For those who don't know, I am an Engineering major focusing on mechanical engineering. Recently, I started an internship at a company that makes various sensors, mostly for large vehicles. I was told that I would be tasked with figuring out the appropriate "recipe" for some discs used in the pressure sensors, because they had been having a very low yield of usable ones. While the pay is decent, the location is about an hour drive from me and the hours are 6:00am-4:30pm Mon-Thursday, which means I need to wake up at 4:15am to insure I get to work on time and that I generally don't get home until around 6:00pm (thanks to rush hour).
None of this would be an issue, as I was aware of it all before I accepted the position. However, as part of my "orientation" with the company, they have decided to have me work the assembly line for the first two weeks. This means I am not practicing engineering at all, I'm just acting as cheap labor as I do the same repetitive tasks that they could train any person off of the street to do in five minutes. I was informed this was to familiarize me with the machines, but I figure if I'm an engineer and I can't figure out a machine in an hour (let alone the 20 hours they want me to put in at each station), that I shouldn't have been hired in the first place.
The first day, I had to stand pretty much all day, because they had removed the chairs to increase efficiency of the workers. Apparently, standing increases efficiency because there is some odd hope that if you rush through production faster that you'll be able to sit down and rest your aching back and legs.
When I inquired as to why I was working on machines that had absolutely nothing to do with the task I was hired for (not even for the same line of product), I was simply told that I will "see by the end of the month."
I'm seriously considering quitting and restarting my old internship, which would probably pay $5 an hour more, but I'd have to move and live away from home. Should I just tough it out or get a respectable job?
No, you should suck it up - if you really know the machines that well, call you manager show him/her you know it like the back of your hand and be on your merry way. Theres actually a reasonable chance that they say "cool. keep doing it". It's orientation, and a lot of organizations do it so that you have an appreciation of what is going on "on ground level". Military officers have to go through the same shit training and conditioning as a private new recruit - if you have a shit time with these systems now, when you get into a position that you can affect change you will be concious of the fact that dealing with them sucks.
If you don't respect their system, and it's not worth the pay then quit. Don't quit because the orientation is 2 weeks - it's nothing.
Scout for a new job before you quit this one is my only advice, otherwise I think it looks bad on the CV, if you don't get a new job right after. Until then tough it out! Don't take my word on it.
If you find yourself deciding to quit then may as well issue them an ultimatum first that you are gonna quit if they take you so far away from what they hired you for / you applied for. Politely though... not in an angry manner.
If I was in your spot I'd wait a while maybe a month or a bit longer to see if things improve but if they don't show promise fairly soon I would move off for more money and a better job considering the education you worked hard for. Since they said it was only for a couple weeks just kinda go with it but like I said if they don't stand by what they said then there not worth your skill. GL dude I have been laid off for almost two years looking for a job (about to have to choose a military branch to get by lol) but nonetheless I can still feel for your situation and companies will screw anyone any way they can in my experience.
My tip is that if you are doubting if you should be doing something, then you should quit it. If you are not confident about something do not do it then
One engr student to another, grow some balls, most of my days are 6 am-11pm, I browse tl as a break while eating, and now I have to finish 3 more assignments due in the next 2 days. I can't wait for my work term to start in the fall.
Edit: also, no one will like you if you go into it thinking you are too good for the job. Until you get your degree you are at the bottom and should be working your hardest to do well.
My advice, don't quit. A lot of times you have to wear different hats so to speak at your place of work. Just look at it as an experience, learn from it.
Since it's just an internship, as long as you don't plan on working for that company in the future, and you have another internship available to you, I would quit.
Is it written in paper that your orientation for doing that is two weeks? If so, if you want to stay in the area, you stick it out. If not... well just in case you should look elsewhere.
If this was like maybe 3-7 yrs ago, most likely you wouldn't have posters like qdenser bashing you, well I guess it would be not as common. I mean:
1. You KNOW there are people in the world that work in tougher conditions than you, getting paid most likely way less, and having to deal with more responsibilities in just being able to get by in life 2. There's probably hundreds of other students that would've killed for that internship, despite it being a crappy two weeks because they realize they need it for their well-being and their resume.
I wouldn't have seen this blog unless one of my friends linked me to it via IRC, and lets just say that guy didn't show me the link because he felt sorry for you. I don't blame you for complaining. Standing all day sucks, especially if you're not used to it (but then again... weren't you in ROTC at some point... oh well). In reality, given your skill set I don't think they hired you to work at an assembly line for like 6-8 weeks. If the "orientation" isn't 2 weeks then get out, but if it is 2 weeks just think... it could be a lot worse.
well a lot of the "orientations" are used to weed out the people who may quit before the internship length is over. It's really inefficient for a company to train someone and they quit after training. They'd have to look for a new person and then train them all over.
Quit if they keep you as cheap labor even after orientation.
On June 23 2011 11:41 operwolf wrote: My advice, don't quit. A lot of times you have to wear different hats so to speak at your place of work. Just look at it as an experience, learn from it.
The more hats you have, the better. Especially in tf2.
Also, i must say, I seriously wish that there was saumem rwork around my town. If I don't have a job by this friday afternoon, I won't be able to play any sc2 whatsoever, because I'll be away from home in a different town, at our family's(-entire- family) other house.
For those who don't know, I am an Engineering major focusing on mechanical engineering. Recently, I started an internship at a company that makes various sensors, mostly for large vehicles. I was told that I would be tasked with figuring out the appropriate "recipe" for some discs used in the pressure sensors, because they had been having a very low yield of usable ones. While the pay is decent, the location is about an hour drive from me and the hours are 6:00am-4:30pm Mon-Thursday, which means I need to wake up at 4:15am to insure I get to work on time and that I generally don't get home until around 6:00pm (thanks to rush hour).
None of this would be an issue, as I was aware of it all before I accepted the position. However, as part of my "orientation" with the company, they have decided to have me work the assembly line for the first two weeks. This means I am not practicing engineering at all, I'm just acting as cheap labor as I do the same repetitive tasks that they could train any person off of the street to do in five minutes. I was informed this was to familiarize me with the machines, but I figure if I'm an engineer and I can't figure out a machine in an hour (let alone the 20 hours they want me to put in at each station), that I shouldn't have been hired in the first place.
The first day, I had to stand pretty much all day, because they had removed the chairs to increase efficiency of the workers. Apparently, standing increases efficiency because there is some odd hope that if you rush through production faster that you'll be able to sit down and rest your aching back and legs.
When I inquired as to why I was working on machines that had absolutely nothing to do with the task I was hired for (not even for the same line of product), I was simply told that I will "see by the end of the month."
I'm seriously considering quitting and restarting my old internship, which would probably pay $5 an hour more, but I'd have to move and live away from home. Should I just tough it out or get a respectable job?
what year student are you? This sounds like a standard-ish internship imo. First they gonna have you do dumb shit, then they'll come up and give you a project that you have no idea how to do based on what possibly could have learned doing the stupid shit. I mean it's only their loss if they're having you do unskilled labor, and I would think they know better than to do that.
I agree with Kennigit. If you actually absolutely know the machines like you made them, demonstrate it politely to a manager, and ask if you can work on what you were originally hired to do now.
However, for the most part I feel like this isn't really about you wanting to get to the 'learning' part of it, but more than you don't like doing grunt work. It's for two weeks. I think it's really valuable for people to understand the jobs of others in their company/industry. Gives some empathy for others, and an actual understanding of how shit works instead of just book knowledge.
Once the two weeks are up, if you don't get switched over to the stuff related to your area of study, then you should speak to a manager. Until then, suck it up and learn how a good chunk of the world's population earn barely enough food to get by each day. Back breaking monotonous work on an assembly line.
I'm surprised at all these responses that say to suck it up. If the job ain't making you happy, its simply not worth it. Life is so short and spending half the day being miserable isn't living.
The old job seems like a great solution. Why are you so apprehensive about moving and living on your own? You can't live at home with your parents your whole life, might as well start now. The best thing to ever happen to me was moving out of my parents and being on my own.
EPT
