What is going on with the company I am working with and Should I find another Job ASAP?

Question

The reason why I am asking this question is because I truly believe I can make a whole lot more money as an entry level electrical engineer and I am really concerned and outraged that my employer might be taking advantage of me and my situation.

I just came from new york to texas and I know nobody in texas. I am only 26 and I don’t want to end up jobless one day and be on the road starving , so please read through my complete situation and help me if you have time.

This is what happened . I was in desperate need for a job and I was looking through anywhere , even craigslist under “ general labor jobs” . I send me resume from the library to a company this past June and I got a call the same day asking me to come for interview on the same day. I have and engineering degree by the way ( bachelors in electrical and computer engineering)

This was their advertisement by the way. “We are looking for computer literate and dependable individuals with reliable transportation for full and part-time positions.

We manufacture GPS tracking devices and this job will be testing and labeling them before they are shipped to customers. Starting pay is $8/hour. Will consider higher rates if you have other relevant skills (soldering, electronics experience, etc). Pay increases are also available upon review after the first 90 days.

This is an opportunity to come in on the ground floor at a growing hi-tech company.”

After the interview I realized this is a very underpaid job and I shouldn’t be taking it . But I needed the job . My employer called me few days later saying “this is a very small company right now , but we are planning on growing soon and we think you are very smart , we are planning on starting you off with $12/hr and I want you to start working with me as assistant engineering in the future “. Eventhough it sounded fishy because of hmm , I dn’t know why..i agreed to come start working.

There are 4 guys working there under this production assistant , including me. Recently he send his assistant to Malaysia and without giving us any notice , with out any freaking supervision left us to work on our own. So I took the lead and started supervising the people who worked there ( and did a good job too )-. The day before his assistant came back he and his wife ( yes she works there too ) , called me into the office saying they want me to become the production lead ( managing the people working there ) and his assistant can help him with the new “Project “ , But I didn’t want the job since , my boss has been telling me on occasion the exact following words “ hey , this is not really what I want you to work on . Ofcource I want smart people in the back to get things going “but what I really want you to work on is this new project and he would show me this new product that’s lying around on his desk “

I just don’t understand …..hmm ,on that day he told me “ if you are not going to be comfortable we don’t’ want you to be in that situation because that’s more important and I was thinking in my mind“ YOU FREAKING TOLD ME YOU WANT “ ME “ TO WORK WITH YOU ON THAT PROJECT AND NOT YOU ASSISTANT” .

That was a very awkward day/situation to be in .i don’t know what went on that day.

Anyway his assistant came back from Malaysia the next day and started treating me like all the other employees and started putting words in my mouth and yelling at me one time when I made a small mistake and that pissed me off since he knows I works twice as hard and one day he even called me into his office with all the other employees who “I MANAGED” When his *** wasn’t around , and started preaching about attendance when he shows up everyday after being 2 hours late.

What do you think is going on here ? Am I getting screwed in this company or what ?( sorry to be using crude language but I am just mad ) What do you think I should do next , hang on or get my *** out of there ?

p.s: They do make us work overtime and gives 15 min for lunch and criticized me for not taking lunch in the office itself ( indirectly ) and oh yea , last but not least, my boss Offered me the “ Production lead” job again as if the incident where I expressed my wish to work with him on the project and not being a production Lead “ never even occurred. This guy is 38 or something by the way and his company is still being run by 4 people in the office .[testing , packing , labeling , sending] . What the h**l is going on around here , Please help .

Answer 1

I can tell by the way you write that you are very intelligent.  The fact that YOU are so unhappy is a sign that you are not in the right place.

However - yeah - they are a small company, not following labor law and getting as much for as cheap as possible.  Their turnover will cost them more in the long run than decent wages.  Oh well.  You are not stuck there and are VERY over-qualified.

If you don't see something else within the next couple weeks (start looking now!) then I would go to the best staffing firm and talk to them, tell then the whole thing (calmly and non-reactively) and sign up.

Keep in mind that these small-time people are also the ones who may bad-mouth you later.  So try to get out asap.  Talk to the agency about how best to handle it if necessary on your next job app.

If you can afford it, I would even suggest quitting now in a very appreciative and professional way - then go directly to the agency, as being from another state may cause a little difficulty for you, especially in a redneck TX town.  I know because I made the same mistake in California and am unemployed because they are suspicious of me not being born here and don't like outsiders (I found out too late).

Good luck

Andi, HR Spec

Answer 2

My company is Williams Gas Pipelines and they are currently in need of engineers and they pay them well.Probably average pay around $70,000 a year or better. Their home office is based in Houston Tx. A great company to work for keep an eye out on the internet.

Answer 3

you know the answer yourself without asking us.

of course you should get out, and get out as soon as you can.

you might be in need of the job, but you've shown already that you are prepared to travel interstate for the job, will take a lowly paid job when you obviously deserve more, can and will work hard, are capable, etc, etc, etc.  

so, what are you waiting for?

even if you do stay and take the role on offer, you'll be annoyed as they don't seem to be all that professional and things aren't going to improve suddenly because you've been given a step up.  it's a dodgy firm with slack people running it, so best to cut and run.

besides you have skills and a degree, so look for something more suited and maybe in a larger firm with a more professional attitude.

all the best.

Answer 4

This is a new company and they obviously don't know how to treat their employes well. I would find another job ASAP to relieve yourself of this disorganized and stressful situation.