Engineers should NEVER be expected to ...

[maryannette]

Does God also equip some to be prostitutes and drug dealers?

I believe the people who are prostitutes and drug dealers have other abilities. It's about choices, too. What you choose to do with your life can be complicated. I choose to use the abilities that I was blessed with the best way I can. That's my opinion.

 

[IlPadrino]

What you choose to do with your life can be complicated.

Ain't that the truth! I don't disagree with your opinion.

 

[Road Guy]

Mary, Hope you know most of us (except VT) were kidding

 

[csb]

Once upon a time, when I was a college student, I totally agreed with McEngr that women's lib ruined families. Now that I'm a grown up I can more easily see that it's not that black and white. Yes, the housewife of the 1950s served a purpose and many people fondly look back on that as the good ol' days and when women were where they belonged. What that is skipping is looking that the fact that the period of time right after a time where women DID work outside of the home, in large part because of the war effort. When the men came back, they wanted their jobs back and they wanted to provide provide provide, so women were put into super-housewife mode. I don't know as if stay-at-home mom means the same thing now as it meant in the 1950s, nor what it meant even earlier. The duties of the housekeeper have been enhanced by technology.

I choose to work. I choose to be an engineer. I choose to put my son in a loving care environment during the day. I will choose to put him in school, rather than homeschooling. I choose to spend quality time with him in the evenings and days off. I choose not to spoil him out of guilt. I choose to respect women who do stay home. I demand to be treated equally when I am at work doing the same job as a male counter park. I expect part of that demand is that I am held to same standards, rather than given something because of my gender. I am not a number to fill a civil rights requirement. I am an engineer, fulfilling my profession.

 

[Road Guy]

my wife was a stay at home mom for about 3 years, probably the worst 3 years of our marriage, I am sure she was bored out of her damn mind, I dont blame her for wanting to go back to work, considering my kids are in the same pool as most of the others kids that came up in day care, 2 parents working life, there just well adjusted to the semi adjusted adjusted life......

 

[maryannette]

btw, I'm not upset at any comments. I've heard much worse and I don't let it bother me much any more.

The other thing that I have realized about being a working mom who is capable of supporting a family is that it makes my marriage better. I know it wouldn't be the same in all marriages, but for me and my husband, we respect each other and know that the marriage is good not because anyone is trapped and has no other options. It works because we love each other, but also because neither one is dependent. I know that my husband cannot take advantage of me, have unreasonable expectations, or abuse me because I'm trapped. That might be difficult for some to understand, but the independence and freedom keeps my marriage strong.

 

[chaosiscash]

If it makes you feel better, I do administrative stuff all the time. I've run mail, made copies, delivered food, packaged drawing sets, typed up handwritten memos, answered phones, and a lot of other stuff. I get paid on the hour, and if the boss asks me to do one of these things, I do it. It beats being a roofer in the South in July (which I've done as well). I guess stuff like that has never bothered me, and I've never felt like a job was beneath me.

By the way, I'm a registered male engineer.

 

[csb]

I've done all that too and don't mind if it's a team player thing.

 

[McEngr]

I've done all that too and don't mind if it's a team player thing.

csb and Mary and all the rest,

I didn't mean to come across as a male-dominating, narrow-minded brute. If that's the case, I've made a mistake. I believe passionately that fairness should be the common denominator among all working peers of equal competency/education/experience. However, some of us (women and men alike) have become part of the "entitlement generation". I assume no one on this particular thread would classify as such. I personally get along much better with female coworkers. They tend to have less of an ego, and are cooperative and just glad to be working. Those are the kinds of "gents" that I like working along side.

 

[csb]

And I have to say that I'm not upset by anything here either...part of being an engineer is being tough skinned.

I like the opportunity to prove myself and being a woman provides unique challenges that keep life interesting.

 

[maryannette]

Perfect sense.

I worked with a black engineer 20 years ago. (Are we allowed to talk about race? He and I had some conversations and agreed that we understood each other and had a lot in common.

 

[Dleg]

This all reminds me of when I was the low guy on the totem pole at a Target store in high school. I was the guy who would collect the carts in the parking lot, sweep the floors, and collect all the coat hangers from the cashier stations and return them to the clothing department. Aka the "cart attendant".

One day, after putting up with my menial duties, the store manager, who was a middle-aged woman, told me to clean out the employee's refrigerator in the break room. It was absolutely filthy - beyond anything I have seen since then. I decided right then and there that cleaning the employee's refrigerator was beneath the dignity of a 16 year old pimply high school boy.

So I marched right into the manager's office and faced her down and said "This is..... This is....." She looked at me and said "yes" (with a face that said "no") "... This is b - b - b - ********! I'm not cleaning up after all these slobs!" She continued to stare at me silently.

I then said "Yes ma'am" and went back to the break room and cleaned the fridge.

I don't what the purpose of this story is. I just thought I would share.

 

[McEngr]

This all reminds me of when I was the low guy on the totem pole at a Target store in high school. I was the guy who would collect the carts in the parking lot, sweep the floors, and collect all the coat hangers from the cashier stations and return them to the clothing department. Aka the "cart attendant".
One day, after putting up with my menial duties, the store manager, who was a middle-aged woman, told me to clean out the employee's refrigerator in the break room. It was absolutely filthy - beyond anything I have seen since then. I decided right then and there that cleaning the employee's refrigerator was beneath the dignity of a 16 year old pimply high school boy.

So I marched right into the manager's office and faced her down and said "This is..... This is....." She looked at me and said "yes" (with a face that said "no") "... This is b - b - b - ********! I'm not cleaning up after all these slobs!" She continued to stare at me silently.

I then said "Yes ma'am" and went back to the break room and cleaned the fridge.

I don't what the purpose of this story is. I just thought I would share.

Dleg, I like your honesty. I once worked for an x-military man who mowed lawns. I worked all day mowing for Walgreens, McDonalds, etc. He had employed 12 year old boys before hiring me (a 17 year old desperate to find work) and constantly told me that I wasn't worth a 12 year old's work. My mom even got on the phone with him and he proceeded to call her a bad mother. After not paying me for two weeks, I decided to quit. Worst working experience of my life.

 

[Master slacker]

^^^ I would've figured out how much pay he didn't give me and then damage his truck to approximately that amount. Someone would get that money, either me or the garage. h34r:

 

[Road Guy]

my first engineering job was with a small firm based out of Kentucky that had come to Atlanta for a slice of the new Federal Transportation dollars.

To this day I dont like to admit that I worked there for a long 8 months, but towards the end of my time there the owner had a little plane he liked to fly down to his house in Myrtle Beach, and since our office was very close to the Marietta Airport he would stop by after his little vacations.. well one time they picked up some developer clients they were trying to woo in their ford explorer for a night on the town in Atlanta then they drove to the airport for the Myrtle Beach trip, golf, etc,

So anyways, of course I was not invited, no big deal, but when they got back they asked me to clean the car and then also drive to the airport and clean out the plane, I took this to mean "pay someone to clean the car" so I went to one of those autodetailing places and left the car (which was trashed, fast food garbage, beer cans, generally dirtiness......I think the bill was pretty steep but thats what their credit card was for right?

I was already feeling out other people for jobs and I politely refused to clean out "the airplane" I got a big speech about "teamwork and a bnch of other ********" it fealt really good to turn in my notice a few weeks later..

there are not many remedial tasks I have no problem doing, have done them in the military, done them here, i generally dont ask secretaries to scan one sheet of paper but I just aint going to clean up someone elses ****...

 

[Ble_PE]

I just aint going to clean up someone elses ****...

I used to say the same thing until mini ble was born...

 

[MGX]

Not totally unrelated but while working at a grocery store while in high school my manager asked me to fix a leaky toilet. I looked at it and diagnosed a bad wax seal. I told him I would fix it for $80. He said "no, fix it on the clock" which was $4.25/ hour at the time. My job was to put groceries on the shelves, not be an apprentice plumber. After three days of him hounding me I said I had forgotten how to fix toilets and he called a plumber who fixed it for $125.

The same happened when a refrigeration compressor ruptured a line.

 

[Slugger926]

How about work for a manager that can't pass a remedial college algebra class?

 

[McEngr]

How about work for a manager that can't pass a remedial college algebra class?

Well, thank God for calculators, eh? I think that if he had to count a cashier's till it might be questionable accounting.

 

[wvgirl14]

Just caught this thread. Where I once worked and was the only female in the engineering department (the only female ever to be hired in that department), we had a client bring us lunch for Christmas as a thank you. Once lunch was over the client proceed to pick up the plates, then the president, my boss, told him not to worried about it, that the secretary and myself would handle it. We were the only females. He also said I could answer the phone when the secretary was out. I saw right there where I stood. Then when I became pregnant with my son he told me I could be considered a liability hence the reason I was not getting a raise even though he offered the only other two guys to work with me a big jump in pay not to leave the company. By the way they still left, and once I got off maturity leave and could get another job, so did I.