I'm actively looking for a new adventure in an old town. Trying to stay in my general career lane and get back to Wichita. I think the job market is tighter and such now vs. 1.5 years ago when I was last looking and I want to make sure I'm doing a decent job of it. Are there any folks that would look over my resume and a recently written cover letter? I know every resume and cover letter (especially the cover letter) should be tailored to a specific job req.; I think making sure the writing & layout is generally good is something that would improve both documents as they are revised to fit the req. at hand.
Anyone game? If you want I can email them both to you; my address is djronnebaum at the google mail system.
What career path? I can look over one for my field, not so much outside my field.
Avionics/electrical engineer. The really stupid thing is that there's one employer in Wichita which should be a slam dunk. Everything else is either a place I used to work and am not that excited about, or not great fit / not that exciting to me. Have thought about trying to get into something else that isn't nearly so limiting on options but at this point I'd like to get back to ICT with a job and then maybe figure out life a bit.
pres589 (djronnebaum) said:
Avionics/electrical engineer. The really stupid thing is that there's one employer in Wichita which should be a slam dunk. Everything else is either a place I used to work and am not that excited about, or not great fit / not that exciting to me. Have thought about trying to get into something else that isn't nearly so limiting on options but at this point I'd like to get back to ICT with a job and then maybe figure out life a bit.
I assume your talking Spirit. I worked at the Tulsa division at the end of '15 into '16. Perhaps it's because I was in facilities.....writing the docs for maintaining the production machines.
It was absolutely terrible. Worst job I've ever had in my life, I seriously considered putting a bottle of Jameson in my glove box so I could take a few pulls off that before going inside.
Super heavy on middle-management, union shop, etc.
As a retired Avionics/Electrical weenie who even hired folks in Wichita at one point, I can take a look as well.
mjmyers52349 at gmail dot com
I'm going to assume you're familiar with design controls, risk management, and V&V.
Based on that, Med Device could be a way to expand horizons and open up options for the future. I'm not sure what the market for med device is like in Wichita, but it's pretty hot right now New England.
Startups are a good way to get a foot in the door and learn a lot about the development/approval process that's unique to FDA regulated devices.
z31: No. There's actually not a lot of need for what I do at Spirit as the airframer customers do nearly all of the electrical engineering. Spirit needs mechanical, process, manufacturing, etc engineers.
Is it smart or dumb for me to name who I'm looking at in this thread? I don't know. The university actually has some things that look interesting now and then so that's different.
No Time: I never got that deep into ARP 4754 or anything like that. Very little what I would consider "structured, professional V&V". I walked away from the right areas to do those things as they've been becoming more prevelant, and it's not because I avoided them, it just worked out that way. Med devices is probably not a thing in Wichita but I did know that sort of thing is in Connecticut which I wouldn't be totally against going back to. But I'm hesitant.
Karacticus: Thanks! You should see something in your inbox.
Updating this because there's been some activity. Have had an "intro" phone call with one of the remaining airframers in Wichita last week. Role would be a pretty good fit although I worry about the stability of the company. Also feels like I would take a pay hit; they're not exactly known for handing out cash + differences in pay between my current costal location vs. Midwest. Karacticus, it's the location you and I spoke about.
Then yesterday I get a call from a not for profit R&D/mod shop/education/etc outfit attached to a university there in the city (take a guess as to which one) and there's real interest in me joining up to work one of their various contracted roles or their own internal projects. This was with an actual engineer and not an HR drone like the "intro" call I've just mentioned so it seems a bit more real. Lot of interest in where I actually want to take my career, what I want to work on, etc which feels better. Feels like it could turn into something relatively fast. A couple times it was mentioned that I could be tasked with, or at least given the option, to go back as a contractor to where I started my career and left in 2016 under their banner.
Wondering what that would be like, to go contract, and kind of step off the corp. merry-go-round in my early-40's. What does my career arch look like or should I even care? Anyone here done that? I kind of see career progression stopping for me from a titles and such standpoint if I do this, which in a way seems freeing, but also feels like early resignation to not getting ahead. But then again I look at my career path thus far and it's not like it's been exactly promotion heavy, and all movement and growth has been via my own moves.
Feeling a bit lost if I'm honest, and just when I thought I'd be feeling more on top of the situation having set some things in motion. Comments welcome.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
This is the wrong approach. Your resume is going in some HR wienies pile to maybe look at it in a decade when that department is looking to hire. That's their real job. Keep people who want to work for that company out of the managers hair.
Find out the head person in charge of the department you want to work in. Then stalk him. Where does he go after work? Where does he shop, where does he live. Go to church etc.
Then try to bump into him in one of those places. Have your elevator speech ready. Then hand him your resume.
It better say how you can solve one of his problems. Nothing else will get his attention.
I've already been contacted by HR at the one place and after a call that I felt went well I was told to expect a call later this week to schedule an interview with the hiring manager. The other call was set into motion via the following series of steps; I reached out directly to the head of engineering about an opening I saw posted online, he asked for my resume and a cover letter which I sent, a week and half later he had someone schedule an interview time with me (yesterday) and I had that first interview with an engineer with some say in the hiring process yesterday evening.
Time will tell if I actually get that real call with the hiring manager this week (I always assume something isn't happening until I have proof that it is) but I think I'm a step or two ahead of where you think I am. This isn't my first time through this end of the process, no matter how confused I may appear to be, or how abrieviated my description of how I got here may appear.
No Time
SuperDork
2/24/21 9:26 a.m.
If the role would make you happy and improve your quality of life, then it's worth making the move. Titles will always be a moving target and it's a never ending climb if you go that path. Getting to a point where you are satisfied in your role without necessarily becoming complacent is ideal.
I've looked at career growth as a two part process.
- One part is the increasing responsibility that happens as you work your way up through the corporate hierarchy.
-The second part is the growth through increased knowledge acquired by moving outside your comfort zone or learning new technologies.
When making moves I've always tried to make sure I'm growing in one of those areas to avoid complacency.
Based on your description the non-profit sounds like it would provide growth through learning and expanding technical expertise, so it's not a dead end and could serve you well as a contractor if you decide to make a move to go out on your own and offer your services to other companies as a subject matter expert.
There are people in here that can probably give a lot more advice on being in a contract role and how to make it work while avoiding pitfalls. It's been 12 years since I did any contract work, but when I was doing it I wasn't going through an agency, so I was paid on a 1099 for everything. As a result I based my contracting hourly rate on 2x the hourly rate from my previous salary to cover taxes, vacation /sick time, and insurance.
No Time: Thanks for the input. I agree that this could be a great stepping stone to going out on my own in the future. The role described would actually include time working as a contractor and their outfit is the "house" I would work under. I've got questions about pay, time off, etc but I think you're generally right. Just a big step that I hadn't quite figured on entirely as the contractor aspect wasn't really in their current job postings.
I think I'm going to charge ahead on this and see what develops. If I keep getting nervous feelings I can stop before signing on the dotted line.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
As you begin to age out of the work force. ( almost no one gets hired in their 60's) contract work becomes your only way back in.
My wife worked contract in IT and it was financially rewarding. But she did such an impressive job they hired her Full time at an impressive salary with great benefits.
So contract as a stepping stone works.
I loved contract work for the flexibility of what I did when. Not sure if your role has much of that. At the ending of the day I found 2.25x my expected salary worked best to cover taxes, healthcare and other expenses I didn't want to hassle with itemizing.
itsarebuild: Assuming things are going as well as I think they are with the possible job, I'll ask about the tax situation and what they cover like healthcare costs and how PTO/sick/etc is handled. This doesn't feel like "normal" contracting as the contract house itself has its own projects requiring engineers. I kind of think I'll be seeing a salary and they just have me working projects for either external or internal customers, so to speak, as the needs and availability eb and flow.
frenchyd: Agreed, I've figured on being a contractor / working out of a home business by the time I'm 50 or so. This just has me doing so a few years earlier than I had previously planned, or at least puts me in direct contact with folks that are doing those sorts of things in my industry, which is probably going to be useful education & exposure.
Update: I have a tentative offer from the university job and they have two different very interesting mod projects that they think I would be a good fit on. Trying to run the numbers on the offer they made; it's a straight 1099 situation and I was told about 95% of the engineers working there (nearly 200) are on contract. No assistance or group to belong to with health insurance, PTO is not provided so I either flex the time around or just take it unpaid (or combination of the two), etc.
It's tempting but feels very different from salary gigs at corporations where I've always been before. I had about a week to accept or decline and they understand that I probably have questions to answer before I can sign on the dotted line.
Congratulations!
Now it's time to research the costs of contracting to see if the offer makes sense for you.
Some expenses that immediately come to mind are taxes FICA (you pay the full amount 15%(?) instead of splitting with the employer), Fed, state, and local. You will also have health/dental/vision insurance and retirement.
As for vacation/sick time, one way to evaluate it is to figure out what you will earn for 47 or 48 weeks of work and see how that number compares to your target annual salary.
On the plus side, you'll be able to deduct things you can't deduct now (mileage, office supplies, etc).
Make sure you find out how frequently they pay so you don't have any surprises.
I know they pay bi-weekly. Have been running numbers on everything you mentioned (I had figured on a year of 50 weeks worked, I think your 48 number is smarter).
The numbers generally work. It's nice that they're working off my current salary where I live now (Baltimore) but the job is in Wichita with a big decrease in cost of living. The number they initially threw out was based on the role and a calculation based on years of time I've been in industry, or so the story goes, and I'm generally okay with what I was told although I'll probably ask for a few bucks more an hour to get to a more round number.
No assistance from them on relocation. Not the end of the world, just some short term discomfort. Last time I moved I did all of it myself (save for a day of heavy lifting with the help of a couple of friends) and some furniture came out broken. I'd rather not repeat that if I can help it. Which means hiring people.
Update because I'm not sharing this on social media anywhere; I took the new job, I relocate back to Wichita in a few weeks, and today I have to give my current employer my two weeks notice. It's going to put my team members in a bind as they weren't exactly running a deep bench here but that's how it goes. I hadn't been exactly telegraphing a lot of joy at this gig anyway so it shouldn't come as a complete shock. Or maybe it will.
My plan is to actually buy a house this time around so it'll be hotel life for a while. Cautiously quite optimistic about all of this.
In reply to pres589 (djronnebaum) :
Congrats, and good luck with the new job!
