A couple of those going on, really. Two very valuable people whom I will miss are leaving our office today. One has been here since I started and is simply moving to our Austin office. But he will be missed because he's always been around and is a good person to talk to once in a great while. He was also the sounding board for another office mate who will most likely miss him very much.
The other is a fellow female engineer - which are in short supply around here. She is someone I wish I had become better friends with earlier rather than later. She is truly making a great escape and is changing industries (from architectural structural to bridge design for those of you who care or understand the differences). Kudos to her. Sounds like they will offer everything that is lacking about her/our current jobs. And I hope it works out for her!
It is very difficult to be a female engineer in this industry. Had I known that six years ago - er, 12 years ago, I might have made some different choices. The more I work the more I realize that this really is still a "man's" industry if for no other reason than the men in charge don't understand that it is possible to choose family over career and that the choice to do so is not a crazy one.
I believe I am currently the queen of "career limiting moves", as a colleague once put it. But that is fine, I don't want to be the "person in charge". Moving up the ladder only seems to bring more work and less compensation. I only wish I could convince myself that there is a happy medium upon which we can all agree is acceptable. The deciding factor will be how things are handled once the little 'uns come along and my home life requires more attention than my work life.
And on another, only slightly less depressing note, the eldest of my two little brothers, Mitch (the cyclist) is leaving for college today. He will be starting his sophomore year at Midwestern State University, located in the booming town of Witchita Falls. I envy him for the adventures he will be having over the next few years and wish him the very best.
I am, however, a bit concerned for my dad who will most likely be affected the most by this move. They are fast friends with a mutual love for cycling. A little birdie once told me that it was difficult for him when I went to college and we weren't nearly as close as they are. So my love and my prayers go out to Dad, who I know is torn between wanting Mitch to stay home and how proud he is for Mitch making this decision and going through with it.
I love you, Dad....
4 comments:
Awww...I love Dad, too. :) Good luck, Mitch! (I still can't believe he's in college.)
If you want to gab about being in a male-dominated industry, talk to Nora. She plays cards now because of it. Has made mention of golf... Or to Karen whose "good ol' boys" office allows women to wear open-toed shoes only if their toe nails are painted. Good grief...what year is it? I, on the other hand, would have estrogen EVERYWHERE if I were office-based. Interesting challenges there, too.
Good luck with all the changes.
Ahh, bridges to buildings....
I think our industry sucks. I wished someone would have told me that 12 years ago. I might not have listened, but then I could have looked back and thought, "I should have listened."
Cool projects, but sucks. But Mrs. Bubba seems to have much better luck working for general civil firms. I think it is the public clients.f
Yeah, see, I thought maybe you'd have it better off what with working for such a large prestigious firm and all. That's not at all encouraging. If it didn't require taking a huge paycut, I'd teach. And if I didn't have to get a PhD and bring in research money, I'd teach at the college level. ugh.
I don't think I'd even mind doing the research, but putting Katie and Baby B! through 4 years of poverty doesn't appeal to me.
I could write a book on what's wrong with my industry. The main thing is engineers run the business, they don't share profits, and they tend to do whatever the client tells them they need to do.
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