CL28 with CL29 potential, been at company for 20 years. Is it worth leaving or should I ride it out?
16 replies (most recent on top)
If you feel financially secure then take your money and run. Enjoy life and learn to love your work again with another company. Or just retire and do whatever you like. Life is short.
No reason for any of us to stay. DW wants to fire us all. Except the BTC
Go dude...any BTC engineer is better than you...they can replace you anytime...better for the company...
@OP:
Have you heard the phrase 'golden handcuffs'? You need to escape before you are 'cuffed. Looking at the disruption and layoffs at our competitors and the fact that there will be fewer CL29 positions = competition will be miserable, you need to run, not walk to GTFOH. I am a CL29 that came to XOM in mid 40's as experienced hire. I had a good experience, but I fear the next 20 yrs at XOM will not be as good. Once you've escaped, convert your mediocre Voya 401K into an IRA that allows you to trade stocks, not just a handful of funds. Secure your retirement with that pile of money. Lots of good investment opportunities out there right now. Good night and good luck.
@OP do what you want, no one could actually care
OP - you are 40s with decades to go. Depends on how you feel about yourself. If you have professional goals and desires with low probability of being met at ExxonMobil going forward, then leave and go make something out of yourself you'll be proud of. If you only care about money whether you leave or not, then get some offers and run three financial scenarios. Btw - when you retire and you are still feeling good as an MPT level engineer, you'll be faced with these decisions after 55, 60, 65, etc. if you have a working class mentality then go buy a Ford Raptor at 55 and drive off into the sunset.
@d0 Very well stated, I think a lot of us are in a very similar circumstance. And to all the whiners that may reply that we should just quit and go, we are pulling more than our weight while we’re here, we just happen to be in a financial position to walk away if this place continues to degrade.
If you hear that you are a great asset to the company, it is so simple: RUN.
I’m literally in the same position as the OP. I have zero career ambition for CL30 and whether I make CL29 will not have a material impact on my life financially.
I have a lot of financial flexibility and at times still enjoy the work and people, although it is different than earlier in my career and I have no trust in management largely because I think they do not communicate transparently, which is really bizarre if you reflect on it.
The choice to stay or go is highly influenced by personal circumstances, but there are 2 key reasons I stay. First, I value the work life balance EM offers. I live near campus and don’t want to commute downtown or out to the west side of town. Overall the hours worked and flexibility EM offers is okay. I actually think the WFH system EM has adopted is pretty fair and at least in my circumstances works well. Second, I’ve seen enough people leave and in some circumstances even bo-m-a-rang back to see the upsides and downsides of leaving. For some it is the right choice to go, for others it’s regretted. If you leave you should be very picky. Of course if EM is sc--wing you it’s a different story.
Whether I make it to 55 at EM feels like a coin flip at this point in my career, and is not a feeling I always had early on here. The saddest part is this cultural change hasn’t made me a better or more loyal employee, and I think has pushed many good people out especially back in 2021 and 2022, and while that has slowed it goes on today. Yes there was a lot of deadwood in the organization and that needed fixed, but it could have been done in a more transparent manner.
@OP If you have to ask it’s time to go.
Put your resume out, see if you can get an equivalent job, leave. If not stay.
Just go..kltc can do your work easily..better for exxon...
Just about every 40 something cl28 is being told they have potential. Don't believe it. There will be very few promotions to 29, especially as the company continues to shrink. Its a lie to keep you around until you are older and have less options.
@ab disagree with trying to stay until 55. OP must be early 40s in age. What are the chances of making it to 55? More likely scenario is job loss before then and then trying to find a new job. Pick your own timing to leave and start looking for a job. You are still young enough to reinvent yourself at another company.
Do not leave until you turn 55 years old and are eligible for 75% of your pension (take it as a lump sum and roll it over to an IRA).
The only reason to leave before 55 years old is if your next company offers you a two CL bump in salary with stock options. A return on investment cash flow analysis will tell you what you need to do to maximize cash flow pre and post retirement.
Your age?
But if this socks again, then leave