Started new job on monday, not sure what to do now
Discussion
Hi guys, this section always seems to give reasonable and thoughtout responses and maybe can offer me a bit of advice.
I was a field engineer for 4yrs and loved the job, made me feel proud and thought it was until i retire(im 36 now)
Got made redundant in september along with 7 others and was very upset.
Applied for over 100 jobs and finally found what I thought would be a long term role.
It seemed to tick the boxes
Advertised as Maintenance Engineer at a wood production facility, its less than 1mile from my house, its £3000 more than my last job and would go up to £7000 more after 6months, I would be trained up by the older engineer(55) over the next say 5-10yrs then I would take over which would ensure job security.
All sounded good, I was a little nervous as I was walking into the unknown but thought im intelligent enough to pick it up and im sure the boost in money would be good, I had other roles I had been interviewed for but in this market you need to take whats avaliable.
Anyway I started yesterday, got there to be given the usual H&S walk around and meet the other engineer, all good up to yet, we fixed one of the saw machines and adjusted some chains on a robotic crane. At this point im thinking, theres alot going on but im sure with time I can do this.
Ok so then the negative side, the place is so noisy that you have to wear ear defenders, this means any communication is pretty much lip-read which makes it very hard to work out what is being said and you cant listen to conversations between the other engineer and production staff on problems which slows down being able to learn from whats actually going on, while its not the end of the world it does make it difficult.
But the major issue was in the afternoon the engineer said we will jump on this production machine, this involved picking up pieces of flat MDF and feeding them into the machine, you basically stand still and rotate your hips 90 degrees and load the machine. I assumed initially this was to give me an idea what the operators do.
After an hour with no music, ear defenders on and doing this repetitive action im bored, after 2 hours my mind is wandering, after 4hrs im not happy to be stood in one place(the other engineer is on the other end of the machine so unable to communicate with him, hes stacking the processed wood manually)
At the end of the shift I ask why we are doing it, are production staff off/holiday, was it to teach me what they go through?
I get told no, basically any time a machine isnt broken you will be on the production line feeding the machine, which if nothing breaks all week, well then your stood here all week, its part of the job.
So this morning I go into work and he takes me straight back over to the processing machine again, at which point im feeling really sad thinking ive made a mistake, only to be saved by a couple of machines having operator errors throughout the day keeping me away from it.
Now im thinking that everyday im going to go into work praying that something is broken, but thats going to be unlikely, I appreciate the opportunity ive been given, the money is good(for me anyway) but I really dont know what to do.
Ive since had a call tonight with a job offer of a field engineer again, its alot less money, probably more alot hours but im just worried at this time when jobs are getting harder to find should I really be jumping about.
Any input, sorry if I have missed anything vital out
I was a field engineer for 4yrs and loved the job, made me feel proud and thought it was until i retire(im 36 now)
Got made redundant in september along with 7 others and was very upset.
Applied for over 100 jobs and finally found what I thought would be a long term role.
It seemed to tick the boxes
Advertised as Maintenance Engineer at a wood production facility, its less than 1mile from my house, its £3000 more than my last job and would go up to £7000 more after 6months, I would be trained up by the older engineer(55) over the next say 5-10yrs then I would take over which would ensure job security.
All sounded good, I was a little nervous as I was walking into the unknown but thought im intelligent enough to pick it up and im sure the boost in money would be good, I had other roles I had been interviewed for but in this market you need to take whats avaliable.
Anyway I started yesterday, got there to be given the usual H&S walk around and meet the other engineer, all good up to yet, we fixed one of the saw machines and adjusted some chains on a robotic crane. At this point im thinking, theres alot going on but im sure with time I can do this.
Ok so then the negative side, the place is so noisy that you have to wear ear defenders, this means any communication is pretty much lip-read which makes it very hard to work out what is being said and you cant listen to conversations between the other engineer and production staff on problems which slows down being able to learn from whats actually going on, while its not the end of the world it does make it difficult.
But the major issue was in the afternoon the engineer said we will jump on this production machine, this involved picking up pieces of flat MDF and feeding them into the machine, you basically stand still and rotate your hips 90 degrees and load the machine. I assumed initially this was to give me an idea what the operators do.
After an hour with no music, ear defenders on and doing this repetitive action im bored, after 2 hours my mind is wandering, after 4hrs im not happy to be stood in one place(the other engineer is on the other end of the machine so unable to communicate with him, hes stacking the processed wood manually)
At the end of the shift I ask why we are doing it, are production staff off/holiday, was it to teach me what they go through?
I get told no, basically any time a machine isnt broken you will be on the production line feeding the machine, which if nothing breaks all week, well then your stood here all week, its part of the job.
So this morning I go into work and he takes me straight back over to the processing machine again, at which point im feeling really sad thinking ive made a mistake, only to be saved by a couple of machines having operator errors throughout the day keeping me away from it.
Now im thinking that everyday im going to go into work praying that something is broken, but thats going to be unlikely, I appreciate the opportunity ive been given, the money is good(for me anyway) but I really dont know what to do.
Ive since had a call tonight with a job offer of a field engineer again, its alot less money, probably more alot hours but im just worried at this time when jobs are getting harder to find should I really be jumping about.
Any input, sorry if I have missed anything vital out
2 sMoKiN bArReLs said:
All I'd say is I'd give it quite a while to see how things settle down/develop. (also, how I can influence things to make life more bearable)
Not much help, but good luck
I also found out im the 5th engineer they have had, which some have left because they didnt want to do the production work, im not shy of working, but need some sort of mental stimulation to be happy.Not much help, but good luck
The engineer has said its always been like this for last 12yrs hes been there....which i think hes telling the truth as he doesnt appear to be trying to scare me off because hes worried about job security etc
Does the job/company have good progression prospects? i.e. would it be worth doing the job for a while until you're settled then push on to try and change duties/move to another part of the plant?
And what are the realistic chances of you being able to secure another role that meets your ambition, salary and other wellbeing needs?
And what are the realistic chances of you being able to secure another role that meets your ambition, salary and other wellbeing needs?
shouldbworking said:
I wouldn't pay someone to do nothing.. If there's preventative maintenance or something to do that's being missed, you have an argument for doing that, but being paid to sit around because nothing is broken right now? You're having a laugh
Indeed, you shouldbworking.
shouldbworking said:
I wouldn't pay someone to do nothing.. If there's preventative maintenance or something to do that's being missed, you have an argument for doing that, but being paid to sit around because nothing is broken right now? You're having a laugh
That's not what he's asking for. If he's a maintenance engineer/technician by trade and enjoys it then that's the sort of work he wants to do. Plenty of maintenance engineers/technicians have full time roles doing just that. On the flip side it pays well, but as the OP is young and enjoys his field then it's a dead end.
If you have the opportunity to go to a job you enjoy, then go for it. The money may be less, but it's better to enjoy what you do. You have given it a try, don't quit until something else is lined up. In probationary period, you have a week's notice if you returned to your former or similar role. 
I'm incredulous that they didn't make it clear during the hiring process that the job would involve repetitive factory-type work when no maintenance work needs to be done. There's a huge difference in intellect and engagement required between factory work and machine maintenance work. You may well be paid well, but if you're the kind of person who has the engineering nouse to repair and maintain machines, then you won't be happy remaining in a role where you are expected to do basic operative work the vast majority of the time. At the very least you're not doing your professional development any good by staying in such a role.
As they didn't bother to tell you this up front, I'd keep my eyes open for other roles that would better suit before you're there long enough to have to give a long notice period. Then jump when you find something better.
As they didn't bother to tell you this up front, I'd keep my eyes open for other roles that would better suit before you're there long enough to have to give a long notice period. Then jump when you find something better.
Difficult situation, but I think you should stick with it and keep looking for another job.
In the current climate the fact you landed a well paid job is something to be proud of.
It’ll always be a shock to the system working somewhere new after being in the last place so long so hopefully you’ll get more used to it over time.
Crack on and try enjoy it, listen to music if you can and use the time to think about your next move.
You won’t be there forever and think of it as new experience and a stepping stone to the next job.
In the current climate the fact you landed a well paid job is something to be proud of.
It’ll always be a shock to the system working somewhere new after being in the last place so long so hopefully you’ll get more used to it over time.
Crack on and try enjoy it, listen to music if you can and use the time to think about your next move.
You won’t be there forever and think of it as new experience and a stepping stone to the next job.
Isn’t there any form of ear defenders with built in voice chat available?
Could be worth asking those in charge to supply some so you can actually listen and take on Board what the other guy is saying.
Doesn’t help with the repetitive side though
From a personal POV, I loved a previous job, didn’t have the typical Sunday night depression, however I was on 40% less wage than I am now
Could be worth asking those in charge to supply some so you can actually listen and take on Board what the other guy is saying.
Doesn’t help with the repetitive side though
From a personal POV, I loved a previous job, didn’t have the typical Sunday night depression, however I was on 40% less wage than I am now
Edited by usn90 on Tuesday 20th October 19:49
Edited by usn90 on Tuesday 20th October 19:50
OP, i work in equipment maintenance.
I wonder whether its the sort of role where once you have been there for a while, you will find your own fill in jobs to do.
When i started here, my jobs were initially tedious, and then i found my niches that are left to me.
May be worth sticking it out and seeing if anything changes.
I wonder whether its the sort of role where once you have been there for a while, you will find your own fill in jobs to do.
When i started here, my jobs were initially tedious, and then i found my niches that are left to me.
May be worth sticking it out and seeing if anything changes.
Could you be proactive in creating elements to your role that better suit you as well as providing benefits for the company?
For example:
Good luck!
For example:
- Create a preventative maintenance plan that can be executed when urgent repairs are not required.
- Help out with other "technical" needs: providing IT assistance, fixing non-production pieces of equipment.
- Building and other infrastructure maintenance and improvement.
Good luck!
parabolica said:
Does the job/company have good progression prospects? i.e. would it be worth doing the job for a while until you're settled then push on to try and change duties/move to another part of the plant?
OP said:
The engineer has said its always been like this for last 12yrs hes been there...
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