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I was informed of my fate yesterday.
Like the two previous OPs, I work in IT. I have been here a long time. I am being told I will have two years of employment.
I will not be working very hard. I will finish my new certification goals. I will get more out of India then India gets out of me. I will use this to my advantage. I will prevail.
I will defeat the Borg.
If you are 1 to 5 years at Chevron and trying to navigate your career path, it might seem foggy but there is a method to the madness. You have not fully built your network yet while everything seems to be changing fast. My advice is collaborate more than you compete. You will be surprised how many employees with 10+ years of experience will be willing to mentor and even lend you their connections if you run into a rough patch. Compete against yourself to be better, not against your co-worker. Take advantage of all the training opportunities Chevron provides. All of that is well within your control, everything else is mostly noise. Trust the process.
I heard some of my colleagues have been getting OWD and heading to NC for training. What do they actually do there? And how hard is it to get OWD?
Teradata is a legit great spot if you're a SWE who actually wants to build real stuff instead of constantly refreshing LinkedIn for the next round of layoffs.
You get to work on massive data systems that actually matter to big companies, not some half-baked startup that burns through cash and then ghosts half the eng team. The tech is solid, the problems are hard in a good way, and they're not out here treating engineers like disposable headcount every time the market dips.
Compensation is competitive, the work-life balance is better than the usual grind, and you can actually grow without wondering if your job is safe next quarter. While a lot of folks are still recovering from the last wave of cuts or staring at empty calendars, people here are shipping product and getting paid to do it.
If you're tired of the chaos and want a place that values the people building the software, Teradata is worth a look.
Apparently India staff are so impressed by WFs new ranking system and career prospects based on it that as soon as they get an IM, they start applying out, get hired in 1-2 weeks, and leave.
The best part is, execs don't understand this, don't understand it takes months to years to fully train up a replacement, and don't understand how this is leading to system instability. Why can't they just follow the Jiras to do the job?
The cards are starting to fall.
Trust me, you do not need “mentors.” By my second year they assigned me one, and when I asked my teammates what that even meant, they all said the same thing: “We barely talk to ours.” And after my own interaction, I understood exactly why. These people aren’t mentoring anyone ,they just want to claim they’re training, developing, and guiding you so they can collect credit for work they never did. It’s corporate politics. They’re not helping you; they’re helping themselves look important. Avoid them. You’ll learn more on your own in a week than they’ll “teach” you in a year.
As someone in early career, I’m finding it really difficult to make any headway in growing. I’m on a team that doesn’t really teach me or train me and is far from what I’m wanting to do with my career, yet all leads (stretch assignments, internal transfers) have been shut down. After the reorgs, we lost half our team but are expected to do the same amount of work, and I can sense everyone burning out.
How can I get out? The early career market right now is so bad I’m unable to get even an online assessment or interview from any of my applications. And since Nike is my only real experience, I’m not sure if recruiters view it as a good thing
Has anyone else noticed more technology employees moving from Markets to TTS (Treasury and Trade Solutions) over the past couple of years?
What are the main reasons driving this?
This is the only place I've worked where tenure is a disadvantage. New people get attention, praise, and opportunity, while most of long-timers get ignored, overloaded, and quietly pushed aside. The loyalty that used to mean something now feels like a trap.
48 years, 13 YEE, probability 10%
Current RTM’s, how was your Q2 bonus versus when you were an SR?
Source: Justin Bateh, PhD
Tactical advice for managers running teams, projects, & operations in the AI era | CEO @ AI Operators Lab | Led 40 AI Rollouts | PhD & PMP | Top 100 Maven Educator | Leadership • AI • Project Management • Career Growth.
They didn’t teach me this in school:
1/ Perception beats performance
→ People promote who they trust,
→ Not just who deliver
→ How you're seen > what you do
2/ The real decisions happen before the meeting
→ Most rooms are just theater
→ Influence happens behind closed doors
3/ Loyalty is transactional
→ It’s not personal, it’s positional
→ Don’t confuse company values
→ With job security
4/ Power protects power
→ People in charge defend their seat first
→ Be aware of the hierarchy
→ Even when it's unspoken
5/ Silence is strategy
→ Sometimes the smartest play is no play
→ You don’t need to join
→ Every argument you’re invited to
6/ Allies matter more than arguments
→ Influence flows through relationships
→ The right support can move mountains quietly
7/ Information is currency
→ What you know can help, or hurt, you
→ Share wisely, not widely
8/ Your reputation moves faster than your resume
→ People talk, good or bad
→ Make sure the version of you in the room
→ Matches the one outside it
9/ Not everyone wants you to win
→ Growth triggers discomfort in others
→ Keep rising anyway
10/ Politics are unavoidable
→ It’s not dirty. It’s real.
→ Navigating power is part of leadership
Don’t ignore politics. Understand it. Then use it to protect your team and your growth.
Not sure what the correctly terminology is, but for those that are having the company Reimburse them for education expenses, how will it work if those employees are laid off. Is there a requirement that the employee must work for the company a certain number of years?
And disillusioned with Fidelity.
Is it my imagination that career moves lateral up or sideways don’t exist?
I feel like I’m spinning my wheels making no progress.
Mind you it’s a good job decent enough pay clearly a nice benefits offering but I’m going nowhere.
I’ve made gains in my skills that show initiative and intellect.
Nothing seems to help me grow or advance in any way, shape or manner.
I feel like maybe it’s time to cut hair and look externally.
What is it they are looking for? I mean I hate to say it but it sure seems like young Asian women rule is it just I’m the wrong gender and ethnicity/race?
Could HR be this shallow?
I’m not speaking sarcastically I happen to be very intelligent, extremely professional and polite and nothing changes regarding my career here.
I've seen great employees kept in place because their managers didn't want to lose them. They make their department looks good, manager looks good, but they end up stuck because their manager sabotages their advancement for their own gain. If you've been stuck in the same position for a while and don't know why, this might be it.
Curious as to how a VG early in your career affects your career prospects with the company. Are you limited in how far you can go? Looking for personal experience
Will you immediately seek employment, go back to school, take a break, etc. What are your plans?
God Bless Us All.
March 2027 for me, so I'm a bit envious of those who got earlier dates, but I'm not going to look a gift horse in the mouth!
The majority of our jobs won't exist anymore in just a few years.
People join, learn the ropes, build their resume, then leave for something bigger. I've been noticing it more and more.
Got a nice raise of nearly $20k. Nothing like getting laid off and realizing you were being severely underpaid in your previous position.
Just wondering how long you have spent or plan to spend in your current role? I have been with the company almost 20 years and in my position for a good portion of that time. I used to really like it. The last few years, not my immediate director, but the next level up has become extremely controlling. It is to the point that I don’t even know what decisions I can make or not without vetting it through both levels. It’s incredibly frustrating and has led to burnout for me. Theres always a chance for turnover I guess, but I am also considering moving to a different group. It has been quite a while since I have tried something new.
When I got the notice, I thought my career was over. Instead, it was the push I needed. I found a role with actual work-life balance, a team that respects me, and no daily dread. And I'm not alone, I keep a running list of ex-colleagues who've moved on and thrived. Not one of them regrets being let go. It's a strange comfort knowing that getting cut might be the best thing that ever happens to me.
Ex-Verizon here. Seeing all these RIFs even after I left still hurts. And each time, I see people that I used to work with put on the open to work banner on LinkedIn.
I initially joined Verizon as part of an early in career development program right out of school around the COVID era. I quite liked the program at first, but as time moved on it really seemed like I wasn’t learning anything relevant that could be used outside of Verizon. Still quite glad for the opportunity, met some great people who helped a new kid find their feet in the working world. Though it probably was a silver lining when I got caught in one of the big RIFS a few years back, managed to land in a pretty good company after that.
For those who are still in the program, new grads who just joined, or those that graduated from VLDP/EIC, how is the program now? How is the management and mentorship? I can’t imagine morale being high with all these problems. For those that remember the old program, how much has changed? Hopefully it’s still going strong, but with all these issues it feels a bit hopeless, coming from someone on the outside.
Professional and Technical Tier guidelines have those positions
Associate
Expert
Senior expert
Principal
Senior principal
Chief
Do they correspond to a specific CL?
Or rather a CL band (like 27-29)?
What’s the base pay for Expert or Senior Principal ?
as an external hire, just because everyone can see other people’s “tier” online I inferred this isn’t the same as CL. Anyone can shed light on what it is and how to upgrade this ?
It's waste of time. I applied for over 80+ positions in the past 4 years, for promotion roles. I got few responses and like may be 5 or 6 initial interviews. Except one position, I am pretty sure that all other interviews are fake and they just interviewed me for documentation purposes.
Everything else is an automatic rejection email. Internal mobility for higher roles is a SCAM!
Bumped from @bk+1kxk1gpmb.
I'm documenting everything and training two new hires. Either I'm getting promoted or I'm getting fired.
Pretty much…if you don’t like it, leave.
I’m working on that, Gunjan, don’t worry.
It’s clear if you are remote or not in one of the main hubs, there is no longer any growth for you. They want you to leave.
So disheartening after years of dedicated work to just feel like I’m being pushed out!
Left after 5 years, no regrets. New role pays 18% more and I actually take my lunch breaks.
Sit up straight and take note: The key highlight from the Raytheon Global Town Hall is Raytheon is hiring and hiring bodies -including your kids, grand kids, neighborhood friends and family members, the local bartender, the bagger at the grocery store, kids at the carwash, telemarketers... there is no need to have any experience as one can make a career at Raytheon attending meetings or training without the expectation of performing any work. Even those with a tepid pulse whose only skill is to occupy a chair need apply as Raytheon is anxiously awaiting your arrival with open arms.
Whats new or different on your review and goals being stressed? Im assuming when mine comes it will be more hyperventilating about using AI and being pushed in thinking of new ways to use AI or commit to taking some type of AI training or certiications. Seems like this will all be used to eliminate anyone not 100% in on the AI cult mentality.
...did this on an external AI too but translated all of my annual reviews into files, told it to parse them, told it my salary, & asked how hosed & stifled I am here compared to market. It told me not only to leave immediately (both Claude & Grok) but that while delivering more & more every year & outworking everyone else around me I've been deliberately sidelined, pushed around, & my personality used against me by my bosses in their responses to hold me down. That i'm leaving $50k/yr on the table & over the time I've been here have missed-out on $200k in earnings. No wonder I've felt so squeezed by this place & am barely surviving. Everyone else in my role & field is ki-ling it compared to me. This place su-ks & has stolen almost 10 years of career & growth from me.
I can't even get my boss on a regularly scheduled 1:1 for 15min to ESTABLISH a 1:3:5 for me after 2 years. He flaked yesterday while 'working' from India.
Combined with recently being told by my director to fudge numbers on Clarity & that my SSL usage is being tracked & used against me for (carrot dangle) prospective promotions - fu-k this place.
Let's not even discuss how I'm being split between two teams this year & how exhausting that is. They LOVE to keep me dangling in the wind moving from team to team to team - because I'll do it & can do it, I don't push back (thinking eventually SURELY some good has to come of this for me). I never get anything, all I get is hosed & progressively poorer, stolen from in lost earnings by this place. Sc--wed over at EOY in bonus while these shady executives hoard it all for themselves.
Anywhere else I'd be a senior engineer IC or manager by now. My loyalty has cost me a real career & major earnings.
I'm a swe earning under 100k after 8 fu--ing years. I'm done sulking & being a loser about it though. Now I'm on a mission.
Good job blowing me off manager, you just lost an employee.
Whether a role can be performed effectively from home ultimately depends on the nature of the work itself.
In many cases, remote employees go above and beyond compared to their in-office counterparts. For example, when meetings are scheduled at 6:30 a.m., remote employees are generally expected to be online and fully engaged. This is particularly common for employees based on the West Coast who report to leadership teams on the East Coast. Remote employees also put more hours in work on an average.
Ironically, employees working from the office often benefit from greater visibility and more opportunities for informal interactions with leadership. Remote employees, on the other hand, frequently contend with the classic "out of sight, out of mind" challenge, which can impact recognition and career progression despite strong performance.
We certainly have skill issues, but attributing those issues to remote work misses the mark. The root causes lie elsewhere, and remote work is not the driving factor behind them.
If we're being objective, some of the weakest performers are sitting in Franklin Lakes, which makes it difficult to argue that location is the root cause of the problem.
Bumped from @fv+1kvtn2txr.
All of us basically have got three choices. Stay and take the abuse. Move up internally for a real raise. Or leverage the name on the resume and get a big bump somewhere else while Oracle still means something (it won't for long). Frankly, I don't want to stay where I'm not valued.
Any one want to share about internally moving to a lateral position or higher? How is the process to tell the current manager that you want to move elsewhere ?
After spending 25 years at Big O across multiple organizations and technologies, I feel I'm in a good position to share my perspective.
One thing many people misunderstand is how compensation works. In my experience, bonuses, salary increases, and RSU's are not automatic rewards for hard work or tenure. They depend heavily on your manager's recommendation, the leadership chain, and the budget allocated to your organization.
Even if your manager believes you deserve a significant raise, there are organizational constraints. Most teams receive a limited compensation budget, so managers often have to make difficult trade-offs. In a team of 10 people, only a small number (Read 1 or almost 2) may receive meaningful increases while everyone else gets little or nothing. That's simply how the budgeting process works.
Because of that, I've learned not to assume that working harder automatically translates into better compensation. Performance really doesn't matter a lot, but manager advocacy, organizational priorities do have their share.
At Big O, timing and organizational placement often matter as much as talent. You could have the abilities of Elon Musk, but if you're buried in an org that's five or six levels below an EVP, don't expect exceptional career growth. Realistically, you may spend years capped at something like IC4, irrespective of your performance.
The same applies to layoffs. From what I've observed over the years, layoffs are not always a pure reflection of talent or performance. Its just big fish eats small fish. One influential manager saving his and sacrificing some one else. Or its a bid. A manager will be asked how many you can get rid off. Sometimes excellent employees are affected while others remain. That's the reality of working in a large corporation.
My advice is simple: don't spend too much emotional energy trying to predict the next raise cycle or the next round of layoffs. Forums like Layoffs.com and Reddit are full of speculation, but nobody outside leadership truly knows what's going to happen.
Instead, invest in yourself. Keep your skills current, interview occasionally, build your professional network, and make sure you always have options.
One lesson that surprised me after leaving Big O was this: spending decades working on internal systems and technologies doesn't automatically translate into equivalent market value outside the company. Many of the tools, processes, and systems are unique to Big O. In many ways, you have to rebuild your external profile and prove yourself again. If you're fortunate enough to find a role using similar technologies, the transition is easier—but that's not always the case.
This is just my experience after 25 years. Others may have had very different experiences, but I hope this perspective helps someone focus on what they can control rather than worrying about what they can't.
Hi Gang
No help needed this time, i already told them there will be no growth for 3 YEARS 🤣 and got away with it.
Asta la vista babies
does anyone else find it interesting how as soon as the deadline passed for the VSP, new jobs are being posted?
part of the terms of applying for the VSP was not being able to apply for internal roles. if your application is approved, then you cannot go back and change your mind if you see an internal role you’re interested in.
halfway annoyed as there are three positions I’m interested in. I’ve been waiting for MONTHS for a growth opportunity. there seemed to be little to no opportunity with the “hiring freeze” and looming layoffs in the future. now all of the sudden, 50+ roles have been posted in the last week??
I guess I’ll just wait and see what happens.