I have some work experience; I’m thinking about changing careers and would appreciate some suggestions

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This post was last edited by huizhiwd on 2016-1-28 at 22:06. I have been working in chemical engineering design for over 8 years now, but I increasingly feel confused and overwhelmed. A few days ago I applied to a joint venture in the environmental protection sector, and I was told to attend an interview next week. I hope my fellow professionals can offer me some advice. Let me talk about my career path, as a reference for fellow sailors. 1. When I first started in design, I graduated from an established chemical engineering school that was directly under the former Ministry of Chemical Industry. Although it wasn’t classified as a 211 or 985 university, it was quite renowned in the chemical industry. I majored in Measurement and Control Technology and Instruments. When applying for college, my scores were relatively low, so I didn’t dare to apply for popular majors; I just picked one at random. My family comes from a rural area, and my parents as well as my grandparents have all been farmers, so no one could give me any advice. It wasn’t until I started college that I realized this major was actually quite good, as it seemed to involve a lot of specialized knowledge used in manned space missions. I also came to understand that this major is essentially related to chemical engineering automation instruments. When I graduated in 2007 and looked for a job, my girlfriend wanted me to stay in that city, but the cost of living there was too high, so I decided to return home to look for work. This is why we broke up. Near the end of my studies, I decided to work at a fairly good design firm back in my hometown; it had an excellent reputation as well – it was classified as a Class A firm in the field of chemical, petrochemical, and pharmaceutical design. At that time, I had little understanding of what exactly the job entailed, and there was no one I could ask for guidance. So I started working there just three days after graduating. It was only later that I found out that three undergraduates from our school who specialized in chemistry also joined that firm, while the rest were postgraduates from other institutions. When I first joined the company, it didn’t pay much attention to electrical and mechanical systems; I was assigned to the Public Utilities Department. Since the company also had the qualifications to design urban gas and heating systems, most of the staff in that department worked in the field of plumbing. Moreover, during those years the real estate industry was thriving, so there was a need for corresponding development in municipal infrastructure, which meant that working in plumbing was relatively easy. The manager of the Public Utilities Department had experience in HVAC systems. There are a dozen people in the department; only two of them work with instruments – one of them is me, and the other is my mentor. My mentor is also a classmate of mine from university. Two people work in electrical engineering, and the rest are all from the plumbing field. Back then, my mentor told me that our field wasn’t given much importance in design institutes; we were essentially acting as assistants to the main specialists. From that moment on, I resolved to not stay stuck in such a technical role for the rest of my life. Although I’m able to sit still and be patient, I still need to make a living, and the pressures of life are great. Everyone in the technical field knows that unless one reaches a senior engineer level or above, it’s very difficult to enjoy good working conditions. 2. Relying on myself alone: Since making that decision, I have been learning *professional skills while making friends from various circles. Sometimes I chat with the security guards downstairs in the office building; one day, the woman who works in electrical maintenance saw this and said, “You’re really good at it – you can talk to anyone.” ”I chuckled softly and said nothing. After joining the company in 2007, I started working on larger projects right away after gaining some experience through one or two smaller projects. By the end of 2008, my mentor resigned, and I became the only person responsible for the instrumentation work. I had to take care of all the project tasks assigned to three chemical processing units on my own, until after National Day in 2009, when the company decided to hire a senior engineer from the factory to head up the Instrumentation and Electrical Department; this senior engineer served as the department manager, and another instrumentation specialist was also hired (in fact, the original Engineering Department was disbanded, and its staff were transferred to our department, while the former manager of that department went to start his own design firm). It was during that time when I had to rely on myself that I felt I learned a great deal – by communicating with clients and manufacturers. I felt that I made significant progress during that period, which laid a solid foundation for my future work. 3. The Golden Age: From the end of 2009 to the end of 2013, a golden period for the chemical industry ensued. Some people say that the time from 2008 to 2009 was not good; indeed, it wasn’t good, but our company wasn’t yet a large one at that time, so it didn’t matter. Additionally, in 2009, requirements were issued for the automated transformation of hazardous chemical processes, and things got much easier for those working in the field of instrumentation. During that period, there were first automation upgrades, and a report along with a plan for such an upgrade cost 30,000. I once negotiated an automation upgrade for another company and was asked to charge 180,000; they had 9 production lines, and they agreed to pay without hesitation. Some might call me dishonest, but at that time my goal was to make money for the company, as well as to earn enough to support my wife and children. Incidentally, I was already married by then; I got married in 2009. If I take on higher-level projects for the company, shouldn’t I get a higher bonus? But when it came time to distribute the bonuses, there wasn’t much extra given. Since then, it’s been like there’s a thorn in my heart; even when I take on automation improvement projects, I don’t ask for much. I do it mainly to make friends – because if I ask for too much, it won’t be mine, and if I get less, I still end up with something. Why bother? By making more friends, I’ll have more options. Don’t you agree, fellow friends? At age 11, another person was hired to work on instrumentation tasks, and I naturally became the person in charge of that field. The department manager was responsible for two areas: instrumentation and electrical engineering, so I took on the role of leading the instrumentation team. Still, I continued to focus on technical aspects; back then, it wasn’t about learning everything, but rather delving deep into specific topics. For example, I would study process diagrams – something that wasn’t necessary for those working in instrumentation at our design institute – but I still spent time on them, trying to understand how they were created. I knew what my goals were, and I couldn’t rely solely on this skill to cope with the pressures of modern life! During that period, the company was expanding rapidly, and I thought to myself: All the money earned over those years went to them. As an employee, no matter how skilled you are, you only get a fixed salary along with bonuses that are hardly ever increased; moreover, it depends on whether the management decides to give you that money or not, and they can decide when to pay you – you have no say in it. 4. The process of leaving the company finally concluded in 2013. That year, market conditions began to deteriorate, and the company had to pay large monthly loan payments for the office building it had purchased. Things got tough; the company stopped paying out bonuses on time, and those bonuses were the money we relied on to support our families. Incidentally, when I first started working at this company, I had a six-month probation period, with a fixed salary of 800 plus a meal allowance of 80, totaling 880 per month. After working there for four or five years, my fixed salary rose only to a little over 2000 after taking into account increases in the minimum wage and factors related to seniority and skills. After deducting insurance costs, I was left with around 1700 per month. I bought a small used apartment in 2009; its price wasn’t high, just a little over 110,000. My family contributed some money, I borrowed some, and my mother-in-law gave some as well – together we managed to put down 40,000 as a down payment. The rest had to be covered by loans. After paying off the loans each month, I was left with just over 300 yuan. I had a child in 2010, and without timely bonus payments, I couldn’t save any money over the years. How was it possible to get by like that? I had no choice but to use my credit card as a temporary solution, which also affected my credit score negatively. In the end I decided to quit my job, but since I was in the process of applying for an intermediate rank at that time, I decided to postpone it for a while. In the first half of 2014, I obtained my engineer title certificate, and I began looking for a job on my own. There were two reasons for this: one was that the bonuses I mentioned earlier were not paid on time, and it was really difficult for my family to make ends meet relying only on that meager salary; that was the financial pressure. Another thing is that I feel I can’t progress any further in this company; it’s a source of mental stress. In May, I found a new job and submitted my resignation. After a long wait of a month, my first job since graduating finally came to an end. Summary: I learned a great deal of professional knowledge and made many friends, which has laid a solid foundation for my future. I basically couldn’t save any money; I wasn’t paid any bonuses from January to May 2014. By July of that year, I had paid off my mortgage, and I had no money left at all. It was really frustrating – the pressure of living was immense. 5. New company: In mid-June 2014, I started working at the new company. The salary that had been agreed upon beforehand was 100,000 per year for the role of control room manager (which essentially meant being the person in charge of the relevant operations). I used to earn this amount at my previous company when things were going well; when things weren’t so good, I still earned around 80,000 to 90,000 per year. Well, this company was registered quite easily; it obtained the necessary qualifications later on, but it has never been in actual operation, so it doesn’t have an organizational structure either. At first, the management just decided things as they went, haha. This company is part of a larger group company; the main business of that group company is installation work, and it is quite famous in our area. When I arrived here, the general manager was a project manager transferred from the group company’s project department, while the deputy general manager had been in charge of this design institute for several years, but was only handling procedural matters. The accountant was assigned by the group company. Everything here started from scratch. Perhaps some people might think it’s great to be able to integrate into the company and grow together with it, and to receive favorable treatment as a long-time employee once the company prospers. I thought the same at first, but I gradually realized that it’s not that idealistic after all. As the saying goes, ideals are beautiful, but reality is harsh. After I arrived, I was in charge of the marketing tasks for a while, contacting various clients and doing my best in that role. Of course, I didn’t neglect my duties in the professional department as well. Eventually, I managed to secure a contract worth 100,000. Before getting the contract, my supervisor said there would be a reward for securing it, but after I got it, I waited anxiously for that reward; yet, once time passed, my supervisor never brought up the matter again. Later, the company began to organize its structure, establishing three main departments: the Design Department, the Marketing Department, and the General Affairs Office. The Design Department was further divided into four sections: Chemical Engineering, Instrumentation and Electrical Engineering, Thermal Power, and Civil Engineering. I became the manager of the Instrumentation and Electrical Engineering section, while the deputy general manager took charge of the Design Department. The manager of the Marketing Department was transferred from the group company; he used to work with the current general manager on projects, handling labor affairs – he had no experience in design work nor in marketing. As for why he was transferred here, I think everyone can understand. Anyway, after seeing the situation, I felt like a lamb thrown into a tiger’s den. At the end of 1994, the company’s vice president was transferred away, and the general manager said that I should take charge of the design department on a temporary basis. That’s how I started managing the design department temporarily. In reality, however, the general manager had already arranged things with another person; it’s just that that person hadn’t completed the resignation process before starting work there. And so it came to 2015. The first half of that year was the busiest and most stressful period for me. Since neither the general manager nor the marketing manager had any experience in this industry, I had to share with them everything I knew. I was also responsible for tracking project progress and managing qualifications (since it was a Class B firm, we often had to use others’ Class A qualifications). In addition, I was tasked with market development, helped recruit various professionals, and assisted in setting up the file management system as well as establishing procurement procedures and software. I was involved in almost all tasks except those related to finance. Every week, there were over twenty items that needed to be reported on during meetings. Yet it seemed that the management wasn’t interested in the progress of the projects; they were only concerned with how well the marketing efforts were going, which made me feel uncomfortable... In April 2015, the company introduced a new salary system. My fixed salary dropped from 100,000 per year to 4,800, with bonuses added on top. In the following two quarters, my average monthly bonus was only 2,500, meaning my total compensation had decreased by 10,000 per year. I didn’t confront the company about this, as I felt it wasn’t the right time to argue, although I was very upset... In May 2015, a new manager for the design department was appointed, which made things a bit easier. Still, the company had very few projects, and it ran out of money every month, having to borrow from the parent company to get by. And although things have become easier, I feel lost and don’t know what to do. Since there are no projects at the company, I assign all the incoming projects to a few subordinates to handle, which makes my job much easier. I have no work to do; I just sit here every day with a cup of tea and a computer, reading news. I feel like I’m going to become useless if this continues. Moreover, after the new head of the design department took office, I once made a suggestion to the boss. I said that many of the employees here are recent graduates, and no experienced professionals are willing to work here. My suggestion was to hire a few experienced people on a part-time basis, paying them a few hundred dollars per month, and calling on them whenever needed. The boss said that such a thing wouldn’t work; the parent company certainly wouldn’t allow it, and our company needs to maintain its proper standards. Later on, I had fewer opportunities to report directly to him. The new manager of the design department once told me that he had made a suggestion to his superior, and it turned out to be the same suggestion I had put forward. He said that the supervisor agreed to it, and at that moment I felt very upset… I had offered that suggestion in good faith, for the benefit of the company’s development, but still… Last month, feeling that there was nothing left for me to do and realizing that I would end up being useless if things continued like this, I decided to resign. There were also family matters at home, so I used that as the reason for my resignation. However, the general manager refused to agree, saying instead that he would grant me half a month off to rest and take care of my family matters. I’ve thought a lot over these past two weeks, but I haven’t gone looking for a job. I discussed it with my wife, and she suggested that I should start working first, as we just bought a house. In fact, during these two weeks I purchased another house; I paid a down payment of over 37,000, and the loan amount is more than 600,000. So I decided to return to work first, and then decide what to do based on the situation. After taking a half-month break, I returned to the company and asked my colleagues in the department; they all said there were no projects available. One day, a person who worked in the electrical field announced her intention to resign. Upon asking, I found out that her husband also worked at this company, within the group corporation, and he was about to leave as well. She said she had joined this design firm because of her husband; now that he was leaving, she saw no reason to stay. Moreover, she had been working in power transmission design rather than power supply and distribution design. As expected, after her husband submitted his resignation, the head of the human resources department called her, and she left just a week later. Although I’m now at work, there’s still nothing to do. The general manager said that since I have experience, I should organize the New Year’s party first, and so I started working on that again... In summary, this job has allowed me to get to know the responsibilities of various positions. Although it wasn’t comfortable working in these roles, I’ve become familiar with them all, and I feel like I’ve learned a lot... However, in this company, I always feel that I have the ability but no place to use it; the parent company used to be a state-owned enterprise and still operates according to its old models. Even after the restructuring, the systems remain the same, which creates a sense of oppression and prevents one from feeling energetic. I feel like I’m just a figurehead here, with nothing much to do, and I’m very confused. These days, since the design firm isn’t doing well, I applied to an environmental protection company, and to my surprise, I was invited for an interview. I’m still very confused. With over 8 years of experience in design work, plus more than 8 years of professional experience and over 1 year of management experience, giving up means starting from scratch, while staying would mean having nothing to do. I feel young enough to work hard while I still can, so I hope my colleagues can give me some advice