Are you happy with your job?
Job satisfaction is a very personal measure. While any job comes with hassles, perhaps on balance there is enough good to outweigh the bad—or maybe the scales have tipped the other way. Well its spring and the daffodils are springing...things are changing, so is it now the time to dust off your resume or give thanks for your career.
Please vote and have you say.
I voted not happy at all and thinking about what to do next. Although my sarcastically-positive attitude gets me through the day and I love the products we make, their is no long term future for this company because you can't teach "old dogs" (aka- stubborn people) new tricks and that makes me unhappy so I find myself contemplating my next move before I get burned out and lose hope in humanity.
Happy with annoyances.
I spent the last six years in northeastern Ohio. Who wouldn't be happy living and working in central Florida?
Marshall
I have been actively job searching for several months. While I believe in our products and love my co-workers; the top management in my company does not support food safety. A food safety culture has to come from the top. And if a vice-president of the company won't take the gum out of his mouth when he walks through the facility how am I supposed to tell the workers they can't chew gum?? And that's just one tiny example of how what I try to do gets sabotaged. I could go on and on. It's laughable.
:beam:
At times I really love my job, and other times I want to run away and never come back! We are a small company and all managers wear many hats. I get very overwhelmed with all of the work I have to do and no matter how many hours I put in it is never enough. My biggest issue is my support staff. We are in a rural area and the employee pool is very limited. We started offering a much better benefit package and increased our starting salary in an attempt to attract better people, but it has not worked. I try to delegate, but it seems no one can think for themselves. I get calls all hours where I have to do the thinking for them! Anyone else have these same issues? How do you handle it? I am a quality manager, but this seems to be the case in all departments.
Great people to work for. Small family-owned company. Lots of management support. But as with any job, there are things that happen sometimes that are annoying. At least it doesn't usually involve personnel here! That made my previous job unbearable. Working with good people makes those little annoyances bearable!
I agree with all of the replies so far. I love been a Technical Manager but when the top management challenge every decision our opinion you have or even don't involve you in the decisions that might affect Technical department, then you ask what you are doing here. Yes I'm looking for a away out before the level of stress gets so high that will make me ill. But saying this, I have worked for other companies were it seemed paradise and Food safety culture was on board in all departments ... I haven't given up in finding another company like that.
Love my job. It's a small company with all the small company issues, but the owner has a commitment to quality and works extremely hard to move us ahead. We are growing very quickly, and are suffering all those growing pains, but it is an exciting time to be here.
Our products are unique, and fill some very interesting niches in the food, pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and industrial sectors. I'm always seeing another application for what we make.
Agree with Barbara :rock:
Happy - but has its annoyances.
I changed jobs/companies twice in 9 months and have found a company that I truly enjoy working for. Family owned and growing. I am able to set policies, programs, and really shape food safety for the company. I am involved with 2 plants, all supplier visits (and approvals) as well as inspections of the warehouses. We are at the point of needing to start hiring a staff to help! But, with any job/company, there are things that drive you crazy! Coming from 2 very large, established companies, we are definitely behind on some things (not just food safety related - safety, maintenance, production records, etc.), and its quite frustrating to try to change the mentality of those that have been here 20+ years.
Overall though, minimal stress, very few days that are frustrating, and really happy!
It's encouraging that over half of the respondents are either delighted or at least happy (despite some annoyances). A food safety practitioner or quality manager's role is often very busy (many hats), but I think also it comes with a lot of freedom to develop a role in your own direction...basically because nobody else knows what it is. :smile:
Some of the not happy and looking for a change is clearly due to lack of senior management commitment, paying lip service etc. and that is infuriating. To a degree you can live with apathy, you can work with it, educate it, but willful neglect and undermining is hard to live with. The good news is there are good jobs out there, the bad news is the incumbents in those roles are going nowhere.
Can honestly say I'm happy with my job. Like all jobs there are some minor annoyances that occur, but for the most part is very satisfying and has been for the last 15 years. :happydance:
I'm pretty happy where I am. I don't think there's any job that wouldn't have some annoyances, especially in the food industry. Unless something goes seriously wrong this is probably a role I will retire from.
I love my job. After a lifetime of working in jobs related to food from being a health inspector to a GMP coordinator, BRC coordinator, SQF coordinator, Nutritionist, I never could get away from food. My first job was at Subway Sandwiches! My work has been in relation to food my whole life. I've worked in a 100yr old flour mill and a peanut butter factory. Except now I work in a flexible plastic manufacturing facility. I don't know anything about plastics but the majority of films made here are used for food and therefor the facility is SQF certified which Is how I got here. I don't think I will ever go back to food manufacturing. Never again!
I like my job and profession but just get irritated with some occasional weird office policies.
This is a great topic and I would like some advice as well. I may ramble but any good feedback would be great.
I am 24 years old, currently a QA Manager/ SQF Practitioner in the dairy industry.
I started 3 years ago as a lab technician right after finishing my biochemistry undergrad degree and moved up the ranks fairly quickly to a 3rd shift supervisor in the yogurt business. After about 6 months I was moved to the 1st/2nd shift sanitation supervisor. I have received training in SQF, HACCP, and better process. After about 5 months of sanitation, I was asked to fill in as a manager for a bit. However, when it came hiring a manager,I interviewed, immediately the vp said your not ready. I was overlooked to by someone with zero qa experience and someone who did not even know what CIP was. She prob never even looked at a HACCP plan in her life. I left due to pay, hours, and location.
So I left to become a manager at a poultry plant. This was way more money, location was further, and had okay benefits. This did not work out so well. Within 5 months I was outta there due to issues I cannot say. This is not even on my resume.
I then decided I would follow through with a recruiter that called and made my way into this dairy position. Good pay, good benefits, good location, however now they want me to work 7 days a week, and I am getting into big issues with higher management. I want to be a team player, and my techs know I am available if needed through phone, text, email 24/7. I actually just received another call from a recruiter for more money, same benefits, same distance, etc.
Any advance would help. I understand the politics involved, however it seems these corporations will lie to get you in the door.
Am I TURNING INTO A JOB HOPPER? it seems so. I do not want this on my resume at 24 years old. but the recruiters keep calling.
MIKE
Well, at 24 I was in the US Navy in the communications field. Back then we were using Teletypes to send ship to ship and ship to shore messages at 75 baud. Our fantastic satellite communication system delivered data at the astounding rate of 2400 baud.
I'm impressed that at 24, you have been a high level QA and sanitation person.
As a Sanitation Manager, had you actually cleaned any of the equipment that you were in charge of?
As the QA guy, had you ever worked on the line that made the product that you were "assuring"?
I don't mean to sound like an asshole, but if recruiters are calling a job hopping 24 year old for management positions in the food industry that pay good and have great benefits, God help the food industry.
Marshall
After taking a deep breath, I'll try to answer some of your questions.
Yes, you are a job hopper. I would look at your resume and discard it out of hand.
You have no real "experience" at anything.
If you really want to dedicate your life to the food industry, you might want to actually work in the industry first.
Sanitation managers don't just rule from on high. Anyone can make a schedule and assign people to carry it out.
If you have never cleaned equipment "A". how the hell do you know if the person you assign to clean it is doing it efficiently and effectively?
This is especially troubling since you identify as being in the dairy industry.
My advice would be to take a low/mid level job in sanitation or QA. Spend 5 or six years getting dirty. Understand WHY and HOW things need to be clean and in spec. Understand HOW the CIP system works, not just that you press a button to initiate the cleaning cycle.
Become an expert. Become invaluable to your company. Continue to learn and progress.
Marshall
When you are put to the test and people rely on you, you find somethings out about yourself early on.
This statement seems very ignorant. And As a QA guy, what makes a good QMS?
Good micro, strong prequiste programs, documentation, and the ability to learn/grow/teach
Your concerned about the management teams member age rather than the team around them. When you have multiple teams working together with a wide range of experiences and put that together it how companies accomplish things.
You are relying on mechanical flow, temp, pressure, and time.
Depending on ur industry its a pre rinse, rinse, caustic wash at roughly 155 f for 15 to 20 minutes, rinse, acid sanitizer 2 minutes.
Verification is done using titrations, micro, atp, y-m, swabs etc depending what your program says.
Yearly validations send to a 3rd party lab is what I also had learned.
The same process can occur for manual cleaning.
This okay?
I guess. have you ever torn apart the complete CIP system to ensure that it doing what it is supposed to do?
There are no dead ends, no unsanitary welds, etc?
I sense some push back here, even though you asked for help.
Not exactly the best way to continue getting help.
I voted for "I am happy, even though it has its annoyances" because I’m contented in my work and also I’m learning a lot. Now, I’m currently managing the Research and Development section which I find myself enjoying it. I really want to make something new for dairy and meat process product. To some extent we cannot wipe out annoyances because of the circumstances which accidentally happens but can be control. After working 8 years in a very well known and established company, I’ve learned a lot and now continuously implementing the same values, practices and principles in current company where I am working.
Thank you for this survey in a way that it teach us to pause, think and reflect of where we are and what are doing.
Thanks,
Factory Hygienist
So unhappy that tomorrow is my last day.