Time to move to a different company?

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sunny_socal
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Joined: Tue Mar 24, 2015 4:22 pm

Time to move to a different company?

Post by sunny_socal »

I'm in the high tech business and I'm wondering whether it's time to find a new employer.

What I like
- My boss is great! We think alike, communicate easily and he doesn't micromanage me.
- Flexible work hours. I can come and go as I please, remote access is also possible.
- Pay is good, I also get a bonus and RSUs each year.
- Benefits are excellent in all respects, I have an HSA and very good health plan.
- Stress in current position is moderate. I've been with the company a total of 8 years, first 6 years were very stressful but last two have been good.
- I'm in a good field that is in demand (ASIC engineering)
- Long term stability likely good for this company

What I don't like
- I work on a commodity product, there is little new work. Development will be limited to using new tools and reducing production cost.
- Headcount for my department has been frozen. I was actually told this is a company-wide freeze but other departments are still hiring so I'm certain it's just my group. Holes created by departures are not being filled. Long term future for this group does not seem bright.
- The local group is very small and composed entirely of very senior people. There is no one to mentor, everyone is a team lead of some kind.
- Development is being moved to China. I already trained a team over there, theoretically they could now stand on their own. I expect they will given their own project at some point. (Labor cost in China is 50% less than the US.) I'm the lead for my discipline, the entire team is overseas. Other leads operate in a similar fashion.
- I don't really have anything to do for the next 6 months and the following 6 months look even worse. My boss is inventing various 'initiatives' to keep me busy. I can certainly learn a few things through those initiatives since some of it is new to me but on the other hand I'm not getting any new design work to help maintain my skills.
- While my boss advocates strongly for the group, the two levels above him are more concerned about financials than with maintaining the technology. We would need to double the team size in order to pursue new technology.
- My commute is quite bad. On a normal day it can take 75-90 minutes each way, on a good day about 45 minutes.
- My responsibilities are reduced compared to before. I have directly driven projects with ~8 people before, now it is 2-4. I used to have 5 people reporting to me on the HR side, now only three. There is no way I'll get more.

I'm 47, I'm currently forecasting retirement at age 59 so I have a good 10 years left. Two teenagers to still put through college starting in a few years. I'm quite certain development is going to be moved overseas for my product line, it's just a question of when.

The obvious move is to find a new group within the company. However I've already done that once and I've been with this department for about two years (I think it may look like I'm job-hopping.)

The conflicts keeping me up at night:
- Should I stay at this cushy company and wait/hope for a layoff? (severance packages are usually quite good, I could expect ~6M salary upon exit)
- What effect on my career does this group/product have? It seems like a dead end.
- Will the lack of real work affect my sanity/vigor?
- Should I leave now while my resume still looks good? I have no strange gaps to explain, no dead projects. I regularly get inquiries via LinkedIn.
- My wife and I often talk about moving out of state. Should I use this moment to make an even bigger leap? (Problem: elderly in-laws live in town and they are reluctant to move. But I'm fairly certain they'd come with us if we bought a property with a 'granny flat')

There is another Megacorp I'm considering:
- Still local, no need to move to a new town
- Commute would be about 30-40 minutes at most, it's at the halfway point to my current location
- Pay and benefits are similar
- Work and future prospects likely better than current job, provided I get into the right group
- There is likely some "off shore" development taking place there as well, I don't know the extent
- Long term stability just as good as current employer
- I've contacted a couple former colleagues to get their thoughts on the corporate culture

Thanks
KyleAAA
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Re: Time to move to a different company?

Post by KyleAAA »

I’d leave just for the improved commute, all else being equal. That the work would be more interesting is just icing on the cake. Life is too short for horrible commutes.
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Watty
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Re: Time to move to a different company?

Post by Watty »

sunny_socal wrote: Sat Dec 09, 2017 9:40 am - My commute is quite bad. On a normal day it can take 75-90 minutes each way, on a good day about 45 minutes.
......
- Commute would be about 30-40 minutes at most, it's at the halfway point to my current location
That commute by itself would be reason enough to change jobs.

There is no telling what the job market will be like if you wait until you get laid off a year from now so a lot of the six months severance could be spend job hunting and when you are unemployed job offers tend to be less and you might have to accept a job which in not as desirable in other ways too.

It would be good to talk to the other company, and others too, to see what is available. Once you have a job offer you can then decide if accepting it is a good choice.
runner3081
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Joined: Mon Aug 22, 2016 3:22 pm

Re: Time to move to a different company?

Post by runner3081 »

Shorter commute will change your life for the better in so many ways.
limeyx
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Joined: Wed Sep 07, 2016 5:34 pm

Re: Time to move to a different company?

Post by limeyx »

runner3081 wrote: Tue Dec 12, 2017 4:23 pm Shorter commute will change your life for the better in so many ways.
Agreed. I could have a far wider selection of jobs if I wanted to commute 75 mins each a day but with 2 kids, I love having a 20-40 min each way commute and more time with family and less stress. If i was younger I'm sure that would be (and was) a bit different
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