Bosses

Short prologue that I didn’t have a paid job until college. Not because my family was financially secure (far from it) but because we wanted to do things legally and since we were non-Bahamians in the Bahamas the law required that I get a work permit, which were typically reserved for non-citizen adults with professional jobs, not non-citizen teenagers looking to bag groceries. So I never worked a day in my life until sophomore year of college.

Anyway here are my bosses

College

Sekar (pronounced “Shaker”) - hired me as a “student consultant” for a summer project after my sophomore year. The setup was that this professor in the industrial engineering department established a sort of consulting company within Lehigh that would use students as junior consultants for manufacturing/operations research style projects for local companies. They could pay us very little money to do similar things that entry level consulting gigs would. They’d bring in Industry Experts (all alums either retired or looking for a side gig) and pay them a lot of money to lead us, teach us the Ways of Consulting. Sekar was one such expert. I don’t know how many of you interact with consultants or ex-consultants but they are insane. Extremely demanding, complete assholes most of the time. Did not enjoy working for him, but he did hire me and teach me a lot so you win some you lose some. The summer gig turned into the rest of my college years. Crazy!

I worked at a PVC plant in rural eastern PA , trying to figure out how to reduce waste. I don’t want to think about whatever chemicals I and all the people on factory floor were inhaling day in and day out. I hated walking around and taking notes while people were just trying to work, and tried to shoot the shit with people. Some people did, most didn’t trust us - snotty Lehigh kids have a reputation for a reason. Plus we were on first name basis with literally all of their bosses.

Dan - Same gig, another Industry Expert. A large large man, he was an ex linebacker for the university football team and basically was a Wall St type that retired as CEO of some chemical company. Kind of the Ideal American Finance Guy, very personable, very funny, deeply conservative. He was a big Trump guy and had photos with Trump at fundraisers in 2015! He passed away quickly from pancreatic cancer before he saw his guy get elected. I still miss him and kind of wish I could pick his brain about work stuff. Probably the first person I considered a mentor, which is hilarious because our politics could not be any more different. But the man had a great work ethic, and was straightforward and direct.

A few others for very short stints at the same job: my favorite of these was a 94 year old retired engineer named Ray. He would still drive out to the plant from his house, he was sharper than everyone in the room, and he never drove slow - always 10 over the speed limit, always in the left lane. Crazy.

Large electronics company

Dennis - my first job out of college was actually an internship and Dennis was my boss for it. The job was boring, Dennis was a nice guy but very jumpy, and very prone to digging himself into holes. He offered to take me hunting but never did. He rode Honda Goldwings and he was from Milwaukee.

Bob - my first fulltime boss, he was a veteran sales guy, but the least sales guy-like sales guy I have ever met. Not a scummy bone in his body. Total crank, he had a reputation in the company for being such a hardass that they used to call him the hammer and they would bring him in to fire people. But then he got fired himself, and basically got rehired to manage me (quite the demotion) and sort of changed his ways. became much less of a hardass. Knew everyone that was anyone at this company. Had rich WASP sales guy habits (RV, watch collection, monogrammed Brooks brothers Shirts, coke habit in the 80s). Taught me the value of keeping a notebook. I should reach out to him, he was a very good boss.

Richard - ex-investment banker, super neurotic. Meant well and pushed me hard but wasn’t good as a manager. I’m struggling to think of much else, he did not really present himself as someone i would be friends with.

Kevin - Personality of pudding but an extremely nice guy. Ex-Tesla MIT grad tech bro type but extremely softspoken. Had twins. The company fucked him on promotions so he left and now he works on farming robots. Taught me how to make PowerPoint slides well.

Todd - total sweetheart that I hated the first time I met him. Picture of All-American country boy hunk type who also happened to be insanely good at his job. Kind of an asshole until you got to know him. They laid him off (and me, but I found a job in another group in this massive company we were in). Only boss I actively keep in touch with.

Chad - was my boss at my new job for two weeks and then he left to work for the Air Force or something I don’t know. Things went downhill shortly with the job and it was not at all what it was sold as, and I really hated it

Juliette - French, and honestly so unfortunate that my one boss who was a woman was also the one I got for a job I hated. She definitely got me at my worst (completely halfassing and very clearly trying to get fired and also very clearly looking for other jobs). I lasted a few months and then left. I’m sure she was nice but I did everything in my power to make her hate me I think. Not good behavior on my part. But I fucking hated that job.

Update: actually I was too nice about Juliette. She was mean as fuck.

small electronics-ish company that is now part of a GIGANTIC industrial company

Matt - California dad, he is very funny and knows a lot about his specific niche but is also kind of a doofus. Means well but constantly on the defensive because he doesn’t feel confident in his abilities. I think he took it personally when I moved jobs and so I had to really placate him and be extra nice to this actual grandad lmao

Chris - was Todd’s boss at the old company, and poached me from my old company. He has a reputation for being an asshole but he is also probably one of the smartest people I know. And he has been very nice to me and I talk to him for advice like all the time. He drives a big red truck and he loves country music , and if you ask him about it he gets mad. Conservative Korean guy that I get into political arguments with but we’re cool. Very live and let live attitudes from both of us.

Reading this over holy shit it’s a boys club huh. Honestly the reality of the electronics industry, and data work, very much a boys club.