.
    Imagine that. 

    Friday after I found out about the new mangler, I got a call to go south to take care of some problems that they couldn't figure out.
    They needed some info on what the problem could be and how to check it.
    My reply, I don't know. 
    Dead silence on the phone for almost a minute.

    Post edited by 0patience on
    In Fumo Pax
    Money can't buy happiness, but it can buy cigars and that's close enough.

    Wylaff said:
    Atmospheric pressure and crap.
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    I had a similar situation back in the mid-60’s. I worked for Boeing at their Renton, WA facility. At one point my supervisor decided he’d recommend me for management training school. It was well known that graduates of this school were soon promoted into management positions. I accepted and graduated high in my class (not first, but up there) and was pleased with myself. 

    For the next year, roughly, I trained three individuals each of whom became my immediate supervisor once I finished training them. I decided enough was enough and went over my then-supervisor’s head and asked what was going on. Why wasn’t I being promoted to management?

    His answer was, “Well, we’ve noticed that you don’t socialize with the right people”. I said, “What you’re saying is that I don’t throw cocktail parties and such for management personnel”?  When he answered “Yes” I immediately gave him my two weeks notice. I told him that if I couldn’t get ahead based on my performance, what I knew and what I could do, then I was working for the wrong company. Two weeks later I went to work for a firm in Alaska. 
  • peter4jcpeter4jc Posts: 15,322 ✭✭✭✭✭
    ^^^ you should have first asked if they would foot the bill for the cocktail parties.  heck if they're paying, I'd be throwing.
    "I could've had a Mi Querida!"   Nick Bardis
  • jlmartajlmarta Posts: 7,881 ✭✭✭✭✭
    Maybe so, but I’m kinda funny that way. I’d hate to think that the reason I got ahead was because I threw good parties. That’s just male bovine excrement......
  • Amos_UmwhatAmos_Umwhat Posts: 8,405 ✭✭✭✭✭
    0patience said:


    Friday after I found out about the new mangler, I got a call to go south to take care of some problems that they couldn't figure out.
    They needed some info on what the problem could be and how to check it.
    My reply, I don't know. 
    Dead silence on the phone for almost a minute.

    Gosh it would have been tempting to add "...sounds like a management question."  I think you showed incredible restraint.  Good for you.  
    WARNING:  The above post may contain thoughts or ideas known to the State of Caliphornia to cause seething rage, confusion, distemper, nausea, perspiration, sphincter release, or cranial implosion to persons who implicitly trust only one news source, or find themselves at either the left or right political extreme.  Proceed at your own risk.  

    "If you do not read the newspapers you're uninformed.  If you do read the newspapers, you're misinformed." --  Mark Twain
Sign In or Register to comment.