[no longer] 80% Sure I'm going to get laid off today [updated]

"Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo" (akioohtori) 06/21/2019 at 10:14 • Filed to: Worklopnik

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[UPDATED] Ok apparently I am a pessimist (well... yes.). Allegedly the director of engineering has said that engineering isn’t taking any cuts this round. Furthermore my boss’s boss just asked me to book travel for three weeks from now. Weird.

[Original post continues]

I’m ready. I’ve never been fired or laid off so this seems like as good of time as any. Our company is going through a merger and apparently part of that is randomly cutting people every quarter to make out headcount and balance sheets look better. Yesterday we bumped off at least six at this facility, all high level, long tenure people. No engineers... yet.

Why do I think I’m going to get laid off? Well I’m the only EE at a company of MEs who neither understand nor care about electrical stuff. They wanted an EE so they could start adding monitoring and controls to their products, and while I’ve produced no less than three products in my two years here, none of have made it past marketing’s indifference. So yeah, I am a super easy cut if they decide they’re done with electronics.

Additionally, the authorization for major expenditure I put in three weeks ago has been languishing at my boss’s boss’s boss for that long. Usually they only take a week.

Pair that with my boss being kinda pissed off when he left yesterday and him and his boss are both nowhere to be found today.

I am OK with this. The job market is strong, I have a lot of shit to do at home, and I have about a year of living expenses saved up if it comes down to that. (Earmarked for other stuff, but nothing that can’t wait.)

Ordinatiry I’d be hunting for jobs pretty hard at this point, but against all odds I actually kinda like this job and would like to see my current project through to commercialization. It is probably the only product I’ve produced that I believe in 100% and if I leave the company, one way or the other, I know it will die.

All well. At least it is Friday. I’ve got a brisket in the sous vide that I’m going to finish on the smoker tomorrow, along with a pork butt and some ribs. Also drove the Alfa.... but mostly because it was blocking in the Volvo.

Mondays Fridays...

TheRealBicycleBuck > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:18

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A t least you’re in a good place to deal with a layoff! 

E90M3 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:19

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I got laid off in early 2016, it took me 11 months to find a job. That was probably the worst year of my life. It sounds like things should be better for you if you do end up getting laid off. 

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > E90M3 06/21/2019 at 10:23

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That is rough! Every job change I’ve made, except this last one, has taken about 6 to 12 months to get lined up, but I’ve had a job at the time. Also I always seem to look for work during oil busts ...

The Ghost of Oppo > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:23

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I’ve been laid off twice, both times in January, and I gotta say  getting laid off in summer sounds kinda nice.

RamblinRover Luxury-Yacht > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:24

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Potential b est of luck with the potential required job search... or failing that, sounds like you’re not enjoying yourself, so best of luck with the job search anyway.

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:24

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Oh damn... Sorry to hear it, but definitely sounds like you’ve got your mind right, regardless of the outcome. Hoping for the 20% for you, anyway. Both times I’ve been laid off (one acquisition of assets, one office closure), I’ve ended up with a much better job at higher pay at a more enjoyable workplace afterward. Uncertainty sucks, but hoping the best for you going forward.

Will you stay in Tulsa if you have to pursue a new position?

Delicious barbecue and driving the Alfa sounds great. Too bad the heat’s going to be brutal today! I’m taking the kids to the ball game tonight - we’ll see how that goes.

We have a sous vide - I’ll have to attempt that with a brisket sometime! 

E90M3 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:25

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Yeah I was working in oil at that time and 2016 was a pretty shitty year for oil. Not wanting to get laid off again was one of the factors I considered when I decided not to go back to oil. That and actually having a social life.

functionoverfashion > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:25

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Sounds like you’re in a good frame of mind - and finance - to deal with whatever happens. I was laid off for a winter in 2008/2009 due to the recession, but it was kind of an understanding between me and my boss that I could weather a few months without pay better than a lot of the guys who lived paycheck-to-paycheck. We had just bought a house so I spent the winter going through a complete punchlist of projects and also ski racing in a local beer league. I had a great time and actually got to do ALL of those things that typically languish on a new homeowner’s to-do list forever. The big obvious difference was that I was guaranteed to be hired back in the spring... but anyway. Good luck, take care. 

Spanfeller is a twat > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:26

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Being around a bunch of ME sounds annoying if you’re an EE  to say the least....

facw > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:30

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Hope you make it through. My company has had four straight rounds of annual layoffs, but I’ve made it through all of them (I was actually hired right before one, which made for an awkward first meeting with the team: “hi we have no money so we’ve laid of 20% of our people, but hey meet this new guy who we did have money for...” If not, you are right, the market is strong, sounds like you are good money wise, and at least you have a good story to tell about why you were let go.

I’ve only done sous vide brisket once, but it didn’t go so well, I used the amount of pepper recommended by the recipe, but it ended up pretty absurdly peppery. With luck (or skill), yours will do better.

E90M3 > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 10:30

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I know you’re studying engineering, but I don’t actually know what concentration you’re studying.

Spanfeller is a twat > E90M3 06/21/2019 at 10:39

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T he degree says Mechatronics and Production Engineering,

razorbeamteam > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:40

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That sucks, but it sounds like you have a good attitude about it. If it happened to me, I’d probably freak out for a few hours then realize all the free time I suddenly had.

I took three weeks off in between my last job and this one. It was fantastic, I called it my “funemployment period”.

E90M3 > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 10:42

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Never heard of that concentration before. Although, it doesn’t really seem to matter what your degree is in once you get into the workforce, unless it’s pretty specialized .

Spanfeller is a twat > E90M3 06/21/2019 at 10:50

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It’s supposed to be a multidisciplinary concentration; we do a bit of mechanical, a bit of electrical, and a bit of computer engineering, etc.

Like, it’s not as vague as industrial engineering, but it’s also not as specialized as a computer scientist or a full-on mechanical engineer.

random001 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 10:51

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I’ll make my boss hire you.

random001 > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 10:51

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Sounds like my Physics degree....

Spanfeller is a twat > random001 06/21/2019 at 10:53

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a physics engineer? seeing those in the wild is unheardof. I thought they were purely theoretical .

random001 > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 10:56

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I went the route of “applied physics” technically, which at the time really just meant I was the guy that designed and built experiment setups, and performed experiments.  So, yeah, the engineer who understood what the theoreticians were talking about and trying to test.

Spanfeller is a twat > random001 06/21/2019 at 11:10

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I still don’t know what I’m meant to do with my degree. In a sense E90M3's warning that specialization doesn’t matter very much is actually comforting.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 11:11

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Ahh ok. I’ve always said that if you double majored in mechanical and electrical engineering you’d never be worried about finding a job. This sounds like a close second. Kinda wish electro- mechanical engineering had been an option for me.

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > functionoverfashion 06/21/2019 at 11:13

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Oh man. That sound like about as good of a time as you could have being unemployed (funemployed?). I won’t lie, I spent the drive in to work today thinking of all the work I could get done on the fleet. I probably have 6 months of work worth of parts stashed around the house.

ITA97, now with more Jag @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:14

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Congrats on the good news.  

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com 06/21/2019 at 11:18

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Sounds like it was a false alarm anyway, but thanks! I like Tulsa, but the boyfriend is/was looking like he might get a new work-from-home job, so it would be worth contemplating moving.

Haha yeah I’ve been driving the Alfa most of the week. I love that car, but fuck I miss air conditioning. I’ve got to start the pork butt over lunch, so the plan was to swap cars then.

I’ve never done brisket in sous vide either! Had a little panic last night when I discovered it can take up to 80 hours and at a different temperature than the pork butt ! Borrowed an extra Anova from a friend and now we’re back in business. I’ve done pulled pork (24 hours) and ribs (18 hours) in the sous vide and finished them in the smoker (~4 hours) and been super happy with the results. Very moist and smoky.

Spanfeller is a twat > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:19

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I think they don’t even offer mechanical engineering at my college... the ME’s are supposed to graduate as mechanical-electrical engineers as you say. But the electrical side of it is pretty barebones

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > facw 06/21/2019 at 11:19

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Yeah that does sound awkward .

Well now you’ve got me worried about the brisket!  I always just wing my dry rub my throwing together everything in the spice cabinet.  Hasn’t let me down yet, but there is a first time for everything.  Then again ultra peppery brisket sounds pretty good....

Cash Rewards > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:26

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So when you smoke something one a smoker, you smoke first and wrap to temp. Why don't you do it the same way with this? Why smoke last?

random001 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:38

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Yeah, but you’d be ostra ciz ed by both sides...

davesaddiction @ opposite-lock.com > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:46

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Glad it’s not something you have to worry about for a while.

I drove my M3 this morning, and usually try to do windows down as much as possible, but I couldn’t after 10 minutes or so. No use getting sweaty on the way to work if not necessary.

I’ve never done anything with the sous vide that’s taken more than a few hours. I have an acquaintance in town who does do crazy 2 or 3 day long cooks for pork belly, etc. - seems a little too crazy for me. I’ve finished smoked meat at 250 in the oven before, so this is like the inverse of that - cook  first, then smoke. Seems like a few hours of smoke is really all your need to get good penetration/flavor .

boredalways > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 11:57

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Glad to hear you haven’t been “ kicked off the island”.

Having said that, WATCH YOUR BACK AND CYA, especially for the next 6 months. Sure, you’re going on a business trip, but something completely out of your control could happen and the blame could be pinned on you.

Why?  Sometimes bosses will throw anyone under the bus.

Chariotoflove > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 12:00

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Hooray!

You should still be looking at other jobs as fallback. 

haveacarortwoorthree2 > Spanfeller is a twat 06/21/2019 at 12:14

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Didn’t Godzilla fight Mechatronics in one movie? :)

Spanfeller is a twat > haveacarortwoorthree2 06/21/2019 at 12:19

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The degree does have a Japanese origin. But that’s all I know :)

This is what we'll show whenever you publish anything on Kinja: > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 12:23

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facw > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 12:25

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Good stuff with your update. I’m sure you don’t have too much to worry about with the brisket, It seemed like a lot of pepper as I was rubbing it on...

Future Heap Owner > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 12:35

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You paranoid motherfucker

Heh, just kidding, it’s always good to be prepared. Glad it didn’t happen this time!

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > boredalways 06/21/2019 at 12:51

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Meh, possible but unlikely on the bus throwing . I like and respect my boss, boss’s boss, and boss’s boss’s boss (VP of Engineering) and don’t think they would do that. That said, everyone above them are complete shitheads that we’re constantly fighting against so.... Who can say. I’m sure my name has come up more than once.

My plan is to see where this goes. I’d be a great feather in my cap bullet point on my resume to bring this product to market.. .

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > Future Heap Owner 06/21/2019 at 12:52

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Thanks haha

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > random001 06/21/2019 at 12:52

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Sold.  When do I start?

random001 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 13:10

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Heh.  We just interviewed a software weenie yesterday, and he’s starting on the 1st, so...now?

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > random001 06/21/2019 at 14:23

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Ahh gotcha.  I'm a hard weenie (mostly) not a soft one.  Which is to say I muddle though software design but hardware is my jam.

random001 > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 14:47

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Move to Dayton, we have beer and jobs.

boredalways > Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo 06/21/2019 at 15:20

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business is never personal

Akio Ohtori - RIP Oppo > boredalways 06/21/2019 at 15:59

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You’d think that, but we have some real babies with delicate fee fee s higher in our ranks. It is... off- putting. Like... how’d you get to be this high up in any company and get so bent out of shape at some minor criticism ?