The Glade 4.0

Disclaimer: The following was truly written as a rant. Thoughts just kept spilling out of my head and through my fingers. So apologies in advance for a crappily written, long winded venting session.

So, I have a job. Through a staffing company and a 6 month contract (I think)

It's so much better than what I have been doing to this point in my life. I used to work in a call center help desk which, over the course of 4.5 years, I burned out on. This led to a crisis of sorts in my life, which in turn led to me being unemployed for appx. 8 months while I stayed at home with my 1 year old.

So now I am working again. I finally have a position where I am not a call center slave. I am part of a smallish IT group in a building with about 200 users and we support some of the field people. I am hands on everything now. No more password resets, no more mind numbing drudgery of the phone constantly ringing all day every day. I am getting experience with deskside support. Printer installs, PC builds, creating user accounts in AD, we do it all and have many rights that, as a HD slave, I never had.

OK, I know I sound silly and some of you here have been doing this and much more for likely more years that I have. The point to take away here is that it is finally a step away from what I hated so much in my previous job and I am almost enjoying being "The IT guy"

All of that being said, I have the "Contractor" cloud hanging over me. The week I started was exactly one week before the big corporate HQ move and, in fact, I believe that myself and the other contractor were hired for exactly that. He was here for only 3 weeks before me and we both do the same thing. What I haven't been able to figure out in the one month I have been here is if the position(s) we have will maintain for any length of time. Additionally, I believe the possibility is that only one (if either) of these positions will remain. If that is the case, only one of us two contractors will be offered a job.

So I am happy doing a job where I feel I am learning and, should it not last, I will take away valuable experience that I will use moving on to the next position. No more Helpdesk for Foamy, hopefully more deskside support. More "Yes, I have experience with that" answers on future interviews. More opportunities that are good for my future and career.

But, it constantly weighs on me. Always wondering when, how, or if this current assignment will end. With one child, another one planned in the next year or so, and the desire to move into a new house all on the horizon it sure makes looking to the future difficult. Granted I am not unhappy, just always pensive and I want to feel comfortable in my life for once, not always wondering what the future will hold.

I love my wife and son and I am getting to a point where I am rightly happy with my own self. Also for what it's worth, I apologize to those of you who have gone or are going through so much worse than what I described above. I just needed to blather on about this as it is always on my mind.

Thanks as always for listening (well, reading)

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

There's you and one other contractor, okay -- what about non-contractor IT? 2 guys to support a 200 person building isn't outrageous, though that would mean there wasn't any support there before, which is why I ask because that seems a bit improbable.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

We 2 contractors back up the guy that normally did what it is we are doing now. He has just been so stretched thin leading up to the move, I believe that is why the two of us were brought on.

I don't know, once things have settled down from the move and all is back to business as usual, if there will then be a need for the IT support lead along with his two minions.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

You're just going to have to murder the other guy.

There's nothing else for it.

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Holy shitsnacks!

On the plus side, though, our evil taskmaster does constantly "jest" that I am the favorite.

Just a few minutes ago, he likened the two of us as an amoeba and a T-Rex. Now what that particular comparison mean I don't know, but in all of his fun good natured ribbing I always seem to be his favorite.

Just the other day, I stopped by his cube to talk to him and he said this to me:
"Just so you know, you are kinda 'in the lead' should we have to let one of you go"

He has kept making these references in front of the two of us and almost every time, he says that I'm in the lead. Whether he is just joking or telling the truth under the guise of joking, I just don't know.

All I am doing is the best job I can do and I keep trying to learn all that I can while I am here.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

He's trying to motivate the other guy to murder you.

You'll have to murder him first.

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Holy shitsnacks!

This is what I like to call healthy fear. It's what makes you outperform other people. Kick some butt and make some contributions that will last even after you leave. They will notice.

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The Dude abides.

Lots of folks start off as contractors, then the company hires them.

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In time, this too shall pass.

You're thinking about the problem and not the solution. What could you do above and beyond your current job description which would ensure notice not just from your manager but those above him? Don't hope for a job at the end of the contract, but make yourself the obvious choice if it ever came to the situation, and if there wasn't a position, ensure those in power knows that you're too valuable an asset to lose and is worth much more than the current salary.

If you are happy where you are, then do more to stay there.

Your ET is being extremely unprofessional.

Other than that, what Lydiaa said. Excellent advice.

If nothing else, update your resume to include this job and these new skills.

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The U. S. Constitution doesn't guarantee happiness, only the pursuit of it. You have to catch up with it yourself. B. Franklin

"A mind needs books like a sword needs a whetstone." -- Tyrion Lannister, A Game of Thrones

Ah, the joys of starting out on a career.

So a couple of things. First, you should try and view this contract as an opportunity to show of your skills, willingness to learn and positive attitude. As has been stated, many companies use contractors as a "try before you buy" hiring method so that they make sure they get someone who fits within their organization well.

But, even if this truly is only a 6 month gig, still give it your all, so that when you're done you can ask for (and receive) a recommendation letter or at a minimum a good word back to the contract company that you're working for so that they try and place you somewhere else immediately.

Lastly, since this is new territory for you, try and be a sponge. Get your hands dirty on everything that you can, learn as much as you can, so that if you have to go looking you can expand on your resume with many different skillsets that will make you more marketable to other companies.

I have absolutely no advice, (shocking ain't it, lol), but I TOTALLY sympathize with you on the whole feeling of wanting to know NOW what the deal is so you can base your future off it.

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth

The thing is, most people feel that way, and they pay consultants more because if it.

Funny thing though - there isn't job security anymore, anywhere.

You can get some really good line items on your resume in a short time doing consulting work. That'll put some big $$ in your pocket if/when the decision is made to settle down.

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In time, this too shall pass.

Pfft ...

My business partner and I converted those line items into a consulting firm for other people looking for those same types of line items on their resumes. It worked out better that for us that way ...

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Your lead is *terrible* if he's constantly reinforcing someones gonna go, and who it might be. Wow.

Oh, yeah, Foamy's lead should be shot ... at least twice.

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I hope to achieve that within the next 5 years and then retire with a bunch of working minions at my disposal ... >=D

We still do a lot of the work ourselves, Lydiaa. Of course, we also have some proprietary stuff that we don't want minions knowing.

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Khross keeps a neural net chained in his basement. True story.

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Sail forth! steer for the deep waters only!
Reckless, O soul, exploring, I with thee, and thou with me;
For we are bound where mariner has not yet dared to go,
And we will risk the ship, ourselves and all.

He whips it every night. It learns.. pain. As it grows more intelligent, it plots his bloody demise.

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

Just for giggles, I named it Skynet.

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You've Doomed us all!

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"Aaaah! Emotions are weird!" - Amdee
"... Mirrorshades prevent the forces of normalcy from realizing that one is crazed and possibly dangerous. They are the symbol of the sun-staring visionary, the biker, the rocker, the policeman, and similar outlaws." - Bruce Sterling, preface to Mirrorshades

How delightfully meta.

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Update:

My direct competition has been let go. I just found out today that the end of this week, he will no longer be on the job.

I fully expected both of us to be gone at the end of this week or at latest, next week. As the holiday will then be done, the move to the new building well behind us (November), and all is falling back to a normal pace, I assumed our (us two contractors) days were numbered.

Turns out that, not only did my lead not like my counterpart, neither did the manager of the group. I have been all along the favorite of the two of us.

For now, I will at very least be remaining here longer than my unfortunate partner. My future is still uncertain as the management may not think that there is enough work to justify my existance any longer. That being said, my lead has gone to the director of the IT group and threatened to quit should I be let go also. He knows that there is too much work for him to keep up with and he is fighting to keep me around for as long as there is work to do.

So fate smiled on me this time. I was favored over my partner, though it never made sense to me. We both seemed to be on equal par with each other. I never felt that either of us outshined the other, but somehow I came out ahead.

At least for now, I will continue sapping all the time and experience out of this job that I am able to while here in hopes that it will open new and better doors for me when I next have to search for a job.

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This must be Thursday. I could never get the hang of Thursdays.

Woo hoo! That's great news! Congrats dude!

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"Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own." Jesus of Nazareth