How is your career going?

[Unagi]

Lol, I look it, but I don't act it.

Like do you still downhill ski, or do you still make fart jokes?

[RMC]

Lol, I look it, but I don't act it.

Like do you still downhill ski, or do you still make fart jokes?

Ugh, never made fart jokes...But never did I downhill ski. But in this instance Fart jokes. Overweight bald guy with what little hair left is grey. And just have a really bad sense of humor.

[Unagi]

Lol, I look it, but I don't act it.

Like do you still downhill ski, or do you still make fart jokes?

Ugh, never made fart jokes...But never did I downhill ski. But in this instance Fart jokes. Overweight bald guy with what little hair left is grey. And just have a really bad sense of humor.

Yeah, you got the spirit of my question.

[stessier]

A lot of changes going on at work. Going to apply for a site management position. If this goes well, it could be very good. If it goes poorly, I might be out of a job. Need to get the resume in by Friday and likely have the final answer by next Friday. Wasn't exactly looking for this particular stress this week, but I guess I can't be too choosy on timing.

[Zaxxon]

Good luck!

[stessier]

Thanks! The die has been cast. I thought I was well prepared and I did have examples for what was asked, but had really thought the questions would be different. And there were far fewer than I was expecting - done in 30 minutes vs. the 60 scheduled. So now I can't stop thinking about what I coulda/shoulda/woulda. I can live with not getting an offer because I don't have a skill/experience they were looking for. It's going to be embarrassing if they say I had the experience, I just didn't demonstrate it well enough.

[Holman]

I don't believe I've ever posted in this thread, but now I have news of a major career change.

A brief resume:

I was in grad school (English lit) from 1992-2000. During that time I taught some courses.
Being in Ann Arbor, I also helped manage a wonderful independent bookstore 1998-2002.
We moved to Philadelphia, where I taught upper-school English at a girls' school 2002-2009.
The economy collapsed in 2009. My teaching contract was not renewed.
I went back for a library degree 2010-12.
From 2012 until this month I adjuncted as an English professor.
Also, from 2015 until this month I adjuncted as a Reference Librarian.

All of this leads to the present, where I have just begun a full-time position as the Reference Librarian at a venerable and respected research institution affiliated with a major university. I could not be happier with this development!

My role as Reference Librarian will be to serve in-house scientists, university students and faculty, and interested outside constituents.

At the same time, I will be supporting a rich program of public exhibits, presentations, and author events. Much of this will be a part of the institution’s commitment to natural science in the public interest (e.g. programming around climate and other environmental crises). I will be very proud to be involved in that. It really feels like having a meaningful mission.

[Isgrimnur]

[Jaymann]

Congrats, sounds interesting and meaningful.

[Kraken]

Yeah, that sounds great.

When I got kicked out of the workforce for the last time in 2004, I didn't know what to do next -- just that I needed to do something different. Going back to school was on the table, and librarian was a leading option (accounting was the other; I have a knack for that but don't enjoy it). Then I went out for drinks with a friend who was just retiring from his library career, and he talked me out of that. Libraries were taking it on the chin from the internet and funding was tight everywhere. So I started a business instead.

If I had thought that "Reference Librarian at a venerable and respected research institution affiliated with a major university" was even possible I might have gone for that library science degree.

[Madmarcus]

Sounds like a great gig!

[Zenn7]

Grats! Sounds like something you will really enjoy, both just for day to day activities of the job and for the meaningful purpose.

[Smoove_B]

That's great to hear. My experience with gig work in higher ed has been mostly positive but I think I've just crossed a point where it's starting to become less rewarding. To borrow a phrase, my days of enjoying the experience have definitely come to a middle. Glad you found something that's productive and in a place where you're going to be appreciated. There's definitely value in that.

[TheMix]

Nice! One of my close friends got a Masters in Library Science (or something like that) and works for a university in Texas. She seems to mostly like her job. (To be honest, we don't talk about it all that much. But she's going on 10 years now.)

[stessier]

Congrats Holman!

Thanks! The die has been cast. I thought I was well prepared and I did have examples for what was asked, but had really thought the questions would be different. And there were far fewer than I was expecting - done in 30 minutes vs. the 60 scheduled. So now I can't stop thinking about what I coulda/shoulda/woulda. I can live with not getting an offer because I don't have a skill/experience they were looking for. It's going to be embarrassing if they say I had the experience, I just didn't demonstrate it well enough.

I forgot to update this - I did get the position the next day and started in the role on Monday. It was an incredibly busy week, but for the first time in a long time, I was interested (I'd say excited, but that's not quite right) in going into work in the morning. The funniest thing that happened since the change was my old supervisor came in and was discussing some up coming changes in my group that I was now over (and he had been over previously). I offered my opinion by saying "Could you make changes X Y Z." He said "Here, let me show you something:" and wrote very slowly on my whiteboard "You = stessier". I got a really good laugh from that - need to change my mindset just a bit there.

[RMC]

Congrats Holman!

Thanks! The die has been cast. I thought I was well prepared and I did have examples for what was asked, but had really thought the questions would be different. And there were far fewer than I was expecting - done in 30 minutes vs. the 60 scheduled. So now I can't stop thinking about what I coulda/shoulda/woulda. I can live with not getting an offer because I don't have a skill/experience they were looking for. It's going to be embarrassing if they say I had the experience, I just didn't demonstrate it well enough.

I forgot to update this - I did get the position the next day and started in the role on Monday. It was an incredibly busy week, but for the first time in a long time, I was interested (I'd say excited, but that's not quite right) in going into work in the morning. The funniest thing that happened since the change was my old supervisor came in and was discussing some up coming changes in my group that I was now over (and he had been over previously). I offered my opinion by saying "Could you make changes X Y Z." He said "Here, let me show you something:" and wrote very slowly on my whiteboard "You = stessier". I got a really good laugh from that - need to change my mindset just a bit there.

Congrats to you both, sounds like great things are happening!

And Stessier, I will say I know how you feel. I was promoted to Director over the area I was a manager in a little over a year ago. I still sometimes get way too into the weeds, and let's just say I am glad I got to hire all my managers that report to me. They smile and point out that I am the director, and they can do the job I hired them to do. So it takes time, and a good crew helps that out.

[LordMortis]

[FishPants]

The company I was working for was acquired about two years ago (well 1.5 now I guess? Just over?) - initially I was on a retention bonus to integrate the cyber team, and it was crazy generous. I thought ok, I'll stick this out for the payday and when I'm released there will be severance too - especially since it's on good terms (plus cyber security isn't exactly getting hit with layoffs, especially then). As I near the retention payout date (Dec '21, acquisition was completed in July '21) my counterpart who was running the team announces that it was a far bigger team now, and he needed help - he wants to split the team with me. Ok, so I keep my job, my salary, get paid a retention bonus and with the acquisition all of my stock options vested at peak amount (you know, since the departing CEO also had options - miraculously we hit all of our targets which never happened before). It was a once in a lifetime windfall, and I promptly put that money into some renovations and booked trips with my kids (I think someone here recommended the book 'Die with Zero' and I took some of the lessons to heart, I'm traditionally a saver, my wife much more so).

Then I get an alert from my security team that intercepted a company communication outbound and they needed me to address it. This in itself wasn't unusual, I typically get escalated alerts when it relates to executives or board members - the analysts are not comfortable lecturing senior staff on policy. The problem? It's an org chart going from a senior board advisor to the board, and it doesn't include my counter part. I have to address this with my boss, who can't stop laughing - ends up my counter part has been trying to retire for 3 years, and he is finally in a position where he can hand over the reigns and let someone else worry about it.

I was given the mandate to modernize the team, the company has grown by 70% in three years and the org wasn't set up right to adapt - so I've been planning and building and hiring (these are all things I like) and my career objective was to land at a major FI as a CISO and ride it out to retirement (since banks usually have a defined benefit pension, this is where I thought I would go). Not a bank but now a huge P&C insurance company, and they have that pension plan as well. Fast forward to now, and I've got a team of around 160-170 cyber security people (different functions, everything from governance to security operations to data loss prevention). Then my boss tells me that since I am doing such a good job, he can safely retire now and let another CIO/CTO come into the org. I've been operating without that boss (who was pretty damn amazing) since July and reporting into an EVP COO - we got along well, he has taught me a lot around how to handle a board and the messages they want to hear.

Then comes December 2022 - and an announcement we have a new CIO joining the organization (and will be my new boss). None of his soon to be direct reports had an opportunity to interview him which was weird, but whatever we roll with it. Ends up this guy comes from one of the big banks here, and it sounds promising that he will bring a lot of maturity vision and can help us get over some technical hurdles we've been facing - plan our way to finalizing our transformation program etc. Except he has never been a CIO before, and he had a limited mandate at the bank - he's proving to frankly be a dip shit who can be hyper critical without offering advice or options on how to change things. This week the company announced that we are returning to office, with a target of 2 days a week for analysts, 3 days a week for managers/directors and 4 days a week for VPs (me). 2 hour commute each way to the HQ I am attached to, and that piles on stress as well - if anything good came out of Covid it was the chance to really bond as a family and I'm not willing to give that up.

Anyhow CIO McDickhead and I cleared the air a bit last week (I had to tell him to stop with the criticisms to my team, and start leading and supporting) - so far the message seems received ok. Further I told him I won't be doing that commute 4 days a week, but I will come in whenever there's an opportunity and reason to do so which I estimate as 2 days a week in the Toronto office; I frequently fly to Montreal where I have a lot of staff and I think that's meeting the target if you factor in that travel as well.

So for now I have hit the target job I've always wanted, I have as much budget as I can consume (as long as I consume it and hit our plan targets - which I NAILED in 2022) - but I'm concerned this clown of a CIO is going to be a problem for us. With the senior team having interviewed and placed the guy, any hopes of a rapid "whoops we made a mistake" release are out the window, and already one of my peers has accepted a job elsewhere because she had enough of the guy in 3 weeks time. She says she delivered the message in her exit interview, while not burning a bridge - but who knows what was said.

I'm in a wait and see mode, I should see my year end rating in the next month or so - which will dictate what happens next. I'm concerned that perhaps the board and EVP maybe don't think I knocked it out of the park as much as I thought I did - but I'm trying not to get too far ahead of myself. The economy has slowed a bit, but job numbers are through the roof (January the expectation was 15,000 job openings net new - and the reported number was 150,000 - what recession?). Although roles like mine in Canada are very few - most CISOs know each other, and we rotate through each other's postings as we work our way up the ladder.

What's my point? I'm wondering what's next for me - I've achieved what I set out to do, and in some ways I find it very fulfilling. I've promoted internal people all over the place, created opportunities for existing staff to learn and grow, and I love it. What I don't love is the hours the role takes to do it effectively, and I am down to weeks left on a deadline to submit a thesis for a MSc that I've been taking on/off for years - it's crunch time, and I'm having a HELL of a time getting through the paper (I'm probably 50-60% done my rough draft, and I have to submit by end of March or apply for a 1 year extension which I am loathe to do... because I know me, and I'll procrastinate again and repeat this). My oldest daughter is headed to University in the fall, and until all the yes/no letters come in - I don't know what that looks like for costs or location, and my youngest daughter is in grade 9 - pretty soon she will be doing the same. I'm just not sure what I want to do - I've saved a fair bit of cash up, but I also have a lot of expenses facing me - but I think it may be time to consider how I unwind from the corporate life that is so demanding in a year or two.

I'm 46 currently, and I hope I have lots of runway left - but after reading that Die with Zero book and going through Covid, among my wife battling triple negative breast cancer 6 years ago, losing my mother to a crippling painful disease, and all kinds of other personal shit - I don't know that I want to wait until I'm 65ish to retire. My former boss from the company that got acquired (he was an American up to handle building a team to sell the company) was older, I think around 70ish and he finally retired to Florida when the sale happened - and I hear that he had a close call health wise, and is rapidly trying to undo years of bad choices in short order to extend his life; but he isn't able to travel far - and in my opinion will likely die with millions in his bank account.

Still trying to figure this out, but after spending a few days in Cuba on the beach with friends and sailing around on a catamaran I realize that I want to do more of that as a lifestyle vs a once a year trip. I don't mean a beachfront palace with a boat, but near water, spending time with my wife, reading a book, playing with a dog, talking to my kids - this is what I realize is the most important thing. My car, my house, my "stuff" doesn't mean a damn thing - and that's a fairly new outlook for me. I've never been a materialistic guy - but I think I've always been out to prove I can "earn" since I only have a grade 12 education (formally) - the masters I am taking was a personal goal because I wanted to prove to myself that I could do it, I doubt it will do much for my career which I am starting to care less about.

Next steps for me? I'm taking my family to Portugal on a trip in July (again bonus in, bonus out - die with Zero!) - it will be probably the last time the four of us can travel together, once University hits I'm sure my oldest will be buried and then will have a summer job etc. I'm secretly scoping it out as a potential location to retire to, I hear good things and it seems more affordable than a lot of places (including the Toronto area). I checked out Greece last year, and it's an amazing country but I don't think I can retire there - if I can't flush toilet paper dawg, that's a no from me.

I know I am extremely fortunate to be in the situation that I am in, especially with my wife still having her full health and remaining cancer free 6 years in (she's been "fired" by her oncologist even!) - but I do question what the hell I've been chasing all these years. Like I've read from many on this thread - how much money will we need to live comfortably, able to travel a little and fly to see our kids (or fly them to see us if we end up living somewhere awesome). All depends on location, but the thought of both of us being in our 40s (or even early 50s) with zero income is a touch daunting. Another ten years or so and my pension would give a nice safety net payout - so maybe 55ish is when I should look at exiting, if I can stomach dealing with this CIO for that long - but I've promised myself I won't go down the path of heavy commutes, and stressful work relationships (with him specifically) just to chase a pension that I may not live long enough to enjoy to make it worthwhile. Covid perspective? Midlife evaluation of priorities? Who knows where it's all coming from.

Thank you for attending my ted talk, I've been procrastinating long enough on this thesis and suppose I should get after it.

[geezer]

I don't believe I've ever posted in this thread, but now I have news of a major career change.

A brief resume:

I was in grad school (English lit) from 1992-2000. During that time I taught some courses.
Being in Ann Arbor, I also helped manage a wonderful independent bookstore 1998-2002.
We moved to Philadelphia, where I taught upper-school English at a girls' school 2002-2009.
The economy collapsed in 2009. My teaching contract was not renewed.
I went back for a library degree 2010-12.
From 2012 until this month I adjuncted as an English professor.
Also, from 2015 until this month I adjuncted as a Reference Librarian.

All of this leads to the present, where I have just begun a full-time position as the Reference Librarian at a venerable and respected research institution affiliated with a major university. I could not be happier with this development!

My role as Reference Librarian will be to serve in-house scientists, university students and faculty, and interested outside constituents.

At the same time, I will be supporting a rich program of public exhibits, presentations, and author events. Much of this will be a part of the institution’s commitment to natural science in the public interest (e.g. programming around climate and other environmental crises). I will be very proud to be involved in that. It really feels like having a meaningful mission.

That's fantastic - congrats!!

[geezer]

Congrats Holman!

Thanks! The die has been cast. I thought I was well prepared and I did have examples for what was asked, but had really thought the questions would be different. And there were far fewer than I was expecting - done in 30 minutes vs. the 60 scheduled. So now I can't stop thinking about what I coulda/shoulda/woulda. I can live with not getting an offer because I don't have a skill/experience they were looking for. It's going to be embarrassing if they say I had the experience, I just didn't demonstrate it well enough.

I forgot to update this - I did get the position the next day and started in the role on Monday. It was an incredibly busy week, but for the first time in a long time, I was interested (I'd say excited, but that's not quite right) in going into work in the morning. The funniest thing that happened since the change was my old supervisor came in and was discussing some up coming changes in my group that I was now over (and he had been over previously). I offered my opinion by saying "Could you make changes X Y Z." He said "Here, let me show you something:" and wrote very slowly on my whiteboard "You = stessier". I got a really good laugh from that - need to change my mindset just a bit there.

Congrats to you also - it's great to be able to get up in the morning and look forward to the day

[LordMortis]

a dip shit who can be hyper critical without offering advice or options on how to change things.

That was always a nonstarter to and from me. I am told with my replacement, not so much and that's going to get him terminated. They want me back, bad. Nope.

if anything good came out of Covid it was the chance to really bond as a family and I'm not willing to give that up.

+1. That's part of nope.

Luck to you and your CIO. Working around the right people is sooo important. I won't go back to a situation where poor working relationship with anyone is on the table if I can avoid it. I might have to go back to work. We'll see once a I'm a full year into no health care from my former work (which is a crazy expensive $600 a month already). If I do have to go back to work, there will be no negotiations with myself on worker relationships. Shitty times happen, but bad relationships. Again. Nope. Also, no full time.

I hope you figure out what you're looking for and you find it. I know I appreciate you.

[Holman]

Thanks for the congrats, all!

[Zaxxon]

Congrats, Holman and stessier!

I'm wondering what's next for me - I've achieved what I set out to do, and in some ways I find it very fulfilling. ... I'm just not sure what I want to do - I've saved a fair bit of cash up, but I also have a lot of expenses facing me - but I think it may be time to consider how I unwind from the corporate life that is so demanding in a year or two.

Great post, FP. And while our situations are different, you hit on a lot of things going through my head lately.

I'm 46 currently, and I hope I have lots of runway left - but after reading that Die with Zero book and going through Covid, among my wife battling triple negative breast cancer 6 years ago, losing my mother to a crippling painful disease, and all kinds of other personal shit - I don't know that I want to wait until I'm 65ish to retire. My former boss from the company that got acquired (he was an American up to handle building a team to sell the company) was older, I think around 70ish and he finally retired to Florida when the sale happened - and I hear that he had a close call health wise, and is rapidly trying to undo years of bad choices in short order to extend his life; but he isn't able to travel far - and in my opinion will likely die with millions in his bank account.

I'm a bit younger than you but having similar thoughts. My Dad died in a similar situation to your former boss (though Dad was younger and didn't have as much in the bank, he was 10 months from his planned retirement when he passed). That was Mindset-Changing Life Event #1 for me.

I know I am extremely fortunate to be in the situation that I am in, especially with my wife still having her full health and remaining cancer free 6 years in (she's been "fired" by her oncologist even!) - but I do question what the hell I've been chasing all these years. Like I've read from many on this thread - how much money will we need to live comfortably, able to travel a little and fly to see our kids (or fly them to see us if we end up living somewhere awesome). All depends on location, but the thought of both of us being in our 40s (or even early 50s) with zero income is a touch daunting. Another ten years or so and my pension would give a nice safety net payout - so maybe 55ish is when I should look at exiting, if I can stomach dealing with this CIO for that long - but I've promised myself I won't go down the path of heavy commutes, and stressful work relationships (with him specifically) just to chase a pension that I may not live long enough to enjoy to make it worthwhile. Covid perspective? Midlife evaluation of priorities? Who knows where it's all coming from.

Congrats on your wife's firing!

More similar mindset here--absolutely some COVID perspective (Mindset-Changing Life Event #2). Losing so much of the activities/socialization that I realized during COVID were incredibly important to me despite me being largely introverted woke me up to how low on the priority scale career actually is. I like most parts of my job, and I'm largely happy there. But it's a job, and it's not the center of my life. I don't want to be doing it in my 60s. We're not super-far off from where we could 'retire' (quotes because initial step for us would likely look more like reducing our work to 50% time for a few years), but the thought of ~20 years in the USA without employer-provided healthcare or Medicare is terrifying (another reason to go 50% for awhile--employer healthcare).

If nothing else, having the freedom to push back on commutes, bad boss behavior, etc, is freeing.

tl;dr - No way in hell I make it to 55 without a drastic de-prioritization of work, at minimum. I'm targeting 50, with a stretch goal of 48. LM's de-workification has been inspiring to me, and I hope the remaining years of your career go well and lead to many years of retired bliss with your family, FP.

[LordMortis]

~20 years in the USA without employer-provided healthcare or Medicare

I'll report in on the ACA once I need to get a better handle on it. Of course, who knows how long that will last. Also, a better handle on it might be going to medicaid, which likely isn't an option for you if you are seeking a retirement life of leisure.

I'm approaching one year of post employment and paying $600 a month for COBRA still but even then I don't regret a moment of it yet. There is literally nothing that makes me think "I should take on some work to occupy my time." My health slowly ticking to the better. I'm slowly cleaning a house. I spend time with the closest of friend a couple times a month and make a lot of time for my parents. Work has offered me to come back at a 15% raise and 80% of the workload. I'm not even a little tempted.

Also, even under COVID isolation, I play less video games now than I did when I was working. (I do watch more "TV", though)

[Zaxxon]

My health slowly ticking to the better.

[FishPants]

Congrats on your wife's firing!

Thanks! Any time there's anything weird with her health I always catch my breath a bit, but so far so good (NOT tempting fate here!).

If nothing else, having the freedom to push back on commutes, bad boss behavior, etc, is freeing.

tl;dr - No way in hell I make it to 55 without a drastic de-prioritization of work, at minimum. I'm targeting 50, with a stretch goal of 48. LM's de-workification has been inspiring to me, and I hope the remaining years of your career go well and lead to many years of retired bliss with your family, FP.

I hope you hit the goal; this reminds me I need to go check my lottery ticket - this is my plan for early retirement without full panic!

[Default]

https://howlongagogo.com/countdown/UAQQITEpjQti

[AWS260]

I had to have a really tough conversation with a long-time colleague today. Not "you're fired," but "you really need to think about if this is the right place for you." This is someone who thrived on my team for a long time, was given their own team, and basically screwed the pooch.

I've let people go and coached people out before, but never anyone that I had mentored so closely and consider a friend. It sucks. (And this is the only place that I'll complain, because I know it sucks a lot worse for them.)

[Unagi]

I had to have a really tough conversation with a long-time colleague today. Not "you're fired," but "you really need to think about if this is the right place for you." This is someone who thrived on my team for a long time, was given their own team, and basically screwed the pooch.

I've let people go and coached people out before, but never anyone that I had mentored so closely and consider a friend. It sucks. (And this is the only place that I'll complain, because I know it sucks a lot worse for them.)

Could it just be that they are not a strong team lead, but make an excellent team member. Not everyone is made to be the lead dog.

[Smoove_B]

My informal mentor for the last ~24 years told me yesterday that he's retiring in July; he's had enough. I did not think it was possible to feel even more rudderless, but here I am.

/hope in my past

[Exodor]

I'm a bit younger than you but having similar thoughts. My Dad died in a similar situation to your former boss (though Dad was younger and didn't have as much in the bank, he was 10 months from his planned retirement when he passed). That was Mindset-Changing Life Event #1 for me.

I hit 50 last year. My dad passed at 54 which is coming up awfully quickly.

Just before COVID I hit something of a career crossroads. I was working at an MSP with an ever increasing workload and accompanying stress. I applied for a sysadmin position with my city which I didn't get. A few months later a desktop support position with the city was posted with a salary only slightly less than the sysadmin position. I got it and started the new job in January 2020.

The guy they hired for the sysadmin position didn't work out and my boss subtly let me know that if I went for it again I'd probably get it. But it would be a stretch - supporting unfamiliar systems and being responsible for systems that impact the entire city. Meanwhile I loved the desktop job which focused on keeping the city library up and running. I really feel like my work is helping the community and making things better (a big reason I bailed on the MSP who had multiple clients in industries I couldn't support in good conscience). The pay bump for the sysadmin job was insignificant but the difference in workload and stress would have been massive. I decided to keep the library support job and at this point I'll be happy to stay there until I retire. I could make more money taking that sysadmin job or another one elsewhere but having a stress-free IT job (with absolutely no after-hours or on-call support) is worth more than an extra few K a year.

[dfs]

Having a stress-free IT job (with absolutely no after-hours or on-call support) is worth more than an extra few K a year.

This is the way.

[Jeff V]

I hit 50 last year. My dad passed at 54 which is coming up awfully quickly.

A good friend's father died at 50, and he lived his whole life assuming his wouldn't be a long one. He's biked cross-country. He's traveled the world, with an emphasis on the "shithole countries" Trump likes to bash. He nearly made his own prophecy come true when he had a heart attack reading the 11 page eulogy he wrote at his mother's funeral. Fortunately, he's still with us, and has lived more than anyone else I know, except he never established his own family. Came close -- was serious with a doctor no less (and she was cute as hell). But he also expressed a certain crudeness that her upscale family just couldn't abide by, and he refused to compromise even if giving up a hot doc (who was a box doc to boot!)

[Jeff V]

Having a stress-free IT job (with absolutely no after-hours or on-call support) is worth more than an extra few K a year.

This is the way.

This is the rationale behind me doing Uber now, although now I'm driven to drive most waking hours....15 1/2 today. My kids asked my wife the other day if she could please allow me a day off to have game night with them. My son yesterday told me to start work early today and work late so I might finish early tomorrow. All well and good if most of the rides are short -- and some days they are. Yesterday and today were mostly long rides though. I only managed 21 yesterday and 29 today -- leaving me 30 to do tomorrow to collect a bonus.

Perhaps Monday will work better for game night. Weekday bonuses suck anyway.

[LordMortis]

few months later a desktop support position with the city was posted with a salary only slightly less than the sysadmin position.

I'd say I want that job but I'm not ready to go back to work. I'm not sure I ever will be. An 8 hour work day even three days a week seems so much past my endurance at this point and I need time every single day to take care of my health and life beyond that.

[Default]

Right now, there is a ban on bringing people in on their day off, so I'm still working 9-10 paid hours a day. Lunch is an unpaid half an hour at an "authorized lunch spot". I'm done at the end of next July, when I turn 62. I can't even believe I said that.

[Smoove_B]

Apply now: - State of Tennessee is hiring: PUBLIC HEALTH REGIONAL ASSESSMENT & PLANNING COORDINATOR

[coopasonic]

Apply now: - State of Tennessee is hiring: PUBLIC HEALTH REGIONAL ASSESSMENT & PLANNING COORDINATOR

Sounds like the easiest job ever. In fact every time you get a request, reply with the same gif.

[LawBeefaroni]

Assessment: all good!
Planning: maintain status quo but with less women's health.

[LawBeefaroni]

Oh, also, won't go into boring details but massive rug pull at work. Not personally but system-wise and after spending a few months on a pretty big project, I have to now unwind everything. And there's a 99% chance what was canceled now will happen in 5 or 6 months anyway so I get to do it all over again.

Yay, job security?