How is your career going?

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:39 pm

I hope you learned your lesson!

Next time, pee on the produce.

(Sorry to hear it, KC, but here's hoping that other door being opened is a good one).

ManAboutNothing · Post by **ManAboutNothing** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:08 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:19 pm I'm going to voice the unpopular opinion that any job necessitating the use of a bottle to urinate in is not a job worth having. Good luck in your search for better employment.

Dang, i'm going to voice that should be a common sense, very popular opinion! Sounds like a thankless shit job i'd be glad to be out of, IMHO.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 5:36 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:19 pm I'm going to voice the unpopular opinion that any job necessitating the use of a bottle to urinate in is not a job worth having. Good luck in your search for better employment.

I've been wondering for weeks (at least) why Kasey stayed in that job despite his escalating complaints. I, too, have a history of sticking with things longer than I should have in the hopes that things would get better; they almost never do, so here's hoping that he just needed this push. Congratudolences!

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 6:28 pm

Smoove_B wrote: ↑Tue Jan 21, 2020 4:19 pm I'm going to voice the unpopular opinion that any job necessitating the use of a bottle to urinate in is not a job worth having. Good luck in your search for better employment.

I was also going to say that as well. Hope you can find something better!

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 7:56 pm

Peas not pees.

Z-Corn · Post by **Z-Corn** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:03 pm

Durian not uriane.

Huh? HUH?

Sorry Kasey. Fuck that shitty job though.

Zarathud · Post by **Zarathud** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 8:57 pm

Double the work for more bullshit and the same pay? Time to move on.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jan 21, 2020 10:21 pm

Good luck to whoever's left back there. The incentive is upside down, the management is tone-deaf, and promised promotion to do routing internally never came.

Right now, I'm going take those Coursera and UDemy courses I've bought but never actually taken. I want to get at least some certification done.

The cheapest one so far is Google Certified IT Support. I finished the first course (out of 5) in about an hour, but then it's for rookies. I pretty much forgot all about networking layers (OSI model) and need a refresher. I have 7 days before Coursera charges me $50 a month. Maybe I'll pay for a month and get the IT Automation with Python certificate too.

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 12:44 am

That's crazy! You are almost certainly going to be better off in the long run. That job was likely significantly accelerating your personal expiration date.

I sincerely hope you are able to find a better job than that.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 6:23 pm

Applied for, but realistically I'm looking at maybe 2 of them. A paratransit van driving job in San Francisco, and a HR coordinator job in South San Francisco (commute would be interesting, probably have to take public transit to airport then the hotel shuttle)

I'm applying for some lower level tech jobs too, but very few entry level jobs near San Francisco.

On the other hand, I'm making pretty fast progress through the Google IT Support Certification. What normally takes a candidate a week, I can probably do them in about 2-3 hours, as I already know most of the stuff already. Already got 1 out of 5 courses out of the way. Right now working through Computer Networking basics (Ethernet packets, preamble vs payload, and all that. ) need another day or two to finish this course, then 3 more to go to finish the full certification.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jan 22, 2020 10:15 pm

Glad to hear you're out of that miserable job (OTOH...hey Drazzil, look! A job opening!) Unemployment is low, though, so you shouldn't be on the shelf long (unless you're a Drazzil alt).

If you're looking to break into IT, consider contract gigs through temp agencies and consulting companies. The former is usually easier for true newbies to catch on. A lot of companies do temp-to-perm, I had several temp jobs go perm (including my current job which will hit the 10 year mark this year). If they don't you still accumulate resume fodder. A lot of the jobs might be monkey work, but with the caveat they need people who aren't tech-squeamish to do them. You could do well just prostituting yourself as the kind of guy who can go someplace, plug shit in, and follow instructions without deviation.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:38 pm

50% done with course 2 (out of 5) of Google IT Support Certification. Hopefully I can finish this "6 week course" tonight and start on the 3rd course tomorrow.

I really want to finish this entire course in the 7 day trial period, but I have no problem paying them $50 for another month of access.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:53 pm

$20 will get you a plethora of courses available for a year through Pluralsight at the Humble Data Science & Machine Learning Bundle

Default · Post by **Default** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:23 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:19 pm Ouch. Had a friend who worked USPS for a few years, just enough so he retired with a disability pension, certified bad knees and all that. Every new USPS person had to do their routes first before they get cushier jobs.

I have no idea what you are talking about?

Default · Post by **Default** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:41 pm

Andy is already working out how to make it past his 90 days. The station he's at is run completely by assholes. He went and talked to a guy at my local. Their advice was(and I have heard this over and over) was, put in for a position in Philly proper, wait until you are accepted, then call up the station he is assigned to in the 'burbs and quit.

They forced him to carry in this odd, fucked up way, and he has a couple of severe pulls in his right leg - something that *never* happens in the normal course of events. I showed him how I have carried for the past 30 years, and when they came out to observe him, the one boss flips out on him and makes him go back to the fucked up way they do it. In the next breath, he mentions that Andy is two hours faster than he was the day before.

What
the
actual
fuck.

If I was a management type and a one month newbie turned in an overnight two hour improvement, I would just say, "Great job! Keep it up!" And I would walk the fuck away.
Now he has a doctors note from the urgent care, saying that he can carry however he wants, so I've been training him myself, but we both have the feeling that this guy has it out for him. I'm hoping to God he can get through the next month and a half, but if he has to quit to avoid being fired, I'm good with that. Once you get into situations where the local union is a one station union, weird shit happens.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:47 pm

Where the hell is his steward?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:51 pm

NALC Health and Safety

Need to report a hazard, unsafe condition or practice? Click here to download Form PS-1767.

Of course...

that seems like it would work out well.

Default · Post by **Default** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 12:40 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:47 pm Where the hell is his steward?

One steward seems to be ok. The other one is a pussy. The pussy is also the "trainer".
Tomorrow, he's going to get the number of the good steward. I've carried for thirty years with a birth-defective hip and I never had issues. I did some training with him tonight and I'm hoping that they just leave him alone so he can show progress. And the first day he was carrying the bag the right way, he got attacked by a loose dog. Fortunately, I trained him in how to deal with that too.

Default · Post by **Default** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 12:42 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:51 pm NALC Health and Safety

Need to report a hazard, unsafe condition or practice? Click here to download Form PS-1767.
Of course...

that seems like it would work out well.

That would open up a world of unbelievable shit, for someone who can be fired for any/no reason in their probationary period.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:25 am

Default wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:23 pm
Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:19 pm Ouch. Had a friend who worked USPS for a few years, just enough so he retired with a disability pension, certified bad knees and all that. Every new USPS person had to do their routes first before they get cushier jobs.
I have no idea what you are talking about?

My friend, who was a mail carrier, had to the walking routes for many many months until he got one of the routes with a vehicle, and much later, get a warehouse or front counter job. But then, he works in San Francisco with a lot of post offices.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:56 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 10:53 pm $20 will get you a plethora of courses available for a year through Pluralsight at the Humble Data Science & Machine Learning Bundle

The CompTIA A+ bundles are nice too. Thinking about it, but one thing at a time. The bundles run for another 12 days at least.

Finished "week 4" (out of 6) of module 2, but will take quiz tomorrow. Haven't encountered anything truly new except trivia, like "how many characters can a fully qualified domain name have?" (ANS: 255)

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:22 am

SPOILERS!!!

TheMix · Post by **TheMix** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 11:57 am

stessier wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 10:22 amSPOILERS!!!

Okay, that got a laugh.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Jan 24, 2020 4:34 pm

About to finish "week 5" (of 6) in Module 2, "The Bits and Bytes of Computer Networking". I already know most of this stuff, so it's more about picking up specific terminology and nitty-gritty details. And I have a pre-interview to attend in the next hour or so. I want to finish this bit before I leave. Doing a week's worth of stuff in less than a day is not too bad, I guess.

Just finished the test. The trick seems to be understanding the question instead of thinking of the answer. For example, "what kind of fiber connection will be ordered if it's connected to the networking cabinet"? Answer: FTTB (fiber to the building), not FTTH (fiber to the home). Got 81%, which is still a pass. ARGH. One "week" left in this module.

EDIT: Turns out that was the interview, and I got a preliminary offer as a paratransit driver for $17.50 an hour, and they will train me to get my commercial license ASAP. The bad news: the training doesn't start until 2/11. I will start on the paperwork (like DOT D&A test, physical, and other stuff on Monday, while I hopefully find a few more positions to apply to).

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Jan 25, 2020 2:34 am

I actually saw a couple more jobs I liked, and I even applied for a 4-month contract one, just to see if I can get my foot in the door. It may pay enough for me to pay for my own insurance.

EDIT: Finished the second module and got the certificate. Not bad for 2 days work. Now, Operating Systems... Hopefully doesn't take more than a day or two.

Happy Chinese New Year, Everyone.

EDIT2: About halfway through Module 3: OS Power Users (covers both Windows and Linux)

EDIT3: Finished Module 3. That's the third "certificate".

Starting Sys Admin and IT Infrastructure (Module 4) tomorrow morning. Then I need to go out and do some of my backup program... be a paratransit driver. Apparently they'll train me to get a commercial license (minibus), and even first aid, but that's still 2 weeks away at the earliest. But I need to get paperwork in order to start on that. Hopefully I get some better job offers before then.

EDIT4: Decided to finish Part 1 of 6 of Module 4 already. It's just the intro. I'm pretty sure I already know half of the stuff, maybe 3/4.

EDIT5: Half way through Part 2 of 6 of Module 4 (out of 5). network services... I already know most of it. It's picking up terms like "Platform as a Service" vs. "Application as a Service" and stuff like that ...

EDIT6: Finished Part 2 of 6 of Module 4 (out of 5). That took a bit longer than I anticipated. Configuring webserver, DHCP Clients, and DHCP/DNS servers on Linux with CLI is certainly an interesting exercise.

There are only 5 modules, so if each module only takes 1 day, I think I can beat the 7 day trial deadline, but I have other Coursera courses I want to take for certificate. May as well pay them the $50 for now.

EDIT7: Now I need to run some errands before the day's over. I haven't been out of the house except for that Interview Friday.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:16 am

Just applied to another job that's somewhat related to what I used to do... for a trucking company. The funny part is they are 3 blocks from where I used to work for Imperfect.

And if they're that close, I may get a ZipCar for commute, instead of taking Lyft or public transit. I've tested it. Taking public transit including transfer will take an hour each way, 40 minutes if I hit the transfer just right. If I drive, I can be there in 20 minutes. And the ZipCar estimator says it'd cost me less than $500 to use their car to commute a month.

Default · Post by **Default** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 7:56 am

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Fri Jan 24, 2020 2:25 am
Default wrote: ↑Thu Jan 23, 2020 11:23 pm
Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Sun Jan 12, 2020 12:19 pm Ouch. Had a friend who worked USPS for a few years, just enough so he retired with a disability pension, certified bad knees and all that. Every new USPS person had to do their routes first before they get cushier jobs.
I have no idea what you are talking about?
My friend, who was a mail carrier, had to the walking routes for many many months until he got one of the routes with a vehicle, and much later, get a warehouse or front counter job. But then, he works in San Francisco with a lot of post offices.

So he ad a walking route for a couple of years, then did curbside delivery, then became a clerk.
Got it.

Basic upshot with SOD, this station is beyond fucked up. I was wondering why he wasn't healing or getting any faster on the assignment. Turns out, the 5 hours on the books, is 13 miles. With all that we have to do, he would have to be running to get the job done on time. They also told him that, if they accepted his doctor's note to carry the bag where it least caused pain, they would have to fire him for getting injured in his probationary period, so he HAS to carry the bag on the injured side. I told him that it is probably the "motivation by threat" the post office is known for. He told me that the guy who started the same time was from the city too. So, the plan is to gut it out until Philly starts hiring again(probably another 2-3 months), apply, and when he gets accepted, drop that shithole place. I also told him to get that guys number too, so he can do the same thing. There's bad management, bad stations and bad routes in the city, but you can move around, not like the suburbs.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:41 am

They can require you to carry the bag a certain way? That seems insane to me.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:49 am

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:41 am They can require you to carry the bag a certain way? That seems insane to me.

They still carry bags? Here all the foot delivery folks have push cart things.

malchior · Post by **malchior** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:29 am

stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:41 am They can require you to carry the bag a certain way? That seems insane to me.

Maybe it is a work safety issue? I was a bit confused by this too. I've heard there were a lot of tin pot dictators in the mail service but I thought it was addressed years ago in response to all the work violence issues. Guess not.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:06 pm

Sometimes, I really really hate the vague words in the rejection letters.

I applied for something from weeks ago. Today, I got a generic rejection email "we will not be moving forward at this time." What does that even mean? Did you decide not to hire ANYONE, or just not hiring me? I know they have to keep it vague, but WTF...

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Jan 28, 2020 3:42 pm

Maybe their gearshift was stuck in reverse.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 6:25 am

Phew, just finished Module 4 of 5 in my Google IT Support certificate program. Final module is Cybersecurity.

I guess Coursera will be getting my $50 after all, as I want the next certificate, doing IT Automation with Python too. But doing these courses at the speed of 1 module every day or two is pretty hard.

EDIT: Seems they just billed me as I didn't cancel in 7 days. Hahaha.

I guess I know enough to pass an A+ and maybe even Network+ test if I spend some time to cram stuff...

Just got an email-back, at least they want to chat with me about what I can offer.

Went to get my DOT physical today. I am kinda surprised how lousy I am. It seems I can't see worth **** now without my glasses, barely 10/20 at 15 feet. Must have not eaten my carrots or something. I'm fine with my glasses. However, seems DOT frowns upon me using a CPAP machine and I need to find some sort of way to get the data off of it to prove I'm not suffering from sleep apnea while I use the machine, that means I need to call up a company I had not contacted in 10 years. Eeek.

I guess I'll see if the trucking company that wrote me back will hire me before I decided whether to get this CPAP thing resolved. Supposedly I have 45 days to produce the documentation.

Default · Post by **Default** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 8:32 am

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:49 am
stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:41 am They can require you to carry the bag a certain way? That seems insane to me.
They still carry bags? Here all the foot delivery folks have push cart things.

You can only use those in very limited occasions here.

Default · Post by **Default** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 8:33 am

malchior wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 11:29 am
stessier wrote: ↑Tue Jan 28, 2020 10:41 am They can require you to carry the bag a certain way? That seems insane to me.
Maybe it is a work safety issue? I was a bit confused by this too. I've heard there were a lot of tin pot dictators in the mail service but I thought it was addressed years ago in response to all the work violence issues. Guess not.

Still are.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 5:37 pm

Trucking company just called me with a preliminary interview, and I think I passed the first round, as I spoke the lingo. He said he'll pass things onto the owner who decides on go/nogo but he sounds like he's kinda impressed. Keeping fingers crossed, while waiting on other applications. So far, not a peep.

In the meanwhile, I'm halfway through the final module to my Google IT Support Certificate. Half of this stuff is almost trivia, but I guess really big companies use it. How many companies actually use a RADIUS server? LDAP, sure. but RADIUS? Naaaah...

EDIT: Finished all modules, got my "Google IT Support" certificate. ONLY took me 8.5 days. Not too bad, I guess.

Google IT Automation with Python will be a bit more difficult, I supposed. I know "a little" Python. I am kinda debating whether I need to get A+ certified too. I know Humble still has that book bundle for a few more days.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Jan 29, 2020 11:42 pm

On behalf of the rest of the forum, I have to ask...did you inquire as to their position on piss bottles?

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 12:14 am

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 11:42 pm On behalf of the rest of the forum, I have to ask...did you inquire as to their position on piss bottles?

I think Skinypupy may have had some recent experience with that.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 12:36 am

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 11:42 pm On behalf of the rest of the forum, I have to ask...did you inquire as to their position on piss bottles?

At least he's walking the walk and getting his applications out there!

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Jan 30, 2020 1:05 am

Jeff V wrote: ↑Wed Jan 29, 2020 11:42 pm On behalf of the rest of the forum, I have to ask...did you inquire as to their position on piss bottles?

I seriously doubt I will run into such problems in any of the jobs I applied to.