A brief vent about work

"Tristan" (casselts)
04/11/2019 at 12:56 • Filed to: None

I love my job. I get to do lots of cool stuff with cool stuff in cool places. I’m generally very happy at work and a team player.

Over the last year and a half or so, pay has stagnated at my work while cost of living has increased and other better-paying jobs have become available elsewhere. It’s a government agency, so it takes an act of congress to get a raise. As a result, we’re 50% staffed. In that time, I’ve worked my ass off to make up for the lack of people and I haven’t complained. Recently, some positions have come up that offer double the pay for basically the same position I’m currently in, plus better benefits. I applied and interviewed, feeling confident that I’d get one of the two positions.

As I’m sitting here in Florida... for work... I get a call from my boss back in Oregon.. . AAAAAaaaannnnndddddd.... they offered the two positions to 2 people who have quit in the last year and a half. Fuck me for being loyal , amirite?!

Guess I’ll quit when I get home so I can get promoted.

DISCUSSION (17)

66P1800inpieces > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:13

Time to see if there are any private enterprises in your area of expertise and jump ship.

Double pay for anything is a nice bump.

Future Heap Owner > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:17

Ugh, that sucks. I would start looking for other opportunities, and at the same time talk to your boss about the message this sends you.

Tristan > Future Heap Owner
04/11/2019 at 13:23

One of my co-workers I’m here with also applied for one of these positions... I called to ask if he’d gotten the news yet. He was filling out an application when I called him. I’ll wait until I’ve finished my bachelor’s degree in June before I start looking.

AfromanGTO > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:25

I quit working for the government years ago. At the time I was making great money, but after a few years without any raises it wasn’t that great. I am glad that I left, and most of my coworkers have as well. There is a lot less stress on the outside, and the pay is better. One of my good friends who worked with me for years was not even given an interview for a position he was more than qualified for, and it was given to someone else with less than one year of govt work at a lower level than us, and didn’t even have a degree. The person quit after 4 days, and kept the position open for another few months before passing the responsibilities to someone else. That was the final straw for my friend, he quit, and got a much better job.

BeaterGT > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:26

“ In that time, I’ve worked my ass off to make up for the lack of people and I haven’t complained.”

Hindsight is obviously 20/20 and all that, but this strategy very rarely works out for the employee involved. Especially if your manager doesn’t or isn’t willing to recognize your efforts.

Chariotoflove > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:32

... plus better benefits.

This is unusual. The main reason for taking government jobs is generally that the benefits are better than what the private sector can securely guarantee. Take that away, and it gets less attractive.

functionoverfashion > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:33

My wife quit her job a few years back, for a better position elsewhere, closer to home but not more money (not outright, but commuting less = savings, etc.).

A year and a half later, she interviewed for a much better position at her previous employer, and got it. Then her boss - quit and she got that position. She says it never would have worked like that if she’d stayed there, but having left and come back, it was somehow different.

Go figure.

Tristan > Chariotoflove
04/11/2019 at 13:44

My current position has great benefits, but the new position comes with zero healthcare premiums for better coverage.

Tristan > BeaterGT
04/11/2019 at 13:47

I work night shift on the outdoor crew fixing shit so the next morning business can continue. The boss stays on dayshift in his office behind his computer doing, as far as I can tell, nothing. Maybe my wheels should squeak more?

Chariotoflove > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 13:53

Zero? Sign me up!

BeaterGT > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 14:16

Maybe so! That approach has certainly helped me in my career progression. The worst they can say is no and even if that’s the case, you’re still better prepared. And as others have mentioned, sometimes the only way forward is to move elsewhere.

Azrek > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 14:27

Yeah, my organization usually has a “No LTC left behind” policy. They will retire, get a government job and go back to doing nothing...it is generally awesome.
My govt job in Maryland was awful. We had bad pay, poor offices, and people unwilling to take risks. When I started rocking the boat and getting results unseen since the Reagan administration they promoted a guy who’d been there longer than me then me. I quit the next day and moved back to Florida...cept as a Contractor again...which is a different barrel of lard...

Sovande > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 14:38

You should get a different job. S hit like that never gets better. They hired people who quit - a sure sign that management is not up to the task.

Sovande > AfromanGTO
04/11/2019 at 14:39

Less stress in a non-government job? I have never heard that before.

66P1800inpieces > Tristan
04/11/2019 at 16:23

As a gov job there are probably a regulations covering how they post and select candidates. You may find that internal persons with the right qualifications have policy driven leg up. It would be interesting if they violated their own policy. Might also have provisions for dealing with people who left and come back.

Could it be an issue with the degree?

Tristan > 66P1800inpieces
04/11/2019 at 17:51

Nope. The degree isn't required, and they followed all the rules. It's just the principal of taking care of your people that was violated.

AfromanGTO > Sovande
04/11/2019 at 20:24

Oh yeah. I don’t have to worry about being furloughed anymore, or some stupid group thinking we have too many staff and need to make cuts.