How is your career going?

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Sat May 01, 2021 9:20 pm

PMPing ain’t easy.

gbasden · Post by **gbasden** » Sat May 01, 2021 11:53 pm

The Meal wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 2:25 pm
The Meal wrote: ↑Sat Mar 06, 2021 9:29 am Would you be interested joining us at [Job Title +1] instead? We'd love to have you
I've been at the new place for a month. And as cool as the place looked from the outside, the view's even nicer from the inside.

That's really fantastic. It's wonderful when a company either chooses to respect their employees or is forced to by supply and demand of talent. Congratulations on doing something you enjoy for a company that values you!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Tue May 04, 2021 2:50 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Sat May 01, 2021 9:20 pm PMPing ain’t easy.

So today I got a call from the other recruiter from the same company. He approached me via LinkedIn a few weeks ago, hadn't heard back after several initial phone calls until someone else from the company called about the Abbott Labs job. This one would would represent a 66% salary increase over my previous job and while I'd think at that price they should have no problems finding a certified PMP, they are never the less going to interview me on Thursday. It sounds somewhat similar to the other job in that there appears to be no specific project, so while touted as a 6-month contract, it could very well be a try-before-you-buy situation as well. In addition to being in the same general 'hood (it's slightly closer than Abbott) this is also a pharmaceutical company, one that's based in Japan. None of the requirements are deal breakers, although I'm not 100% on the "like to have" list.

And there's an additional prize should I land either of these jobs. My nephew is opening a brewpub in that part of the world, and I just might be needing a place to hang while waiting for rush hour traffic to subside...

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue May 04, 2021 7:53 pm

Paingod wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 10:29 am
Zaxxon wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 9:56 am
Paingod wrote: ↑Fri Apr 16, 2021 6:51 amWhere was the checkbook for the last three years when I was begging for improvements to make everyone's lives a little better and I could stop feeling like I was holding things together with bubble gum and shoestrings??
Run away and don't look back.
I won't look back, but I'm pretty sure I'm running towards something just as bad or worse. It's just in a better area and pays 18% more.

Yup. Worse.

This new employer is so penny-wise that they keep packages of labels for printing stored in the IT room and make people come in to ask for them. They're $25 for a box of 50 sheets. They're also pound-foolish. They're paying for IT monitoring services they don't actually use, have constructed a network with THREE firewalls all branching off a single Netgear 10/100 "backbone" attached to the main ISP feed, and have signed up for a printer lease/contract that lets them print as much color as they want - for $0.08 per page, even if it's just the header bar on an Excel table. They print a lot of color that doesn't need to be color.

The organization is proud of their tradition of promoting from within. I'm the first "outside" IT Manager they've ever had. All the others were raised up through the rank and file floor staff... Some better suited for the job than others. The only reason they looked outside the company was because the Help Desk guy simply didn't want the responsibility. My predecessor left pre-recorded messages for whoever came after him and I assumed it would be quirks and tips on the systems. Nope. It was "How to make a user in Active Directory" and "How to log into the VPN" ...

I'm on week 2 and have constructed a complete schematic of their network, a disastrous spaghetti string mess. It looks exactly like what you'd expect of a network that has passed hands through four people without strong IT backgrounds who had access to MSP services for solutions that clearly weren't thought all the way through.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 04, 2021 7:55 pm

I hope you have some authority to go with those responsibilities.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Tue May 04, 2021 8:13 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 7:55 pmI hope you have some authority to go with those responsibilities.

So do I.

So far I've tried pushing for a budget review of my department and little else. I'm mostly still gathering data when I'm not putting out fires. They don't have a budget to provide me with from years past - but they do expect me to stay within budget. As far as I can tell that means "Don't spend shit unless whatever it is has caught on fire". If I can get a budget hammered out of the shit I have to work with, I might be able to pull off something. If I can't ... well, a quick job hop can be written off as a bad fit between employee and company.

My boss is very hands-off, vocally so - calling herself a "light touch" and so far providing zero goals or objectives for the department. She won't actually tell me what boundaries she's set on my role. My predecessor took this to mean "Get into everything you can and don't let go" and as a result he spent half his time juggling sales and product placement that had nothing to do with IT. He'd start a system and then fail to hand it off to someone else to use. Dude stretched himself thin doing things that had nothing to do with his department - and he as much as admitted it when I chatted with him before I took the job. As a result, he didn't properly manage their environment at all. There is zero standardization; I've never seen so many PC manufacturers in play at a single business before, let alone the Macs they bent over and gave the Marketing folks. If Frankenstein made a network, THAT network would have made ours.

I'm taking advantage of the lag time between him and me to force people to accept that IT isn't the "do-it-all" department. If the online sales manager thinks I'm going to pick up managing his online sales and product updates for him just because the guy before me did ... well... no.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 04, 2021 8:34 pm

IT doesn’t manage content.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue May 04, 2021 11:28 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 8:34 pm IT doesn’t manage content.

Except when various users (or the server) ran out of space.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue May 04, 2021 11:33 pm

Not sure what's going on, but the TransDev position is apparently "on hold". We were told to "go home and wait for email", and just e-signed several documents today. If we're paid to sit at home, all the better.

EDIT: Was supposed to get a temp login at a certain domain but when I followed the instructions there's nothing to do "Your plan is empty". Hmmm...

EDIT2: Weird, the lesson "just" appeared, and I completed it in a few minutes. Apparently, this job comes with a separate work phone. Hmmm... I don't mind that.

Got an answer back from a place I was pretty sure I had been rejected before. They want me to do a programming test, honors system, guess to weed out the lame ones. Used 2.5 hours to finish 8 out of 10 problems. Last two were regex and jQuery, so was not too worried. Commuting would kinda suck as the office is in Brisbane, not downtown, but it's an interesting company.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu May 06, 2021 8:59 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Tue May 04, 2021 8:34 pmIT doesn’t manage content.

I had a long chat with the HR manager and she's in support of this theme. She's encouraging me to be a "Disagreeable Helper" - someone who's happy to help, but has firm boundaries. She knows exactly what happened to the guy before me.

I've also had a couple of chats with my direct boss along the same lines and am phrasing it in terms of making people more self-sufficient and efficient. Once someone who has the correct knowledge knows how to get it into the system, they can do it faster than I ever could in translating it for them because they couldn't be bothered to learn.

I'm starting to feel like I was hired as a spearhead attempt at forcing change. Over and over I've heard about them having people who are resistant to learning new skills and wanting someone who can train them. It's a union shop, though, so I don't know what circumstances they need to let someone go who simply refuses to adapt and work towards the future of the business instead of being a stagnant lump. They've more than hinted that they've got a lot of lumps.

I'm embracing the role, though. I'm already planning minor changes to how things come in to my department. Things that will force people to utilize their computers to perform basic tasks they're using paper for right now - if at all. Some folks just walk in with a product and ask for it to be put into the system, with almost no other detail; they expect the guy under me to do the legwork and find the product details. I've already let him know I'm going to be working to stop that and they can call me the hard-ass villain if they want to. The guy who won't let him do it the old way. My boss is actually on board. So that's a thing, I guess.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu May 06, 2021 9:01 pm

Everything's coming up Paingod.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu May 06, 2021 9:26 pm

Paingod wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 8:59 pm I've already let him know I'm going to be working to stop that and they can call me the hard-ass villain if they want to. The guy who won't let him do it the old way.

One of my co-workers told me her daughter asked her how I came about being her boss and in charge of the department.
Her answer was that I annoyed and pissed off everyone with more seniority until they left, then I took over.
I accept that answer.......lol

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Thu May 06, 2021 10:08 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 9:01 pmEverything's coming up Paingod.

I even talked my boss into giving me the accounting department head's old office today, too.

The guy hasn't retired yet, but he's gone full remote with no intention of ever coming back into the state and all his office is doing is holding his computer on his desk. It wasn't hard, though. She said she had been considering it before I got there but my cohort had new shelves put in where we are now and she felt he was maybe content there.

So right now I share a 12x12 cell with my direct report that has a view over a gravel-covered roof and a parking garage across the street. Toss in a couple 24" deep desks and we're sitting about 4' apart. Soon I'll share a 18x12 cell with him that has a view of Main Street and gets direct sunlight half the day instead of dim shade. I've got my eye on the corner that keeps my monitor out of direct line of sight from the doorway so I can actually, just maybe, do a smidge of free-time surfing again and post a bit during the day.

stimpy wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 9:26 pmOne of my co-workers told me her daughter asked her how I came about being her boss and in charge of the department.
Her answer was that I annoyed and pissed off everyone with more seniority until they left, then I took over.

If you can piss off everyone who's dug in and hunkered down enough to force them to leave, you probably deserve to take over. They should have been able to squash that if they were worth keeping. It sounds cold, but the more I move up in the workforce, the less tolerance I have for people who don't try. As an hourly worker with no investment in any company, it was funny. As someone who's been basically given a blank slate and told to draw my own map, it's really annoying - like writing on a textured desk with only one sheet of paper under your pen.

I plan to keep pushing boundaries here and there until someone pushes back hard enough to stop me. I haven't even finished my second week there, but I'm starting to see potential in the place despite the lack of funding in my department (and across the board in general). I haven't felt optimism like this in years.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu May 06, 2021 10:35 pm

Being a change agent can be a good thing as long as the company has your back. They might even have an ulterior motive of getting rid of the complacent who they suspect would be most resistant to change. Just don't expect many after-work drinking binges with your mates. Look to Rumpy's avatar for more reasons why.

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Thu May 06, 2021 11:03 pm

Complacency was the main reason I pissed them off.
Even though they had seniority, it shouldnt give them license to do little to jack shit on a daily basis.
I guess if me calling them out and expecting them to actually, ya know, do their job, bugged them enough to bail instead of step up, it turned out best for the company. Not everyone can be everywhere and see everything. Once the higher ups saw how much more efficient the department ran after they left, they figured I was doing something right and promoted me.
My department has been the profit leader for the company ever since. And the employees I'm in charge of seem pretty happy with the way I manage. I dont anticipate any of them leaving anytime soon.

hitbyambulance · Post by **hitbyambulance** » Fri May 07, 2021 1:41 am

need an AI program where you feed it keywords and it outputs a resume cover letter (that ofc you can further tweak)

Lassr · Post by **Lassr** » Fri May 07, 2021 7:23 am

stimpy wrote: ↑Thu May 06, 2021 11:03 pm Complacency was the main reason I pissed them off.
Even though they had seniority, it shouldnt give them license to do little to jack shit on a daily basis.
I guess if me calling them out and expecting them to actually, ya know, do their job, bugged them enough to bail instead of step up, it turned out best for the company. Not everyone can be everywhere and see everything. Once the higher ups saw how much more efficient the department ran after they left, they figured I was doing something right and promoted me.
My department has been the profit leader for the company ever since. And the employees I'm in charge of seem pretty happy with the way I manage. I don't anticipate any of them leaving anytime soon.

Bravo. It amazes me how many people do not grasp this concept of happy employees equals better performance. That's why the group I lead is one of the better performing business offices at the center and always get high appraise. I keep my nose out of their business, they do their job and help others in the group when they need it. I step in only when they ask. First 1/2 hour of work each morning is drink coffee and talk (not about work) and now teleworking we still have a hour teams meeting weekly just to talk about anything but work. So many people still think a minute wasted not doing work is wasted company time instead of time working on employee morale. Down side is no one wants to leave for detail opportunities in other areas, they are too happy. I have to stress if you want to grow you've got to expand you skills.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri May 07, 2021 9:07 am

Sounds like you're the SCRUM master without all the terminology.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Fri May 07, 2021 12:53 pm

Josebaker wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 11:13 am I am 3rd semester at my university. And working as a software developer in a small company.

Welcome newbie!

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Tue May 11, 2021 9:41 am

Not my career, but Kenny Mayne just got let go by ESPN. This is apparently how he got the job in the first place - amazing self confidence!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue May 11, 2021 3:03 pm

Hadn't seen him in a while, as I don't watch ESPN, but I always enjoyed his time on SportsCenter back in the day.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed May 12, 2021 6:29 pm

Jaymann wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 12:53 pm
Josebaker wrote: ↑Fri May 07, 2021 11:13 am I am 3rd semester at my university. And working as a software developer in a small company.
Welcome newbie!

Excellent! Keep on top of all the trends and you should remain employed. I took a different, less reliable, path in IT.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed May 12, 2021 6:37 pm

So last week I interviewed for a PM job that paid a whopping 60% more than my previous job. But it's contract, and while the project is expected to last 6 months, it's a company that does a lot of mergers and acquisitions so there is a chance I could get extended up to 2 years (apparently, the powers that be there will not allow this position to be filled by a FTE). Well, if they are going to pay that well, I'm ok with it. Yesterday I got a call back from the recruiter asking if I would be comfortable accepting the job. Well, yeah. It's mostly WFH to boot.

Today I got a text regarding some sort of management job based in Naperville (both my wife's jobs are in Naperville). I said I would be interested, but then they mentioned "entry level." Umm...I have 15 years IT management experience. I said as much, but they went ahead and scheduled the Zoom for 10 am tomorrow.

Also at the end of last week I was approached by some financial company out of California. They scheduled a Zoom for noon Saturday, but I didn't get a confirmation/link until 15 minutes before the meeting started, at which point, I was out shopping. I scrambled to get Zoom going on my phone, but nobody on their end ever started the meeting. Messages to the one who contacted me, the tech support, and the meeting organizer all went unanswered.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed May 12, 2021 10:09 pm

Today made 30 days since I invoiced NVIDIA so I emailed their A/P department, which, after several hours, sent me the same automatic invoice acknowledgement that they sent me 30 days ago. I wonder if my first invoice even got entered. So I also emailed the project manager for help; she emailed A/P, which sent her an automated acknowledgement of her email. At least I'm confident that they'll eventually follow up with her.

Their A/P probably works fine for their regular vendors, but they sure don't like to pay me. I don't even get a runaround; I just get ignored. Dunning clients is the biggest downside of being a microbusiness.

I want my munny. This job constitutes 25% of my anticipated gross income.

Meanwhile, the Salute to Nurses came out last Sunday, and they pay on publication, so that check should land any day. That one's almost 15% of my gross. Here's the online version if anybody's interested. I wasn't involved with the feature stories, but I did edit (and compile) the entire "Read the Letters" section. I rewrite the submissions just enough to make them readable without losing the authors' voices. (If you think the writing's bad, you should see what I have to start with.)

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu May 13, 2021 5:23 pm

This week the crap jobs are particularly active. I've gotten calls, emails and texts to become an annoying shitweasel hawking an alternative energy provider to Com-Ed (not the same as a provider of alternative energy). And today I sat through a presentation for a pyramid scheme, this one selling benefits packages to small companies. Afterwards, there was a "survey" to collect your personal information and explain why you'd love to do this sort of thing. Decline, decline decline. Got a text a short time later asking if I missed that survey and helpfully providing a link to the same.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu May 13, 2021 5:36 pm

Still in training with TransDev. Just passed the assessment with behind-the-wheel stuff and tomorrow should start autonomous vehicle ops. Couple more weeks and I'm a certified AVO. After that, supposedly promotions come fast, and hopefully, with my background, I can make some lateral moves.

Also have an interview to be scheduled with ERP provider in San Francisco, but they're pretty far out. I think I will decline them on Monday.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Fri May 14, 2021 9:09 pm

My project manager at NVIDIA got an answer from A/P! "Your invoice is scheduled for payment on 6/6 per our PO terms of Net 55 days."

Net 55??? Who's ever heard of that? Net 30 is standard, like, everywhere. I don't *need* the money because I didn't pre-spend any of it, but getting paid in June for work done in March is puppies.

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Sat May 15, 2021 5:34 am

Heh, we are Net 90 where I work and good luck getting it one day sooner. Our vendors are never pleased.

dfs · Post by **dfs** » Sat May 15, 2021 9:59 am

Yeah. Hate to say you're getting old buddy, but net 30 was a loooong time ago here in the midwest. Can you tell us the one about the time when phones had cords?

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Sat May 15, 2021 3:11 pm

In my admittedly limited circle (academia and publishing), Net 30 still reigns, although clients vary in honoring it. I can see where a company like NVIDIA would need longer to raise $9,000, though.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Sat May 15, 2021 4:59 pm

They'd have to sell three boards!

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Wed May 19, 2021 4:22 pm

HR interview today with a company that makes car seats. You would never think such a company employs 82,000 in 34 countries, but there you are. The interview was scheduled for 15 minutes but went 40, usually I take that as a good thing. However, I checked all of the boxes except one, and that one could be a deal breaker. He was going to try to press upon the hiring manager my years of managing tech in a manufacturing plant setting, my even more years experience in IT management, and my even more years in IT as a grunt. We'll see what happens. He said I was on the top edge of salary range for the job but it was expected to morph into a regional manager gig within 18 months.

I live on the edge of civilization, so all jobs I've interviewed for have been east of here, towards (or in) the city. This one is actually the other way, just north of De Kalb (college town - NIU). Commute would be almost identical to my last job, when I hit IL-64, I simply turn left instead or right.

The Meal · Post by **The Meal** » Wed May 19, 2021 10:13 pm

12/17/2020 Do you remember what you were up to a week before Christmas? I sent a resume and cover letter to a local business inquiring about a Senior Vibration Engineer position.

HR emailed me yesterday to ask if I would like to interview for the position next Wednesday (a week from today) or next Friday.

Ummmmm... no.

A current coworker worked for that company for 21 years. He said that even if they identified the perfect candidate for key engineering position it'd take them months to get around to bringing someone in. 5 months (and 1 day!) was not outside the realm of possibilities in his opinion.

I suppose that's one way to filter down on candidates who are already employed...

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Wed May 19, 2021 10:18 pm

Something similar happened to me once. Two months after I sent him my resume he calls and wants to make an appointment. When I say no, i just started a new job he got mad at me saying I was the reason he was coming down to New Orleans. Too bad. Made me feel good tho.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri May 21, 2021 12:12 am

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Wed May 19, 2021 10:18 pm Something similar happened to me once. Two months after I sent him my resume he calls and wants to make an appointment. When I say no, i just started a new job he got mad at me saying I was the reason he was coming down to New Orleans. Too bad. Made me feel good tho.

Don't let him fool you, he was going to NO to get shitfaced. If he was interested in you, he'd have braved the buckshot and ascended your mountain.

Paingod · Post by **Paingod** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:36 pm

Coming up for air, I feel like I should be trying harder to post! My weeks are nuts, and my evenings beckon me to just unwind and veg out with a game and not get online.

The new job is going great. Because they've never had an IT person with IT experience I'm coming across like a rock star. I only hope I'm not setting the bar too high. Plans to help make inventory control smoother and less painful for everyone are proceeding well, and nothing has come across my desk that made me want to hide. It remains painfully obvious, though, that the history of promoting from within (Union rules and seniority) has been a universally bad call for installing IT Managers. A lot of the previous people just kind of flopped around and let the vendors do whatever they wanted. My immediate predecessor really was the only one who gave a damn and tried to get the job right - but he was fighting uphill the whole way and learning at every step. I constantly hear about how he started a thousand projects but couldn't finish a single one.

I kind of hope my direct report doesn't get bitter. I caught wind that he turned down the job I've got now because the guy before me was working 60 hours a week and killing himself. "Nah" he said "I don't need that stress" ... and then I roll in with my 40-hour a week attitude and sheer off the dead weight duties the last guy was lugging around that had nothing to do with IT and put them back on people who should have been doing them. We've been clean and efficient and getting shit done. I dug up an old budget and learned that I'm making about 25% more than the guy before me did, so I feel like I need to work for it and show them why they're paying me that much.

My last employer is not doing so great. I'm not saying it's because I left, but rather that I'm thrilled that I seem to have escaped before it went nuclear. Last week I got word from someone there that my old boss (a 1/4 owner of the business) was terminated and no longer with them. Lots of ?!?!?!? followed. The rumor being perpetuated by another 1/4 owner (the one with a Bachelor's in Business Management and personality of a two-faced tarot card) is that the other owner was buying things with his company credit card and not paying it back to the business. This is a nothingburger in every business I've ever worked in, but I've never worked in a business with four people having equal stakes. Maybe the dipping created an inequality the others didn't like. At any rate, he's out and I suspect he's gone down a rabbit hole. In the last year his health had really dropped hard and being bounced out on his ass is going to hit really hard. In his current condition, I suspect it'll be impossible to find a new CFO job anywhere - embezzlement or no. The real "Whew, dodged that" sentiment isn't that he's gone - but rather that I would have had to report to a new boss with even less of a clue as to what IT did and more vague demands and hand-waving explanations of what she wanted. If I was there, I would be hating my life right about now.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Mon Jun 07, 2021 5:43 pm

I'm getting desperate now...I sent off a resume to TekSystems, an IT staffing company that's jacked me around in the past more times than I can count. The position read almost identical to the one I applied for last week at ATI Physical Therapy, down to the town where it's located, so I suspect they might working that job as well. ATI had me fill out an expanded online profile after I did their initial application through Indeed, but I've not heard anything since. I actually know someone who works there, but she doesn't know the person I corresponded with and the application did not ask if I was referred.

Reemul · Post by **Reemul** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:43 pm

I work for one of the big insurance companies based in the US/UK. Over the last 2 years I worked for a small local broker which was bought by a midsize broker that has now been bought by one of the big ones, this was completed last year. The team I work in was still part of the old company renamed under the new company. In January my team (3 of us) were moved over to the new company side of the business and for 6 months have been left alone. Over the last 2 years up to now we are trading at around 108% and a 90%+ retention rate which is really good. Our performance and retention is in the top 3 of the whole region

Anyways today we had an official meeting with a 2 directors and explained our expectations and requirements. it was like going back to the 1980's and in not a good way.

Everyday we have to report on how many phone calls we make as well as how many phone calls we receive. The same with Emails in and out. We also have to report how much work we do, any new business we do and when we are in work and not in work during the day.

We also have 2 spreadsheets to fill in daily which allows senior management to monitor our output as well as once a week reporting directly on progress to ensure we are making it...

I generally log in at home 90 minutes before my start time and do some easy stuff but it seems if I do this and make spare time in the afternoon it seems our team will be allocated other people who aren't copings work to do on top of our own as well

I think I am going to find this tough at 50 years old, micromanaged and reported to hell.

It does worry me what sort of company they really are if we have to work in this way to deliver results. We are being forced back to the office with no discussions of hybrid working or flexible requests, they have said they may do that as a separate thing after we are all back and looking at our new requirements from tomorrow I can see why they want this. I am comfortable in the office and had been in and out throughout the year but I know plenty who are a little nervous or have unrealistic expectations

I mean people that are not delivering need to be supported to make that happen and is something I have spent my career previously doing but not 100% of the staff 100% of the time.

Little bit depressing this evening.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:52 pm

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Tue Jun 08, 2021 3:58 pm

Still working at TransDev, in my final week of phase 1 training, then to assessment on whether I'll be retained for phase 2. Should pass with no problems. I can say that I'm actually working for Waymo, an Alphabet company and I am an autonomous vehicle operator (trainee). Yes, those self-driving vans. And yes, they do the hills of San Francisco just fine. But there are a lot of restrictions and whatnot. It's interesting so far.