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To: Reily
"Not a fun position to be in, haven't you been in a position to do something or say something “moronic” because your boss wants it done or simply to “publicly” support him? "

No. I worked for NY State, and decided early I wasn't willing to be a "team player" or an ass kisser. I wrote letters to the editor, questioned my superiors, questioned the system, and wasn't well-liked by the administrators. But I did my job the way it was supposed to be done, so they didn't bother me. It got to the point where if I was out and about in the facility, and a big-wig saw me coming, they'd turn on their heel and walk the other way to avoid me. They eventually learned not to ask me how things were going on the job, because they knew I'd bluntly tell them. That was fine with me, because I didn't like them either. The only way they'd gotten their high-paying jobs was being somebody's kid. I managed to survive my 25 years and retired, and never looked back.

26 posted on 10/13/2012 10:44:40 AM PDT by mass55th (Courage is being scared to death - but saddling up anyway...John Wayne)
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To: mass55th
Much harder to do that in the government these days. They will find reasons to isolate, deny promotions to, and make live generally miserable to those who follow their own star.

Had two situations one in government and one in private industry where I was stuck with projects assigned to me by bosses that would make Dilbert's boss look like a Nobel Prize winner in Physics. In both cases I was asked to work on something that was physically impossible to do. One would have required me to build the equivalent of a “perpetual motion machine” the other violate the fundamental tenets of information transmission. It was a challenge to maintain my personal integrity and yet be a good employee. I survived, but it was an “eye opening” experience for a relatively young lead engineer. (All the while I was going through this I kept telling myself and my wife how much more happier I was back on “the bench” or “programming”! Of course I was making so much more money as a “Lead or Chief Engineer”)

It taught me some important lessons. One be alert to early on project discussions. This is the best time to be on the look out for similar “sticky” situations and either head them off or find a reason and a method to get out of the way. (None of that was covered in undergraduate or graduate school! From those experiences I learned I was required to deal with people without resorting to Alice's “Fist of Death”! — another Dilbert character who is a female engineer. However "Fist of Death" would have been far more psychologically satisfying.)

27 posted on 10/13/2012 11:31:29 AM PDT by Reily (l)
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