Due to my inability to ignore bad processes and my wanting to get paid more, over the last couple years I've been moving from a 100% design role to a part-design, part staffing manager. I now assign fellow designers in my engineering sub-department to the projects our company is hired for. I have very little input in what projects we take on, but from my position I can read their budgets and expected hours for various client submissions, I then take this info and try to balance the work between my coworkers. In the past 6 months we've been completely overwhelmed with work, too many hours of work to do for our team. Thankfully, our project managers and clients have had project deadlines slip but the projections always show a ton of work upcoming and many coworkers are working unpaid overtime. I've been advocating for hiring more designers, and in the last month have become very explicit in voicing this need, but, I think, worry about economic recession has kept management from posting a job opportunity online.

Does anyone have an idea or opinion that can help me? Am I selling out by leaving my design only role?

I am considering looking for a new job, I'm very in demand as there are few electrical engineers in my field. I'm also considering applying to grad schools in Europe, cheaper and more relevant to my specific goals, but my undergrad GPA was pretty bad. I worry that I'm running from my life though, and I could have an opportunity here to positively change my firm's culture?

  • TreadOnMe [none/use name]
    ·
    2 years ago

    Ultimately, it doesn't matter. We live in an inherently unstable, unsustainable system. All jobs you can or could take will likely contribute or exacerbate that situation, outside of explicitly 'green' jobs, most of which also do not solve those problems because they are intimately aligned with consumption and business cycles and imperialism that is outside of your direct control. If China can't solve it, neither can you Western man (I am assuming).

    Management allows you to be in a situation where you can potentially protect your guys from the dipshittery of upper and c-suite management. Many times that will not be possible and at that point you can make the choice to talk or walk (you should always keep a resume out anyways).

    Moving away from design work is not selling out as long as you remember that your most important job as middle management is eating shit so that way your guys don't have to, not keeping it sliding down-hill. Alot of dumb middle management guys get enamoured by the glitz and pedigree of C-suite people and forget that they are completely disconnected morons who, if they can find their ass with both hands, are ultimately playing a completely different game from you that doesn't involve actually producing product. Never fucking forget that.

    That being said, because of that separate game you will never have enough time or guys. Fight like hell for it, but it will never be given to you. MBAs are specifically taught that you have to be struggling otherwise you aren't 'efficient'. Absolute dog-brain thinking, but that's why they get paid, to strangle you and think they are doing you a favor.