Hard Light Productions Forums

Off-Topic Discussion => General Discussion => Topic started by: mikhael on May 16, 2004, 08:49:28 pm

Title: Job Situation
Post by: mikhael on May 16, 2004, 08:49:28 pm
I won't be around during the days anymore, and probably very little in the evenings. This means no more fun, useful debates with Sesq, or fun, useless debates with Rictor and Lib. It also means I'll be producing even less 3d stuff than I am even now. I got a job.

Its a pretty bad job, actually: it pays quite literally 50% of my average salary for the last six years. It involves working in a consultant position as an outsourced (oh the irony) IT technician for small businesses running Windows2000 and XP. I'll be working for the slimiest Harvard business graduate I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, under the most unclean, annoying, drunken psuedo geek I've ever met (by comparison, RMS could pass as Brad Pitt).

So, bad job, bad pay, bad coworkers, bad bosses, bad benefits and bad hours. But it pays and I've reached the end of the time I can survive without taking scut work.

So I won't be around, and I though, since I like you guys, I should let you know why.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Turambar on May 16, 2004, 08:52:30 pm
dude, that's the saddest thing I've ever heard :blah: , not in any pathetic sort of way, but just sorrowful.  I'm sorry dude,
:(
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Knight Templar on May 16, 2004, 08:55:28 pm
Well, you got a job. Jobs make the world go round'.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Taristin on May 16, 2004, 09:57:40 pm
Congrats, and my condolences.  It could be worse. You could be a cashier for the A&P making 6.65 an hour, and being lucky to get the full 29 hours allowed by corporate HQ. :nod:

*is suddenly very ashamed of his life* :blah:
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Liberator on May 16, 2004, 09:59:53 pm
Congrats on the job.
Commisserations on the enviroment.

When you say 50% of your last 6 years, do you mean you're making that much in one year or it's half of what you used to make?
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Bobboau on May 16, 2004, 10:11:52 pm
it's half what he used to make, but you'r not going to find sympathy from me, I work in a frozen hell hole of manual labor (meat packing plant, I need to get some sort of real ****ing job, or at least something related to computers, the day I never see a meat grinder again is the day I will break down and cry tears of utter joy)
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Xelion on May 16, 2004, 10:54:09 pm
you guys could definitely get better jobs, I honestly thought some of the skill in this community could be useful out there.. :nod:

Have to agree with Bob though, I've worked in half-arsed environments with ****ty pay and so fourth and I bailed months later from it, and have no intentions of ever returning, someone wants to hire me.. pay-hours-skillz.

Btw, don't take any bad **** for too long from other employees... good luck ;)
Title: Job Situation
Post by: CP5670 on May 16, 2004, 10:57:41 pm
Sorry to hear that; at least it's something. What is your general area of specialization?

It looks like I'll be getting a part-time position with ... the US department of commerce. :p Actually I will be working on NIST's DLMF project, which is classified under that for some reason. It seems that I won't get any pay this summer and would only be a volunteer - it looks like they want to evaluate my performance first and for some reason I need to be 18 or older anyway - but will be starting with about $20/hour in the fall or later on. Since this would look very good on my record when applying to graduate schools, I have decided to go for it.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Thorn on May 16, 2004, 11:02:15 pm
I just quit my job :p
I worked for all of two hours, saw how bad it was, and got the hell out.
Call center jobs suck. They're worse if the people in charge dont even have two neurons to rub together.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Drew on May 17, 2004, 12:23:14 am
im starting as a lifegaurd this friday...first job 6.75 an hour full time.... weeeeeee
Title: Job Situation
Post by: an0n on May 17, 2004, 05:30:25 am
Corporate jobs = Stupid bosses + Stupid co-workers = Funny things at the Office Parties = Instant promotions + Bundles of unmarked, non-sequential bills
Title: Job Situation
Post by: an0n on May 17, 2004, 05:31:07 am
Whee, I'm the Galatea!
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Nico on May 17, 2004, 06:12:01 am
Ah well.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: HotSnoJ on May 17, 2004, 08:18:01 am
Mikheal, at least be glad you have a job. :nod: (if you aren't already ATM)

And whilest there's pimping on what we do....I make pizza's at the local Godfathers Pizza. I personally like manual labor because there's less for me to screw up, and I can think of other stuff. Another reason I like the job is because I work from 9 am to 2 pm, plus I get free pizza and soda while working. :D
Title: Job Situation
Post by: an0n on May 17, 2004, 08:27:17 am
I only like jobs that're along the lines of "If you can keep this working right, we won't bother you" and "Lift those boxes and put them here".
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Singh on May 17, 2004, 08:34:02 am
worked in a call center for UK clients once....spent nearly 2 months perfecting the accent (but we got paid for it) and then a month on actual calls. I quit after that to come for my nation service (army). Im now a clerk with an allowance of $350, but it covers my basic costs, and my other needs are small enough not to put a strain on my parents (especially since im staying at my uncle's place for free)
Title: Job Situation
Post by: an0n on May 17, 2004, 08:44:57 am
You shoulda joined the Navy.

Because you're away from shore for months and months, your pay builds up. So you get to a port and an ATM machine and y'v got thousands in the bank.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Rictor on May 17, 2004, 01:03:43 pm
You know, its easier if you blame the economy for your crappy job, and its mostly true anyways. I'm looking forward to many happy years of non-existant job security, low pay, long hours and marginal benefits, cause I had the good fortune to be born right about when some paper-pushing economists decided that "job flexibility" and outsourcing were the greatest things since sliced bread.

And I resent that "useless" remark. I'm enlightening you man, just say thanks :D:D
Title: Re: Job Situation
Post by: ionia23 on May 17, 2004, 01:05:27 pm
Quote
Originally posted by mikhael
I won't be around during the days anymore, and probably very little in the evenings. This means no more fun, useful debates with Sesq, or fun, useless debates with Rictor and Lib. It also means I'll be producing even less 3d stuff than I am even now. I got a job.

Its a pretty bad job, actually: it pays quite literally 50% of my average salary for the last six years. It involves working in a consultant position as an outsourced (oh the irony) IT technician for small businesses running Windows2000 and XP. I'll be working for the slimiest Harvard business graduate I've ever had the displeasure of meeting, under the most unclean, annoying, drunken psuedo geek I've ever met (by comparison, RMS could pass as Brad Pitt).

So, bad job, bad pay, bad coworkers, bad bosses, bad benefits and bad hours. But it pays and I've reached the end of the time I can survive without taking scut work.

So I won't be around, and I though, since I like you guys, I should let you know why.


All condolences here as well.  I'll be following you in July when my company finishes being shut down after a takeover by our competition.

To their credit, they've been straightforward since day one and we knew almost a year before our closing date when it would happen.  You don't get that much courtesy in the IT field most of the time.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: mikhael on May 17, 2004, 07:34:37 pm
Quote
Originally posted by Liberator
Congrats on the job.
Commisserations on the enviroment.

When you say 50% of your last 6 years, do you mean you're making that much in one year or it's half of what you used to make?


I'm now making 50% of the average pay I made over the last six years. In pure numbers, if I made $4billion now I'm making $2billion. Unfortunately for my wife and I, and our future plans, I went from numbers more like mid-to-low five figures to low-to-really-low five figures.

You'd think, with more than a decade of experience, skills and certifications in way too much software and hardware platforms and way too many operating systems, I could have A) gotten a better job and B) gotten a job in less than five months of searching. Unfortunately, my jobs are generally more cheaply done by outsourced Indian laborers. Ironic that I'm now an outsourced IT person making less than peanuts.

Like I said, if this is economic recovery, give me a god damned recession any day.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Knight Templar on May 17, 2004, 07:52:06 pm
You should have got on the dotcom train overhere. You'd be in the same position most likely, just with more stuff in your house.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: mikhael on May 17, 2004, 07:57:21 pm
I was on the dotcom train. It came to a screeching halt for me in a federal investigation by the USDA, liquidation, criminal embezzlement and perjury charges, and possibly four deportions.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Knight Templar on May 17, 2004, 08:16:13 pm
And you didn't start blackmailing first, taking names later?
Title: Job Situation
Post by: mikhael on May 17, 2004, 08:27:16 pm
Well, to be fair, it was me opening my mouth that got the investigation started. I just didn't realize that doing so would only hasten the demise of the company.

I caught the CEO doing naughty things and brought it up with my supervisor and the CFO. They got the rest of the board involved and the next thing you know, the CEO isn't allowed on company grounds and the USDA wanted to know where several million dollars had disappeared off to and why the fiber optic cable they bought wasn't the fiber optic cable that was installed...

It was just a mess.
Title: Job Situation
Post by: Knight Templar on May 17, 2004, 08:38:26 pm
Ahh, yes. Honesty. The number one enemy of financial security.