New
Employment: The Inside Story
By Caleb Sancken
On
Wednesday, October 22 Tom WendtMidwest Director, Field Servicesdiscussed
what engineers should do during their first day, first year, and following
years in a new job. Having been in management positions in former jobs,
Wendt knows how a company works at a very fundamental level, allowing him
to share things you arent going to hear anywhere elseespecially from a
perspective or current employer.
For
example, on the first day of work, dont arrive on time; arrive early! It
is most probable that you will have to report to the human resources
department to fill out a bunch of paper work. This may seem self-evident,
but if youve just relocated and have thousands of things on your mind you
may not remember: know your personal information like your address, phone
number, email address, etc. You should also have information about your
bank account with you because your employer may want to pay you via
direct deposit, for which they will need a void check, a deposit slip,
and your account number. If you dont have these already, then make sure
you get a certified copy of your birth certificate (you never know when it
will come in handy), and get a passport, too. Even if you havent, and
dont plan on, traveling overseas, it will make you seem like more of a
world citizen to have a passport, which is an important thing in a global
economy. Its important to give some thought on how much tax you need to
be taken out of your paycheck. You probably dont want any deductions,
and you might even want to take out a little extra, so it looks like you
know what youre doing.
On your
first day, you will also receive an employees manual and learn about many
policies. This is one area where an employer must be very explicit, so
pay attention and read the manual. The company wont tell you explicitly
their compensation policy however. |
That is, they never tell you how they arrive at your wage. Mr. Wendt
explained that each hierarchal level of employment has minimum and maximum
possible wage levels. When you first start working for a company, you
start at the bottom of your pay bracket. Then, after a year, a new
engineer typically gets a ten percent raise, and the entire bracket moves
up about one percent. If you get to the top of your current bracket, then
you will be limited to that one percent raise per year. In other words,
you are not being properly compensated for the work youre doing.
Therefore, once you can earn the same amount as the minimum in the next
highest bracket, you need to be promoted to maintain appropriate levels of
monetary compensation.
As
you work your way up the corporate ladder you will attend more and more
meetings. Wendt emphasized the importance of doing meetings well.
Again, pay attention and ask questions. As Wendt said, If you dont ask
questions, then they will think something is wrong with you. Management
will think that youre being cocky, acting as if you know everything
already. This drives home the point that first impressions are very
important. A companys goal is to make money, and, if they feel as if you
arent contributing to that goal, youll be disposed of. Overall Wendt
was very helpful in explaining a future aspect of our lives.
Halloween
Dunes Trip Cut Short by Disgruntled Park Ranger
By Ryan Merrell
Imagine a
half dozen mechanical engineers sitting around a small fire toasting
smores and singing Kum-ba-ya. That was the atmosphere this October
evening when a park ranger ended this ASME tradition of a campfire on the
dunes. The officer accused the members of ASME and their responsible
friends of smoking marijuana, drinking alcoholic beverages, and conducting
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