Work trip advice

So,

I am a structural engineer (Engineer-In-Training). I was asked by my company to go to an out of state project location (AZ->Idaho) to help out concrete construction as they laid off a bunch of our Construction Management group at the start of covid. I said yes as a good show of faith, its only 4 months, they have paid for housing meals, gas... everything except toiletries and alcohol.

Here in lies my dilemma. I agreed to 4 months only (Mid June-Mid Oct.), because come mid-october the winter storms will start rolling in and our project site is ~45 miles in on a nasty FS road. And we won't have a personell work camp here till December, thanks Idaho Government for forcing a new camp to be manufactured in Idaho instead of repurposing one from Montana that was already made and sitting in laydown yard in some lot.

I am now being asked to stay on for the duration of the project, could be until March of next year, but with the way things are moving so slow here, I bet that will get extended to.

I absolutely am going to say no to extending what was an act of good faith because my relationship with friends, family, and SO is suffering.

I know a workplace can make you travel for work, but can they force you to extend you travel even if there was an agreed upon timeframe? I do have the email chain saved to my personal email just in case.

But also kinda done with this company as they only gave out 4.5% annual raises to everyone across the board, which doesn't even cover inflation, and didn't get one last year due to covid, meanwhile the President and VP of Operations just bought a new $750k house in Seattle.

Thoughts?

 

Light a few candles and break out the lube because it sounds like they're trying to fuck the new guy

 

lol. Ive been with the company 2 1/4 years. Not exactly new, but newest in Structural dept.

 

I have been in your Shoes quite often.

What kind of Perks can you get in writing to extend your stay??Can you be allowed a few weeks off ??


Is there work for you back in your local area or has it been mentioned stay or your finished?

Are you a company employee or independent contractor ??

 

I'd say start sending out applications to other companies. Decline the extension, it doesn't sound like they can force you to stay. Call HR if they give you a hard time.

 

So my current work schedule is 3 weeks of work, then 1 week off. Company will pay for flight to and from PHX. So thats fair. However the work schedule is brutal. 1.5-2 hours drive to site, work 10, drive 1.5-2 back. only getting paid 1 hour each travel way. Doing that for 21 days straight.

There is always work in our structural dept. my manager is always overloaded, but hes not my PM on this project. Company employee.

 

Maybe the better question do you really enjoy this work and your picking up real world skills.

Great bunch of people your working with .

It pays the bills puts food on the table outside of work you don`t interact at all.

What impact does family have on your decision Wife and Kidlets

It always is going to come back to your decision .

 

My current thinking is, I will go wherever my girlfriend wants to go after she finishes her PT school and gets her board certification... upcoming sugar momma right there. I played the long con. So in my head come January I will look for other jobs, just don't want to have a coupple months of non pay.

 

Only thing is I wanted to take the Professional Engineering exam this October and become a licensed Engineer, but that takes commitment to study. So i put it off till the spring test to allocate the proper studying time.

 

If you are only an EIT then I imagine you just graduated college. Unless you have another job lined up, I would take the extension and learn all I can. If you just graduated, I imagine this is your first job (other than interning) and you're probably young. This will be great experience for you. If you quit, this may hurt your future opportunities. The civil engineering field is small and everybody knows everybody and the word will get out, I see it every day.

They can't force you to extend your stay but that means they may let you go.

As for the 4.5%, that's pretty amazing, I don't know of anybody getting that size of a raise. Also, you can't get upset at the bigwigs buying expensive houses, they worked their way up to that and that can be you some day.

I don't know anything about you and I'm not insinuating anything but I've been in this field for almost 30 years and the more I work, the more entitlement I see. Again, I am not saying you are entitled, I don't know you. All I can say is take the extension, get the experience, get at least five years with this company and move on. If you want to make money in this field you have to jump ship a couple of times but let your current employer train you and pay you to learn, then if you feel you need to move on, then by all means do it.

I worked for a global engineering firm for 14 years here in Detroit that had a huge presence in Seattle, they have since been sold to a competitor which I never thought would happen. As they got bigger so did their attitude towards the employees and it became a pretty depressing place to work. Get your experience with the big firms and then find a local smaller firm to work for that treats their employees like family. You will get excellent experience at the big firms and will be more desirable for the smaller firms.

Good luck!

 

Well an EIT with a masters in Structural. I get it I'm still new. I still know I have a lot to learn.

Well this extension is construction management work, nothing to do with engineering. Not furthering my skillset as a practicing engineer. Our company has also had a mass exodus of employees in the past month because of the multitude of other competitor firms hiring and scalping our employees and paying them better, none have a structural department though.. Mostly in the Piping, elec. and mechanical departments.

 

You will have a Dr. for a wife. Wait to see where she finds a job and work there.

 

I traveled for a company for 3-4 years. Lived off the per diem, banked my paycheck.

 

Pros and cons for any situation.

You have your schooling behind you but you need to build up your field experience. You say project management isn’t part of what you’re looking for but it’s a transferable skill that could set you above future competitors for a job you might want.

If your company has experienced a large turnover recently, it could be a situation where you could make a name for yourself.

As for the lengthy commute, any audio prep courses to the PE exam? A second language that’s applicable to your field?

All tolled, it doesn’t seem more than a year which is a blip in time for your whole career.

Use the request for an extension as a bargaining chip to sweeten the pot so to speak…

Good luck to you and yours

 

the circumstances are out of Ur control

no less the Company CANT control the seasons/weather

are U salaried ????

when i was on work relief in different states

id pocket my regular check.......................live directly on Company Expense Accts

have thousands left over returning home...........sometimes a whole years W2

if U are not married .............no children

stick it out

otherwise maybe U might be job hunting

 

STOP calling your wife your "Sugar momma" for a start ! what ever else you do is inconsequential if you loose your relationship with your wife!
Take it from someone who has been married to the same wonderful person for 52 years!

 

4.5% raise and you’re not happy? Try half that for the last, well, 10 years or so.
If you’re not digging it, change to go back to the office or find something else. Life is too short.

 

Some people work for a paycheck. Others work for the company. Those who go to work for a paycheck never advance in the company. This is a test. The company wants to see how loyal you are to them. Stay with them and prove you can do a good job. You need to show them that you are too valuable to let go. You WILL be rewarded for your efforts later. Pack up and leave every time things get a little tough and you're reputation will follow you to your next job.

You put in the long hours and do the hard work when you're young. I have engineer friends who did the hard work in their 20's and 30's. They were able to retire comfortably in their late 40's or early 50's.

 

no one is indispensable

few 30 year retirements

top corps hire to fire