I'm a younger employee that’s been with the company for a couple of years. While I was in college, working at AT&T seemed like a dream job for me, but now this same question keeps popping up in my head. When I see the disgusting way they dispose of my older colleagues I’m starting to seriously wonder if this is the company I want to commit to, and is this the environment that I want to spend my time in. I believe the majority of the employees that are my age feel the same way. I really can’t see who is going to be left working for this company when the older folks leave.
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If you have been tapped in the last two years for special projects or promotion opportunities stay. You can leverage the good reputation you have cultivated with leadership to grow and get valuable experience to add to your resume. You can make a good career if you are willing to stay focused and network.
If you are in the same position you hired in however then take advantage of any Business training you can gain for free on PLE classes you are interested in. There are some great classes they are offered that many business professionals pay lots of money to attend conference or networking sessions. Utilize the resources offered and get the heck out while the economy is great.
AT&T I am afraid will be sold off in pieces soon. It’s what there are so many lay-offs in my opinion. They are trying to make each division as lucrative to potential buyers, and raise the stock price before they break it up at take the profits. Just my speculation but I suspect two or three years max. ATT will still exist because NO corporation wants to lose the single “T” ticker symbol but it will look very different than it does today.
”You need to be willing to move around in order to be promoted.” Tell that to the hundreds, possibly thousands who have uprooted their families to move halfway across the country only to be let go at the next quarterly layoff. I personally know of two people, (engineers), that this happened to, and have heard of countless others. You have no idea where the next cut is going to happen, and you can very easily jump from the pan straight into the fire.
I think that used to be the right advice. However, now, there are huge swaths of the company you could move to that would result in a quick layoff.
At this point, I think the move is to try and find organizations that deal with sensitive information and stay put for the next 3-5 years. Like the Chief Security Office or anything involving FirstNet or other government contracts. Stuff that can't or would be inadvisable to offshore/outsource.
Unfortunately, this advice only helps if you are a management employee, AT&T has shown they will outsource ANY type of field position.
Yes you can build a career with att.
You need to be willing to move around in order to be promoted
Let ATT pay for college education thru tuition aid, then run!
Get out while you can. ATT is not a a company you want to stick with. I’m a boomer, but hear me out. I went to work at the phone company, (not ATT), in 1976. In the 80’s, when wireless started growing, I moved over to that side of the business. I worked for several new start up wireless companies throughout the 80’s, 90’s, on up through 2014 when the wireless company I worked for was bought out by ATT. I found a job at ATT, and on my start date arrived at my new office. BOOM! I was back in the 70’s and early 80’s. The way business was being conducted was straight out of that era, nothing had changed. Try and make decisions that weren’t “the way we do things”, and you were chastised. I never felt so bored in my life. While I had a position that was considered one of authority, I wasn’t allowed to exercise any, because of the late 70’s, early 80’s mentality. I can’t imagine what it would’ve been like to have worked there my entire career.
only people left will be H1 visas or overseas employees or young people who are used to having no benefits. This company is hellbent on getting rid of older employees who have a bitter disposition to a company that keeps stripping benefit after benefit away as the surplus movement becomes a vicious yearly guarantee.
@136EVaX0-1quc. That describes me perfectly. Only I wish I only spent 5 years at att. I wasted too much time there but I too am making more money and working on future technology. Too many weird jobs at att and too much paperwork. Doing future tech stuff now that is giving me some great skills all the while making more money. Trying to get jobs through the on line portal was a joke. Most of them have the candidate chosen and are just going through the motions of interviewing other folks.
Honestly, it's really best for you to leave. I left AT&T and make close to $47K more. It would have taking me forever to reach that at AT&T. I am also in a more in demand field, for a more in demand company. So many people wasting time at AT&T. I was part of the TDP program.
I have seen people with engineering degrees, get hired, work on archaic things, got let go and can't find a job. Honestly, one thing I learned at AT&T is too constantly prepare yourself for your next job. I wasted 5 years there. Great people though. It just got too much.
promotions were lacking, raises were lacking..your peers at other companies will steadily progress to more advanced titles. Only part that dont regret AT&T is because it exposed me to what I am doing that which I love despite not getting that opportunity there after trying a million times.
If you want stability and not have to work too hard. Get a Government job. They pay less starting out but you at least have job security.
You asked for career help, so check this document published In December, 2017 by INNOSIGHT Strategy and Innovation titled: "The Future of the Telecommunications Industry: A Dual Transformation By Patrick Viguerie, Keith Cowan, and Brian Hindo." To paraphrase the executive summary, it stated telcom uncertainty is being driven by rapid tech change, regulatory, and customer demanded changes. All telcom companies need to embrace the disruption, reimagine their network services capabilities, and drive growth.
Read it at the link below. See if you want to continue with the dynamics that will be ongoing. This is a huge subject - your career - and there are many industries/sectors to invest yourself.
https://www.innosight.com/insight/the-future-of-telecom/
One other resource is the U.S. Occupational Outlook Handbook that the Bureau of Labor issues each year. You can look up virtually any job and what the forecast will be for it, income, kind of work, and much more. Lawyers, computer jobs, medical, any field, it's in there.
https://www.bls.gov/ooh/
The days of a lifetime career anywhere are essentially over, so don't plan on staying anywhere for long - get a job, spend 1-2 years learning, and then start looking for your next job. Always get more money when you change jobs. Never believe any corporation when they use the words "family" and "loyalty", because they only use those words when they constrain your actions, and ignore them if it would constrain their actions.
You are right to be concerned. I retired with full M75 benefits but the last 10 years were truly terrible. Not just me but for anybody in a non-Dallas legacy unit. That said the pay and benefits are still above average. My suggestion is to wait out the next 1-2 years and see what things look like after all the current downsizing has diminished and RS and JS are no longer running the show. They appear to be the prime causes of the current situation - either directly or indirectly.
If you decide to stay move to Dallas if you can and get a mobility-related position or a corporate staff position.
As one of the employees who has been with the company over 20 years and is over 50 years old, don’t waste your formative years giving this company any more of your talent. You are nothing more than a number and once your pay and benefits get high enough, they will look to get rid of you too. I’ve already faced multiple surpluses and moves and know the next will be my last. I’ve only sustained it so far because of how close I am to retirement, but I get the feeling the company is trying to nip that one in the bud. Nobody wants to higher somebody over 50 and my choices are small. I pray that I can go out on my time and not the company’s, but I doubt it.
I am the same as you albeit maybe five of yrs older. Everyone is disposable once a cheaper alternative comes to play. I am on the way out and my only regret is that I should have gone out a long time ago as opposed to being shown the door. If you're in a very segmented job position where transferability to another company or industry is questionable, make yourself more marketable at their expense then get out.
Ask your manager what exactly you have to do to get promoted and see if they can answer. Look around at how many employees there are at entry level position with 40 yrs service. The fact that there are secret leadership training programs that, if you ask about it and your manager pretends they never heard of it means you are not a chosen one, says a lot to me.
@136EVaX0-tvp I am one of those older employees. In 40 years I have seen massive change. The rate of change is coming at an ever accelerating rate. Whether you are a farmer or work for a fortune 100 company you won’t be able to hide from that change. I’m not saying I like it and would hate to be a 40 something employee in any industry right now.
Some day you will be one of the older employees disposed of
Good luck finding it better elsewhere. You can run but you can’t hide from the disruptive changes that will be happening in coming years. No profession is safe.
Don't waste the early years of your career at this place. It really isn't worth it.
There are so many better places to work. If you're young there's absolutely no reason to stay in this toxic dump.
It really depends what kind of work lifestyle you want. If you want sure and steady but uinsipiring work. With minimal pressure working at a in incumbent telecom, and can deal with a the ups and downs of a fortune 100 Corp, layoffs, reorgs etc , then you can hang your hat here (as long as the economy doesn't go ot sht)
if you want a more vibrant, riskier job wise, younger start up atmosphere then you need to go elsewhere.
But it's true certainly don't count in working here 20-25 years much like this place is radically different then it was 25 years ago, it will change even more in the next few decades. Plan according.
You can have a lucrative career if you are willing to prostrate yourself, forget any morals and join the Ratty and Stinky club and whack masses of employees, say yes to mergers that make no sense and cost too much, and run your business unit into the ground.
Don't expect to retire here unless you are one of the fast track TDP's. I've seen too many head count reductions during my time here to know this is not a place to retire. Maybe back in the Pac Bell days, but not anymore.
Do they even give young hires any retirement benefits other than matching your savings in your 401k? Keep your skills current, linkedin and resume up to date, network with others in your field and be ready to jump to a better opportunity whenever it presents itself.
Nope.
Being younger, then yes you have great potential here, especially if you're still here for the 2021 year. And you have a masters degree. Even better if you're a member of the inner circle of the friends and family.
No leave when you can they will get years of work from you and when it comes time to get some the retirement benefits you earned they will surplus you and then replace you with a new college hire. Leave now and go work for a much more ethical company that does what they say. Go work for a great that knows who they are and has direction.