# Recession Raise/Bonus



## mce01

This was some bad year for my company, at least for non-partners. I just want to get an idea of what sort of compensation is happening around me while I'm settling for what I have.

Here are my numbers:

Civil Engineering

Years of experience: 4.5 + MS

2009 Raise: 0%

2009 Bonus (% of base pay): 0%


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## Chucktown PE

same shit here. although we're making money


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## Chucktown PE

I have 6 years + MS.


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## Supe

2009 Raise: 6% in January as promised from 2008, current wage freeze.

2009 Bonus: +- 8%, only received 4%


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## Road Guy

like bluto's grade point average.... 0.0


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## Santiagj

I'm in the utility industry which has been rather insulated from what everyone else is feeling.

2009 Raise: 4% in March due to 2008 performance

2009 Bonus: 12% of my salary due to 2008 performance

2009 Promotion: 10% raise from promotion to Senior Eng due to PE license


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## wilheldp_PE

Road Guy said:


> like bluto's grade point average.... 0.0


Fat, drunk and stupid is no way to go through life, son.


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## udpolo15

We'll get something, but won't find out until March. I no overall profits are down from 2008, but margins have gone back up and headcount is down. They froze salary for Manager's last year so they are first on the list. I think they will try to allocate more to the bonus and raise pools this year to keep people happy.

I get a second bonus on April 1 when my tuition reimbursement period expires, then I start looking for a new job.


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## wilheldp_PE

So far, we have gotten a quarterly bonus every quarter this year. We were profitable in October and November, so if we can eek out a profit in Dec, we'll be getting another bonus. No raises this year though.


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## jeb6294

Federal Gov't so we don't get bonuses but we do get COLA every year so we should be finding out what that will be shortly. Before I started here we used to get a mid-year and Christmas bonus that slowly got lower and lower every year. My last Christmas there we got a $50 gas card and a Hamilton County park pass ($3). I still talk to some of the guys there and I'm guessing they haven't gotten anything letely...they're struggling to come up with 40 hours a week.


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## picusld

Civil Engineering

6 years in land development

BS and PE

0.0


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## Kephart P.E.

picusld said:


> Civil Engineering 6 years in land development
> 
> BS and PE
> 
> 0.0


Mechanical BS and PE

6+ years experience

2009 Bonus 0.002

2009 Raise 0.0


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## wilheldp_PE

D. Kephart said:


> Mechanical BS and PE6+ years experience
> 
> 2009 Bonus 0.002
> 
> 2009 Raise 0.0


You actually got a 0.2% bonus?


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## Supe

wilheldp_PE said:


> D. Kephart said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mechanical BS and PE6+ years experience
> 
> 2009 Bonus 0.002
> 
> 2009 Raise 0.0
> 
> 
> 
> You actually got a 0.2% bonus?
Click to expand...


McDonalds Gift Card?


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## Capt Worley PE

Jelly of the Month.


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## Dark Knight

I will know in March but it is not promising. The CEO already sent a video with a message about "making sacrifices" and warning that this year will not to be the same as last year.

Last year I got about 3% increase and a 3.25% bonus(something like that). We were warned not to expect to be even close so no expectations.

Funny thing is that my former boss told me that my salary increase and bonus were the highest amounts given in my unit. It was true but he forgot to mention that I was, by far, the one making less money.(I am the only PE though)...and still am the one making less money and the only PE.

I do not really care but I was dissapointed about him giving me the wrong facts trying to make me feel good. That was low.


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## FLBuff PE

Capt Worley PE said:


> Jelly of the Month.


That's the gift that keeps on giving.


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## Kephart P.E.

wilheldp_PE said:


> D. Kephart said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mechanical BS and PE6+ years experience
> 
> 2009 Bonus 0.002
> 
> 2009 Raise 0.0
> 
> 
> 
> You actually got a 0.2% bonus?
Click to expand...

First it was more nearly a "Christmas Bonus" in the form of a gift card to a local Restaurant Chain.

Secondly it was really .18% but I rounded up.


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## jeb6294

The 2010 GS pay scales are up...looks like we got roughly 2% COLA this year.


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## mce01

D. Kephart said:


> wilheldp_PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> D. Kephart said:
> 
> 
> 
> Mechanical BS and PE6+ years experience
> 
> 2009 Bonus 0.002
> 
> 2009 Raise 0.0
> 
> 
> 
> You actually got a 0.2% bonus?
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> First it was more nearly a "Christmas Bonus" in the form of a gift card to a local Restaurant Chain.
> 
> Secondly it was really .18% but I rounded up.
Click to expand...

I would have been ok with a Burger King gift card this year.........

This is the saddest topic on the whole forum....if we were bankers at Goldman, we would have been talking about anything from 100 to 10,000 % bonus....this is just wrong!!!!


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## Santiagj

Karma will catch up to the bankers one day. Right now the prestige of the profession is being put through the toilet.

I would hate to be a walking douche (aka banker/finance person) my whole life. I wouldnt be able to look myself in the mirror and honestly say that I am a productive person in society.


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## wilheldp_PE

Santiagj said:


> Karma will catch up to the bankers one day. Right now the prestige of the profession is being put through the toilet.
> I would hate to be a walking douche (aka banker/finance person) my whole life. I wouldnt be able to look myself in the mirror and honestly say that I am a productive person in society.


Lawyers have had that reputation for a long time, yet there are still lots of lawyers graduating every year.


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## Supe

Santiagj said:


> Karma will catch up to the bankers one day. Right now the prestige of the profession is being put through the toilet.
> I would hate to be a walking douche (aka banker/finance person) my whole life. I wouldnt be able to look myself in the mirror and honestly say that I am a productive person in society.



True, but you could sit on the hood of your Ferrari, bury your head in the chest of your big-breasted wife, and cry away your troubles.


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## Santiagj

If the big breasts are real then yes.


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## Chucktown PE

Santiagj said:


> If the big breasts are real then yes.



Why do you care if they're real? Either way they're going to be fun to play with.


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## wilheldp_PE

Chucktown PE said:


> Santiagj said:
> 
> 
> 
> If the big breasts are real then yes.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Why do you care if they're real? Either way they're going to be fun to play with.
Click to expand...

Like 2 big bags of ... sand.


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## Capt Worley PE

jeb6294 said:


> The 2010 GS pay scales are up...looks like we got roughly 2% COLA this year.


One nice thing about gov pay is you can pretty much see where you're gonna be down the road, and COLA always come through.


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## Chucktown PE

Capt Worley PE said:


> jeb6294 said:
> 
> 
> 
> The 2010 GS pay scales are up...looks like we got roughly 2% COLA this year.
> 
> 
> 
> One nice thing about gov pay is you can pretty much see where you're gonna be down the road, and COLA always come through.
Click to expand...


I'd prefer having sex my hot wife (with giant fake boobs) on a pile of cash.


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## SPSUEngineer

well all of you faired better than me.

2008 = no raise

April 2009 = received PE license and no raise, no bonus

May 2009 = 10% PAY REDUCTION

October 2009 = 20% PAY REDUCTION

2009 = no raise, no bonus

2010 = not looking any better

I do commercial site development and I'm just lucky to have a job


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## snickerd3

woohoo in march the hubby's company is reinstating the 2% cut they took last june and in april they are restarting the 401K match they took at that same time.


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## Ble_PE

That's great news Snick! I've raise-less since 2008, but at least they haven't cut my pay. The manager over our office has put in a request with corporate about giving raises this year, but we haven't heard anything yet. It's nice to have a job though.


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## ALBin517

Capt Worley PE said:


> jeb6294 said:
> 
> 
> 
> The 2010 GS pay scales are up...looks like we got roughly 2% COLA this year.
> 
> 
> 
> One nice thing about gov pay is you can pretty much see where you're gonna be down the road, and COLA always come through.
Click to expand...

I work for local government. The "big boss" recently reached into our contract and took the raises out. I don't think it will stand but he's trying to do it. We'll see when raise time comes around but nobody in our union is due until April.


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## Dexman PE

Had my first raise since late 2008 (when I got my PE) and got my first actual "bonus" check (1 week of extra pay). It's a ~2% COLA and the office manager said that although we're getting raises now, it doesn't mean we will or will not get anything else this year. They are pushing for an additional 2-3% since our office's hard backlog is at it's highest since 2006 (gotta love on-call contracts).


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## Capt Worley PE

Last raise was January 2008 for getting my PE.

I'm glad I have a job.


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## FLBuff PE

Last raise I got was one I negotiated a year before I got my PE, at about 10%. Since that raise, I have gotten a 20% pay REDUCTION. In that time, I have earned my PE (October 2008), and am the only other engineer here in the office, other than my boss. I have also brought in a couple projects that will hopefully turn things around for us, but we'll see. BTW, in case you can't tell, I'm a little butter about all this. I know it has to do with the economy, not my performance, but it still sux. And yes, I'm happy to have a job. 80% of a job is better than 0% of a job.


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## Ble_PE

FLBuff PE said:


> BTW, in case you can't tell, I'm a little butter about all this.


Great, I'll get the popcorn and we'll be set!


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## Sschell

Capt Worley PE said:


> Last raise was January 2008 for getting my PE.
> I'm glad I have a job.


mine was Sept '07, for the same....

and I feel the same way!


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## FLBuff PE

Ble_PE said:


> FLBuff PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> BTW, in case you can't tell, I'm a little butter about all this.
> 
> 
> 
> Great, I'll get the popcorn and we'll be set!
Click to expand...

D'oh!


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## Dexman PE

So bitter you melt like butter?


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## NCcarguy

Last year I got about a 15% pay CUT, no bonus.

I haven't made MORE money than the previous year since 2004-2005, and I passed the PE in 2007.

so this year me and a few guys started our own company. Time to reverse that trend!


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## Dexman PE

Dexman PE said:


> Had my first raise since late 2008 (when I got my PE) and got my first actual "bonus" check (1 week of extra pay). It's a ~2% COLA and the office manager said that although we're getting raises now, it doesn't mean we will or will not get anything else this year. They are pushing for an additional 2-3% since our office's hard backlog is at it's highest since 2006 (gotta love on-call contracts).


Got the first paycheck since the raises were announced. It ended up being 3% instead of 2. :multiplespotting:


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## Master slacker

Just had my 2009 review and pay adjustment meeting with my boss. I busted my ass in 2008 to get no bonus and no salary increase in 2009. I busted my ass again in 2009 and got me an 8% bonus and 4% salary increase. I'm up for a promotion, but I think my boss is dragging his heels a little bit. Yay me!


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## Ble_PE

Congrats Slacker, but you're not really living up to your name!! 

We got raises this year after not getting them last year, but mine was only 2.5% and did not include a promotion for getting my PE. I'm a little bummed about not getting the promotion, but on the other hand, I wasn't expecting a raise, so it's all good!


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## Chucktown PE

I think we're supposed to find out about raises/bonuses today......

&lt;==== anxiously waiting


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## FLBuff PE

Chucktown PE said:


> I think we're supposed to find out about raises/bonuses today......
> &lt;==== anxiously waiting


Good luck, Chuck. You could use some good news.

&lt;===Still waiting for things to turn around at work, and get his salary re-instated.


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## benbo

FLBuff PE said:


> Good luck, Chuck.


That's a good name for a movie.


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## Ble_PE

benbo said:


> FLBuff PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> Good luck, Chuck.
> 
> 
> 
> That's a good name for a movie.
Click to expand...

I see what you did there.


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## rppearso

There is money to be made even in this economy if you switch companies after getting your PE and some extra experience. What happens is your existing company takes you for granted and they fail to realize that the engineering pay scale is an exponential curve at teh front end (and eventually levels off later).


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## wilheldp_PE

rppearso said:


> they fail to realize that the engineering pay scale is an exponential curve at teh front end (and eventually levels off later).


You fail to realize that this is not true. There is no exponential salary curve in engineering. You will always get your biggest bump in pay when you change jobs, but it isn't because your company is taking you for granted.


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## rppearso

wilheldp_PE said:


> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> they fail to realize that the engineering pay scale is an exponential curve at teh front end (and eventually levels off later).
> 
> 
> 
> You fail to realize that this is not true. There is no exponential salary curve in engineering. You will always get your biggest bump in pay when you change jobs, but it isn't because your company is taking you for granted.
Click to expand...

Then why is that the case, why do you have to leave the company where you built your experience to get a meaningful raise you would think that they would want to retain you after having all that history at there company.


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## Supe

rppearso said:


> wilheldp_PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> they fail to realize that the engineering pay scale is an exponential curve at teh front end (and eventually levels off later).
> 
> 
> 
> You fail to realize that this is not true. There is no exponential salary curve in engineering. You will always get your biggest bump in pay when you change jobs, but it isn't because your company is taking you for granted.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> Then why is that the case, why do you have to leave the company where you built your experience to get a meaningful raise you would think that they would want to retain you after having all that history at there company.
Click to expand...

1) You're assuming a new set of responsibilities

2) That pay raise is associated with the fact that an open position at the other company is associated with a higher/pressing demand.

3) Several larger corporations are structured to where the raises are based on performance-tied percentages not to exceed a certain amount, where the only way to make a large jump within corporate policy guidelines is to be promoted.


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## benbo

I just got this in the mail from monster. I'm not really interested in changing jobs (my job pays more than this and is problably easier), I just have my res up there for fun. Anyway, this is for a person with just a Bachelor's and 4 years experience. I'm sure a lot of people could do this job. And you don't need a PE or multiple degrees. It isn't really fatty money here in LA, but it's decent at the top end, and you could certainly talk them into six figures. But like I said, it's LA.

The Job Details:

Plant Maintenance and Reliability Engineer

Location: Los Angeles, CA

Salary Range: $70,000 - $120,000

Maintenance and Reliability Engineer

Would you like to work for one of the leading companies in the Consumer Packaged Goods industry?

Do you have 4+ years of experience increasing the reliability of plant equipment including: process, packaging, material handling and utility systems?

Do you have experience acting as a technical consultant to ensure maintainability and reliability has been optimized to achieve the lowest life cycle cost and highest equipment availability possible?

If you are a Maintenance and Reliability Engineer with experience, please read on!

What you need for this position:

- 4+ years of experience increasing the reliability of plant equipment including: process, packaging, material handling and utility system.

- Bachelors degree from an Accreditation Board for Engineering and Technology (ABET) accredited program.

- Success and recognized technical capabilities, equipment and component knowledge, and practical experience in the following areas:

* Failure Analysis and Prevention

* Reliability Measures

* Materials (metals, plastics, elastomers, composites, coatings)

* Fabrication methods (welding, machining, surface treatment)

* Dimensional tolerances (reading prongs, measuring and specifying)

* Fastening and joining (methods and materials)

* Pneumatics, hydraulics and mechanical power transmission

* CMMS (Maximo and others)

* Tribology

* Certified in at least two PdM technologies (ie. vibration, ultrasound, infrared, oil analysis)

* Data Collection systems (CIM21, MQIS, Foxboro historian, DT Analyst)

* Sanitary equipment design and installation

What you'll be doing:

Ultimately you will:

- Improve system performance by increasing the reliability of all plant equipment including process, packaging, material handling, and utility systems.

- Provide technical support for the evolution from reactive to proactive maintenance, which will lead to productivity improvement and a reduced maintenance cost/case.

- Identify, implement, and communicate productivity improvements corporate wide. - Act as a technical consultant for new capital expenditures to ensure maintainability and reliability has been optimized to achieve the lowest life cycle cost (LCC) and highest equipment availability possible.

What's in it for you:

- competitive base + bonus + benefits!


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## rppearso

Thats cool thanks for the post.


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## benbo

rppearso said:


> Thats cool thanks for the post.


Come on down and grab that fatty pay. Six figures baby.


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## MechGuy

Too bad it costs seven figures to live in LA!


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## benbo

MechGuy said:


> Too bad it costs seven figures to live in LA!


I don't think that matters to rppearso. All he wants are those fatty six figures before he turns 40.


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## rppearso

I was being polite and I think its cool for people to post job opps like that, realisticly I woudl not go through the hassle of moving liek that for less than 160-180k (also I would have to do a cost of living analysis and alot of places in LA are like a 3rd world nation so my pay would have to be high enough to match my neighborhood where I am now plus tons of disposable income (enough to have a hangar at a local air port and a 200-300k plane after whatever random taxes they have there), if I lost my job here I would look into places like baku or else where overseas in O&amp;G where the pay checks are real money and I would be insulated from most taxes. Thats just my personal preferance and I know the money is there because contracting agencys like swift and fircroft have high salery positions open overseas. We will see what happens


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## benbo

rppearso said:


> moving liek that for less than 160-180k


That's 120K base, plus there is a bonus.

But this is not a high paying job here in LA anyway. It just happened to hit my inbox this morning. THere are lots of jobs that pay 160K-180K. With your advanced 8th grade communication and mathematics skills, you should have no problem.

But I think you just want to complain.


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## wilheldp_PE

rppearso said:


> plus tons of disposable income (enough to have a hangar at a local air port and a 200-300k plane after whatever random taxes they have there),


Troll.

:deadhorse:


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## Dexman PE

wilheldp_PE said:


> Troll.
> :deadhorse:


New standard response.


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## Road Guy

I dont know why but sometimes that seems like thats what you have to do, I dont agree with it but for some reason when you start at an engineering firm you tend to always be seen as the green kid just out of college even 10 years after you have gotten out of school.

But of course folks are not really job humping these days


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## rppearso

Road Guy said:


> I dont know why but sometimes that seems like thats what you have to do, I dont agree with it but for some reason when you start at an engineering firm you tend to always be seen as the green kid just out of college even 10 years after you have gotten out of school.
> But of course folks are not really job humping these days


what is job humping? I cant believe the defeated attitude some people have on here, its like they have already resigned or something, even in a bad market there are opprotunities to make real money.


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## Dexman PE

Here's another job:

http://hotjobs.yahoo.com/job-JYCACPLCNXT;_...Q6IX?source=SRP &lt;-- $75/hr GUARANTEED!!! NO EXPERIENCE OR SPECIAL SKILLS NEEDED!!! WORK FROM HOME!!!


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## Road Guy

sorry should be "job hopping"

many folks in the 90's and 00's changed jobs every 2 years or so to get some extra $$$ or at least they did in the Transportation Market in Atlanta


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## Chucktown PE

I am actually looking right now. I just got off the phone with an equipment sales rep (for water/wastewater infrastructure equipment) who I have worked with previously. I think he's willing to give me a bump on my salary to come work for him, and with significant bonuses I could be looking at a huge raise, upward of 30 to 40%.


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## Ble_PE

That seems like a pretty sweet deal there Chuck!


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## Dexman PE

I saw a couple of job postings over the weekend on local agency websites who are offering better pay. I just really prefer the consulting side. I also really enjoy working with the people here. The lack of money (not a ton, maybe 3-5%) is well worth the better work environment.


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## rppearso

Dexman PE said:


> I saw a couple of job postings over the weekend on local agency websites who are offering better pay. I just really prefer the consulting side. I also really enjoy working with the people here. The lack of money (not a ton, maybe 3-5%) is well worth the better work environment.


I agree 5% is not even in the same galaxy of being enough to move on but I am hoping in the next few months I could see a shift in pay of 130% which is enough for me to hop. 40-50% is also non-trivial and would warrant a jump. Of course you have to look at who you would be working for and what your job function would be, for me the agency shift would keep me sitting in the exact same place with the client just with a different contractor so you cant pass that up, dump your contractor that is skimming to much to one that can better manage there overhead. Going from client to vendor or off site contractor is like a down step so the rate hike would have to be enormus, there is too much hoop ha working projects that are not well ran, so even if the money is good its still a pain in the a** so the money basicly has to be awesome, otherwise find someone else to work 60 hrs a week for free while getting bitched at about change orders.


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## Ble_PE

rppearso said:


> Dexman PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> I saw a couple of job postings over the weekend on local agency websites who are offering better pay. I just really prefer the consulting side. I also really enjoy working with the people here. The lack of money (not a ton, maybe 3-5%) is well worth the better work environment.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree 5% is not even in the same galaxy of being enough to move on but I am hoping in the next few months I could see a shift in pay of 130% which is enough for me to hop. 40-50% is also non-trivial and would warrant a jump. Of course you have to look at who you would be working for and what your job function would be, for me the agency shift would keep me sitting in the exact same place with the client just with a different contractor so you cant pass that up, dump your contractor that is skimming to much to one that can better manage there overhead. Going from client to vendor or off site contractor is like a down step so the rate hike would have to be enormus, there is too much hoop ha working projects that are not well ran, so even if the money is good its still a pain in the a** so the money basicly has to be awesome, otherwise find someone else to work 60 hrs a week for free while getting bitched at about change orders.
Click to expand...

Troll :deadhorse:

(per Wil's request)


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## Chucktown PE

rppearso said:


> Dexman PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> I saw a couple of job postings over the weekend on local agency websites who are offering better pay. I just really prefer the consulting side. I also really enjoy working with the people here. The lack of money (not a ton, maybe 3-5%) is well worth the better work environment.
> 
> 
> 
> I agree 5% is not even in the same galaxy of being enough to move on but I am hoping in the next few months I could see a shift in pay of 130% which is enough for me to hop. 40-50% is also non-trivial and would warrant a jump. Of course you have to look at who you would be working for and what your job function would be, for me the agency shift would keep me sitting in the exact same place with the client just with a different contractor so you cant pass that up, dump your contractor that is skimming to much to one that can better manage there overhead. Going from client to vendor or off site contractor is like a down step so the rate hike would have to be enormus, there is too much hoop ha working projects that are not well ran, so even if the money is good its still a pain in the a** so the money basicly has to be awesome, otherwise find someone else to work 60 hrs a week for free while getting bitched at about change orders.
Click to expand...

^^ Makes perfect sense. :dunno: And almost Shakespearean in its elloquence.


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## wilheldp_PE

Chucktown PE said:


> ^^ Makes perfect sense. :dunno: And almost Shakespearean in its elloquence.


I know. It was relatively cogent, and spelled correctly. He even had me going that he was a somewhat intelligent human being...until he had to throw in his Troll line ("work 60 hrs a week for free") right there at the end.


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## Chucktown PE

I am hesitant to post anything here becuase I don't want the Troll to post again but I just found out [sarcasm]I got a whopper of a raise of 2% and a whopper of a bonus of slightly less than 2%.[/sarcasm] Looks like it's time to update the resume. I already have a couple of good prospects so maybe this is just the push for me to go out and do something different.


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## benbo

Chucktown PE said:


> I am hesitant to post anything here becuase I don't want the Troll to post again but I just found out [sarcasm]I got a whopper of a raise of 2% and a whopper of a bonus of slightly less than 2%.[/sarcasm] Looks like it's time to update the resume. I already have a couple of good prospects so maybe this is just the push for me to go out and do something different.


I don't care what sort of miracles certain unmentioned dillholes think are the norm, but those aren't really bad raises in a down economy - other places are still furloughing, cutting pay, laying off people and eliminating bonuses. But if you can get more somewhere else you should go for it, I think that's usually where the big pay jumps happen.


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## Santiagj

I think alot can be said for job security and work life balance. When you bring those two aspects into the picture you can't beat utilities.


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## benbo

Santiagj said:


> I think alot can be said for job security and work life balance. When you bring those two aspects into the picture you can't beat utilities.


I'm a utility regulator, so I work with a lot of power (and some gas) utility people. In general I agree they have really good jobs, with good pay, work environment, stability, and benefits. Especially if you work out of the central offices or in transmission or distribution design. In my experience it can be a little less ideal if you are a power plant engineer, or in charge of system maintenance. those hours can be strange, especially if your system has a lot of problems. But they also get reasonable pay.


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## Chucktown PE

I'm not working for a utility. I work for a consulting firm right now.


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## benbo

Chucktown PE said:


> I'm not working for a utility. I work for a consulting firm right now.


I know. I think we went off on a different direction after your post.


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## Flyer_PE

benbo said:


> Santiagj said:
> 
> 
> 
> I think alot can be said for job security and work life balance. When you bring those two aspects into the picture you can't beat utilities.
> 
> 
> 
> I'm a utility regulator, so I work with a lot of power (and some gas) utility people. In general I agree they have really good jobs, with good pay, work environment, stability, and benefits. Especially if you work out of the central offices or in transmission or distribution design. In my experience it can be a little less ideal if you are a power plant engineer, or in charge of system maintenance. those hours can be strange, especially if your system has a lot of problems. But they also get reasonable pay.
Click to expand...

Agreed. It all depends on which part of the utility you work for. I was a plant guy, the 70 and 80 hour weeks got pretty old. I'm much happier on the consulting side of the fence.


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## Capt Worley PE

Chucktown PE said:


> I am hesitant to post anything here becuase I don't want the Troll to post again but I just found out [sarcasm]I got a whopper of a raise of 2% and a whopper of a bonus of slightly less than 2%.[/sarcasm] Looks like it's time to update the resume. I already have a couple of good prospects so maybe this is just the push for me to go out and do something different.


Not much sypathy from me.

&lt;---No raise since Jan '08.


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## Santiagj

I'm not a plant guy. I'm one of the main office guys doing substation design. My work hours are the normal 40 hours a week with maybe 2-3 hrs of unpaid ot every now and then. The only downside is storm duty where I am on call, but that is only 2 weeks out of a 9 week rotation period.


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## Flyer_PE

To be fair, the plant hours vary from site to site. If the plant is well managed, it's not so bad. Problem was, we weren't all that well managed as evidenced by all the 'help' we had from the NRC the last couple of years I was there.


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## rppearso

I hear some talk of power plant engineering, I am slowing starting additional classes towards a EE, how is working for a power plant utility. It seems utilities engineering is easier to find jobs in these days but you have to have the right degree for it.


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## Chucktown PE

rppearso said:


> I hear some talk of power plant engineering, I am slowing starting additional classes towards a EE, how is working for a power plant utility. It seems utilities engineering is easier to find jobs in these days but you have to have the right degree for it.



It's awesome. I make $14 billion dollars a year doing it.


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## FLBuff PE

rppearso said:


> I hear some talk of power plant engineering. I am slow*ly* starting additional classes towards a*n* EE degree*;* how is working for a power plant utility*? * It seems *that in* utilities engineering *it* is easier to find jobs *in these* days but you have to have the right degree for it.


Corrected.


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## Flyer_PE

Working in power plants is the same as anywhere else. You get paid for what you bring to the table. You won't make a ton of money without first paying your dues.


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## FLBuff PE

Flyer_PE said:


> Working in power plants is the same as anywhere else. You get paid for what you bring to the table. You won't make a ton of money without first paying your dues.


How much are the dues? Does one require a seed money job to pay said dues?


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## Dexman PE

FLBuff PE said:


> Flyer_PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> Working in power plants is the same as anywhere else. You get paid for what you bring to the table. You won't make a ton of money without first paying your dues.
> 
> 
> 
> How much are the dues? Does one require a seed money job to pay said dues?
Click to expand...

Some dues can be paid while wearing knee-pads...


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## Flyer_PE

^For me, it was doing a whole bunch of what we called 'slug-work'. I've spent more than just an hour or two hauling hoses and routing test leads around the primary containment vessel. Lot of hot, sweaty work wearing anti-contamination coveralls and hoping like hell my shorts didn't get confiscated at the radiation monitor on the way back to the dress-out area. It was a real fast education on exactly how things work/happen at a power plant though.


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## rppearso

Flyer_PE said:


> ^For me, it was doing a whole bunch of what we called 'slug-work'. I've spent more than just an hour or two hauling hoses and routing test leads around the primary containment vessel. Lot of hot, sweaty work wearing anti-contamination coveralls and hoping like hell my shorts didn't get confiscated at the radiation monitor on the way back to the dress-out area. It was a real fast education on exactly how things work/happen at a power plant though.


That sounds like non engineering work, was this like a college summer job, you certianly were not doing this as a PE or experienced person.


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## FLBuff PE

rppearso said:


> That sounds like non-engineering work. Was this like a college summer job? You certianly were not doing this as a PE or an experienced person.


Corrected.


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## Flyer_PE

That's what entry level engineers used to do at power plants. You get assigned jobs that force you to go out there and get dirty as hell. In the mid 90s, factoring in OT, I was grossing a little over 100k in years with both a Spring and Fall refuel outage. You work enough consecutive 12-hour days and you can put a little in the bank. Life was pretty much work-sleep-repeat but the money was good.


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## mrt406

Chucktown PE said:


> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> I hear some talk of power plant engineering, I am slowing starting additional classes towards a EE, how is working for a power plant utility. It seems utilities engineering is easier to find jobs in these days but you have to have the right degree for it.
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It's awesome. I make $14 billion dollars a year doing it.
Click to expand...


That's it? Man... you should really jump to another position for a fatty 250% raise.


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## Dark Knight

Flyer_PE said:


> ^For me, it was doing a whole bunch of what we called 'slug-work'. I've spent more than just an hour or two hauling hoses and routing test leads around the primary containment vessel. Lot of hot, sweaty work wearing anti-contamination coveralls and hoping like hell my shorts didn't get confiscated at the radiation monitor on the way back to the dress-out area. It was a real fast education on exactly how things work/happen at a power plant though.


As a PE I was doing a lot of that, without the anti-contamination coveralls, but you know how is the life of a RTE. It was the best experience of my life. Grew a lot as a professional and as an engineer. I would love to go and do it again but I do not have the same energy I used to have.


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## Dexman PE

I prefer field work. I'm actually looking forward to managing a bridge replacement project which is supposed to kick-off early next month. It's surprising how much you learn as an engineer from the field instead of alway sitting in front of your computer working in CAD.


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## FLBuff PE

Dexman PE said:


> I prefer field work. I'm actually looking forward to managing a bridge replacement project which is supposed to kick-off early next month. It's surprising how much you learn as an engineer from the field instead of alway sitting in front of your computer working in CAD.


That's one of the reasons that I'm happy about not being in land development anymore. All I did was CAD work all day, every day. As a geotech/environmental engineer, I get out in the field a lot.


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## rppearso

Flyer_PE said:


> That's what entry level engineers used to do at power plants. You get assigned jobs that force you to go out there and get dirty as hell. In the mid 90s, factoring in OT, I was grossing a little over 100k in years with both a Spring and Fall refuel outage. You work enough consecutive 12-hour days and you can put a little in the bank. Life was pretty much work-sleep-repeat but the money was good.


Working that much OT for only 100k is not really that much money (maybe it was better money in the very early 90's), now if that was your base 40 hr pay and you raked in over 200k in OT then we would be talking (like mechanical designers make on big projects with all there 1.5 OT 60-80 hrs a week), otherwise I would just take the 40 hr office job and take the 20k pay cut. I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.


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## Dleg

You should maybe look into investment banking or software programming or something. Engineers design, troubleshoot, and service things that are actually used in real life. Whether it's a power generation system, a highway, a treatment plant, or an oil rig. If you don't enjoy the process of paying your dues doing long hours and field work, that's one thing. But you will never get any respect if you don't do it. I personally would not hire or work with an engineer who had no field experience, or was unwilling to do it. That kind of person would make a lousy engineer, in my opinion.

Which is why I say you should look for a job that has absolutely nothing to do with being outside an office. Like, for instance, certain kinds of software engineering, investment banking, full-time student, uh..... I really can't think of many others.

Work is called "work" because it's not easy, and it usually involves producing something useful for the community you live in or society at large. This means you will need to get away from the desk and into "reality" once in a while. I've held back from commenting on your posts in the past, but you really do seem as clueless about Life as everyone bashes you for.


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## Flyer_PE

rppearso said:


> Working that much OT for only 100k is not really that much money (maybe it was better money in the very early 90's), now if that was your base 40 hr pay and you raked in over 200k in OT then we would be talking (like mechanical designers make on big projects with all there 1.5 OT 60-80 hrs a week), otherwise I would just take the 40 hr office job and take the 20k pay cut. I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.



You seem to think there's an easy path to your idea of a "fatty" pay-check. I hope you're prepared to be very disappointed. You're a still wet behind the ears, snot nosed, whiny little brat that hasn't the first clue of which he speaks.


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## Road Guy

Success comes before work, only in the dictionary...


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## Santiagj

rppearso said:


> Flyer_PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's what entry level engineers used to do at power plants. You get assigned jobs that force you to go out there and get dirty as hell. In the mid 90s, factoring in OT, I was grossing a little over 100k in years with both a Spring and Fall refuel outage. You work enough consecutive 12-hour days and you can put a little in the bank. Life was pretty much work-sleep-repeat but the money was good.
> 
> 
> 
> Working that much OT for only 100k is not really that much money (maybe it was better money in the very early 90's), now if that was your base 40 hr pay and you raked in over 200k in OT then we would be talking (like mechanical designers make on big projects with all there 1.5 OT 60-80 hrs a week), otherwise I would just take the 40 hr office job and take the 20k pay cut. I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.
Click to expand...


Utilities do have office based engineering. What most people are describing is power generation work. I work on the distribution side which is regulated in the state I work in. However, I do have to go out into the field but not as much as others are describing. I work in substation engineering doing structural and geotech work. The amount of time I spend in the field depends on on a lot of things. If I did a good job designing/engineering then I won't have that many field visits and also smaller substations are usually built with less hickups. For example I tend to do few field visits for our standard distribution 34-13kv substations but alot more for anything 115kV and above. We do not have 69kV in case anyone is wondering. So I would say on average I go out in the field 1-2 times a week or 10% of my time. The pay is good and so is the atmosphere and the work life balance (in most instances). The only thing that I dislike is the storm duty. I am on call 2 weeks out of a 9 week rotation period. If a storm hits the system and cause a lot of outages then the storm crew is mobilized. My storm assignment is a patroller. To sum it up I look for downed wires and assess storm damage. It is not engineering work and I get paid a flat rate for anything above 40 hrs which is less then what I make an hour. That is the only instance in which I can make OT since I am a salaried employee. When a storm hits its all hands on deck. Yes I do hate working storm but its a necessary evil.

Everyone has to pay their dues. Also going out into the field is part of engineering. You have to be able to build a raport with the crews where they respect you and trust you. Their lives are in your hands. If you do not have that respect you will not go far. Utilities are all about teamwork and having the Utility mindset. Its tough to even get an interview. I know first hand that after interviews hiring managers and HR ask themselves "Will this person fit in?" You do get paid well but the people who they look for are not motivated solely by money.


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## Supe

rppearso said:


> I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.


Oh, so you're going to be one of those engineers who doesn't actually step foot in the field to gain any relevant experience whatsoever. We deal with a lot of those engineers where I work in the power industry. They have a tendency to "engineer" solutions by copying old specs to write new ones, even though they have zero clue as to how the field is impacted. They cost us millions annually.

Good luck on your fatty salary. Every employer I know would laugh you out of the office during the interview with those sort of attitudes and demands.

Oh, and our highest paid engineers are the ones with the most field experience.


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## Capt Worley PE

rppearso said:


> I generally *dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field*, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.


You're afraid they'll frag you and bury you someplace, aren't you? Probably a good idea to be cautious about that.


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## jfusilloPE

Capt Worley PE said:


> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> I generally *dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field*, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.
> 
> 
> 
> You're afraid they'll frag you and bury you someplace, aren't you? Probably a good idea to be cautious about that.
Click to expand...

:rotflmao:

In the civil/environmental field that I work in, if you don't get field experience the contractors will beat you to death via change order because you don't know what they are talking about...and believe me, contractors know if you have field experience or not.

I learned a long time ago from a mechanical engineer in college that you should always check with the guy who has to make the part to see if it is doable or not


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## rppearso

Santiagj said:


> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> Flyer_PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> That's what entry level engineers used to do at power plants. You get assigned jobs that force you to go out there and get dirty as hell. In the mid 90s, factoring in OT, I was grossing a little over 100k in years with both a Spring and Fall refuel outage. You work enough consecutive 12-hour days and you can put a little in the bank. Life was pretty much work-sleep-repeat but the money was good.
> 
> 
> 
> Working that much OT for only 100k is not really that much money (maybe it was better money in the very early 90's), now if that was your base 40 hr pay and you raked in over 200k in OT then we would be talking (like mechanical designers make on big projects with all there 1.5 OT 60-80 hrs a week), otherwise I would just take the 40 hr office job and take the 20k pay cut. I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> 
> Utilities do have office based engineering. What most people are describing is power generation work. I work on the distribution side which is regulated in the state I work in. However, I do have to go out into the field but not as much as others are describing. I work in substation engineering doing structural and geotech work. The amount of time I spend in the field depends on on a lot of things. If I did a good job designing/engineering then I won't have that many field visits and also smaller substations are usually built with less hickups. For example I tend to do few field visits for our standard distribution 34-13kv substations but alot more for anything 115kV and above. We do not have 69kV in case anyone is wondering. So I would say on average I go out in the field 1-2 times a week or 10% of my time. The pay is good and so is the atmosphere and the work life balance (in most instances). The only thing that I dislike is the storm duty. I am on call 2 weeks out of a 9 week rotation period. If a storm hits the system and cause a lot of outages then the storm crew is mobilized. My storm assignment is a patroller. To sum it up I look for downed wires and assess storm damage. It is not engineering work and I get paid a flat rate for anything above 40 hrs which is less then what I make an hour. That is the only instance in which I can make OT since I am a salaried employee. When a storm hits its all hands on deck. Yes I do hate working storm but its a necessary evil.
> 
> Everyone has to pay their dues. Also going out into the field is part of engineering. You have to be able to build a raport with the crews where they respect you and trust you. Their lives are in your hands. If you do not have that respect you will not go far. Utilities are all about teamwork and having the Utility mindset. Its tough to even get an interview. I know first hand that after interviews hiring managers and HR ask themselves "Will this person fit in?" You do get paid well but the people who they look for are not motivated solely by money.
Click to expand...

Yea I understand there are freak things that happen and I have to travel for me work like once a year but I got an engineering degree because I dont like slinging cable or pipe or whatever in the field. If I could get a PhD I would like to do things like work for Hysys writing code which also uses chemical engineering pricipals and the PE I worked under used to work for Flouren park NJ for Arco reaserach and Bell labs so thats more the direction im heading.


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## jeb6294

rppearso said:


> Working that much OT for only 100k is not really that much money (maybe it was better money in the very early 90's), now if that was your base 40 hr pay and you raked in over 200k in OT then we would be talking (like mechanical designers make on big projects with all there 1.5 OT 60-80 hrs a week), otherwise I would just take the 40 hr office job and take the 20k pay cut. I generally dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.


Okay, all your ridiculous posts have been very amusing, but I'm calling bullshit. Time to log out your alter ego and go back to your normal life whoever you are. Nobody could possibly be this moronic.


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## ALBin517

jfusilloPE said:


> Capt Worley PE said:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> rppearso said:
> 
> 
> 
> I generally *dislike any sort of field work and have never worked in the field*, I was hoping utilities work had office based engineering work as well.
> 
> 
> 
> You're afraid they'll frag you and bury you someplace, aren't you? Probably a good idea to be cautious about that.
> 
> Click to expand...
> 
> :rotflmao:
> 
> In the civil/environmental field that I work in, if you don't get field experience the contractors will beat you to death via change order because you don't know what they are talking about...and believe me, contractors know if you have field experience or not.
> 
> I learned a long time ago from a mechanical engineer in college that you should always check with the guy who has to make the part to see if it is doable or not
Click to expand...

The best civil consulting firm I ever worked for - they forced all their graduate engineers to work as inspectors during their first summer. They'd start work the Monday after spring graduation and inspect until the end of construction season. So they'd have about six solid months of inspecting at 40-80 hours per week, before they designed anything.


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## MGX

If an engineer has no field experience he usually ends up as 'that guy'. No one wants to be 'that guy'.


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## wilheldp_PE

As long as it pays fatty cash, rppearso doesn't mind being that guy.

In fact, he's working for free right now, and he's still that guy.


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## HornTootinEE

My company does nothin for it's PEs, not even a promotion. Doesn't anyone else see this? I am working ifor an Investor Owned Utility and very frustrated with my company's HR practices. CPAs here get adored, PEs get pooped on.


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## HornTootinEE

djohnson.ee said:


> My company does nothin for it's PEs, not even a promotion. Doesn't anyone else see this? I am working ifor an Investor Owned Utility and very frustrated with my company's HR practices. CPAs here get adored, PEs get pooped on.


Sorry. I meant DOES anyone else see this sort of thing? I don't know if thats a utility company thing, or just my company thing.

And promtions based on nothing but years. PE, working hard, big projects, none of that matters.


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## Flyer_PE

My observations when working for the utility was pretty much the same. I spent the time learning things that could be used in the consulting world. It worked out pretty well for me.


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## HornTootinEE

Flyer_PE said:


> My observations when working for the utility was pretty much the same. I spent the time learning things that could be used in the consulting world. It worked out pretty well for me.


FLyer, what do you do now? How long were you in utilities? Was it right after college?


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## mizzoueng

Flyer,

I'm on the opposite side of the fence right now. I am in consulting and would like to be a Power Plant Engineer. I love being on site at a power plant (coal fired is really all I know) and walking down the systems and doing the upgrades.

The thing with consulting that is driving me crazy right now is the lack of work-life balance. Right now I am being asked to travel 50%+ which normally wouldn't be too bad but means I have to go 12hrs+ away from my wife and kid and only get to come home once a month for a weekend. The work is good and I have been in the field quite a bit, it seems like the Plant Engineers are happy with their jobs (even though they are usually "on call") and have good job security as people will always need power.


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## HornTootinEE

Do alot of Power Plant EEs end up doing more Mechanical type work?


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## Flyer_PE

djohnson.ee said:


> FLyer, what do you do now? How long were you in utilities? Was it right after college?


My first job out of college was System Engineer at a nuclear power plant. The department was where they put new engineers to start learning how the plant works. I was in that department for the first five years and spent the next 3 years as a maintenance supervisor.



mizzoueng said:


> Flyer,
> I'm on the opposite side of the fence right now. I am in consulting and would like to be a Power Plant Engineer. I love being on site at a power plant (coal fired is really all I know) and walking down the systems and doing the upgrades.
> 
> The thing with consulting that is driving me crazy right now is the lack of work-life balance. Right now I am being asked to travel 50%+ which normally wouldn't be too bad but means I have to go 12hrs+ away from my wife and kid and only get to come home once a month for a weekend. The work is good and I have been in the field quite a bit, it seems like the Plant Engineers are happy with their jobs (even though they are usually "on call") and have good job security as people will always need power.


I think there are good jobs on both sides of the fence. It all depends on what works best for you. Right now, I'm working mostly from home. Typically, the only time I'm on-site is for the occasional meeting or to support specific activities. Most of our clients are within a 400 mile radius which puts them at about 3 hours away by air.



djohnson.ee said:


> Do alot of Power Plant EEs end up doing more Mechanical type work?


I think so. When you think about it, a power plant is primarily a mechanical device. I was initially surprised at the lack of electrical knowledge of most plant operators. They may not understand a whole lot about electricity, but they know a whole lot about moving water and steam around.


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## MechGuy

Well I finally got notice of my annual raise today. It was 4%, which is a little more than last year and about the same as the year before. But I didn't hear anything about a bonus, which I have received each of the past two years I've been with my firm. I didn't get told there wasn't a bonus, but I usually hear about it when I get my raise.

So I'm kinda bummed right about now. I feel like I've been going above and beyond, but it didn't seem to help much. But as everyone else said, its hard to complain when I still have a job to pay the bills.


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## HornTootinEE

MechGuy said:


> Well I finally got notice of my annual raise today. It was 4%, which is a little more than last year and about the same as the year before. But I didn't hear anything about a bonus, which I have received each of the past two years I've been with my firm. I didn't get told there wasn't a bonus, but I usually hear about it when I get my raise.
> So I'm kinda bummed right about now. I feel like I've been going above and beyond, but it didn't seem to help much. But as everyone else said, its hard to complain when I still have a job to pay the bills.



I got 2%.... the Union got their contracted 4%...


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