I am an engineer by trade. I design the things that keep society running that no one thinks about, for instance, the plant that makes the water that comes out of your faucet drinkable.
(Random side tanget: It is bizarre to me that America spends billions of dollars a year treating drinking water, yes "drinking" water, to such an extent that it is clean enough, you guessed it, to drink. Then, they buy a Brita and pour the water into a pitcher that they wash, wh
at, every 3 months or so?, and take out all of the things that keep the little gross things from growing in it. Or buy bottled water which, for the record, is COMPLETELY unregulated and ma
y contain things like arsenic and other heavy metals. Full disclosure, I use a Brita because there is the very real chance that your water service lines have lead in them, but for god sakes, wash the things will you?!)
Sorry, where was I, oh right. My job is interesting, stimulating and quite frankly I go home at night feeling like I've contributed to society in a good way. The problem, though, is the fact that even as an engineer you can't escape the bullshit that is office politics. The engineering version goes like this: Senior engineer guy comes up with an idea, you, the young junior engineer, come up with an idea that is more effective and cheaper to build, but you are completely discounted because, you guessed it, you're young. But the worst part comes a few weeks later when Mr. Senior Engineer realizes that his idea is shit and yours is better, and then passes your idea off as their own to the person above them. This happens. A lot. Now, I know this happens to everyone. I understand that sooner or later I will be in a position to stop this, but right now, what the hell am I supposed to do? I come up with a good idea, get shot down, only to have the person above me pawn it off as their own. Do I rat them out? How does it sound when junior engineer goes to big boss "That idea that senior engineer just gave you, that was mine and he stole it." Would I be believed? Worse, would it turn into one of those uncomfortable confrontations where senior engineer calls you a liar? I mean, I would like to think that people in a senior position are above that, but they quite obviously are not if they're not above passing off someone else's work as their own.
Along these lines, I'm seriously considering a career change. I think I may want to teach. Yes, it would be a massive pay cut, but a student taking your idea and calling it their own is your goal isn't it? And aren't you essentially responsible for your own destiny as a teacher? I know, all careers have their downsides, but I look at myself and where I am, and think, if I'm doing this same thing 20 years from now, I will not be a happy person.
No comments:
Post a Comment