<p>I'm currently working at a very large engineering firm but the work i'm doing is not meaningful. I'm working as an engineer but the work requires little thinking and i'm learning very little. I'm hoping to go to grad school and i can start in September. For the summer i can either work at my company or work for a prof. My graduate advisor is away for the summer so i'd work for a different prof but in a similar field.</p>
<p>For my graduate studies, i can do either experimental or modelling work. I've never really gotten a chance to do code development but I can do that by working for a prof and seeing which path I want to take. I'd hate to commit to a code development research project in grad school and find out I hate it and have to change. If i were to not enjoy coding, I would be able to find out this summer. </p>
<p>If I choose to stick with this company, i'll likely spend the summer doing mindless work. I've won a competitive fellowship that starts in September and I have money saved up so finances are not too big of a concern for this decision. </p>
<p>My company is very very large and while I'm not interested in the work at this office, i would not want to burn bridges after graduation from my masters. The work in other offices seems interesting and i wouldn't mind working there after graduation. I think that if I stick with this company through the summer I wouldn't burn the bridge but i would have not learned anything. </p>
<p>i’ve only told my manager that i’m looking into grad school but i didn’t say when. The thing I’m worried about is the time I’m leaving. </p>
<p>On one hand, I want to leave as soon as possible to I can do challenging work and can learn but on the other hand I know that the less warning i give, the angrier my company will be.</p>
<p>You don’t want to give too much notice. I’ve seen people give notice then told to leave that day. Two weeks is standard and appropriate. Although if you have a big project coming up, you might want to hint to your boss to put someone else on it.</p>
<p>I thought I would give more notice so that they would be able to find a suitable replacement for me and the bridge won’t be as burnt. Or do you think that the amount of notice I give isn’t too relavant?</p>
<p>One of the reasons I didn’t want to tell my managers is that i figured they would fire me or lay me off before grad school started.</p>
<p>If you don’t want to burn the bridge, make sure that you give at least 2 weeks’ notice, work hard until the last day (many people phone it in after giving notice), work to train your replacement or at least transition your existing work to others, and don’t accept any large projects or critical work that you know you won’t be able to finish. Also, when discussing things with your boss, HR, coworkers, etc. be complimentary of the company. When they ask why you’re leaving, don’t say “I’m bored here”, simply say “I always wanted to pursue a graduate degree and I have an amazing offer from <school name=”“> that I simply couldn’t turn down.”</school></p>
<p>Giving a month of notice doesn’t make a difference and only risks being fired before that time is up. The only exception would be if you were about to start a very large project where you have a critical and not easily replaceable role. Then you might hint that you’re considering leaving, but don’t give final notice until 2 weeks before.</p>
<p>Less than two weeks is unprofessional, something bad about you that they will tell every future potential employer who asks about you. A month is sort of standard for professional positions, precisely because finding appropriate replacements can take a little time - if you give them less than a month but more than 2 weeks they will probably be ****ed at you but will keep it to themselves. Just remember, it is not just about finding a replacement, it is about training them up adequately to avoid schedule slip and other problems. A poorly prepared replacement can cost thousands.</p>
<p>I would not stress too much about the possibility of getting fired before your time is up - if they do that then they are saying that in on uncertain terms that your work was marginal and that they are a bad employer. Regardless, the lost in come from 2-4 weeks of work is minor compared to the overall opportunity cost of grad school.</p>
<p>I have worked in all sorts of professional positions and many levels, and I have never seen someone give one month of notice. </p>
<p>Unless you’re incredibly critical (like the only PE in the entire company so work stops when you leave), they will temporarily cover the position with one of your subordinates until a replacement can be hired. You can help them by identifying the best person to step in as an acting manager and to help train that person on how to keep things afloat.</p>
<p>Go ahead and give two weeks’ notice before you need to leave, but keep detailed notes of the status of all your projects, with enough detail that someone else can pick up where you leave off. That’s the professional thing to do. </p>
<p>Follow through on the things that are asked of you up until the day you leave, give an e-mail address and phone number where they’ll be able to reach you if they have any questions, and they’ll wish you well and send you on your way.</p>
<p>Is it just me, or is anyone else jealous of the thread starter? I would love to be in your shoes: you don’t have financial problems, and engineering work that “requires little thinking” means a relaxing job with low stress. There’s plenty of things you can do to make your life fulfilling: learn and practice a sport, take up a new hobby, or do some volunteer work to help out the community. And remember, you can always get a promotion sometime in the future.</p>
<p>There are many talented unemployed or underemployed engineering grads who would kill to be in your position. The only good thing that would happen from quitting your job is that one of them will take your place, and it will change their life forever.</p>
<p>I’ve been in the OP’s position. Sometimes you need to go back to school to get to the next step in your career. Life is too short to be bored and the longer you wait to make a change, the more difficult it becomes.</p>
<p>Also, remember that life isn’t about racking up the most money. Money can be fun and gives you one less thing to worry about, but I’d take poor and happy over rich and miserable any day.</p>
Those aren’t the only choices; the OP can (and should) be rich and happy at his current job. The “rich and miserable” people are usually those with long, stressful working hours (Investment banker, oil rig worker, etc). What’s so miserable about having a job that requires little thinking or physical work?</p>
<p>Besides, your work doesn’t have to be your life. Enjoy that relaxing job, and when you’re not working, have fun!</p>
<p>You don’t need intellectual curiosity in your life? What about a sense of purpose? When you start working full time, you’ll realize that these things are important things in life. Most people I’ve seen go for the money out of college then realize this around 25 or so and have a quarter-life crisis.</p>
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<p>No, but other than sleeping, it’s the thing you’ll spend the most time doing during your life. So it makes sense to enjoy it.</p>
Sure you need intellectual curiosity and purpose, but there are plenty of opportunities outside of work to do this. There’s nothing stopping the OP from learning new skills, helping others, or taking on new challenges. In fact, it’s much easier to do things when you’re not always stressed out from work or are struggling to find a job. One of my friends in an engineering grad who’s underemployed as a waiter, and the other is working at a job that requires frequent overtime and has the stress of making frequent deadlines. Guess what? Neither of them are looking for intellectual curiosity or a sense of purpose.</p>
<p>On the other hand, I know a tollbooth operator. His work is mind-numbing, but he enjoys a very fulfilling life on nights and weekends. He takes cooking classes, is an active member of the local chess club, and is working on his private pilot’s license.</p>
<p>Perhaps I’m part of a rare breed (or not, we’ll see where this discussion goes), but I’d strongly prefer a stressful job over a monotonous job. I thrive in high pressure situations and absolutely love the feeling of accomplishment afterwards. Having a relaxing job means having less stress, but also less excitement. </p>
<p>I had worked a summer doing construction inspections of a brick facade on a retaining wall on the side of a highway. It was one of the most boring things I ever did. It was the same routine day in and day out for three months, with the same dozen people doing the same exact thing. My daily report would be the same paragraph 95% of the time. Sure it was easy, but I could barely stand it.</p>
<p>Yea sure, you can do other things to make life worthwhile during your time off, but you can do that in addition to having a worthwhile job. Why not have both?</p>
<p>The first engineering company I worked for was going downhill fast. We didn’t have much work to do. Sure, I still got paid my full salary, but the boredom about killed me. For awhile, they had me pasting photos onto pages (the days before computers were used much, lol). Every day dragged on and on and on…</p>
<p>Then they assigned me to oversee the installation of sewer pipes and manholes. That was even worse.</p>
<p>I MUCH prefer fast-paced jobs, even when they’re stressful. The time flies by.</p>
<p>“Go ahead and give two weeks’ notice before you need to leave, but keep detailed notes of the status of all your projects, with enough detail that someone else can pick up where you leave off. That’s the professional thing to do.” </p>
<p>I don’t actually have any projects. My work is extremly easy and it doesn’t seem like it would take very much time for them to find or train someone to replace me. I can see that someday if I do have a very stressful job, I’d look back and miss these easy times. </p>
<p>With regards to a letter of reference, I think I’ve been doing a good job on the tasks I’m given, but if I quit, would my company give me a bad reference for future companies? Would other companies be like “oh this guy quit after <1 year to go to grad school, he’ll probably quit after work with us…lets not hire him”</p>
<p>You’re overthinking this. LOTS of people leave companies, all the time. If you’ve done a good job, you’ll get good references. You’re young, and it’s not unusual for people your age to get a little work experience and then go back to grad school.</p>