How is your career going?

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Sat Jan 30, 2021 2:09 pm

It has to be hard to network with Covid. I know in the Ohio area, I always get emails to attend network gatherings, I have never gone, and they moved them online.

However, I do know that Himss, in my area (I am a board member), is doing monthly presentations and it is a way to get to know topics and people.
https://www.himss.org/

Maybe there are meetings in your area? I know that there are member fee's, but we are not charging for our monthly presentations. If you want an invite to groups in Ohio, let me know and I can send them to you. But otherwise look for some in your area. I know we are always looking for help desk help, and some analyst positions open up. Not super exciting, but if you need a step up healthcare is not a bad place to get your feet wet again.

Let me know if I can help with anything and I will try, my hook-ups on the west coast are old, but I can ask around, if you give me a location...

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:15 pm

After I got dumped by the hospital, I retained my HIMSS membership out-of-pocket for a year and even attended their convention that year (fortunately, it happened to be in Chicago). I even attended local chapter meetings, but it got me nowhere. That sort of networking takes a lot of effort, and results are still needle-in-a-haystack; you need to somehow connect with someone who can help when a position that fits your credentials becomes available.

I haven't targeted healthcare recently, but when I did, exactly one job in the area was listed that matched what I did for the hospital. And you know what? It was my same damn job at the same damn hospital! Except they jacked up the requirements to masters degree, which made no sense at all.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:01 pm

You were too olde.
Actually it's not age per se but you made too much money. So they'll hire somebody younger who will take less money.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:59 am

I'm IT, tech, webdev, db programming, except none of them are like senior level positions. I just never got that far. Being a "one-man band" doesn't help my networking at all.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Feb 01, 2021 9:45 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Sat Jan 30, 2021 10:01 pm You were too olde.
Actually it's not age per se but you made too much money. So they'll hire somebody younger who will take less money.

That happened to me when I was not a relic. The company filled an open roll with a kid who had lots of paper, especially when it came to Novell networks, which were a thing back in the day. I was making what I was making because attrition left me as the most knowledgeable on staff until this kid came along. I had been getting double-digit increases in tribute to keep me appeased, and then suddenly I was not so critical.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:18 pm

Had an interview today and it didn't go well. The guy basically, very diplomatically, called me a dinosaur, my skills are out of date, and they are looking for someone who is self-taught and is "hungrier" to get an entry-level IT position. I should have thrown his ad back in his face (they want someone who is willing to figure things out) but I just thanked him and disconnected.

There's another interview Friday to recycle electronics and computers. The problem: it's 10 miles away, and I don't have a car. Guess I have to rent one for the interview.

RMC · Post by **RMC** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:26 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:18 pm Had an interview today and it didn't go well. The guy basically, very diplomatically, called me a dinosaur, my skills are out of date, and they are looking for someone who is self-taught and is "hungrier" to get an entry-level IT position. I should have thrown his ad back in his face (they want someone who is willing to figure things out) but I just thanked him and disconnected.

There's another interview Friday to recycle electronics and computers. The problem: it's 10 miles away, and I don't have a car. Guess I have to rent one for the interview.

For 10 miles, wouldn't an uber be better than renting one?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:43 pm

Two interviews this week! A relative bonanza. I've finally decided to at least go through the motion for the job in Wisconsin. The experience interviewing is always good, but if an offer ensues, it's going to be tough to pull the trigger. It's a good company, I dealt with them at my last job and also have a personal customer account (got boxes of shit from them in my home office). The two-hour each way commute will suck, though. Eventually, it might wear thin enough to overcome the reluctance to relocate -- the mere thought of getting the house in condition to sell is mentally exhausting, not to mention the physical part of making it so. Wife doesn't care, she can immediately be employed anywhere there is old people. We did talk about it, and she thinks a friend who recently moved nearby (ish) can be hired to deal with the kids in the morning, and on certain days, in the afternoon. I proposed she lure our former border (all of her shit is still in my basement/guest bedroom even though she moved to KY in June) and simply kidnap her.

This interview is scheduled for Friday.

The other job I interviewed with the recruiter today. It's one of those near-100% matches based on the information provided. It's somewhere in Downers Grove (company not yet revealed), which is about a 45 minute commute. The money is in the ballpark, the company seems to be a growing one ready to make the leap into ITIL-based processes. That is something I have experience with and is as close to anything in IT I could say I'm passionate about. Way to early to get excited about it...but a flicker of hope.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:29 pm

RMC wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 9:26 pm
For 10 miles, wouldn't an uber be better than renting one?

Possibly. But if I have some extra time I haven't been outside except local shopping for nearly a year. I actually took my dad out for his doctor's appointment today too, but we took the bus. I need some normal browsing / shopping.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu Feb 04, 2021 8:22 am

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Mon Feb 01, 2021 5:59 amI'm IT, tech, webdev, db programming, except none of them are like senior level positions. I just never got that far. Being a "one-man band" doesn't help my networking at all.

When I worked for a larger company with 40+ people in their IT department, I rubbed elbows with a lot of people in disciplines across the spectrum.

I've been working as a solo IT person for smaller companies for over 10 years, and rubbing elbows with anyone in my field now requires me to throw messages in bottles out into the ocean in the hopes that someone will find it and open it. Being the only IT person in a business offers you a lot of freedom in the day-to-day but is very career limiting.

I've been struggling to break out of the box I'm in for years and return to an environment with more than one person doing IT. I'm not interested in being on the front lines of support or troubleshooting, though, and have opted to hunt for a more management/leadership role that my "experience" (age) better benefits from.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri Feb 05, 2021 6:22 pm

my staffing agency has screwed up my 401k application once again (Fidelity says I am making 0% contributions, but I am clearly having the max contribution taken out, which is what i wanted) - they saw that this was a weird discrepancy but said they didn't have the authority to resolve this, and that I should contact the staffing agency HR. the Fidelity rep wished me luck there - i agree, i will need it, with this department.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 06, 2021 2:29 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 03, 2021 10:29 pm Possibly. But if I have some extra time I haven't been outside except local shopping for nearly a year. I actually took my dad out for his doctor's appointment today too, but we took the bus. I need some normal browsing / shopping.

Turns out I didn't have enough time to browse anything. 2 hours turned out to be just enough to drive there and back. *sigh* They hope to give me a decision next week.

Sudy · Post by **Sudy** » Mon Feb 08, 2021 12:17 pm

BRIIIING BRIIIING!!

My Friend: Supervisor speaking, how may I help you?
Employee: Hello, it's [name]. Hi, um, I just wanted to ask, if I were to come in late today for work would that count as a late?
My Friend: Uh. Well... yes? (Chuckles, confused.) I mean--
Employee: I meant if I called in ahead of time, would that still count as a late?
My Friend: Yeah, whether you call ahead of time or not it's still considered a late arrival, right? Because you're not arriving at the time you're scheduled for....
Employee: Hmm... OK. All right.
My Friend: OK, are you going to be late?
Employee: No. I think I'll be on time. I might be a few minutes later, that will still be counted as fully late....
My Friend: It would, yeah, but it's better you call ahead so we're aware. If you still arrive on time, then cool.
Employee: OK. I should be on time.

They arrived 45 minutes late for their shift. This is not a new employee. And it's far from the first time they've been late.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:28 pm

The place I just interviewed at wanted me to get on a "trial run" for a few weeks to see if we are a good fit. I told them I can start Thursday.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:28 pm

Are they paying you?

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:38 pm

with experience

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:46 pm

and exposure

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Tue Feb 09, 2021 7:01 pm

and Ramen.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 2:47 am

ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:28 pm Are they paying you?

Yes. And it's not a convenient place to commute to... FWIW, it's in SOUTH San Francisco / Burlingame, I am in San Francisco. 15 miles away, 22 minutes by car. Commute will be... expensive in either money or time. But it's the first job offer I got that I can accept in more than 12 months. I'd much prefer a downtown job but beggars can't be choosers. I'll have to evaluate the commute costs vs. the cost of car ownership again.

Right now I am looking at $50 per weekday (round-trip) on commute costs (Lyft quotes about $25 per trip, not including surge pricing). Not a sustainable rate, but okay for trial period. (And that's with Lyft Pink discount, and their wait and save pricing). That's 250 a week, and $1000 a month, definitely "you need a car" category.

Carshare is not an option as their daily rates are in the $80-90 range.

With Sixt I can RENT a car for 50-65 a day and not be subjected to Lyft, and I may be able to subscribe to the car for $550 a month, but I need to figure out my parking situation, which is where it gets sticky again. WIth carshare I don't have to worry about things like that. If I can pick up my car near me, then I don't have to worry about such situations. Hmmm... FWIW, when I owned my own beater car, I paid $350 a month just for parking. Now the unreserved rate for my local garage (two blocks from me) is $405. Add insurance and gas and you're looking at $600+ a month, and that's assuming I buy a car outright, no monthly payments, and hopefully, no major repairs for a while.

(BTW, that talk about Lyft and Sixt co-operating? It's a joke. Lyft offers rental in San Francisco, so Sixt rates through Lyft are jacked up like 100% to encourage people to use Lyft rental (starts are $65 a day) rather than Sixt through Lyft (starts at $115?!) )

I can bring some energy bars and water bottle to cut down on meal costs. That's not a problem.

EDIT: Okay, I may have a solution: Scoop, the work ride solution. Basically, someone who's going the same way can give me a ride. The company checks cars going past my destination and checks if that guy wants to take on a passenger for $4 (the company charges me $6). So my commute costs are $12 per day. That's significant savings, if they schedule me rides consistently.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 3:58 am

Right now I am debating if I should continue to apply for other jobs, i.e. more convenient jobs closer to downtown. I believe I can find jobs within walking distance but it's a customer service job (non-retail, basically a call center) and pay would be about the same, just not as computer related.

dfs · Post by **dfs** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 11:01 am

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 3:58 am Right now I am debating if I should continue to apply for other jobs, i.e. more convenient jobs closer to downtown. I believe I can find jobs within walking distance but it's a customer service job (non-retail, basically a call center) and pay would be about the same, just not as computer related.

The answer to this question is yes.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 11:47 am

Hilarious symmetry, KC. I, also, have (apparently) found a job for which I am not extremely thrilled. I'm looking at it as a "it's easier to find a job when you have a job" situation.

Ænima · Post by **Ænima** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:07 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 2:47 am
ImLawBoy wrote: ↑Tue Feb 09, 2021 6:28 pm Are they paying you?
Yes. And it's not a convenient place to commute to... FWIW, it's in SOUTH San Francisco / Burlingame, I am in San Francisco.

Why not use BART or Caltrain?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:43 pm

Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:07 pm Why not use BART or Caltrain?

One full mile walk from the nearest station.

And it's cost MORE than Scoop, if it comes through.

Double-checking shows that Burlingame had a free shuttle that should take me where I need to go, but the brochure was from 2017 and it's not running due to COVID any way. :-\ And the first run is at like 11AM, so it's useless for a commute.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 5:10 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:43 pm
Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Feb 10, 2021 4:07 pm Why not use BART or Caltrain?
One full mile walk from the nearest station.

take bike with you? get a folding bike?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 5:12 pm

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Wed Feb 10, 2021 7:17 pm

An invigorating 1 mile walk will be good for you??

Take the job, keep looking. As has been noted, easier to find a job when you have a job. Not to mention, you were starting to run low on funds I thought?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 11, 2021 8:50 am

Scoop has so far failed to find me a ride. Supposedly I've been placed on a "shortlist" if anyone is going my way. But I plan to get on Lyft by 9AM.

Will consider folding bike next. But I don't think they make one for my weight.

Most of them have a weight limit of 250 lb.

(They do, but it's $450, $430 on Amazon. I spotted a pretty decent one in SF, but there's no weight limit on the manufacturer's website.)

coopasonic · Post by **coopasonic** » Thu Feb 11, 2021 12:27 pm

coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Jan 26, 2021 5:09 pm
coopasonic wrote: ↑Tue Jun 25, 2019 9:37 am I am a senior (experience, not age you jerks) individual contributer (in other words, not management) on a tech team. A couple weeks back I told my boss I wanted to move to a different department because I didn't like how the work was being handled and the way the team was being run. We had some extended discussions about other opportunities for me in the department and what was wrong with the team. Next month I take over running the team. That did not turn out how I had expected. I had been thinking about making the jump to leadership for a while, but didn't expect it to fall right into my lap. This could be... interesting.
That was a year and a half ago... it didn't actually pan out as someone backed out of the swap. Now there are two open people leader slots and my Director has asked me to step up. The slot I am likely to take involves leading two of the best, most talented people I know. It's both exciting and intimidating for a serious introvert with social anxiety.

In another 18 months I look forward to telling you how it never happened, again.

It is actually going to happen this time. I'm splitting time between teams now and just learned the most experience dev on the team (who is also my level so wouldn't have reported to me) is rotating out so that's going to be extra fun! New team and I immediately have an opening to fill. I guess it's a good thing I am one of the top interviewers!

Oh yeah 2% raise this year, more importantly they decided to keep paying me.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Feb 12, 2021 6:04 am

Given that it rained like heck when I got off work last night (6:40PM) I was glad I took Lyft home directly.

Taking Lyft the last mile sounds doable on paper. Fare estimator says $8 to $10 one-way from BART station to destination. Cost of BART from downtown to Millbrae is $5. Add 20% tip on Lyft shows $12+5 = $17 one way, $34 both ways. Better than $60 per day, for sure. But $34 a day, 170 a week, $680+ a month, is ALMOST enough to justify a car.

Update: With my Lyft Pink 15% discount, and "wait-and-save" discount, each ride is down to $6.50+tip =$8.5, instead of 12. So it's more like $14-15 one-way instead of instead of 17. Under $600. May not need a bike after all.

Also have to point out that there is no shower facility at work, so arriving stinking and sweating doesn't sound like fun. I guess walking down to my local public transit hub will have to be my exercise.

Now to plan the trip again...

EDIT: Google has revealed one more option: it'd take about 1.5 hours on the bus (each way), but it'd be $5.25 each way. But it'd be ALMOST door to door. Hmmm... I need to download all my transit apps again.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 1:49 am

Stupid public transit. On the day I want to try public transit it goes into meltdown mode.

During COVID times, you are REQUIRED to carry a ClipperPass to use BART, no more cash purchased tickets. WTF... The agent was nice enough to make a "damaged ticket voucher" for me, then I missed the train going the right way, and next one is not for another... 40 minutes?!?! And it's going into the airport, which means extra delays. F*** me. I ended up jumping off the train before the airport and calling Lyft, which got me there with 5 minutes to spare.

The reverse commute is almost as bad. Caught a Lyft to the station... Except the default left me on the WRONG SIDE of the station. The driver was nice enough to go around to the other side of the station. Was about to leave him a larger tip, only to see Lyft had eliminated tipping in exchange for some sort of driver relief fee (WTF?) Okay, so I got into the station, went up to station, got in with no problem, went down to platform, and there was a "out of service train" just sitting there. Okay, then waited for 10, then 20 minutes. It didn't move. Then announcement came... Richmond train (the one I wanted) arriving at platform 3 (my platform). Okay, the out of service train will move now, right? Then the signs changed to Richmond line. ?!?!

Then a train arrived at the OPPOSITE direction... onto platform 2, which is across a skyway?!?!? I was like... What did they do? Didn't they just announce train is coming onto 3? Why did the train go onto platform 2? I was about to hit the escalator go to to the opposite track when I realized that side says "out of service", while this side (my side, platform 3) still shows Richmond Line. Huh...

Except the doors on the train remain closed. For another 10 minutes.

THEN it finally opened. The formerly "out of service" train is now Richmond Line that will take me downtown and home. Only took them like 30 minutes to make up their mind.

Total cost of commute today: $2.5x2 for Muni, $11.50 for BART (round-trip), plus a $15+10 ride for Lyft, so 25+11.50+5= $41.50. That's more than 2 hours of my pay. :\ And each way took 2 hours plus anxiety.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 4:22 am

back when i was commuting to my current job, i could take three buses, but that would have been an hour and a half... and really annoying. i could have biked the entire way (and i do so when i'm going home and the weather is decent), but that would take an hour. what i do instead is bike to a nearby park'n'ride for what would be the second bus on the route (the one that traverses the really long bridge) and take that to cut 20 minutes off the commute. i depart at another park'n'ride and bike another seven minutes to the office - about 40 minutes total.

the agency also pays for half of the monthly pass and i get a slight discount for buying monthly rather than 'ePurse', but even so, the unsubsidized cost comes to about $5.50 per day. it really is the most cost-effective way to do this.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:46 am

With all due respect, maybe it's time to focus on the job, and not worry/complain about the commute?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Feb 13, 2021 6:25 pm

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Sat Feb 13, 2021 9:46 am With all due respect, maybe it's time to focus on the job, and not worry/complain about the commute?

I'm doing fine in the job itself. AFAIK. It's just a matter of learning what the company expects, and meeting them. Once I got it to the accurate stage (I learned plenty in 2 days), then it's a matter of upping the speed.

The point is trying to achieve the optimal balance between spending money on the commute, vs. TIME on the commute. If I have to spend 2 extra hours on public transit vs. time I could be spending on something more productive, then what are my time worth?

dfs · Post by **dfs** » Sun Feb 14, 2021 10:59 am

You've been hoping to get your foot in the door for so long, I hope this leads you where you want to go.

Eel Snave · Post by **Eel Snave** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 6:47 pm

So I lost my position as an insurance agent back in January. COVID made it too hard to hit the sales goals, and I was let go. I was feeling pretty down, and then suddenly today I got a job offer from USPS. Pending a background check, I'll be a federal employee, which is pretty baller.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Feb 16, 2021 11:45 pm

I'm still getting more jobs than I really want, but since the pandemic leaves me with little else to do, and since I bill by the hour, I'm OK with that. The Salute to Nurses begins the first week in March and is likely to pay me more again this year (after a huge raise last year). That would be fine except that my NVIDIA contract is going to overlap by 2-3 weeks. Add in my regular gig and some quick hit-and-run jobs and March is going to be too busy...but lucrative.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 1:21 am

Tried a different commute method today. Instead of triple transfer (Muni to BART to Lyft) I went with 2 buses (Muni / SamTrans) which got me there well ahead of time, only took 90 minutes. Return trip, about the same. Which reminds me: I need to put my reflective safety vest in my bag. Walking in almost darkness without a safety vest is not a good idea.

Still learning, already got first paycheck (it's only 2 days, but it's money I can use)

Octavious · Post by **Octavious** » Wed Feb 17, 2021 2:43 pm

My wife and I are having a contest on whose job is worse. It's gotten to the point now where I'm seriously considering taking over her mothers store when she retires in a couple of years. I'm so sick of how all these jobs treat people. I want to treat people poorly damn it!

We were super happy that she got a better job in insurance, but most days she's nearly in tears because the customers are insane.

All the people filing claims are seriously deranged people that just scream and try to run crazy scams to get money. I'm sure the pandemic made this worse, but the hostility she's dealing with daily is ridiculous. One lady had a small fire in their store that damaged a door on the outside. She's been calling daily screaming and sending hostile emails because she thinks she's owed MILLIONS. She tried to claim that all the furniture in the restaurant was ruined and needed to be replaced. Probably wasn't smart that she went on every local news station stating the opposite. They sent that one to the lawyers as soon as they found the videos online.

Does every job just suck now? Tomorrow is snow and I have no idea what I'm going to do. If I drive in I'll get stuck. If I use a vacation day I get attitude. Why is it so hard to just let people work from home in bad weather? Why??????

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Feb 18, 2021 10:39 am

Read reddit's r/talesfromcallcenters for some co-commiseration on the insane claims they deal with.