How is your career going?

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:04 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:32 am Just realized I hit PTO cap. Going to lose 17 hours Monday if I don't take today and tomorrow off. Today is not happening.

Ugh. When I worked for a hospital and hit my limit, I had to take every Friday afternoon off just to maintain.

Blackhawk · Post by **Blackhawk** » Thu Nov 12, 2020 12:11 pm

A few weeks ago Michelle got the offer for the new job at the hospital, starting the day after her previous job ended. And she was making 30% more, enough for us to stop our family 'austerity measures' and start getting out of debt. After years of scraping by it was a huge relief, and we were excited and optimistic for the first time in a long time when it came to money. Then:

1. The original offer made by the department head was wrong. The job pays just 15.5% more than the previous one (the offer was $13/hour, the actual pay is $11.55.)
2. The insurance costs increase effectively dropped that down to 5.5%.
3. They hadn't told us that the hospital isn't making money due to the pandemic, and hours are cut. She's only getting 72 hours every two weeks.

The result: A net loss over the previous job. We were so excited that we'd be able to bump our food budget up a little and start paying off debt, maybe even have a few dollars to spend. Instead we're going to have to reduce the food budget and won't have a dime afterwards, probably increasing our debt. I'm getting ready to back out of the one Kickstarter I've backed, and now I've got to tell the kids that we're not going to be able to ease spending restrictions after all. Michelle is really upset, and is blaming herself, but honestly - it is still the best option we've been able to find.

At least there is the potential of getting the hours back at some point.

Buatha · Post by **Buatha** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:47 am

Well, I was able to maintain my employment after "reapplying" for it.

Unfortunately, I think the axe has cut very, very deep. It's bordering on two weeks where I have yet to be contacted by any management on our path forward from this point. It's as if they planned the down-sizing...and then seemed to lose it on the communication plan...or any plan as far as I can tell.

My new teammates are reaching out to me and others to see if we've heard anything. It's so weird. I feel like this is simulated administrative leave. With the holidays approaching, I feel like we are going to just coast to 2021.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:58 am

Lately here in NW Arkansas the Arkansas council is giving professional people $10,000 to move here. I'm not exactly sure what "professional people" means but we do have all the technical jobs anyone would want.
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/new ... 67fc74b040

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 2:09 pm

dbt1949 wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:58 am Lately here in NW Arkansas the Arkansas council is giving professional people $10,000 to move here. I'm not exactly sure what "professional people" means but we do have all the technical jobs anyone would want.
https://www.5newsonline.com/article/new ... 67fc74b040

The NWA Council is giving $10,000 to professionals working remotely who will come and live in Northwest Arkansas.

...

At this time the council is not disclosing where the funds are coming from.

Sounds like home already!

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:13 pm

LawBeefaroni wrote: ↑Thu Nov 12, 2020 11:32 am Just realized I hit PTO cap. Going to lose 17 hours Monday if I don't take today and tomorrow off. Today is not happening.

December 31st, I'm likely to lose as much as "120 hours" while also putting in weekends and after hours work just to stay far enough behind so as not to have things "I could control" collapse. And yet it's still better than the alternative right now.

gilraen · Post by **gilraen** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:37 pm

LordMortis wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:13 pm December 31st, I'm likely to lose as much as "120 hours" while also putting in weekends and after hours work just to stay far enough behind so as not to have things "I could control" collapse. And yet it's still better than the alternative right now.

I'm pretty much in the same boat.

LordMortis · Post by **LordMortis** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:46 pm

gilraen wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:37 pm
LordMortis wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:13 pm December 31st, I'm likely to lose as much as "120 hours" while also putting in weekends and after hours work just to stay far enough behind so as not to have things "I could control" collapse. And yet it's still better than the alternative right now.
I'm pretty much in the same boat.

It can't become a lifestyle. It's "easier" for the moment because COVID keeps me locked up at home anyway but the idea that I am trapped between work and the office with time to go grocery shopping for good behavior and the leisure to play video games, watch TV, and do chores when I'm not working just feels like prison without the fear of being attacked by my cellmate or guards. I don't even want to imagine what the masses who don't have the opportunity I have are going through. I do imagine and envy what it is like for those with the health and stamina to put in the work and still have some sort of fulfilling life, not feeling overly burdened. Work from home just moves me (us?) one step closer to always available to take on more work. It's an exact expression of why I resisted a company smart phone for nearly a decade until it was mandated.

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 3:56 pm

I actually have a preference for WFH at this point. It makes dealing with the kids schedule easier and considering where I live, it will almost assuredly save a least 2 hours a day in commute time. That means I could in theory be more flexible in salary -- I can be ahead making less than I was before, but so far I'm not telling anyone that (not that I've got to salary discussions with anyone) and I'm not applying for jobs that advertise far lesser salaries.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 4:11 pm

How many years was Eddie holding out for waiting for a "management" position?

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 8:40 pm

So far the news are still discouraging.

WIth the use of Jobscan's keyword spamming technology, I am getting past the ATS, but that just results in faster rejections, within 24-72 hours. I already mentioned a rejection within 3 hours before. At least I know SOMEBODY has been reading my resumes instead of going empty into the ether.

I am just asking for a customer service job where I need to learn the product and become the support guy. It's not rocket science. But I'm getting turned down for those too. *sigh*

And I've learned NOT to use Indeed's quick apply but instead, look for the application form on the company's website that way.

Moat_Man · Post by **Moat_Man** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:29 pm

Moat_Man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:11 pm I just laid off 25% of the employees at my company. I gave another 25% two months notice. I want to turn off the lights and crawl under the covers in my bed.

Update: Of the second group of 25% in May I ended up letting all of them go except one person where I recinded the termination. Over the course of the next three months things settled down and I hired back several employees while some chose not to come back, and one guy threatened to sue me for an array of complaints ranging from illegal termination to human rights abuse. All totally fabricated. Lovely. I ended up making an offer to bring him back at better terms that he had when he worked here, which I knew he would refuse. Because he refused a valid job offer he had to settle for a pittance. Some people.

Fast forward to now and our head count is actually more than before COVID hit. Mind you, quite a few of them are newbies becuase of the turnover. Plus it takes 2-3 months before they are really worth anyting. It's another 6 months before you can trust them with anything more than softballs.

We've also added 17 clients once things came back so that's good. The installation side is still slower than it was because people don't want to spend money but the computers aren't getting any younger.

LawBeefaroni · Post by **LawBeefaroni** » Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:42 pm

Moat_Man wrote: ↑Fri Nov 13, 2020 9:29 pm
Moat_Man wrote: ↑Tue Mar 31, 2020 7:11 pm I just laid off 25% of the employees at my company. I gave another 25% two months notice. I want to turn off the lights and crawl under the covers in my bed.
Update: Of the second group of 25% in May I ended up letting all of them go except one person where I recinded the termination. Over the course of the next three months things settled down and I hired back several employees while some chose not to come back, and one guy threatened to sue me for an array of complaints ranging from illegal termination to human rights abuse. All totally fabricated. Lovely. I ended up making an offer to bring him back at better terms that he had when he worked here, which I knew he would refuse. Because he refused a valid job offer he had to settle for a pittance. Some people.

Fast forward to now and our head count is actually more than before COVID hit. Mind you, quite a few of them are newbies becuase of the turnover. Plus it takes 2-3 months before they are really worth anyting. It's another 6 months before you can trust them with anything more than softballs.

We've also added 17 clients once things came back so that's good. The installation side is still slower than it was because people don't want to spend money but the computers aren't getting any younger.

Glad to hear things are better! Very admirable work.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sat Nov 14, 2020 12:36 am

Found a junior frontend webdev job, was all excited as it's all stuff I know how to do, until I saw the salary:

Code: Select all

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: Up to $1.00 per hour

Probably a typo, but still...

What's worse, their website doesn't list the position!

It's ONLY on Indeed.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:10 pm

Now this is f***ing annoying.

Send in resume Thursday.

Got interview request Friday. Confirmed coming Tuesday.

Got message on Monday they hired someone for the position and sorry but sayonara.

F*** me.

-----

Got another rant.

Wrote a review of my previous employer on one of those job sites that let you do so (NOT naming the site, you can guess). I was totally honest, relayed the facts as I saw them, like I was laid off and hired back with no break due to them f***ing up the transition process, or how three supervisors quit and found employment elsewhere, or how the company expects us to move faster but keep burdening us with extra tasks that slow us down. Took me an hour to write the whole thing to make sure it's fair, represented only facts, and so on.

The job site sat on the review for a WHOLE F***ing MONTH (32 days). I sent in a support request asking them what's going on. Within 24 hours, review was "rejected due to violation of review guidelines".

I asked them twice to point out what guidelines I have violated. Both support requests basically hemed and hawed and won't tell me anything other than "read the guidelines again", just very politely. One guy let slip that I may have "revealed facts that are not public". I replied, isn't the WHOLE POINT of an employee review to offer something that was NOT revealed to the public? He went back to repeat "please read the guidelines" albeit in a very nice way.

Post by **ImLawBoy** » Tue Nov 17, 2020 10:55 am

Slipped my mind until I got a "e-card" from my boss about it, but today is my 23rd anniversary with AT&T (previously SBC, previously Ameritech). Time flies when you're having fun.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:21 pm

This afternoon I was on a Zoom panel for an undergrad communications class taught by a friend. I hope those kids aren't paying too much for tuition; I am just about the last person you want giving career advice.

Kraken · Post by **Kraken** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:54 am

Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:21 pm This afternoon I was on a Zoom panel for an undergrad communications class taught by a friend. I hope those kids aren't paying too much for tuition; I am just about the last person you want giving career advice.

By happenstance, I was unexpectedly called upon to give the closing remarks, and I just echoed what other panelists had said about brushing your teeth and wearing sunscreen or whatever the hell they said. What I wish I'd said: "You're going to graduate into a world where everything is changing faster than you can keep up with, and most of what you just heard is old people telling you how things used to work. My advice is, be flexible. We're all making it up as we go and trying to get thru one crisis at a time. If you have good language skills and a healthy regard for truth, you'll do fine."

These things only ever occur to me hours after it's too late to matter.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:03 am

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:58 am

Okay, this is getting ridiculous.

I applied to two positions within the same company... Driver Manager, and Driver, at 7PM. I used to be office manager and dispatch. I'm sure I can manage a bunch of drivers. If not, I can be one of the drivers.

At 8:45PM I already got rejection notice back. Except it doesn't say WHICH one they're rejecting me for. Lazy HR people...

stessier · Post by **stessier** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:14 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:54 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:21 pm This afternoon I was on a Zoom panel for an undergrad communications class taught by a friend. I hope those kids aren't paying too much for tuition; I am just about the last person you want giving career advice.
By happenstance, I was unexpectedly called upon to give the closing remarks, and I just echoed what other panelists had said about brushing your teeth and wearing sunscreen or whatever the hell they said. What I wish I'd said: "You're going to graduate into a world where everything is changing faster than you can keep up with, and most of what you just heard is old people telling you how things used to work. My advice is, be flexible. We're all making it up as we go and trying to get thru one crisis at a time. If you have good language skills and a healthy regard for truth, you'll do fine."

These things only ever occur to me hours after it's too late to matter.

FWIW, I think that's really good advice.

Jaymann · Post by **Jaymann** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:41 pm

stessier wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:14 pm
Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:54 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:21 pm This afternoon I was on a Zoom panel for an undergrad communications class taught by a friend. I hope those kids aren't paying too much for tuition; I am just about the last person you want giving career advice.
By happenstance, I was unexpectedly called upon to give the closing remarks, and I just echoed what other panelists had said about brushing your teeth and wearing sunscreen or whatever the hell they said. What I wish I'd said: "You're going to graduate into a world where everything is changing faster than you can keep up with, and most of what you just heard is old people telling you how things used to work. My advice is, be flexible. We're all making it up as we go and trying to get thru one crisis at a time. If you have good language skills and a healthy regard for truth, you'll do fine."

These things only ever occur to me hours after it's too late to matter.
FWIW, I think that's really good advice.

Yeah, I always brush my teeth and wear sunscreen.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:44 pm

Do you wash your hair at least every two weeks?

stimpy · Post by **stimpy** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:19 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:44 pm Do you wash your hair at least every two weeks?

We're not all hepcat, ya know.....

Jag · Post by **Jag** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 5:27 pm

Kraken wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 12:54 am
Kraken wrote: ↑Tue Nov 17, 2020 7:21 pm This afternoon I was on a Zoom panel for an undergrad communications class taught by a friend. I hope those kids aren't paying too much for tuition; I am just about the last person you want giving career advice.
By happenstance, I was unexpectedly called upon to give the closing remarks, and I just echoed what other panelists had said about brushing your teeth and wearing sunscreen or whatever the hell they said. What I wish I'd said: "You're going to graduate into a world where everything is changing faster than you can keep up with, and most of what you just heard is old people telling you how things used to work. My advice is, be flexible. We're all making it up as we go and trying to get thru one crisis at a time. If you have good language skills and a healthy regard for truth, you'll do fine."

These things only ever occur to me hours after it's too late to matter.

Based on what I know about college kids (including my own), they already know this. Their world changes much faster than ours ever did. They see a very uncertain future ahead of them.

dbt1949 · Post by **dbt1949** » Wed Nov 18, 2020 7:15 pm

Unlike I did 50 years ago.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 1:46 pm

Kasey Chang wrote: ↑Mon Nov 16, 2020 9:10 pm Now this is f***ing annoying.

Send in resume Thursday.

Got interview request Friday. Confirmed coming Tuesday.

Got message on Monday they hired someone for the position and sorry but sayonara.

F*** me.

Now this is extra douchebaggery.

The ad is STILL up on reddit, and 15 minutes ago the guy who cancelled my meeting is asking ANOTHER guy to give him a LinkedIn link.

WTF.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Thu Nov 19, 2020 8:09 pm

Two more rejection notices, but at least I am getting them.

Did get a warm hit... schedule for an initial interview on December 2nd. *sigh*

I may have a chance or two at additional jobs, but it'd be either driver or support, not webdev. *sigh*

Jeff V · Post by **Jeff V** » Fri Nov 20, 2020 12:48 pm

Got rejection email today from the one company that I interviewed with directly (and not a 3rd party recruiter). The email encouraged me to keep an eye open for more opportunities in the coming months.

Applied to Amazon today.

hepcat · Post by **hepcat** » Fri Nov 20, 2020 1:18 pm

stimpy wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 2:19 pm
Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Nov 18, 2020 1:44 pm Do you wash your hair at least every two weeks?
We're not all hepcat, ya know.....

My switch to a combination shampoo/conditioner has made my hourly maintenance routine so much easier, I must say.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Sun Nov 22, 2020 12:39 am

should have done search on more websites, but it seems all these websites have their own niches and their crawlers operate on different schedules or something.

Was on Glassdoor when I found another company to apply to in SF. Got a reply back on SATURDAY that they do want to interview me. Hmmm... Okay! Hopefully sometime next week.

Indeed and ZipRecruiter so far are totally useless. Even Dice struck out.

The funny part is the resume I sent to this Glassdoor-found one was PREVIOUSLY optimized for a different job with same title. I did update the keywords a bit.

Tried to check if there are customer service jobs, and keep getting spammed by this "snagajob" that keep sending me retail jobs.

And Indeed was sending me all the delivery driver jobs.

Now that I had "trained" its bot to stop sending me delivery jobs, it just flagged me a job... pest control.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:02 pm

Great, the interview went well, the take-home test just about killed me. Apparently I am a MUCH MUCH WORSE programmer than I thought.

At least I got two more interviews lined up in 2 weeks for jobs I KNOW I can handle... SIMPLE customer service, and testing autonomous vehicles.

RunningMn9 · Post by **RunningMn9** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:20 pm

Kasey Chang wrote:Great, the interview went well, the take-home test just about killed me. Apparently I am a MUCH MUCH WORSE programmer than I thought.

I’ll skip past how ridiculous that an employer gave a take home test.

I haven’t followed a detailed record of your programming history outside of a vague memory that it’s in some large part based on boot camps and stuff?

My worry about those is that while they are more intensive than other forms of learning programming, they don’t allow programming knowledge to accumulate very well. Which results in it being much harder for those skills to “set”.

By the time I got to my first programming job, I had been through four years of engineering school, two years of formal programming instruction in high school, and 12 years of programming on my own (self-taught beginning when I was around 10 years old).

I certainly think that there are other paths to this profession, so don’t take it that way. I guess I’m saying that the path you are on can lead where you want to go - but try very hard to avoid being hard on yourself.

You’re on a path that didn’t let those skills accumulate and marinate over 6+ years. You just need to keep learning while this process is ongoing so that those skills have a chance to settle in and become second nature.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:25 pm

https://www.interviewcake.com/ comes highly recommended by those in the vet-support tech Slack I'm in.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:52 pm

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:25 pm https://www.interviewcake.com/ comes highly recommended by those in the vet-support tech Slack I'm in.

I am subscribed, I think. Not the premium version though.

Kasey Chang · Post by **Kasey Chang** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 8:58 pm

RunningMn9 wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 6:20 pm My worry about those is that while they are more intensive than other forms of learning programming, they don’t allow programming knowledge to accumulate very well. Which results in it being much harder for those skills to “set”.

Yeah, thanks. Let's just say I got tested in an area I did not expect, then ran into one problem after another due to modern webdev problems such as CORS.

I'll still study some more, of course. Already signed up for 2 more courses on Coursera, and I think I want an upgraded certificate that MAY get me into entry-level stuff in other fields when things got better.

Ænima · Post by **Ænima** » Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:55 pm

FWIW, I've hired more software developers than I can count and I've never once cared about a certificate in anything, nor has anyone I've ever known worth working with. If you want to impress software people, make something. Put your code on Github and don't be afraid to show it to people. If you can't think of anything yourself to build, contribute to open source projects you find interesting. You'll learn a lot from getting your pull requests rejected and it won't cost you a thing! If you can't think of anything interesting to build, and you don't find any open source projects interesting, why are you making software? My first interview question is "Tell me about something you built that wasn't for work or school". In my mind what we do is a kind of magic. We can build anything we want, and in my experience, people who just build what they're told won't pull their weight. It's like someone who can connect the dots and make pretty pictures. Ok, now I give you a blank sheet of paper... draw something!

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:31 am

Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:55 pm "Tell me about something you built that wasn't for work or school"

I don't code outside work or school . I have other hobbies.

Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:55 pm Ok, now I give you a blank sheet of paper... draw something!

I don't come up with new ideas, I come up with better solutions to existing problems.

Ænima · Post by **Ænima** » Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:01 am

Isgrimnur wrote: ↑Thu Nov 26, 2020 12:31 am
Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:55 pm "Tell me about something you built that wasn't for work or school"
I don't code outside work or school . I have other hobbies.

Ænima wrote: ↑Wed Nov 25, 2020 11:55 pm Ok, now I give you a blank sheet of paper... draw something!
I don't come up with new ideas, I come up with better solutions to existing problems.

I have many hobbies. Programming isn't a hobby for me, it's my career. It also happens to be a passion. I'm not saying you can't be a good programmer if you aren't passionate about it, I'm just saying its much more likely you'll be good at it if you are.

Isgrimnur · Post by **Isgrimnur** » Thu Nov 26, 2020 1:07 am

I have a compulsion to seek better solutions. Code just happens to be a way that I can do that effectively. It's probably why I ended up as MIS rather than CS. Coding is a tool that I use rather than a passion.