Senior mechanical engineer dismisses junior's correct analysis, costing the company tens of thousands of dollars: 'Maybe next time you’ll check my math before calling me useless'

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Ben Weiss • Writer and Editor
Oct 14, 2025 2:00 PM EDT

Pro tip for all managers out there: listening to employees with "less experience" than you is always a good idea.

There are several reasons why this is a good idea. First and foremost, whatever happened to the longstanding concept that the best idea should win? Regardless of industry, it would behoove managers to ignore the false notion that they always know best simply because they have been working longer. In fact, sometimes it takes people who are not so accustomed to the way things "should" be for a decent solution to be proposed.

Second, managers should always think twice before ignoring people on their team if they want to maintain loyalty and respect. Don't managers want to be seen as good managers? One would think this is a self-explanatory concept, but in actuality, plenty of managers fail to grasp the concept of what it takes to actually consider the experiences of the people on your team. You don't want someone going over your head and making you look bad in the process.

Finally, the worst possible scenario that can transpire after ignoring an employee's idea on your team is if your project backfires for the company at large, all because you didn't take your employee seriously. That's exactly what happened to this senior mechanical engineer!

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  • Three engineers wearing eyeglasses work on their respective projects in a workplace environment.
    via ThisisEngineering

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • The author, a junior engineer, pointed out a flaw, per his mathematical calculations, that his manager immediately dismissed. Well, that flaw ended up being correct, and it cost the company tens of thousands of dollars. Furthermore, the client was enraged, and the senior engineer's job was instantly on the line. That's what you get for assuming you're better than your employees, sir!

  • "Maybe next time you’ll check my math before calling me useless"

    I used to work as a junior mechanical engineer at a mid- sized firm. My team lead was one of those old school engineers who thought experience automatically outweighed logic.
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  • He constantly dismissed my input, rolled his eyes when I ran simulations, and loved saying, you fresh grads think computers know everything.
    via DewyFern5
  • One day, we were working on a structural support design for a heavy industrial line. I pointed out a potential stress failure in one of
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  • his beam selections during my FEA (Finite Element Analysis). He laughed, said my numbers were theoretical nonsense, and went ahead with his design.
    via DewyFern5
  • I sent him an email documenting my analysis, cc'd the project manager, just for the record.
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  • A few months later, during installation, his beam failed under load during a dry test. Luckily, no one was hurt, but it cost the company tens of thousands to fix. The client was furious.
    via DewyFern5
  • When the project manager asked what happened, I calmly pulled up the same email the team lead ignored, timestamped, detailed, and attached with simulation reports.
    via DewyFern5
  • They didn't demote him. Instead, the manager said, From now on, I want you to work closely with him, pointing. towards me. Every design leaves this office with his verification.
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  • The look on his face was priceless. Now every time he submits a drawing, it lands right on my desk first for junior review.
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  • When he tried to joke about it once, I just smiled and said, Maybe next time you'll check my math before calling me useless. The silence hit harder than the beam failure.
    via DewyFern5
  • An engineer wearing eyeglasses works amidst a blurry background.
    via ThisisEngineering

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

  • FrostEchoesy • 17h ago . That "junior review" title probably burns him more than any demotion ever could.
    via DewyFern5
  • Lisa8472.15h ago I was working on a proposal budget recently. My boss. looked at it and asked why I had both a senior and a junior engineer, neither of which was more than half time. Couldn't I just combine them into one role?
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  • I told him no. Partly for skill sets, and partly because a second person checking the first's work is really important (we ALL make mistakes sometimes). And I'm likely going to be the senior engineer if this goes through. Your team lead was a total idiot.
    via DewyFern5
  • Bramble-Shade 17h ago . He underestimated you and overestimated his beam. Both failed under load.
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  • wereyena • 12h ago . Make sure you document all your projects and every single projects you review and use it as leverage when u ask for a promotion
    via DewyFern5
  • Two men review engineering plans from a document.
    via ThisisEngineering

    Image is representative only and does not depict the actual subjects of the story.

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mathematics toxic-manager employee work stories manager work engineering overworked-employees Horrible Bosses funny work stories
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