Job offer, "chasing" money, career changes and the like

I go into work press a button on a machine and 8 minutes later $89 comes out. I just want more machines and more button pushers
 
So this is a scenario that I haven’t dealt with yet. My team is all senior staff and are capable of training themselves. We are currently in need of entry level staff to handle some of the more mundane tasks and report writing.
How have you been training college kids remotely? I’m thinking that they will get assigned a direct mentor and going with that approach.
That's a good question. I think good documentation and training programs are going to be more important.

My new company is HUGE on process, documentation, and training. We have a very library of on-line training and documentation of procedures. A standardized process for evaluating potential products and offerings has been developed so it can best practices can be replicated across the company. Compare this to my old workplace, where every small group did things a different way with limited (if any) documentation.
 
I go into work press a button on a machine and 8 minutes later $89 comes out. I just want more machines and more button pushers
So, no people to setup and program the machines? No one to create partnerships and find customers? No recurring services revenue? No design-related capabilities? New product development?

I'm fairly sure you're being a little flip, but just wanting button pushers seems limiting.
 
So, no people to setup and program the machines? No one to create partnerships and find customers? No recurring services revenue? No design-related capabilities? New product development?

I'm fairly sure you're being a little flip, but just wanting button pushers seems limiting.
I am a retired big corporate guy just having fun again with a small shop. A lot of stuff I do myself, setup, program, CMM APQP/PPAP. I have 3 sales guys on strict commission working remote all over the place….. once a machine/cell is setup it runs for years on the same job (button pushing).
 
I am a retired big corporate guy just having fun again with a small shop. A lot of stuff I do myself, setup, program, CMM APQP/PPAP. I have 3 sales guys on strict commission working remote all over the place….. once a machine/cell is setup it runs for years on the same job (button pushing).
Ah, that's a little different than what I was thinking.

I've not worked in a factory production environment, but I have a little book learnin' on industrial management/technology management from guys that spent decades making stuff and running companies. My retired FIL also spent 50+ years running very large machine tooling shops making stuff like plumbing and aerospace parts. Over the years we've had many discussions about tooling setups, switch overs, CNC programming, managing design engineers, and other stuff. His machines had to switch over between different parts. Sadly he retired when the owner of the company listening to management consultants and didn't understand the business, and started to chase high-volume low-margin business that the new sales guys were comfortable selling vs. low volume but highly unique parts that no one else could produce. The company's revenues shrank by over 50% and hurt a lot of the machinists.
 
Ah, that's a little different than what I was thinking.

I've not worked in a factory production environment, but I have a little book learnin' on industrial management/technology management from guys that spent decades making stuff and running companies. My retired FIL also spent 50+ years running very large machine tooling shops making stuff like plumbing and aerospace parts. Over the years we've had many discussions about tooling setups, switch overs, CNC programming, managing design engineers, and other stuff. His machines had to switch over between different parts. Sadly he retired when the owner of the company listening to management consultants and didn't understand the business, and started to chase high-volume low-margin business that the new sales guys were comfortable selling vs. low volume but highly unique parts that no one else could produce. The company's revenues shrank by over 50% and hurt a lot of the machinists.
Been there done that….. I just threw Caterpillar out for low volume low margin work….. they said what would it take to stay they offered double….. I said you can’t pay me to stay with you. Actually today is their last day.
 
I go into work press a button on a machine and 8 minutes later $89 comes out. I just want more machines and more button pushers
I got a robot guy who could help. And they don't complain. :)
 
I got a robot guy who could help. And they don't complain. :)
Haha, if robots can do surgeries they can certainly push a button every 8 minutes.

A friend of mine 30+ years ago worked at Phillip Morris pushing a button every hour, than he went to the breakroom for 59 minutes and read the newspaper. Did that for 30 years then retired, with an amazing retirement/pension.
 
I got a robot guy who could help. And they don't complain. :)
To automate a cnc machine one machine is $200k a salary to button push is $50k….. support for that robot cell is $90k and you need that guy. It just doesn’t ROI
Now I have a big program I’m quoting for Ford about to do prototypes. Where I quoted robots to run 2nd/3rd unattended that makes sense but you need volume… not exactly what I’m looking for but the guy that wants me to do it is my sons fil…..so family
 
Haha, if robots can do surgeries they can certainly push a button every 8 minutes.
It's actually pretty slick. He started with them in his own shop and then converted to designing and selling systems. Robot loads the machine, closes the door, pushes the start button, then when part is done, opens door removes part and puts a new part in. Parts are staged in racks for pick and place. A single operator can run several machines.
 
I appreciate your optimism. And for my kids sake, I hope you're right. Let's reconvene after the impending meltdown of commercial real estate. I just think the labor market is going to look a lot more global when those seats to fill are no longer physically there...
I work in a different industry and the circumstances are a bit different. I work at a CPA firm, not a big 4 firm but with more than $2B in revenue. 1/3 of our business is traditional CPA firm work (audits, taxes, advisory), 1/3 is outsourced accounting and finance (what I do) and 1/3 wealth advisory. All of the wealth advisory people are in the office every day. The rest of us are fully remote. We have some admin folks that are in the office, but the professional staff is not. Our outsourcing group started going remote in 2018 (I haven't had a desk in the office since then). Part of that is the nature of the business, we spend our time at the client locations. I spent my first 2 years full time at a client's office. But with the pandemic, the clients didn't want us in their office either. But the work had to be done, so the clients adopted tools to allow us to work remotely on their software. Now I have 23 people on my team and we have 3 shared desks in the office. I have 2 employees that live in Florida, 2 in Chicago and 3 in southwest Missouri. This model works and this part of our business is a growth engine in the firm.

On the CPA side, they went remote with COVID. The productivity increases with remote work were eye opening. So much so that the equity partners decided to make it permanent. By the time we work through all of our current office leases in 2027 (we have 130 offices) we will reduce our office space nationally by 80%.

CPA firms have tried to offshore repetitive work in the past. As a matter of fact they were early adopters of it. It was disastrous. It turned out the repetitive work is necessary to train accountants and a serious skill gap opened up. I don't foresee that happening again.

Obviously this model doesn't work for every industry. But I don't think the remote trend is going to change in the foreseeable future for professional services. It sure makes hiring a lot easier when I can draw on national talent instead of just local folks.

My oldest is a developer for a health insurance TPA/record keeper. He is part of a 6 person IT team. IT could work 100% remote. But, since none of the other employees can do their jobs remotely, management wants IT to have a presence in the office. So he goes in 3 day a week. His wife is a developer for an actual insurance company. She is 100% remote.
 
It's actually pretty slick. He started with them in his own shop and then converted to designing and selling systems. Robot loads the machine, closes the door, pushes the start button, then when part is done, opens door removes part and puts a new part in. Parts are staged in racks for pick and place. A single operator can run several machines.
One of my clients machines custom crank shafts. They have a couple robot cells. It is pretty cool to watch them change out parts for billets.
 
Haha, if robots can do surgeries they can certainly push a button every 8 minutes.

A friend of mine 30+ years ago worked at Phillip Morris pushing a button every hour, than he went to the breakroom for 59 minutes and read the newspaper. Did that for 30 years then retired, with an amazing retirement/pension.

Yup. Robotic surgery has been happening for almost a decade. In addition, remote medical imaging as well. With the development of AI, you won't need to consult a doctor either. Nurses on the other hand can't be replaced.
 
Yup. Robotic surgery has been happening for almost a decade. In addition, remote medical imaging as well. With the development of AI, you won't need to consult a doctor either. Nurses on the other hand can't be replaced.
Of course!….,
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Yup. Robotic surgery has been happening for almost a decade. In addition, remote medical imaging as well. With the development of AI, you won't need to consult a doctor either. Nurses on the other hand can't be replaced.
A bit of a simplification. Robots don't do surgery. Doctors do surgery using robotic tools.
 
I know this thread is from a year ago, but your career dilemma is something many people can relate to. It's clear that you've had an interesting career journey, and this new job offer has presented you with some compelling options.
The prospect of a 20%+ increase in pay, along with the potential for more, is certainly enticing, especially as you approach retirement. It's not about "chasing" money; it's about securing your financial future and exploring new challenges.
You've clearly thought this through thoroughly, and that's commendable. Ultimately, the decision should align with your goals and values. And remember, if you ever decide to explore new working opportunities, you can check out Govt Jobs. These are stable jobs with good salaries.
 

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