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Last Day at my old job

garyhlucas

Stainless
Joined
Oct 17, 2013
Location
New Jersey
Yesterday was may last day at my last job. I went out on top. I installed a new control system on one extrusion line that is now making the best product they have ever done. Last Monday after maintenance spent two days troubleshooting a machine then I correctly identified the problem in ten minutes. This Monday I identified the mechanical problem that was causing a drilling machine to make bad parts after maintenance had repaired it.

I did not finish the big drilling machine I was building. Just fully automated no operator, double sided with 16 spindles run by 8 VFDs and 3 Servos, and a full enclosure with 7 sliding doors with electric locks. It was a project that a manufacturer would have had five people working on it for at least 2 months. I worked on it by myself for the past year with only a couple months of two high school students helping me. No machine tools, send it out or use a hand tools, and it was originally built in China so it had to be completely rebuilt because it had so many mistakes. Got close, the machine was running one of the five cycles when I left.

I carefully documented everything I did and had an exit interview with all of management and even told them I would take phone calls to help them move forward. I told the other engineer that I shared and office with that he would need a bigger office, for the 3 guys they would be replacing me with. I figured doing a great job right to the end would make it more painful than if I just didn't come in one day!

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that will give you more time to spend here . if nothing more just to keep them on there toes . and by the way outstanding work .
 
There's no doubt the biggest mistake in leaving a job is making a scene or giving them the finger.

When you leave with a big smile on your face and a helpful attitude, it only helps you.
 
How long till they beg you to come back with a big fat raise? I think if I was your old boss I would give it a month and start with another $5 an hour. The sharpest tool in the shed won't be able to maintain your designs as well as you. I have even went back to work on my own few designs and after too much time lapsed it looked like I threw went spaghetti in a metal box.
 
There's no doubt the biggest mistake in leaving a job is making a scene or giving them the finger.

When you leave with a big smile on your face and a helpful attitude, it only helps you.

During my bouncing around to acquire knowledge and more pay I was rehired twice from places I left and could have made it three. On the other hand I also blew up a few bridges, I couldn't help myself, those were bridges I knew I wasn't going back across at any price.
 
You did it right Gary, we work to get our game and then play ‘till we quit & move on, it’s personal.

From ‘88 to ‘93 I was under a 5yr contract as a plant manager. At the beginning of my last year I gave notice I wasn’t interested in continuing my employment (nothing personal), that gave'm the whole year.

I went off as a private contractor & never made the same money but I could take a nap every once in a while. When I did work, it was at the same pace & determination as ever. Game is game.

Good luck,
Matt

Well done Gary.
Try not to get this thread locked this time :D
:cheers:

:stirthepot: I'll get the porridge warmed up. LOL, at the Press Club we'd have a $5 pool up by now.

Matt
 
A while after I retired they brought me back at 150% of my salary and I was still getting retirement check. Quit after 4 days, it wasn’t worth it. Funny part is if they had originally offered me a 20% raise not to retire I would had stayed on longer. Ahh, that taste of freedom.
 
Unless the reasons for your departure have corrected, why go back? You have a bargaining chip should they ask you, simply and clearly state 'this is the reason I left'. Fix it then we can talk.

Tom
 
I started looking for the new job when my boss made ME cancel the order for a FADAL after we paid for it, so I would be continuing to make parts by hand. After years of managing projects that ranged from $100,000 to $3 million I needed written approval to spend over $100! He'd go away for a couple days and my parts were now delayed.

Then there was the guy I shared an office with. He has anger management issues. Constantly flying off the handle over one wrong word. My heart would do flipflops every time it happened. I never let it cause a fight but that was hard to take. The place was very noisy only because they were too cheap or stupid to realize high noise levels are very debilitating when you hear it all day. I already have hearing aids and stopped putting them in so I could wear earplugs. Heat too, In the 80s in the building during the winter and over 100 in the summer. They went through 300 temps last year and can't figure out why!

The job should be enjoyable. It is all new projects doing automation for customers, no dropping everything to fix a problem on a machine that hasn't been properly maintained for 20 years. Also I have been helping the new company quote jobs for a couple months and mentoring one their employees on electrical controls. In addition we have an NDA for a product I have developing since leaving my last job as they are interested in manufacturing it. It is a really good fit for them and it should be extremely profitable for both of us.

I am also talking with a big pump company about a concept for a pump that I came up with about 8 years for Reverse Osmosis. Same story, should be really profitable because the case I gave them it would replace a $10,000 dollar pump for less cost to make and save $60,000 a year in electric costs! I am hoping that when I actually want to retire I have nice little income stream so I can have fun doing what I want.
 
I started looking for the new job when my boss made ME cancel the order for a FADAL after we paid for it, so I would be continuing to make parts by hand. After years of managing projects that ranged from $100,000 to $3 million I needed written approval to spend over $100! He'd go away for a couple days and my parts were now delayed.

Then there was the guy I shared an office with. He has anger management issues. Constantly flying off the handle over one wrong word. My heart would do flipflops every time it happened. I never let it cause a fight but that was hard to take. The place was very noisy only because they were too cheap or stupid to realize high noise levels are very debilitating when you hear it all day. I already have hearing aids and stopped putting them in so I could wear earplugs. Heat too, In the 80s in the building during the winter and over 100 in the summer. They went through 300 temps last year and can't figure out why!

The job should be enjoyable. It is all new projects doing automation for customers, no dropping everything to fix a problem on a machine that hasn't been properly maintained for 20 years. Also I have been helping the new company quote jobs for a couple months and mentoring one their employees on electrical controls. In addition we have an NDA for a product I have developing since leaving my last job as they are interested in manufacturing it. It is a really good fit for them and it should be extremely profitable for both of us.

I am also talking with a big pump company about a concept for a pump that I came up with about 8 years for Reverse Osmosis. Same story, should be really profitable because the case I gave them it would replace a $10,000 dollar pump for less cost to make and save $60,000 a year in electric costs! I am hoping that when I actually want to retire I have nice little income stream so I can have fun doing what I want.

Ok, you escaped hell, no going back at any price. My worst office sharing was in my last job working for others over 25 years ago. My office mate was in his late 50's with poor circulation, instead of wearing a jacket he kept cranking the heat up. I always ran hot and could wear a tank top and shorts when it was 50 degrees outside. I was in my early 30's so I wasn't going to get in a pissing match with him. I would keep turning the heat down and the AC up, he would do the opposite and keep complaining about who was messing with the thermostat. I guess that wasn't as bad as you had it. Once again congratulations on your new job.
 
Ok, you escaped hell, no going back at any price. My worst office sharing was in my last job working for others over 25 years ago. My office mate was in his late 50's with poor circulation, instead of wearing a jacket he kept cranking the heat up. I always ran hot and could wear a tank top and shorts when it was 50 degrees outside. I was in my early 30's so I wasn't going to get in a pissing match with him. I would keep turning the heat down and the AC up, he would do the opposite and keep complaining about who was messing with the thermostat. I guess that wasn't as bad as you had it. Once again congratulations on your new job.

It's a good thing to have an office with a window, and a door leading to the fire escape (3rd floor).
So you can adjust the heat/cool yourself, have a nice view, and jump if it get's too bad....40' rolloff directly below as well.....:D
 
I never told the crowd I was working for why I left....they were a bunch of idiots and morons,but that wasnt the reason....It was my brother and wife told me to quit straight away,for he estimated our mother had 2 months to go(he is a senior medico) and she would certainly leave everything to a church if I didnt intervene immediately.......he had recently had her assets valued at $15 million plus,and wasnt having anyone else getting their grimy paws on it....as always ,he was absolutely correct ,the estate was split five ways ,all family.
 
That looks like quite a project. Weather they admit it or not, you will be missed.

Now, enjoy yourself!



Yesterday was may last day at my last job. I went out on top. I installed a new control system on one extrusion line that is now making the best product they have ever done. Last Monday after maintenance spent two days troubleshooting a machine then I correctly identified the problem in ten minutes. This Monday I identified the mechanical problem that was causing a drilling machine to make bad parts after maintenance had repaired it.

I did not finish the big drilling machine I was building. Just fully automated no operator, double sided with 16 spindles run by 8 VFDs and 3 Servos, and a full enclosure with 7 sliding doors with electric locks. It was a project that a manufacturer would have had five people working on it for at least 2 months. I worked on it by myself for the past year with only a couple months of two high school students helping me. No machine tools, send it out or use a hand tools, and it was originally built in China so it had to be completely rebuilt because it had so many mistakes. Got close, the machine was running one of the five cycles when I left.

I carefully documented everything I did and had an exit interview with all of management and even told them I would take phone calls to help them move forward. I told the other engineer that I shared and office with that he would need a bigger office, for the 3 guys they would be replacing me with. I figured doing a great job right to the end would make it more painful than if I just didn't come in one day!

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I WAS missed! They contacted me because their maintenance guys screwed up a control system I built that was working great. My current boss sent me there and I fixed it in about 2 hours.
They just paid my current employer for a week of my time to finish another project.
We are now quoting other automation projects I had identified when I was an employee there.
 
I finished 5 years ago, before it finished me, it nearly did
Heat, filth, metal fumes, burns, everything is bloody dangerous, I’ve seen so many fatalities that it’s silly, exploding blast furnaces, ladle breakouts, gassing, collapsing cranes and I miss it , I saw a friend recently
Who took a flyer ( ladle gate failed, metal sprayed all over him) he looks like dead pool, they kept him in a coma for 5 months, had to cut the skin so he could bend his arms ( we laugh now btw, esp after the film as he called me Francis) some jobs are best kept in your memory, I enjoy life now, if they ring me I help but I’m not going back, sentence completed good behaviour ( multiple M.Is and a couple of strokes, plus 450 stiches
No I wouldn’t recommend steelmaking to anyone, go work in a bank.
Mark
 








 
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