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The mental health aspect I think is often overlooked. When young engineers are eager to climb the ladder into senior/principal/distinguished positions (this was

The mental health aspect I think is often overlooked. When young engineers are eager to climb the ladder into senior/principal/distinguished positions (this was me, btw) they often overlook what it does to your mental health. The beginning seems great. Big problems, big solutions, everyone knows what’s their role in it and how to get it done. Over the years that view will fade. The certainty of success replaced by tooling up, research, supporting articles, still engineering hard stuff, fielding workshops by the business to help educate and rehash the vision to this next set of recent college grads. The complexity of the job increases as the responsibility increases. My brother is also an engineer and instead of going after titles and management he decided to stay as an engineer for as long as he could. He’s extremely happy working on things without having direct reports. There’s a sweet spot for everyone here. Some like more freedom and time to recharge (this is me) and some can balance the demands of the work with the demands to explore work (my brother). Then there are others who dive so far head first into work they burn themselves out. Please, take the time to find your balance. Not only will you be happier, people around you will be too.

daenz 5y ago
I tried to re-negotiate a 4 day work week, but they weren't having it, so ended up walking. I know it is privileged to say, but sometimes no amount of money is worth giving up things that are important to you. For me, I was giving up my time and ignoring a project that I think is very important. When I came to my senses about how the money isn't worth giving that up, they had to yield, or I had to leave.
- bombcar 5y ago
  I’d like to do four days a week at 70% pay. No can do. Ok I quit, but I can consult 3 days a week at 200% pay. Sounds good.
  - aparsons 5y ago
    How would one go about finding such consulting gigs? I’m semi-retired now, but with nearly 4 decades of experience, I still didn’t feel comfortable becoming a full-time consultant.
    - bombcar 5y ago
      Contacts you know and companies you’ve worked for before are usually where you start. It can be a bit hard to kick off, but being semi retired could help.
    - gabereiser 5y ago
      Yeah to echo what was said, I would start shaking that network tree you built while working for 4 decades. I would also put yourself out there on sites like LinkedIn (I know, I know) that have groups for people looking to hire consultants or are ones themselves. There’s an online niche for everything these days.

daenz 5y ago

I tried to re-negotiate a 4 day work week, but they weren't having it, so ended up walking. I know it is privileged to say, but sometimes no amount of money is worth giving up things that are important to you. For me, I was giving up my time and ignoring a project that I think is very important. When I came to my senses about how the money isn't worth giving that up, they had to yield, or I had to leave.

bombcar 5y ago
I’d like to do four days a week at 70% pay. No can do. Ok I quit, but I can consult 3 days a week at 200% pay. Sounds good.
- aparsons 5y ago
  How would one go about finding such consulting gigs? I’m semi-retired now, but with nearly 4 decades of experience, I still didn’t feel comfortable becoming a full-time consultant.
  - bombcar 5y ago
    Contacts you know and companies you’ve worked for before are usually where you start. It can be a bit hard to kick off, but being semi retired could help.
  - gabereiser 5y ago
    Yeah to echo what was said, I would start shaking that network tree you built while working for 4 decades. I would also put yourself out there on sites like LinkedIn (I know, I know) that have groups for people looking to hire consultants or are ones themselves. There’s an online niche for everything these days.