Q: Worst part of your j*b?

[brewer12345]

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR We got a bone us every year...

We are ~25 to 30% underpaid vs. the market and the gross amount of the bonus last year was less than the state income tax bill on the last bonus I got when I had a "real" job. But still...

[Onward]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 Help, I am drowning in horseshit and everyone around me keeps tossing me a cinderblock when they see me about to submerge!

Been there, done that. It sucks.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton Best way is to look for another (i.e., better / less worse) job.

And go look for Santa Claus and the Tooth Fairy while you're at it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by HFWR We got a bone us every year...

[Chuckanut]

Years ago I had a principal who decided to reward teachers at the end of the year with various gifts - little pink erasers, sparkly pencils and goofy dino stickers - stuff you would give to a 2nd or 3rd grader. I remember the teachers muttering on the way out that he did not seem to know the difference between an adult staff most with advanced degrees, and a bunch of 8 year olds still working on their addition skills.

[GalaxyBoy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Milton Best way is to look for another (i.e., better / less worse) job. Hanging on in not-so-quiet desperation to earn a few bucks is no way to live.

I actually applied for a new job last month. For the first time in my life I had to have a phone interview with an HR person who was screening me, and who knew absolutely nothing about the job. I guess I didn't do so well because when I logged on to their system to check the other day the position was listed as filled. No biggie, really, since I was only half-serious, but it really perturbs me that nobody sends out rejection letters anymore. I have to feel sorry for those folks who really need a job and have to put up with this crap, only to have to put up with more crap after they get a position. They hired a guy with 6 years experience for the "senior engineer" position - I have 31. I think they figured I'd ask for too much money.

The job would have been a bit of a change from what I'm doing now, and since it's state government it would have come with some decent benefits, not the least of which would have been eligibility for retiree group health insurance after only a couple years, and telecommuting. Nice area to live in, too.

[sengsational]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 I don't know how I will make it through the next 6 to 8 months. I can barely force myself out of the truck in the morning when I get to the train station lot. I wonder how many sick days I can take. I am getting real close to getting back into the truck one morning and disappearing into the mountains with a rifle and a pack.

Hehe! We're on the same schedule, but I work remotely and part of what I do is call into conference calls where I'm completely not needed and so silent. But I'm NOT silent...I just mute my phone and laugh at their CYA, politics, concern about complete BS. What ever happened to just doing the damn job, and doing it well?

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Originally Posted by jon-nyc When I was in your shoes, one of the things I did was to start counting down the number of Mondays left.

I'm doing that. Starting now!

33

[Mill]

Quote:

Originally Posted by GalaxyBoy I actually applied for a new job last month. For the first time in my life I had to have a phone interview with an HR person who was screening me, and who knew absolutely nothing about the job. I guess I didn't do so well because when I logged on to their system to check the other day the position was listed as filled. No biggie, really, since I was only half-serious, but it really perturbs me that nobody sends out rejection letters anymore. I have to feel sorry for those folks who really need a job and have to put up with this crap, only to have to put up with more crap after they get a position. They hired a guy with 6 years experience for the "senior engineer" position - I have 31. I think they figured I'd ask for too much money. The job would have been a bit of a change from what I'm doing now, and since it's state government it would have come with some decent benefits, not the least of which would have been eligibility for retiree group health insurance after only a couple years, and telecommuting. Nice area to live in, too.

Always could be worse. Check out these stories from the chronically unemployed. 35 weeks of the series and still going strong, afaik. Granted, most of the case studies are total train-wrecks, but some of these will still make you thankful that you have a job.......

.........and btw this is my second post in this wonderful thread, after my first, stating ..."getting up in the morning".

Clickerty... Hello From the Underclass: Unemployment Stories, Vol. One

[bUU]

We just got raises in the 6% range, the first raises since an earlier across-the-board pay cut was reversed six years ago. We're still earning in real terms about 17% less than 2001.

[brewer12345]

I am earning in the same ballpark of what I made in 2003 inflation-adjusted. Saving grace has been that I had a real job for a while in the interim which paid very well and I relocated to a much lower cost area.

[LoneAspen]

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Originally Posted by HFWR We got a bone us every year...

ROFL! That's exactly what we used to call them when I worked for HP. And there I thought it was just us who got those

[ER Eddie]

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Originally Posted by Mill Always could be worse. Check out these stories from the chronically unemployed. Clickerty... Hello From the Underclass: Unemployment Stories, Vol. One

Good reminder, thanks. It definitely could be worse.

[comicbookgujy]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mill Always could be worse. Check out these stories from the chronically unemployed. 35 weeks of the series and still going strong, afaik. Granted, most of the case studies are total train-wrecks, but some of these will still make you thankful that you have a job....... .........and btw this is my second post in this wonderful thread, after my first, stating ..."getting up in the morning". Clickerty... Hello From the Underclass: Unemployment Stories, Vol. One

I thought about quitting my job again, like I do everyday, but I guess I'll stick it out and look at the paycheck after reading those stories.

[Amethyst]

brewer, how can this be? Why would anyone stay there, if they can make that much more somewhere else? Were you referring to the market country-wide, versus a company in a low-cost area?

Amethyst

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 We are ~25 to 30% underpaid vs. the market .

[brewer12345]

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Originally Posted by Amethyst brewer, how can this be? Why would anyone stay there, if they can make that much more somewhere else? Were you referring to the market country-wide, versus a company in a low-cost area? Amethyst

The place I work has employees that tend to be long tenured and the benefits are heavily back-end loaded. So once you have been there for 10 years or more it is painful to start over somewhere else. Management has exploited this by squeezing salaries and it has gotten to the point where pay is compressed. Without getting too specific, we frequently ork closely with people on the same clients doing substantially the same job, but who are in a unionized shop. Those folks get 25 to 30% better pay than we do. Not surprisingly, we have a rather challenging time recruiting.

[chasesfish]

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 The place I work has employees that tend to be long tenured and the benefits are heavily back-end loaded. So once you have been there for 10 years or more it is painful to start over somewhere else. Management has exploited this by squeezing salaries and it has gotten to the point where pay is compressed. Without getting too specific, we frequently ork closely with people on the same clients doing substantially the same job, but who are in a unionized shop. Those folks get 25 to 30% better pay than we do. Not surprisingly, we have a rather challenging time recruiting.

Brewer - this sounds extremely similar to the place I work. We are having a demographic problem because of this. The 50 and older crowd are retiring and there's a salary gap between the people newly hired and the folks who've been around for 5-10 years. The company has a full pension, but it's tough for a 35 year old to take a substantial discount now for a small annuity in 20-30 years depending on when they start taking it.

[Amethyst]

Sounds exactly like the Federal government versus defense contractors.

Quote:

Originally Posted by brewer12345 The place I work has employees that tend to be long tenured and the benefits are heavily back-end loaded. So once you have been there for 10 years or more it is painful to start over somewhere else. Management has exploited this by squeezing salaries ....doing substantially the same job, ... Those folks get 25 to 30% better pay than we do. Not surprisingly, we have a rather challenging time recruiting.

[brewer12345]

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Originally Posted by Amethyst Sounds exactly like the Federal government versus defense contractors.

Sort of, except the contractors in your example have unionized gubmint jobs in my world.

[Milton]

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Originally Posted by brewer12345 It would be easier to just think about the money if I weren't already well above the portfolio balance goal I set for myself to hit and check out 4/1/14.

Sounds like you are ready to FIRE. Why not pack it in now?

To state the obvious: there is no reason to gut it out for another 10 months if you hate the job and don't need the money. Especially if you're overworked and paid 30% below market.

[brewer12345]

We hear pretty much daily the drumbeat of needing to control costs, reduce expenses, etc. Travel on fairly critical jobs is being restricted. Yet I turned on my blackberry this morning to find that they are flying an HR creature from the head office to my branch location to do the following mandatory training:

Quote:

Peacock in the Land of Penguins will be presented by XXXX on Tuesday, XXXXin the XXXX Room. This class presents a two-fold approach to enhancing critical thinking skills and working with diverse teams. Participants will review several types of creative and critical thinking concepts. Through practical application, they will see how these concepts can enhance their work. The class also will focus on discussing ways each employee’s diverse background can add value. Using an assessment, participants will determine which type of "bird" they are and how their skills can positively impact the organization

I think I am losing my mind.

[bUU]

I had a similar experience yesterday. The company that acquired us didn't really acquire all of us. Some of the minority shareholders are holding out for more than the rest got. So we're operating under a quasi-owned status. About a month ago, we were all instructed to start the new company's new employee training, an online course with 450 interactive slides and several quizzes along the way. (I've been spending about 4-5 minutes per slide. One of them even had an 8 minute video on it. These aren't slides you read in 20 seconds and move onto the next page. Some of them have "doors" that you open to popup more detailed info, etc.) After six or seven sessions, I'm roughly a third of the way through the course.

Yesterday, we all got a blast email informing us that we've been unsubscribed from the course (by our own request, so the email claimed!), and that if we changed our mind we could do the course using the public (rather than company-internal) version, but we wouldn't receive any credit for taking the course nor would receive the certificate of completion at the end.

I'm just waiting for them to ding me on a future performance appraisal for not having a certificate showing I did the course.

[GalaxyBoy]

OMG. I was hoping you were making that up, but it appears to be a real program. From one description of the book, "Includes an expanded ''Tips and Tools for Teaching Penguins to Fly'' section with additional practical exercises, self-quizzes, resources, tips, and survival strategies for peacocks and penguins alike." It goes on from there.

I suppose this book goes on the shelf next to "Who Moved my Cheese?" and all the other HR fads.