I'm a chemical engineer by education. I was once assigned a project to recycle materials into a reactor to increase the "weight" of what we were making. After doing the calculations on the pressure increase in the reactor I found that after running the recycle for approximately 6 months, the pressure would build to the point it would blow the rupture discs on the reactor. (Environmental release and possible injury to workers.) There was nothing I could do to stop it either, I couldn't get electrons to run down a wire fast enough to shut down the reactor.

Not to mention, it wasn't a nice and linear pressure increase. It would be massive, fast and relatively unpredictable.

Ergo, I would not allow them to do the project and required that the manager whose idea it was sign off on it.

His exact words were, "You just want me to put my name on this so when something happens I get blamed."

Key word ... when

I went on vacation for a few days after that and came back to find out I had lost my job because I shut down that project. It took me about 6 months to find another job because, as one interviewer said, "If you don't have a job now, there must be something wrong with you."

So now I work as a lab technician.

Due to my education and background I have a horrendous time finding a job these days and have to take whatever I can find. I'm too educated for most hourly jobs and can't get an engineering job because I stopped that project.

As far as dealing with the loss of self-esteem, my method wasn't a good one. I simply gave up hope. I'm pretty much miserable all the time. I can't do most of the things that used to make me feel good about myself for one reason or another (resentment for some being a big issue ... see my other thread). I exist day to day and take my pills.