"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
03/04/2020 at 08:56 • Filed to: None
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"TheRealBicycleBuck" (therealbicyclebuck)
03/04/2020 at 08:56 • Filed to: None | 6
| 13 |
While our original plan was to move me into a different role once I finished standing up the program, there’s some disagreement about how our contract was set up and our client doesn’t feel comfortable transitioning me to the new role. They’ve decided to take on those responsibilities themselves and see how it goes. So, for now, I’m out of work.
The last couple of years have been hard because of the constant travel, but I’ve been able to work with some of the best people I’ve worked with in my career on some of the most challenging work I’ve had to do. That has been so rewarding. On the upside, I’ve been told that my work has caught the attention of our company leadership. When we first found out this change might happen, it was the topic of discussion at the last division meeting. Two office leaders - the local office and my home office - were both praising my work. That’s good.
This project also gave me the opportunity to earn my wings.
Fortunately, I’m not really out of work. My home office in Baton Rouge landed a big contract a few months ago and my office leader tells me that they have a place for me on it. This is a multi-year contract, so that means I get to stay home and still have the peace of mind of steady work! That’s something I never had before Houston. At most, a project would last 6 months to a year. I was constantly scrambling to dig up more work and it usually meant I was juggling 5 or 6 projects at a time. The downside is that with all of the recent hires, they took over my desk and I have no place to sit. We’ll see how that one works out.
Tomorrow will be my last day in Houston for a while. My final deliverables are due close-of-business tomorrow. That means I get to head home a day early and I’ll have this Friday off. No more road trips on Sundays and Fridays. I’ll finally get to focus on my storage building and get that project wrapped up. I should have more time to work on home projects after that.
Thanks, Houston. It’s been a good run.
And now for a look back at most of the rental cars I had over the past two years:
It started with an Impala
The first of several Challengers
Maxima!
A few Fords.
Livin’ on the Edge.
Not the most expensive rental.
The most expensive rental.
There were a few others that I didn’t take pictures of (at least that I can find). An Altima. A Fiesta. Another Challenger.
But now the gravy-train of rental goodness will come to an end. I have a couple of weeks of free rental days to burn before the end of the year. Everyone knows what that means.
Road trip!
Chariotoflove
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 17:57 |
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... our client doesn’t feel comfortable transitioning me to the new role. They’ve decided to take on those responsibilities themselves...
Is that corporate speak for cheaping out on the back end? Because it reads like cheaping out.
No matter. The cream rises to the top, as my parents told me. Tell them you’re comfortable with them setting up in a nearby hotel until they build your new office suite.
Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 18:09 |
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I only recently learned that Houston was originally swampland.
RiceRocketeer Extraordinaire
> Rusty Vandura - www.tinyurl.com/keepoppo
03/03/2020 at 18:22 |
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apparently so did a lot of homeowners
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Chariotoflove
03/03/2020 at 18:31 |
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The client in this case is a government agency. They’re trying to go cheap on most of the program. Part of our contract is staff augmentation and they just decided that our contracted rates are too expensive. We presented several people who met the qualifications for the positions which they need filled, but they rejected the candidates on price. It’s not an employer’s market right now and they refuse to acknowledge it. There’s too much demand and they can’t compete on salary. One of their PMs that they hired six months ago just tendered his two-week notice. He’s leaving for a private firm.
There’s a chance I’ll end up working from home for a while. It all depends on how crowded the office really is.
WilliamsSW
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 18:41 |
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So you’ll be getting a lot more home cooking then? That’s great!
Btw how were you traveling back and forth? You’re clearly the PIC in that top photo (Warrior?)
Sounds like a great deal for you - congrats!
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Chariotoflove
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 18:45 |
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Yeah government always has lower pay scales, which is kinda funny when you consider how notorious government contracts are for cost overruns.
Managers are also restricted sometimes from paying market value (not saying that happened in your case). My dad used to hire people straight out of college for lab tech jobs. After a year or two, when they got good and trained, The local pharma companies would hire them away, and my dad couldn’t match salaries even if his grant could support it.
Brickman
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 19:41 |
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That’s some good news! Except for not having a desk... yet
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> WilliamsSW
03/03/2020 at 19:52 |
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Thanks! The distance was just close enough for air travel to take about the same amount of time as driving. Since I needed a rental car in Houston, the company just paid for a rental that I drove back and forth. I swapped them out whenever it was time for an oil change or they were damaged (two of them were burgled and one was hit in the parking lot).
The plane is my favorite Cherokee. The pic is downtown Houston. There’s a VFR corridor between KIAH and KHOU just north of downtown. We flew from KDWH to Galveston and back.
I’m so tired of eating out. It’s time for some comfort food!
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> Chariotoflove
03/03/2020 at 19:58 |
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Exactly! They used to compete on benefits, but even that is dwindling. The other benefit is stability, but this group is about to undermine themselves by hiring people under four year contracts. Yes, a government agency is actually planning to let people go. That’s the kind of risk contractors take on and that’s why we get paid more.
My first job out of school was in a lab. My boss told me I wouldn’t last two years. He was right. I went to grad school (with his blessings).
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Chariotoflove
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/03/2020 at 21:06 |
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Benefits are the biggest advantage. A government pension plan is the most reliable retirement vehicle, even in these days when corporate pensions sometimes cave in. But stability is an issue even in academics. Tenure doesn’t mean anything like what it used to. Post tenure reviews every 6 years or so mean you have to stay on your toes, and even tenured faculty aren’t immune to being RIF’d in extreme cases.
EL_ULY
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/04/2020 at 09:29 |
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good luck with all your future endeavors . I’ll keep the horrid traffic warm for whenever you swing by this area in the future :]
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TheRealBicycleBuck
> EL_ULY
03/04/2020 at 09:31 |
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:) Thanks! If I’m ever here on a Saturday again, I fully intend to swing by and ogle cars I can’t afford.
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EL_ULY
> TheRealBicycleBuck
03/04/2020 at 09:34 |
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literally doing that all the time. Forever dehydrated lol
We’ll see ya here duuuuude