TLDR : how my previous boss lost one of his best designers on the shittiest project ever, while the workplace turns pretty bad with new hire setting bad morale.
I am a french building engineer living in Denmark. I have lot of experience in design (AutoCAD) but I am bored as fuck.
For at least two years I have been hitting my boss (verbally speaking) to put me in engineer position. But he always refused and instead hired other engineers. Even newly educated, which made me furious. All that because I worked fast and quite good (I never pretended that I was the best, but I was for sure the fastest and worked pretty well with the other departments). So he maintained me in a design position.
I could not quit on a whim, overwise I would have. I almost did it. Twice.
Last year I began to get better answers to my job applications and finally, interviews. I think it has more to do with the economy which makes it so hard to find danish engineers that they begin to accept the foreigners, whereas previously, half the time my CV was thrown in the trash because my name is not Jesper Jespersen.
My boss heard I was invited to interviews and accepted to begin to put me on some engineers tasks, but I could feel it was not his wish. It was like going to the dentist for him. The painful thing you push back all the time. Still 80% design tasks though.
Recently (end of January) I received an offer that I accepted. Barely negociated. I get salary for a beginner engineer, a private health insurance, plus the usual engineer perks (phone and computer). That's what I wanted.
I resigned from my job with the legal month notice.
So everything explodes at work, because since November, I work on the shittiest project I have ever seen. I was supposed to be just helping there. I actually managed to relieve the project a bit, helping the project manager and actual engineer assigned to the project. All of sudden, my boss lost one of his best designers, me, as he knows I am the guy to call for fast paced projects. And I have to finish this one. And he said it during the design office meeting (if you read between lines…). “First thing first, the schedule here for the next two months is all clashed out because Stephane resigned so I had to move projects on.”
I was impressed. In a way it felt good. My departure had so much impact on the company and it was all because I was talented (fast, seeking solutions, cooperative with other departments). And it was because he did not paid attentions to my wishes (getting me on more intellectual tasks).
I gave him regular advancement updates, and told him “Put someone on this shitty project. Put one of your other good designers and I will take my time to explain them. I doubt I will be finished on time.”
Last week at work,it's obvious I am not finished on time, and it's not even my fault.
So my boss asked me if I could finish the project “on spare time” : work from home, parallel of your new job. I got paid extra. I agreed, mostly to be nice (I don't want to have a bad name five years ahead when I cross his path again or apply for another job …). Bonus money will be cool of course, but not that important.
Meanwhile, I start new job and it's very nice. They are accomodating, like coming slowly on load to let me learn the business.
But at the same time… old workplace, which was nice for years, get bad. There is a new hire, very experienced guy, and he is bad mouthing on the new engineer (who came out of school last year). My last colleague which is finishing the project with me is stressed as fuck and I tell him to rest, that he should care for himself and his couple…
The other designers don't know how to handle the new hire and my boss needs him for experience. Everybody is under pressure as the design office needs probably one or two designers to replace me and one more engineer.