“Focus on what you can control” is a common line spouted by EM management. It’s good advice, and people should follow it. If your immediate supervisor or 1-2 levels up is no good, if your salary/benefits/work environment Needs Significant Improvement, then you should focus on finding something else. Why do you think attrition is so high? Many have left, and likely thousands more are trying to leave, because they are taking their careers into their own hands.
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@cqz+1bdS8u4P That’s right.
I’ve been telling this to my direct reports hoping they will read between the lines. Waiting for EM to change is an exercise in futility. Either accept it for what it is or get out. I recommend most people get out. I myself have been applying for jobs.
Competitors are paying more in Midland. You’re taking a significant pay cut if you move to Midland or Carlsbad due to the high cost of living.
I agree with the OP, take your career in your own hands. I did that by working for 8 different oil companies over the course of a +35 year career. The last 15 years I spent with EM and then took their retirement package (at the age of 65). Based on my experience, grass is not greener on the other side. As long as companies are run by humans there will be issues, count on it.
My time at EM was filled with world-class deep water projects, a great salary and plenty of time off working a 28/28 schedule. But, that was a while back. It seems things have changed since I retired.
Never stop looking for the next job.
Good discussion here, both on the topic of work/life balance and the role of perception. My two adds are the following:
First, in an engineering/ science dominated environment, most of us have a very hard time accepting that perception is what defines reality, especially since the message from management is that objectivity and rationality is the base of our culture (it is not).
Second, for many of us with longer career, there was no real transparency about potential. Supervisors mostly danced around that topic and you only infer through experience (eventually) where you are going, primarily by seeing where others (and not you) are going.
@wzj+1bdS8u4P what are TP and EP? Would I know what that is if I was tagged as such?
Totally agree with the “very good “ opinion. Depending where you are in your career that may be just fine. I’d rather have a balanced life. I am not interested in playing politics.
Spending your career at EM as a perpetual “Very Good” is also a choice, especially for people who have significant side ventures or want to focus on hobbies. If you are career-focused and haven’t been tagged as at minimum a TP or EP, it’s time to either rethink your aspirations or plan an exit.
So long as you are not marked as a high potential candidate, seeking out for a greener pasture is the right way to take charge of your career. Do not blame EM if you are graded as “very good” even though you felt that you had done outstanding work.
It is not about what you do, but what you had been perceived so do. Accept this as a fact. Focus on what you can control.