Post #28,597
2/16/02 12:54:24 AM
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Should I stay or should I go now?
I have the $9/hr helpdesk job doing Telco DSL support. Problem is that I am unable to look for another job while employed there because they are a client for many headhunters and it is a conflict of interest. I have one more week of training.
Desitter says that he would rather live under a bridge, homeless, than work for a $9/hr helpdesk job. I am beginning to think he is right. He says if I quit in 30 days because the pay is too low, that MO Unemployment will still cover me.
But the market looks like it is still fozen for IT workers. Should I quit now, or try to stick it out? My depression is really getting to me and making it hard to focus and concentrate in class, I blanked out when asked a question and only got 3 out of the 4 parts right. They are very strict, and if I make more mistakes like that, they may show me out the door anyway. I am just not sure what to do? Any ideas?
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #28,603
2/16/02 1:28:37 AM
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You don't want to be homeless
Or if you do, then you want to be wifeless and childless as well.
Which you don't.
Nine real dollars per hour are a lot more than even a million 'perhaps' dollars. And living under a bridge? If that's what he wants to do, let him. Pride, as they say, comes before a fall.
On and on and on and on,
and on and on and on goes John.
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Post #28,608
2/16/02 1:56:11 AM
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It matters a lot, who you take your major clues from.
And offhand, there'd seem to be something inherently flawed for a person in an er depressing situation - and with personal responsibilities beyond merely the next Happy Meal for oneself - to emulate that hubris which is the province of the solitary and disgruntled.
No?
(Thing is, no one can 'teach' someone else how you ~ look around, count your good fortune - by comparison with lots of others, if that's what it takes.) Of course.. if you are convinced that you are incapable of performing Any sort of useful work except VB; next and forever (?) well, maybe it is best to give up.. and at least enjoy the feeling of helplessness.
A.
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Post #28,643
2/16/02 10:37:19 AM
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It is not a conflict of interest and on depression
Just read an article that the omega-3 fatty whatevers in fish oil contribute to combat depression, if you are not alergic to fish I assume you dont eat much of it, so high ye off to a drugstore and get some fish oil capsules. Things are starting to open up, if you lived here you would be working, If the company you are working for has a lot of recruiters, that just means they cant get you in there, doesnt mean that you cant be placed elswhere.
thanx,
bill
Mike Doogan
"Then there's figure skating and ice dancing and snowboarding. The winners are all chosen by judges. That's not sports. That's politics. And curling? If curling is a sport, pork rinds are a health food."
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Post #28,649
2/16/02 11:47:08 AM
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Alergic to seafood somewhat
I can have as many as one or two fish meals a week, no more than that or I break out in hives or pimples or get red splotches on my face and skin. I just had a fish sandwich on friday (lent) and I am paying for it now. I feel real sick, and had a few more pimples grow on my forehead overnight, my arms are red and have those small bumps on them, I am thinking of going back to sleep for a while.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #28,713
2/17/02 1:25:15 AM
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Norman, I've been there.
Homeless that is. Many years ago, and it's not something I ever thought I'd be talking about here. I know my situation had little in common with what you are experiencing. Except perhaps for the depression and sense of futility. Trust me on this one, you do not want to be homeless.
You have a family. Do you really want to destroy that? You keep your eye on the main chance and work in whatever demeaning, scummy, lowlife piece of crap job you can get until things change. And this is something else I want you to trust me on: things change.
Here's the gotcha; things don't change all by themselves. You have to make the change. I did. It was HARD. Find what you need. It may be volunteering to help others who have it even worse than you (another thing to trust me on, plenty are worse off than you), it could be something as simple as breaking a bad habit. It could mean starting an exercise program, or getting a pet. It could be anything.
But you sir, need to stop feeling sorry for yourself, take stock of your strengths and damn well start using them. I know you have some smarts in you. Use them. I know have drive, use it. Do not let depression win control over you. You are the master of your own fate.
Keep it steady.
With this much manure around, there must be a pony somewhere.
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Post #28,741
2/17/02 2:28:38 PM
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I do not want to be homeless
but if thing keep getting worse for me, I may end up there no matter what. My wife has a job and can support her and my son, but not me and the current house. I'd have to move out of the house and put my wife and son in an apartment while I try to get a better job if all else fails. This $9/hr job will just make one house payment, and I hope that my wife's paycheck can cover the rest. If not, I may have to quit the $9/hr job to have more time to get another one.
I read and post on this forum to try and keep my sanity and express myself. I try to see what others think and see if I am doing the right thing.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #28,752
2/17/02 4:06:31 PM
2/17/02 4:08:26 PM
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Work is important.
to self-respect. I was working a $10/hr job earlier last year.. During my exclusive job-search (no other work), I was starting to think crazy thoughts about me being employable at all. I suspect that attitude, and the depression from being unemployed (as well as my other troubles) was leaking into what interviews I was getting...
You say that you can't search for a job while working your current job? I think I'm going to have to call you on that, Norm. If you are willing to sacrifice the job, to give it up, then the you should also be willing to put the job in jeopardy by searching while working there.
I know that that feels like 'bad faith' with your employer. You are not intending to make a career out of help-desk work at this company, you are using it as a stepping stone to better things anyway... Just think of it as 'stepping lively'. Believe me, prospective employers will sympathize with your leaving the helpdesk job - and they won't hold trying to better your way out of a $9/hr job against you.
Imric's Tips for Living- Paranoia Is a Survival Trait
- Pessimists are never disappointed - but sometimes, if they are very lucky, they can be pleasantly surprised...
- Even though everyone is out to get you, it doesn't matter unless you let them win.
Edited by imric
Feb. 17, 2002, 04:08:26 PM EST
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Post #28,760
2/17/02 5:47:15 PM
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Zero Tolerance policy
I hate employers that have them, because they usually use them to get rid of people and play favortism by letting some get away with it, and nailing others on boarderline offenses.
My current employer has a ZT policy against personal phone calls and personal email. If a recruiter calls me at work, I am automatically escourted by security out the door. They record all phone calls being a help desk and have cameras everywhere, even in the bathrooms and showers (for when people work three shifts in a row and need to refresh). All I can do so far is use email, at home, and contact employers that way. If they call me, I am usually at work, and won't get home until late at night. The only time I do have is early in the morning, but most recuiters usually call after lunch for some odd reason?
I didn't say I couldn't search for a job while at this one, just that my hours for doing so are reduced. I would do better if I could call someone back 15 minutes after they called me, and not 8 hours or so later or the next day, etc. I called one the next day, and they said it was too late and they already have enough canidates to interview for the job.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #28,816
2/18/02 11:43:26 AM
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Cell Phone?
If you don't already have one, get a cell phone with voice mail. Keep the phone at work(turned off if need be) and return calls during lunch or breaks.
Darrell Spice, Jr.
[link|http://home.houston.rr.com/spiceware/|SpiceWare] - We don't do Windows, it's too much of a chore
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Post #28,865
2/18/02 8:56:31 PM
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I had one
and I got rid of it to cut back on expenses. No cell phone is to be turned on in the building, even at breaks. Best I could do is what I did at my former employer and return calls at lunch outside of the building. The only way the employer would know if I was calling about jobs was if someone followed me to lunch and scanned my cell phone? That was the only way I called recruiters back, and had a message on my voice mail for recruiters to call me at home or on my cell phone if they needed to talk to me. Despite taking these safeguards, my employer still accused me of taking personal calls at work about jobs. Which I think my coworkers had made up, or they had a private investigator follow me to lunch with a cell phone scanner or something?
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #28,937
2/19/02 12:54:00 PM
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What's the house payment per month compared to apartments?
---------------------------------
A stupid despot may constrain his slaves with iron chains; but a true politician binds them even more strongly by the chain of their own ideas;...despair and time eat away the bonds of iron and steel, but they are powerless against the habitual union of ideas, they can only tighten it still more; and on the soft fibres of the brain is founded the unshakable base of the soundest of Empires."
Jacques Servan, 1767
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Post #28,912
2/19/02 10:33:52 AM
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Some Thoughts
1. You're in training, right? Training will probably end in just a few more weeks, and I'll bet dollars to donuts that you're not going to be on the first shift when you get out of training. My wife's work is an example. Just about everyone on 2nd or 3rd has a bid in to get to 1st shift. Most of the new hires start on graveyard, progress to 2nd, then finally (after years) get to 1st shift.
2. Ask for 2nd shift. If your wife is caring for kids and everything, then try to get 2nd shift and use the time during the day to look for another job. My bet is that you're going to be the guy calling us at 6:30pm at night asking us to switch our long distance... (Just kidding)
3. Try another $9 an hour job with more time flexibility? Maybe retail in a mall, bookstore, movie theatre? Unless you're in a really depressed part of the country, it seems to me that there should be quite a few $9 an hour jobs out there. Again, 2nd shift would help you out even finding another $9 an hour job. Most employers will be understanding (I think) about your current job situation. Heck, even being a supermarket checker makes $9 an hour and it sure is more flexible than a call center.
4. Find yourself a job-hunting support group. A bunch of us IWETHEY guys have been right where you are. Some even worse. Heck, I remember 1 1/2 or 2 years ago, sending money to someone on this board. I was laid off about 9 months ago, myself. It doesn't pay as much, but I have a job I enjoy a lot more than consulting. I had a friend who was laid off and he started a job hunting group in his church, because of the large number of laid-off folks. They would get together every Thursday night, brainstorm ideas, talk about job leads, and then they would each pray for a job. A couple of months ago, they disbanded the group, because all of them had found a job!
5. Finally, Norm, where do you live? KC? St. Louis? I seem to remember that you're in the Midwest somewhere?
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Post #28,917
2/19/02 10:54:26 AM
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More Thoughts
If you're in KC, you might look at IBM. They just opened a DB2 call center there.
If you are working for Sprint in a DSL call center, then I would look for another job. There's been a lot of press the last few days that Sprint will be closing 3 call centers, and there was an article this AM on Yahoo that Sprint's debt may be "reviewed".
If you are working for SBC in St. Louis, well, at least they are a stable company. If you can tolerate the life in the call center, then, over time, you might be able to bid for an IT job through internal postings, in a year or so.
At night, you might want to do some research on the company you are working for, and try to figure our their financial strength and where they are as far as profits, losses, and such. If the company is stable, I should would try to stay with a stable company.
But, if the company is teetering on the brink of collapse, then there's really no point to subject yourself to this kind of abuse.
Like I said in the earlier post, there are a LOT of $9 an hour jobs out there. Heck, some local computer store, Best Buy, Staples, etc. might even pay $9 an hour.
Since you're in the $9 an hour range, you might look at government jobs ( local, county, city, school districts ). Many school districts have money from the federal government to wire the schools for Internet, but they have no qualified staff to do it. With a city/county/school district, you would get a low salary (but better than $9 an hour), and health insurance.
Some call centers don't even do that much for their employees.
Glen Austin
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Post #29,001
2/19/02 8:59:25 PM
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I am in STL
doing DSL for a helpdesk company with the local TELCO as a client. As far as the customers are concerned, we are the TELCO (the first lie we are supposed to tell them. I am uncomfortable telling lies.). Today was my first day on the floor on the phone. They paired me up with another agent, who wouldn't let me document the call (he did the documentation) and took the call before I could speak up (he cut in about a milisecond after the beep). I was very nervious about taking the calls, but I was only able to get in for one call. My trainer said that the other guy was supposed to let me take the calls and coach me through them. Most of the calls were from customers who wanted DSL before their due-date (when billing fills out the worksheet paperwork and turns on their signal, and gives an billing request for them to use the online registration or phone in a registration. Before that happens, we cannot get them to surf yet.)
I did learn by listening to him, he knew what he was talking about. But I would have done some things differently. He didn't always follow the script, and sometimes took shortcuts. But I guess that some of the calls from the same area had almost the same problem, so he was guessing they all had the same issues?
How do you other helpdesk guys handle the situation? I am like suffering from social aniexty disorder or something here. What do you guys do to counter that?
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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Post #29,041
2/20/02 9:10:24 AM
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pocket pool helps me
"I'm selling a hammer," he says. "They can beat nails with it, or their dog."
Richard Eaton spy software innovator
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Post #28,918
2/19/02 11:06:18 AM
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Don't leave until you have something better.
And work to get something better soon. Usually the worst thing to do is to leave a source of income before you have something better (in some respect) to move to.
There's a very old expression you might want to consider, Norm.
"Can't never could and won't never will."
You can overcome your current difficulties if you work at it. But it's not going to happen by itself.
Henry Ford failed 3-4 times in trying to start a car business before the Ford Motor Company succeeded. Life isn't easy.
Best of luck.
Cheers,
Scott.
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Post #28,945
2/19/02 2:14:58 PM
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I say finish the training first
Never turn down an opportunity for free tech training.
After you've completed training, play it by ear. Help desk is not a career. But it's better than unemployment. Think of it as strictly a temporary gig to get though hard times.
[link|http://www.angelfire.com/ca3/marlowe/index.html|http://www.angelfir...e/index.html]
Sometimes "tolerance" is just a word for not dealing with things.
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Post #29,002
2/19/02 9:03:40 PM
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Friday is out last day
of training. They changed it from two weeks to three weeks.
After that, we will get schedualed a work week, or we will get told that they don't need us. Employment is pending passing the training. 85% or higher is passing, below that is failing. Wish me luck.
If I don't get hired or get let go, I do have that DSL training that comes in handy.
Desitter told me that in 30 days I can quit because the job is low paying, and I can still get unemployment benefits. I don't want to go that route, unless I cannot handle the job or some other company offers me an interview for a better job or something.
"Will code Visual BASIC for cash."
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