Wish me luck Oppo

"jminer" (jminer)
07/29/2019 at 15:01 • Filed to: None

I’ve lately I’ve felt a little stagnated in my current job, I’ve got nothing to complain about as I’m a Senior Systems Engineer at a good company with good pay and benefits but have been uninspired lately.

A few weeks ago I applied for an internal job that would be a big bump in responsibility and title (Enterprise Architect) and my first interview is tomorrow afternoon.

Ill be interviewing with people I already know but am nervous as hell because I know there are several other awesome internal candidates. I’m a solid one and have a different experience set than them so I’ve got decent odds.

Rental Camry from a Colorado trip in June and amazing sunset for your time.

PS - I’m in love with Colorado and will be sneaking back there this weekend to blow off steam and catch a concert. It’s my birthday Wednesday so my wife says I get to do stupid stuff this week.

DISCUSSION (45)

For Sweden > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:04

Like boat Enterprise or spaceship Enterprise ?

Nibby > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:05

hire me pls

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:07

good luck :)

i just got a new contract 2 months before the one i had was due to end...guess i did something right

wooo job security till the end of march

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:08

Good work on motivating yourself to push yourself above the stagnation. I felt the same way for years at my old job, except my pay was crap and the responsbilities list wish increasing every week. I took a vacation and returned determined to find a higher level of work.

jminer > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's
07/29/2019 at 15:11

This sounds like I'm just bitching but the job is almost like a gilded chain. The pay and benefits are awesome but it's quasi-government so the level of bureaucracy is stunning.

jminer > For Sweden
07/29/2019 at 15:11

I’ m afraid neither that exciting, it'll involve a lot of AWS migrations and the guiding of product lines and their infrastructure design.

jminer > Nibby
07/29/2019 at 15:12

You in St Louis? If so were always hiring.

For Sweden > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:13

Jeff Bezos owns rockets. I do not know if he also owns an aircraft carrier.

Wrong Wheel Drive (41%) > For Sweden
07/29/2019 at 15:13

boat ship USS Enterprise. And isnt it also Starship USS Enterprise?

Nibby > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:15

long island, NY :/

i’d move though

jminer > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
07/29/2019 at 15:16

I am very glad I got o ut of the contract to contract life. Benefits, vacation and a steady paycheck are awesome!

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:17

thats what im aiming for... but the ever elusive lifers contract is still being elusive

jminer > Nibby
07/29/2019 at 15:18

We’ve got branches in NY, East Rutherford, Boston and Philly u p by you. They pay about the same as our Midwest branches though and it's way cheaper to live out here.

Nibby > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:20

Do you have any design and/or UX positions?

jminer > farscythe - makin da cawfee!
07/29/2019 at 15:23

If you're doing it for the DOD thats a hard life. I know a lot of people that used to but moved into the private sector. It doesn't even pay that well out here anymore.

jminer > Nibby
07/29/2019 at 15:27

Kindly pretend the link doesn’t let you know where I work now ;)

https://www.stlouisfed.org/careers/yourcareer/search-jobs

jminer > For Sweden
07/29/2019 at 15:28

I don’t work for him, but we do give him a lot of money...

Nibby > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:32

N ice, thank you! I’ ll take a look and let you know if there’s anything up my alley. T hanks again mate!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:35

You’ve got this!

Kinja'd!!!

jminer > Nibby
07/29/2019 at 15:38

No problem, always looking for awesome new people to work with. The NY fed is also always hiring, but you have to work in lower Manhattan there.

jminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/29/2019 at 15:39

Thanks!

My wife was a Bio major and she put together tshirts with that logo but modified to out a pipetter in the holster instead of a gun!

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:45

Haha - nice!

My wife and I were there from ‘96-’00. She got her petroleum engineering degree; I majored in civil engineering, but ended up getting a BFA in graphic design , and then later going back for some graduate level GIS education. Strange path, but it served me well - have a great job with a small oil company; I’m software & mapping support for a group of geologists/ engineers/landmen .

jminer > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com
07/29/2019 at 15:49

I did 2 years of Aerospace engineering and decided I did not want to do that for a living and dropped out and lu cked into a career in IT.

Jewish Stig > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:51

Good luck!

As someone who just successfully finished this kinda pf process last week, all i can tell you is if you don’t know something, say that you don’t know,there is no shame.

I almost botched my interview because i started babling about a topic out of panic.

farscythe - makin da cawfee! > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:52

im a sheetmetal worker so entirely different carreer path

its a surprisingly seasonal business so its pretty rare to get more than a 3 or 6 month contract to be renewed as needed... or not as may be

still..going on 4 years now without a lost day of work doing okay for meself

did work for 3 different companies in those years tho (and im welcome to come back to all of them when the work is there... wich is nice..as a back up)

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > jminer
07/29/2019 at 15:57

Funny how things work out, huh?

When I realized I wasn’t going to be the civil engineer working on awesome bridges or other structures, but the one probably doing sewer systems or something, I cut my losses. Funny thing is, I’m making far more in my current job than I would be making as a Civ E, and I lucked into a small equity stake in my company. ¯\_()_/¯

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > jminer
07/29/2019 at 16:02

I’ve gone from Systems Engineer to a kind of Systems Engineer/SRE hybrid. It’s been interesting to say the least, although I don’t know if I like the idea of developers having more access to infrastructure. Way too many Dev’s think it’s totally acceptable to email private keys... sigh.

Good luck !

jminer > Jewish Stig
07/29/2019 at 16:27

I've interviewed a lot of people and that is very solid advice - the interviewer will almost always know when you're bullshitting.

nermal > jminer
07/29/2019 at 16:41

Good luck!

Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's > jminer
07/29/2019 at 16:51

Red tape and barriers to entry everywhere. Almost like you needed to be birthed in the big office in order to have it lol

jminer > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
07/29/2019 at 16:58

Definitely! One of the other guys is an awesome dev, but my systems experience gives me a leg up because of this exactly.

SPAMBot - Horse Doctor > jminer
07/29/2019 at 17:12

Good luck! Just prepare and be confident.

I actually just did a very similar thing. I’m currently at a very small company where I do damn near everything engineering related. Also some sales, quality, manufacturing support etc. I am overall happy. I love and believe in the company, and really like the owners and pretty much everyone who works here. I am currently on track to take over as CEO when the owner retires.

BUT.

I have been feeling very stale, stagnated, and too complacent lately. I’ve taken on a ridiculous amount of responsibility but my pay has only increased marginally. I’m still well-payed for my job title, but I also have a lot of other little things that probably isn’t accounted for in the “average salary”. About a month ago, my friend, who still works at my old company, in oil and gas, tempted me with a job. I applied, interviewed, and was offered a job all in short succession. It was honestly the hardest decision of my life, but I decided to take it. It will be an immediate pay bump and a lot of perks that come with working for a huge corporation. I’m excited but am a cornucopia of emotions. I am bummed I’m leaving a company I love, with a long term path, but at the end of a day, I need a major change. I wish I could stay, but I need to grow myself.

Your interview will go over just fine. You know these people, you have the experience, and you need growth. You are perfect for the position, you just have to let them see it. Good luck!

jminer > Bylan - Hoarder of LS400's
07/29/2019 at 17:15

It's insane here, but a new challenge for sure

jminer > nermal
07/29/2019 at 17:17

Thanks!

Nibby > jminer
07/29/2019 at 18:07

Shouldn’t be an issue!

shop-teacher > jminer
07/29/2019 at 20:31

Good luck!

TheRealBicycleBuck > jminer
07/29/2019 at 20:52

B est of luck!

jminer > shop-teacher
07/29/2019 at 21:31

Thanks!

jminer > SPAMBot - Horse Doctor
07/29/2019 at 21:34

I was in that same place about 7 years ago. Loved the place I was at but was overworked and underpaid. Left if for a big salary and title bump but didn’t love it. 18 months later I landed where I am now and it’s been awesome so far. Been here almost 5 years though in this role so looking for what’s next...

Thanks for the well wishes!

jminer > TheRealBicycleBuck
07/29/2019 at 21:34

Thanks!

pip bip - choose Corrour > jminer
07/30/2019 at 03:56

fingers crossed

jminer > pip bip - choose Corrour
07/30/2019 at 09:39

Thanks! I'm doing the same.

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > jminer
07/30/2019 at 09:54

Actually I just remembered a story you’d appreciate. I got an off hours pagerduty because a dev couldn’t log into a JenkinsX instance that didn’t exist. I had to make a list of pros and cons for getting fired because I slapped the stupid out of said dev. Wife killing me was the deciding con, but by only a little bit.

jminer > TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts.
07/30/2019 at 11:01

That is fantastic!

The sad thing is now I’m at the point in my career where I have to be nicer. I occasionally get feedback that I’m too much of a dick, even though I’m right.

As a fucking senior engineer while it's my job to be right it's also my job to guide and mentor folks...

TheBloody, Oppositelock lives on in our shitposts. > jminer
07/30/2019 at 11:24

It’s a tough line to walk, most times I’m nice the first time but if they repeat the mistake then I can’t help but be a dick. Although in this instance it was a senior dev so they definitely should have known better, they got a stern talking to about not abusing the on call escalation policies by someone way more diplomatic than I.