Job decisions...

[Adam95GT]

I have an interview saturday at CVS as a pharm tech.... i curently make great money as a server at friendlys 10-20 an hour... but it takes alot out of you and you dont get a lot of respect.... im only working 2 days a week and its by my parents house which is over an hour from school... and im constantly driving back and 4th... its not 2 bad because my g/f lives by my parents house... But im a chemistry major and i think this job would be more up my alley do you think its a wise decision to sacrafice a good paying job.... The cvs is down by school so i could work like 3 days a week and still have more time to study for my classes then if im constantly running back home... i think it will be less stressful... ill get more respect then a waiter... but ill be making less $$$.... i do have like $4000 in student loans in my bank account to cover rent... so any thing extra would just be $$$$ to play with and gas.... what do you guys think... im having a real hard time taking the job if i even get it... We just got a new GM at friendlys... and she cut back my closing shift and put some girl on my shift she brought from her other store... things just dont seem to be looking up for the next few months working there

 

[fastgtfairlane]

having more money doesnt necessarily make you happier. being happy in the work place can make your life all together much better all around. but then again having the cheddar in your pocket is nice too.

 

[95Mustang302]

move on, you may make less money in the beginning but pharm techs tend to make decent money...

 

[Black95GTS]

The main reason why I started out making 3K per year more then the average for an entry level engineer is because I worked hard to get great internships.

Think about this... say you go up against a kid with the same grades and resume as you, except he worked in a pharmacy and you worked as a waiter.

Definitely take the pay cut and work in your field. My first internships paid squat at first but by the time I was a senior in college I was making 18 an hour. Thats not huge dollars but for a 20 year old in between Junior and Senior year I was happier than a pig in sh**.

Adam

 

[The Green GT]

The main reason why I started out making 3K per year more then the average for an entry level engineer is because I worked hard to get great internships.

Think about this... say you go up against a kid with the same grades and resume as you, except he worked in a pharmacy and you worked as a waiter.

Definitely take the pay cut and work in your field. My first internships paid squat at first but by the time I was a senior in college I was making 18 an hour. Thats not huge dollars but for a 20 year old in between Junior and Senior year I was happier than a pig in sh**.

Adam

What engineering field are you in?

 

[blksn955.o]

Take the pay cut and to the pharm. tech. If anything else you can maybe look into going back to serving over breaks or odd coming homes for some extra cash.

I worked as a server in college and really wish I would have gotten an entry level job were I work now. The cash is hard to walk away from...moreso when you take a pay cut for an entry level job but it will be worth it in the long run.

 

[94-302-vert]

Keep working as a server...

I worked in a grocery store for years... I actually worked at the branch an hour from homse since it was near my GF (now my wife)....

Basically I would work the 5 hours to pay for the gas to get there and a little bit extra (very little, like $10-15 for the night after gas)... but I got to see my GF for a couple hours....



As for the Job side of it.. Also in engineering here and I got hired above the curve due to my automotive knowledge and the fact that I held the same job for almost 6 years through school...

 

[Black95GTS]

What engineering field are you in?

I got my degree in 2005 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In high school I worked for the town school department as an IT / support tech my junior and senior year. For internships in college I worked with National Grid between Freshman and Sophomore year in Westboro MA, then between junior and senior year I worked for Brooks Automation in Chelmsford MA.

I ended up at a local utility and after 1.5 years moved into a consulting firm. I was hired from a pool of applicants at the second job and after getting hired I was told that my experience with National Grid is what gave me the edge.

I also worked as a bartender during college but is that germane to engineering? I left that off the resume.

Adam

 

[ProKiller]

experience in your field helps. i vote for the pharmacy

 

[Blackened302]

i agree w/ these guys.

even if it's for the simple fact that the pharmacy tech job looks waay better than a waiter position..

it's more relevant work experience (to your field) and you're right--it will earn you more respect.

 

[gcomfx.com]

Holy mother of long sentences. Go for the new place. Work towards your CAREER. Jobs are tedious and usually short term fulfilling.

 

[The Green GT]

I got my degree in 2005 from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in Electrical and Computer Engineering.

In high school I worked for the town school department as an IT / support tech my junior and senior year. For internships in college I worked with National Grid between Freshman and Sophomore year in Westboro MA, then between junior and senior year I worked for Brooks Automation in Chelmsford MA.

I ended up at a local utility and after 1.5 years moved into a consulting firm. I was hired from a pool of applicants at the second job and after getting hired I was told that my experience with National Grid is what gave me the edge.

I also worked as a bartender during college but is that germane to engineering? I left that off the resume.

Adam

Cool. Im in school for EECE.
Let me ask you this. You dont use much digital logic once you get out of school right?

 

[Matt's 03 GT]

Do you have time to do both? When I was single I would work Friday Saturday and sometimes Sunday at a restaurant and the rest of the week at my stable, boring job! It worked great.

I don't know what your school schedule is like... and that may get in the way.

I say: try to get the best shifts only serving and work the other job to add to your resume.

Good luck,

Matt

 

[Adam95GT]

Damnit... i got the job... i need to take a drug test... no problem... But since i thought i would be working closer to my house when i filled out the application i put $8 .... and on the way to this cvs there is a $1 tol bridge that i have to pay both ways... She said after i take my drug test and they run a background test she would call me back... Do you think there is anyway to see if i can get $9.50 - $10 instead to start... is it wrong to ask...??? i really want out of friendlys... the new management really sucks... i dont like working there any more... CVS even pays for your national pharm certification test if you work there for 6 months... and i get anual raises what the hell do i do... do i ask if i can get $9.50- $10.... or just take the job... im not sure if ill have the money to pay my car insurance.... if im working for $8 an hour... i want the job really bad... but i dont think i can offord to take it.... what do i do????

 

[wytstang]

No harm in asking for a bit more, just tell them you miss calculated what you need to pay the bills and the toll you didn't expect. You need to be able to live off what you make. All though I don't think they'll give you $10 to start, you'd have a better shot at $9 or $9.25 (I think).

 

[Black95GTS]

Cool. Im in school for EECE.
Let me ask you this. You dont use much digital logic once you get out of school right?

:OT: I don't use too much, but I ended up in power. I do almost all AC stuff with phasers, power factor, voltage drop, etc. I still integrate and differentiate.

Three of my friends all got jobs at Sikorsky doing helicopters, and they do nothing except digital logic. Boolean logic, gates, programming in assembly, etc.

Our field has so many sub-disciplines that its somewhat overwhelming. The trick is to be able to dab in all of them. For example, relay protection for high voltage (115KV and up) used to be done by mechanical spring driven relays. So you'd have 4 relays per circuit, for three phases and ground. Say you have 3 circuits. Now you have 12 relays! And thats just one kind of relay.

Nowadays you could take those 12 relays and its all done in 1 digital box about the size of 1 of the old school mechanical relays. So even though I'm a power guy, I'm still hooking the laptop into the relays and writing code based off logic gates. The whole industry is moving towards solid state solutions.

Adam