Job hunt: Do you really need an "engineer" for that?
Have a couple posts I want to do, but I need to think on how I want to phrase my second one still. As pointed out by anya_silverfur , we have had some serious neighbor issues. I have a bit of flame to post in frustration, but not now.
Instead, I want to talk about job stuff. On Wednesday, I had a second round interview with VMware. I was enthusiastic about the position and really thought this would be a chance to score a sure thing just in case. Unfortunately this was not to be.
In the interview phases, I thought I did well. I stumbled a little on the technical section due to not having an equivalent knowledge of the Linux compared to Windows. I also think I blew away the "personality" test due to having plenty of on-the-job applicable stories. Though, as the interviews went on, there seemed to be a disconnect between what they expected of me and my talents.
Due to this I had to ask the recruiter what the pay scheme/grade was for the position. He quoted a high-40k/yr (paid hourly). To which I replied (as politely as possible) that an EE costs a lot more than that. There was a bit of floundering back and forth to try and see if a middle ground could be met, but there was no way we could meet (my lowest != his highest).
I was a bit disappointed when the job revealed its true colors. I was sold a position that sounded like it required an engineer. The very highest level of support, an interface between the customer's administrators and designers. They came to the college looking for CS and EE's and I just assumed they were looking to fill positions that require those kinds of degrees. Unfortunately, they were just looking for very skilled techs... which is not the same as a CS or EE.
Now, I had a bit of problem with this. First off, 22/hr is not a bad salary. If life had played out differently and I remained in the tech-support world, this position would be a dream come true. And still I have a voice in the back of my head screaming at me for walking away. But the problem isn't really about dollars... its about work. Not only would I be far under my average pay-grade, I would be a step FURTHER from getting into a real EE job. And frankly when everything is added up, it's a lose on all fronts.
I know a lot of my readers will probably think I'm some sort of elitist jerk for posting this "I walked away because the pay wasn't enough". But as I said before this isn't exactly an issue of dollars in the bank. Part of the issue is there is a dollar value for my degree. Also, a position that pays significantly less will not hold up as an "engineering" job that I can use to move forward in my career. There is more at stake than just the here and now. I just feel like this sort of disconnect should have been caught earlier.
Still kind of bummed that the VMware process ended like it did. The company really looked like a place I would thrive. Oh well, looks like a good portion of break will be spent job hunting again.
~Locke
Instead, I want to talk about job stuff. On Wednesday, I had a second round interview with VMware. I was enthusiastic about the position and really thought this would be a chance to score a sure thing just in case. Unfortunately this was not to be.
In the interview phases, I thought I did well. I stumbled a little on the technical section due to not having an equivalent knowledge of the Linux compared to Windows. I also think I blew away the "personality" test due to having plenty of on-the-job applicable stories. Though, as the interviews went on, there seemed to be a disconnect between what they expected of me and my talents.
Due to this I had to ask the recruiter what the pay scheme/grade was for the position. He quoted a high-40k/yr (paid hourly). To which I replied (as politely as possible) that an EE costs a lot more than that. There was a bit of floundering back and forth to try and see if a middle ground could be met, but there was no way we could meet (my lowest != his highest).
I was a bit disappointed when the job revealed its true colors. I was sold a position that sounded like it required an engineer. The very highest level of support, an interface between the customer's administrators and designers. They came to the college looking for CS and EE's and I just assumed they were looking to fill positions that require those kinds of degrees. Unfortunately, they were just looking for very skilled techs... which is not the same as a CS or EE.
Now, I had a bit of problem with this. First off, 22/hr is not a bad salary. If life had played out differently and I remained in the tech-support world, this position would be a dream come true. And still I have a voice in the back of my head screaming at me for walking away. But the problem isn't really about dollars... its about work. Not only would I be far under my average pay-grade, I would be a step FURTHER from getting into a real EE job. And frankly when everything is added up, it's a lose on all fronts.
I know a lot of my readers will probably think I'm some sort of elitist jerk for posting this "I walked away because the pay wasn't enough". But as I said before this isn't exactly an issue of dollars in the bank. Part of the issue is there is a dollar value for my degree. Also, a position that pays significantly less will not hold up as an "engineering" job that I can use to move forward in my career. There is more at stake than just the here and now. I just feel like this sort of disconnect should have been caught earlier.
Still kind of bummed that the VMware process ended like it did. The company really looked like a place I would thrive. Oh well, looks like a good portion of break will be spent job hunting again.
~Locke