Umm, this wasn't in my job description.

Last week one of my bosses asked me what I thought about the work I'd been getting. He was wondering whether or not I was "surprised." I knew exactly what he was getting at, and yes, I was surprised. Well, not so much as I was after starting my internship, but both this position (in Wheels and Tires) and my internship at Chrysler both share a lot of similarities. The big similarity being that the work is FAR MORE project management-based than it is actual engineering. No calculators, engineering pad, or design; just phone calls, e-mails, and... management. Yep, surprise! It gets me kinda bummed, not so much because it feels like I just spent 4.50 years and a lot of my parent's money to be a manager, but because I genuinely enjoy engineering. I like the challenges engineering problems present, and how creativity is encouraged, all the while being supported by fundamental ideas about math (a subject that SUCKS without application), physics, etc. Like any big "engineering"-based company, a lot of that actual engineering stuff has been delegated to the suppliers, who unfortunately often get less respect than deserved, are given crazy demands ("I need a tolerance of 0.000000000000001 mm or we'll find someone else!!!"), and probably don't get the pay / benefits that big companies can dish out. Tough call. At one point my boss was at a supplier doing hardcore engineering work. I forgot to ask him why he left, but there's probably a good reason, like say, being sick of getting yelled at by somebody from a big company day in and day out. He likes what he does now, and is trying to get into a more, shot-calling position, which I'm all for because he seems like a dude that can bring about some change. To be honest, I like what I do in this group too. Yes, I did just get done bitching about how I want to do real engineering work. However, being a guy that has a true appreciation for the wheels and tires, and being handed projects that I see as a real benefit to the company, and also realizing that while not all that technical, the work still requires that engineering brain, I can say that it ain't so bad. At some point, I would like to bust out the engineering pad though. Oh, btw, there are still some highly technical spots at Chrysler, but here's another downer, these guys also don't get the credit or recognition they deserve, or the nutty salary that the management that yells at them is getting.

Since we're on the topic of work, I've got another thing to bitch about. Lately I've tried to make it a habit to drop in regularly on some type of automotive blog, usually Left Lane News. Recently, an internal Chrysler memo surfaced basically saying that surveyed employees at Chrysler are pissed about how bad the Sebring and the Nitro came out. LLN reported on this, and since it's a blog, registered readers can make comments. Many of the comments were bullshit like "if I was an engineer at Chrysler, I would be embarassed" and other shit bashing the engineers. I'd like to give out a big FUCK YOU to anyone that said that shit. Being that I interact with highly capable engineers daily, it pissed me off reading that. What these people don't realize is that many of the major decisions are made by the management and the employees have to work with what they've been given. I can distinctly remember my co-workers (in the Sebring / Avenger synthesis group) from last summer bitching about how the Sebring kept getting cheaped out, and look now, complaints about cheap interiors, etc. I hate shifting blame, but really, many of the brighter people weren't making the calls.

I'll try to make my next post NOT related to work, haha.