reposting to clarify a little better.
what do you expect, there is no inducement for longterm career, no pension, no EARNING vacation time ( not unlimited... if NOT approved) and NO growth opportunities. in other words their is NO carrot to keep people around.
yes, we have been involved with innovative technologies in the past, but today there are many startups and doing all sorts of interesting and innovative work. Those companies are not sitting around complaining about their version of EEI, they are trying to be first to market with new products and services and they are willing and able to pay for OT & good benefits to get people motivated to do the work!
I was always quite sad ( maybe jealous) &happy to see my younger engineers leave (no promotion opportunities for even for Block 1&2, moving from E1 to E2) , to better opportunities. I advised them to aways take care of your self first, to invest in themselves and change jobs a couple of times and find a company that is a good fit for them.
Time is fleeting and working in a toxic environment away from family and friends is no way to live.