So I’ve been at the new job for six weeks now and I’m more or less settled into what passes for a routine around here. I still don’t have general building access so I’m still following someone else over to the buildings I’m working in so they can let me in, but once inside I’m pretty much on my own for most of the day, if you don’t count the occasional call from one of the RC’s with a new ticket they want to fax over. The initial tension caused from being confronted by the truly funky nature of the processes I’m expected to follow has passed as I’ve kept up repeating the mantra of they don’t pay me enough to give a shit and I’ve settled into that semi-apathetic mind state that all menial drones seem to exhibit during working hours.
I mentioned before that I planned to continue my job search as there were a number of aspects about this one that motivate me to keep my tenure as short as possible—to wit the above cited funky processes and the low pay rate—and I had intended to sit down and update my resume during last week’s involuntary vacation, but as often happens when I have lots of free time I allowed my ADD to assert itself and I never got around to it. So I made a point to do it this past Monday, not only updating my Word resume, but also my online resumes at CareerBuilder.com and Monster.com. Since then I’ve been contacted about two possible job opportunities.
The first has a great pay rate, around $41.03 an hour, and would involve doing Active Directory migrations of some sort. The job description was a bit vague so I’m not entirely sure what’s involved. I’ve got some experience with Active Directory, but not so much that I’d claim to be a full-blown administrator so it’s hard to say how long a shot that opportunity would be for me. It’s also unclear from the description if the job includes work on weekends or is a weekends-only job. The other potential drawback is that it appears that the contract only lasts until mid-September. I’ve sent off my resume as requested with a couple of questions on the details and am waiting to hear back.
The second one would have me contracted to the only one of the Big Three American automotive companies that I haven’t already worked for in the past thus completing my Automotive Job Trifecta. If you’re a long-time reader then you should be able to guess which one that would be. They pay rate is between $40K and $45K a year though I’ve been told that my lack of a Bachelor’s Degree would likely cause my pay to be on the lower end, one more (somewhat stupid) reason to go back to school I suppose. However that would include benefits and the contract house I’d be working for seems to think they offer a pretty good benefits package. Plus it’s an open-ended contract that would be closer to my current home so although it’s not quite what I was earning at Ford, it’s still better than what I’m earning now. I’ve sent off the resume to those folks as well.
To say it’s surprising to suddenly be contacted about two opportunities after so many months of nothing is an understatement and it’s probably way too premature to assume this represents some kind of turn around in the Michigan tech industry, but it’s certainly a welcome fluke just the same. Of course there’s no guarantee I’ll land either opportunity but I’ve got a slight spring in my step anyway.
This BA thing is just bullshit. It has about as much to do with your ability to do your job as whether or not you wear Hawaiian shirts.
Except for the fact that it would take time and money, I’d say just go get it out of the way. Use it as an opportunity to take classes that you don’t need, but might enjoy. History of your favorite historical period, some art classes, that kind of thing.
Either way, though, at least you have some -choices- about where you want to work, and that’s always a good thing.