Work Status Update

[FreeSpiritCat]

I am seriously studying to pass my CCS (Certified Coding Specialist) credential. I do that and doors open. What is so cool about this is that I can work from home and live anywhere in the US. And there is opportunity for promotion. This is a perfect job for older employees. I plan to work full time until 70. That isn't too far in the future. I will probably work per diem when I retire. I need to make sure to keep current on my CEUs. Tucson is very tempting. I want to attend UA sports events. And I know a lot of people in Tucson. Plus, I love Mexican food. And, it is also LGBTQ+ friendly, and is a very active community.

I still have a mind, and am physically more fit for many people my age. I go to the gym, and care about what I eat. Tucson would go a good move. I am considering moving to Lebanon New Hampshire, and working remotely from there It is 10 miles from Hanover and Dartmouth College. The Appalachian Trail and Northern Rail Trail pass through Lebanon. It has a ski resort on the edge of town. It is surrounded by lakes, rivers, mountains, and forests. Woodstock, Vermont is 15 minutes away. It's rural but liberal. Ideal for outdoor life.

I am in good shape right now. I am being paid well, and my debt will be disappearing in any circumstance. Northern New England is special. It is one of the most beautiful places in the world. I'm glad I moved here, even with mother nature throwing curve balls. BTW, I will never be a Red Sox fan. By the end of the summer I plan to have a roof rack installed on my Legacy, and buy a kayak (with a trolling motor) where I can go fishing anywhere. If I get a coding job I will trade my Legacy in for a Subaru Outback Wilderness.

For being 64 years old, life is still fun and exciting. I hope in the near future I will be able to adventure and tour the country.

[RichardCranium]

I've been retired since 2008 except I've been helping out at a friends news agency shop for 4 or 5 hours 1 day a week (or more as needed to cover for holidays, student exams, etcetera).

The money was appreciated but certainly not required. In truth I would do it for nothing. But it kept me aware of what day of the week it was, gave me an excuse to get out of the house and meet people. I also got to yell at a few maskholes during shutdown (news agencies were considered "vital" during shutdown so we were about the only places people could get out to) and that was fun when the shop was full of customers all properly socially distanced and these jerks would barge in spouting their nonsense. I never quite got to the point where I had to call the police to extract them, cause they always backed down when faced with all my 5 foot 4 flabby frame coming at them with fire in my eyes.

Anyway, the shop closed on Thursday. The 'boss' died suddenly a couple of years ago and his widow, the real 'boss', just got tired of the slog. It was really his baby and he revelled in it, but she just lost interest after he passed. I'll miss some of the customers that were really nice people.

So now I'm REALLY retired, and I'll have to find something else to keep me awake. At least I don't have to hear the joke about only wanting to buy a lottery ticket if I get them the winning numbers anymore.

[azgreg]

This is cool. We're working with SpaceX right now to start doing hand held laser welding for them.

[scumdevils86]

Wellp. 17 years at my company and I was tossed out like old milk yesterday with no warning. Strictly because of my boss not liking me anymore. Btw this is 4 days before my wife's medically necessary induction at 37 weeks for our 2nd daughter. I wasn't even on any kind of probation or improvement plan or anything whatsoever. This woman who I viewed as a friend and mentor for the last 6.5 years just decided she didn't like how I did a few things with my team and fired me with 0.warning. To say I'm devastated and stressed is an understatement. I loved this job and this company. My team of 7 direct reports never had any negative feedback for me and consistently gave me the top scores in internal surveys with comments like I was the best boss they've ever had. My boss is a workaholic with no friends, pets, or kids and when I was promoted 2 years ago I took on a lot of her duties and direct reports. She must've decided that she couldn't deal with how I managed her former team any longer. The one ya know, that loved me. Her moment of pettiness just destroyed my career of 17 years days before I'm having a baby. Took away my family's income and insurance. Just unbelievably cruel to do this on my last day before parental leave. I'm still in shock at how stone cold she was after literally giving me a glowing praise filled check in on Tuesday.

[dovecanyoncat]

JFC!

[Merkin]

Unreal, sorry to hear that Scum.

Obviously she lives to work, and you work to live. How many people like their work and she gets rid of you?

Hopefully your medical insurance carries through to the end of the month, then go on COBRA.

[scumdevils86]

Thankfully my wife has a good chance of taking an on call hospice job at TMC that's 7 days on 7 off starting in September that pays slightly more than what I made. So we could get by just fine and have every other week off as a family of 4 while I finish school again on a more relaxed schedule. Hoping this is a good thing in the long run. But it really sucks knowing I won't be able to go back to my world of great benefits and 45 paid days off per year while being 100% remote.

[scumdevils86]

Unreal, sorry to hear that Scum.

Obviously she lives to work, and you work to live. How many people like their work and she gets rid of you?

Hopefully your medical insurance carries through to the end of the month, then go on COBRA.

Yeah I gave EVERYTHING I had to this company and my team. 50 plus hours a week. I loved my team and my job and worked my ass off every day. But because I'm not an absolute perfectionist workaholic (she was careful to always say she never expected that, what a joke) she got annoyed and destroyed my professional world and severely harmed my family in the process .

[UAEebs86]

That sucks sd.

Any legal recourse for being terminated right before scheduled leave?

[scumdevils86]

That sucks sd.

Any legal recourse for being terminated right before scheduled leave?

I'm sure there's something but my measly severance that I definitely need would be withheld if I don't release the company from all liability

[dovecanyoncat]

Did they try RTO (return to office) in the recent past? I searched "Is it easier to fire remote workers?" and was surprised by the amount of links to How to fire remote workers with links to studies (that probably told companies what they asked to be told) indicating RTO greatly benefited companies. Your boss probably got told a 100% remote worker can be offshored for a 20% savings so she ghosted you.

[Alieberman]

Holy shit that sucks and just seems cruel.

Do you have an HR dept? Is there anyone above this manager you can talk to?

I am so so sorry

[wyo-cat]

Just terrible, bro.

She knew you had a kid coming and pulled the trigger just to make it worse for you.

She made it personal for some reason. That’s some fucked up shit.

[Carcassdragger]

Man that really is cruel and my nightmare.

I know that in the long run, people often look back at these misfortunes and decide it was for the better. My sincere hope is that this is what happens with you.

I'd write her and her boss a letter stating things from your point of view.

You know, in my career I've seen so many times when coworkers or supervisors get mad, they want someone's livelihood taken away. I hate to say it, but this nuclear level solution seems to emanate mostly from women. Just winning is more important than finding constructive solutions to conflict.

I'm sorry man. My very best to you and your wife. This sucks bad.

[84Cat]

Sorry to hear this! It's pretty cruel that she did this right before your wife gives birth. Why would another women bring so much stress into your wife's pregnancy? Know that things didn't turn out as you liked but you'll land on your feet, figure it out and move on.

[Chicat]

I hope that bitch gets food poisoning and shits her pants in public.

Wishing you the best SD, and her the worst.

[azgreg]

That really sucks man.

[Carcassdragger]

SD 86. I've been thinking about you and though we've never met face to face, you and your situation are very much on my mind. For sure things will improve after this trying time and best of luck. Please keep us updated

For the others here, I'm probably retiring from my main job in a year and half or so. I'm thinking of doing some substitute teaching and I'm thinking my best niche is high school or junior high.

The way it works here is, there is an app you can download and review what schools/subjects need a sub, and pick whatever you prefer the night before showing up. Seems like a good way to pick up a little cash now and then.

I'm a long time high school sports official and used to being around high schoolers, but I have little idea of what I might be in for.

Any insight?

[Merkin]

My wife was a substitute teacher. She said nothing higher than 5th grade. Once they start 6th grade, the students are just tremendously mean to substitutes. Of course my wife is extremely sensitive and too nice.

[scumdevils86]

SD 86. I've been thinking about you and though we've never met face to face, you and your situation are very much on my mind. For sure things will improve after this trying time and best of luck. Please keep us updated

For the others here, I'm probably retiring from my main job in a year and half or so. I'm thinking of doing some substitute teaching and I'm thinking my best niche is high school or junior high.

The way it works here is, there is an app you can download and review what schools/subjects need a sub, and pick whatever you prefer the night before showing up. Seems like a good way to pick up a little cash now and then.

I'm a long time high school sports official and used to being around high schoolers, but I have little idea of what I might be in for.

Any insight?

I appreciate this and everyone's comments. After posting here and at the former site for 20 years now I felt I could commiserate here to an extent.

[EastCoastCat]

SD - I feel for you man. The same thing happened to me a long time ago and to this day it motivates me to make sure that never happens again.

It’s the total “wtf just happened” moment that makes you stop and think you really can’t trust anyone anymore which sucks if you are not an asshole and want to believe in the best in people.

But when you get back in the game it will definitely make you stronger. Good luck with everything.

[Chicat]

Just got an 11% raise.

But even better, the VP apologized to me that I even had to ask for a salary adjustment and spent a half hour making sure I know how valued I am.

Feels good to be (corporate) loved.

[UAEebs86]

Feels good to be (corporate) loved.

Congrats Chi

What's that like? Asking for a friend.

[Chicat]

Feels good to be (corporate) loved.

Congrats Chi

What's that like? Asking for a friend.

Feels like winning.

[VegasCatFan]

Just got an 11% raise.

But even better, the VP apologized to me that I even had to ask for a salary adjustment and spent a half hour making sure I know how valued I am.

Feels good to be (corporate) loved.

I had been let go from my prior company in a corporate cost cutting move 5 years ago. I was making less at my new company when I received a couple emails from the person in charge of "talent acquisition" around the first of the year wanting to know my interest in coming back to work for them since they were having problems filling the position. I have friends still working at the first company, they let me know how much someone in my position and experience was getting paid, showed all this to my current director, and got almost a 20% raise to stay with the company. They definitely weren't paying the market rate. They are now.

[Chicat]

That’s awesome. In the past I was reluctant to ask for an adjustment, but knowing how much I should be paid made it easy to ask. If they said no, for whatever reason, I’d just find somewhere that would pay me what I’m worth and I’d be their gain and my current company’s loss.

[pc in NM]

I just "retired" my professional license (Licensed Clinical Mental Health Counselor - LPCC)...

No more direct therapy/counseling services - 1974 - 2024

... still performing management consultation contracting.

[CatsbyAZ]

Wow, FIFTY years!

Fifty years of anything is remarkable, even if it's doing mostly nothing in the town you were born in.

[scumdevils86]

2.5 months out from losing my job and I honestly couldn't be happier. I'm back in school, I spend all my time with my family and no longer miss out on 80% of their lives. My wife is working 7 days on 7 days off as an on call hospice nurse, but typically only works about 3-4 hours a night on the weeks she's on call. So every other week we have a full week off as a family. Money is tight but we're not really in a worse place financially than we were 3 months ago. I'm going to enjoy a year or two off to raise my kids and hopefully get my graduate degree done as well. Then we'll see what the workforce looks like!

[Chicat]

That’s awesome SD!

If I can offer some unsolicited advice, throw in some volunteer work if you can as well. It will make you feel good, help out a good cause, and it helps to fill in that gap in your resume. Future employers will understand that taking care of your family & going to school is enough to fill up anyone’s days and weeks but if you also do bookkeeping for the local food bank for example, it shows that you’re a good person who puts their skills to good use and it stops some of the stodgier old school types from thinking you had a two year vacation watching Bluey and taking the occasional night class.

[scumdevils86]

That’s awesome SD!

If I can offer some unsolicited advice, throw in some volunteer work if you can as well. It will make you feel good, help out a good cause, and it helps to fill in that gap in your resume. Future employers will understand that taking care of your family & going to school is enough to fill up anyone’s days and weeks but if you also do bookkeeping for the local food bank for example, it shows that you’re a good person who puts their skills to good use and it stops some of the stodgier old school types from thinking you had a two year vacation watching Bluey and taking the occasional night class.

Appreciate this, very good advice. My wife just started back to work a week and a half ago so we're still navigating that but otherwise I would definitely have time to fill out my schedule here and there. Thanks again!

[ASUHATER!]

So after 3.5 years of searching and hating her current job, my wife finally received a job offer. it is still working for the state of New Mexico and basically just transferring to another position (to a state museum instead of a historic site) but we will be moving to Las Cruces. The job offer is insultingly low for her experience level and education but at this point she is just desperate to get out of her current job. The job is a 2 pay grade jump and a better position but the state deemed that and her experience and education worthy of only a $1.86 an hour raise. Our living expenses will probably double in Las Cruces after the nice deal we have here in Ruidoso, so we'll be making less money with her at this new job. But oh well, for her career and her sanity she needs out of here. I now have a month to figure out a place to live in Las Cruces that we can afford with our budget, so if anyone here knows something, let me know lol. We're 2 boring mid to late 30s people with no kids or pets that are quiet and go to bed at 9 pm so we'll be good tenants.

[FreeSpiritCat]

N/A

[Carcassdragger]

Damn. Almost 40 years into a post graduate working life in which I've had 4 different, but somewhat related career paths. I should, at this point, be somewhat on cruise control but finding that deadlines and responsibilities, as well as the roadblocks that this huge bureaucracy throws at me, has me not enjoying work at all.

I'm 62 and can feel that the good years are slipping away, but the money is so damn good, I'm staying on the treadmill for at least 14 more months.

Shit, thought I'd be feeling better about all this by now.

[dovecanyoncat]

Damn. Almost 40 years into a post graduate working life in which I've had 4 different, but somewhat related career paths. I should, at this point, be somewhat on cruise control but finding that deadlines and responsibilities, as well as the roadblocks that this huge bureaucracy throws at me, has me not enjoying work at all.

I'm 62 and can feel that the good years are slipping away, but the money is so damn good, I'm staying on the treadmill for at least 14 more months.

Shit, thought I'd be feeling better about all this by now.

Bank it then RUN!

[ASUHATER!]

So I'm in the process of moving to Las Cruces as of tomorrow and just to keep things going I'm transferring to another pharmacy there in town with my current retail pharmacy company. For the hell of it though I applied and interviewed with one of the hospitals in Las Cruces to be a technician there. The hospital side of pharmacy is definitely different and something I want to do. Retail ends up being where 2/3 of your job is just fighting with patients and insurance and being screamed at for things that are out of your control. The hospital is where I could not deal with patients and actually learn more clinical things and do IV compounding, work with doctors and all kinds of other skills and actually be a pharmacy tech. The hospital I interviewed at seemed great. Good friendly crew, decent 4 10s shifts, amazing pto and healthcare benefits...but hospitals pay absolute garbage apparently. They could only offer me $16.50 an hour starting as a PTCB certified technician. That is just insane. I make almost $23 an hour doing retail currently. It is just beyond insulting and no wonder hospitals have trouble being understaffed. People make more being a new team lead at Big Lots doing that and that doesn't require all the training and certifications and knowledge you need to work in a pharmacy. Just venting about that since it just is beyond unacceptable what these hospital techs make. But I'm sure the c-suite of the hospital gets paid handsomely though.

[Chicat]

Healthcare being a for-profit industry is a crime against humanity.

[Merkin]

I was at Panda Express the other day and saw they start new employees at $21 an hour which is a dollar more than min wage for fast food chains.

But have to say, there is some value to this:

amazing pto and healthcare benefits

I was a lowly paid state employee for 30 years, but the benefits made up for it. But benefits don't pay the rent and put food on your table.

[ASUHATER!]

I was at Panda Express the other day and saw they start new employees at $21 an hour which is a dollar more than min wage for fast food chains.

But have to say, there is some value to this:

amazing pto and healthcare benefits

I was a lowly paid state employee for 30 years, but the benefits made up for it. But benefits don't pay the rent and put food on your table.

If it was even 19.50 an hour I'd consider it, but a 25% pay cut isn't made up with those benefits. I believe everyone, from fast food workers to doctors should be paid well for their labor, but seriously you can make more as a cashier at some stores than as a experienced pharmacy technician that does some intense work that requires some serious training and certification.

[Carcassdragger]

I was at Panda Express the other day and saw they start new employees at $21 an hour which is a dollar more than min wage for fast food chains.

But have to say, there is some value to this:

amazing pto and healthcare benefits

I was a lowly paid state employee for 30 years, but the benefits made up for it. But benefits don't pay the rent and put food on your table.

If it was even 19.50 an hour I'd consider it, but a 25% pay cut isn't made up with those benefits. I believe everyone, from fast food workers to doctors should be paid well for their labor, but seriously you can make more as a cashier at some stores than as a experienced pharmacy technician that does some intense work that requires some serious training and certification.

Hang in there Hater. This situation sucks, but maybe Las Cruces will give you more opportunity to keep applying elsewhere. Isn't El Paso only about 30 minutes away?

Keep applying and something will work out.