Not sure why ETC has much higher PSGs than BUs. Some of the first level supervisors have 26,27 PSGs comparing to 24,25 in BUs, and it is so easy to get to 24,25 PSGs for individual contributors. Clearly they understand how to justify the impacts and inflate their PSGs. I do not feel like they know more than the SMEs from BUs.
8 replies (most recent on top)
“first level supervisors have 26,27 PSG”... what a r----ded view of the world, like only managers add value. Many people in ETC add value by being technical experts. Give me a few tech guys who know what they are doing over a bus load of MBAs any day!
ETC understands how to package up the projects and impacts to upper management. You can always do 10% of the work and claim 50% without BU checking up the fact. It is easy to sell as an advisor role to BU and your work move the needle, but instead you are just one individual contributor to the project as others.
When considering etc also remember this group has the lowest satisfaction and moral of the entire global corporation as ranked in multiple surveys. All work must be billable and the sme is responsible for work generation. Then the business units don’t like the group because of the same model the same group does not like. Also you literally get stuck, though this is the right spot for many people. If you envy the psg, do the time and join etc. I promise you you will not hold this opinion afterwards.
The technical career ladders are the same across the corporation. ETC is the same as the BUs and promotions administered by a common PDC. People with comparable years of experience are generally about the same functional level. If your technical work has impact across the SBUs, OpCos, Corporation and Industry, then you are working at a higher functional level with regard to that aspect than others whose work has a narrower scope of impact. If you work ten years as an FE in the field, I doubt your technical work will have the same impact as a lady working ten years in Houston on 30 projects and leading industry groups on new metallurgy.
I worked in HR and dealt with hiring mangers in ETC. They thought every candidate they saw turned water into wine! In all honesty some of them deserved the higher PSG as they could have very well been consultants and consulted out at a much higher rate than the higher PSGs they were brought into. However, overall i felt that their contributions where no greater than those in the BU's, but really that would be for others to make that informed judgement.
ETC employees like many of the professional employees and jobs were manged on careers ladders which capped out a lot higher, or were for whatever reasons managed a grade or couple above the career ladder by 'exception' (Chevron speak for mates looking after mates). If you thought ETC had big grades you should have seen PRC!
Historically, the only way to earn a high salary was to become a manager. This was causing many SME’s to seek manager roles when they were clearly better suited as individual contributors, or more commonly, they were poached by other engineering companies with higher salary offers.
To retain the right people (SMEs), in the right roles (individual contributiors), it was decided FE career ladder would have some very high rungs you can climb. Therein are the ETC SMEs.
It’s very difficult to justify multiple high PSG SME’s at a BU, because they only support that specific BU. However , in a central team like ETC, SMEs support BUs and MCPs around the world and ETC billstheir time at $325/hr. These SMEs are expected to travel, write specs that are used thoughout the company, etc. Generally ETC SMEs have to have a majority of their time billable to projects or BUs. I know several senior SMEs in ETC with a PSG 27, with their supervisor being s lower PSG.
One thing that happens in ETC, or at least it did in past, is that many experienced hires were brought in at very high PSGs, certain team leads getting their way in this regard by arguing that they brought exceptional value and knowledge to the organization.
ETC supposedly retains the best SMEs Chevron has to offer. The reason ETC exists is for being the central source of highly skilled and experienced project experts. If that’s the case, they are highly paid, so it stands to reason the ETC management have higher PSGs too.