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The State Of The...Your Job!

Everything that would not belong anywhere else.
 

Fumanchewd 27 Dec 19, 22:17Post
Its been a busy year...

I was in South Africa for a month in Jan/Feb helping to set up an office that they were trying to outsource 50% of our work to. My new Russian GM had been trying to force my level of management to take oncall status, to manage three locations at once, all the while increasing our workload about 100% with no pay increase and treating us with condescension and disrespect. This level of management was myself (10 years), a coworker who has been there for 20 years, and another coworker who has been there for 15 years. They gave us the new job description while also giving us an option of stepping down from the management position. All three of us stepped down and were replaced by three younger employees who have all been there less than 5 years and were willing to work 80 hours a week for less money. I felt severely disrespected over and over by those French arseholes, turned in my notice, and I am gone.

I now work for an aviation supply chain company... selling aeroplane bits and pieces. My new company is owned by two driven individuals (the last company was a large international French company with dozens of locations), employs just over 100, has three locations internationally, and pays much better. It is a growing company, we just signed a contract to consign, teardown, and sell bits and pieces from around 30 737NG aircraft of a large European Airline (the MAX issue should be a short term benefit for us). I am a Key Account Manager and have initially been given 3 very difficult accounts (2 airline and 1 OEM) but am set to take on another 2 airlines after the new year. Its a new type of position for me and the learning curve has been a bit rough, I have made mistakes, but my sales have picked up considerably in the last month ( I have been here since late September). Things have smoothed over a bit and I am hoping I don't get fired. :) Its a great job so far- the only thing I miss about the previous is working 3-4 days a week and this year I was set to get 6 weeks of vacation a year... now I'm working 5 days a week and back down to 2 weeks of vacation. :(

If you need any 777 flaps or recently OH landing gears, just shoot me an email! ;)

On a side note, my wife and I decided shortly after I returned to SA to fix up our house, to sell, and to buy a bigger house slightly closer to PHX (we were in the boonies called San Tan Valley). The house was quickly sold and we are now in a 2 bedroom apartment.. waiting for our new home to be completed (Expected end of Feb).

Change can be good, live bravely!
"Give us a kiss, big tits."
Lucas (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 29 Jan 20, 20:20Post
The company that took the contract I was on has emailed me multiple times asking why I don't answer their messages. (I changed my phone number.)

They emailed me this morning to say that they're authorized to offer me an additional 32K/year beyond the previous offer to return.

Hmmmm.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 29 Jan 20, 22:36Post
You all seem to be leading very exciting work lives. As for me, I've returned to the lowly position of a materials procurement manager at that place that builds aircraft. I'm currently avoiding advances from the team that are doing something far more exciting and new in a new location that I know well, and will continue to do so unless they offer silly money. Very occasionally I help out on my friend's farm where I find pretending to be a farmer much more rewarding.

Oh, and I broke two company cars in less than 24 hours this week. I haven't lost my touch :))
A million great ideas...
Zak (netAirspace FAA) 29 Jan 20, 22:40Post
JLAmber wrote:Oh, and I broke two company cars in less than 24 hours this week. I haven't lost my touch :))

Let me know if you want to refresh your drifting skills. :))
Ideology: The mistaken belief that your beliefs are neither beliefs nor mistaken.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 30 Jan 20, 04:22Post
My merit-based pay increase has kicked in. Expressed as a percentage, it sounds impressive but when you actually do the math, it's not.

Still looking to get back into aviation, primarily on the operations side. I'll need to bolster the resume with some ICS certs though. Looked into getting my Dispatcher cert as well. Jepp has a course that's mostly self study, but requires a week in a classroom. Securing the time off might be an issue.
Make Orwell fiction again.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 30 Jan 20, 21:34Post
Zak wrote:
JLAmber wrote:Oh, and I broke two company cars in less than 24 hours this week. I haven't lost my touch :))

Let me know if you want to refresh your drifting skills. :))


I'm definitely up for another sideways tour of the car parks of HAM. Maybe I could blag a trip to XFW ...
A million great ideas...
ShanwickOceanic (netAirspace FAA) 23 Nov 20, 11:11Post
Not only have I got teaching this week - and the nerves and consequent sleep loss that go with it - but I've just been informed that one of our more "special" users has been assigned two students to supervise. {crazy}

On the bright side, a paper about my software got accepted. One reviewer's comments were (in their own words) less of a review than a list of feature requests. As first author, this means I now owe the department cake. {facepalm}
My friend and I applied for airline jobs in Australia, but they didn't Qantas.
Mark 23 Nov 20, 12:20Post
So... Here I've been. Sitting in forced retirement for the past three years. I was forced into retirement after working 37 years in ambulance services as a paramedic/nurse combination. What caused my retirement was the deterioration of my shoulders after having to lift fat-assed patients onto a 60 pound (27 kg) ambulance stretcher, then lift the combined weight into an ambulance. I obviously never lifted the combined patient and cot load alone... only half of it. My partner lifted the other half. The stretcher to blame is renowned in the Emergency Medical Services (EMS) profession: The infamous Ferno-Washington Model 30 ambulance cot... the crippler of hundreds of thousands of medics for decades. Thank God, it's now obsolete and has been replaced by self-loading stretchers, but I digress. Bottom line: During my early career, I performed a patient/cot dead lift using a Model 30 cot about 20,000 times. No wonder my shoulders wore out.

I'm bored as fucque. So, last week, a Facebook ad popped up. It was from a research group looking for volunteers to participate in a colon health project. I clicked on it. Other than requiring a free colonoscopy, which I need anyway, it only requires me to do at-home, noninvasive stuff. I clicked on the "sign up" icon and answered their screening questions. Well, I got a phone call from them within 10 minutes of submitting my information. It bloody well pays $1650!

Well, you know how Facebook ads work. I started getting more "research volunteers needed" ads, which I clicked on. Long story short, I'm now signed up to participate in separate nasal polyp and memory studies. One pays $860 and the other pays $1300. Plus, they pay roughly $20 an hour for my time and about 50-cents a mile for me to drive to testing sites. I answered the screening questionnaire for a COVID-19 vaccine study, but haven't heard back from that group.

Edit: I attached two pics; one of the empty Model 30 cot in the high position and one depicting loading a lowered, loaded Model 30 into an ambulance. Yes, I realize that both EMTs are using improper lifting techniques.

ImageImage
Commercial aircraft flown in: B712 B722 B732 B734 B737 B738 B741 B742 B744 B752 B753 B762 B772 A310 A318 A319 A320 A321 DC91 DC93 DC94 DC1030 DC1040 F100 MD82 MD83 A223 CR2 CR7 E175
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 23 Nov 20, 14:55Post
We have a lot of people out. Some are out with COVID-like symptoms and have yet to test positive. Some are out with a positive COVID test. Some are out on quarantine due to an exposure to someone who tested positive. All of this in addition to normal leave for the holidays.

We skated by during the first wave with not so much as a ripple in staffing levels. Now, every shift has been hit hard. This weekend was especially bad as the facility's master alarm panel decided to have a mental breakdown and decided that everything everywhere was on fire. The only short term solution was to just disconnect it until Monday (today). Graveyard had to double-up on staffing in certain areas for "fire watch" duty.

It's a stressful job during "normal" circumstances. We're worn out.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Mark 23 Nov 20, 22:01Post
Typically, 40% of the ambulances in nearby St. Paul and Minneapolis are reserved for interfacility patient transfers. Well, due to increased 911 calls due to COVID, all of those transfer ambulances have been shifted to 911 duty, leaving nothing for transfers. To fill the gap, FEMA has sent 25 ambulances to the Twin Cities to do the transfers. That's a lot of ambulances.
Commercial aircraft flown in: B712 B722 B732 B734 B737 B738 B741 B742 B744 B752 B753 B762 B772 A310 A318 A319 A320 A321 DC91 DC93 DC94 DC1030 DC1040 F100 MD82 MD83 A223 CR2 CR7 E175
captoveur 14 Dec 20, 20:58Post
I am being forced to get the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday, under threat of being confined to the office, which would limit my ability to do my job.

Not wild about it, but looking forward to the class action payout in 20 years or so.
I like my coffee how I like my women: Black, bitter, and preferably fair trade.
JLAmber (netAirspace ATC & Founding Member) 14 Dec 20, 21:09Post
captoveur wrote:I am being forced to get the Pfizer vaccine on Wednesday, under threat of being confined to the office, which would limit my ability to do my job.

Not wild about it, but looking forward to the class action payout in 20 years or so.


On the plus side, Pfizer do have a history of advantageous side effects. Puts a new spin on working hard...
A million great ideas...
GQfluffy (Database Editor & Founding Member) 15 Dec 20, 04:36Post
captoveur wrote:...my job...


Guess you can always get a different one...
Teller of no, fixer of everything, friend of the unimportant and all around good guy; the CAD Monkey
captoveur 15 Dec 20, 14:37Post
GQfluffy wrote:
captoveur wrote:...my job...


Guess you can always get a different one...


Actually been looking into a career change. IT is positively mind numbing and im pretty sure if this wasn't direct clinic support where i get to do cool shit like watch surgery I would have blown my brains out by now from sheer boredom.
I like my coffee how I like my women: Black, bitter, and preferably fair trade.
DXing 15 Dec 20, 15:24Post
And on that front, a new job, I am now fully out of retirement. As posted elsewhere I officially retired from UA at the end of June. Shortly after my wife's company announced they were going out of business. That left us in a healthcare lurch. Since then I had a short stint at a big box store. The healthcare wasn't what was promised and honestly, I'm just not a retail kind of guy. Some of the questions people asked.....honestly, it was all I could do to ask them how they had not burned their house down yet.

Then I tried a warehouse job driving an electric pallet jack around and pulling orders. Great exercise, but like Mark, I've reached an age where the daily grind left me with aches and pains that I didn't enjoy. Had a real problem with cramping in my legs too.

I applied, interviewed, and started with an aviation company here in town. Nice place to work and the healthcare benefits are excellent. I really missed working in aviation and don't think I realized it till after just a few days on the job. Now I get up looking forward to going to work. That alone makes a world of difference on your outlook on life.

captoveur wrote:Actually been looking into a career change.


My advice would be to do it if your current career is leaving you that unsatisfied. Just make sure your comfortable with whatever you choose. I've found in 44 years in the workplace that being comfortable at what you are doing is worth more than all the money and benefits anyone can provide.
What's the point of an open door policy if inside the open door sits a closed mind?
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 15 Dec 20, 16:58Post
Going by the criteria put out by the state, I should be amongst the first group to get the vaccine due to my line of work. According to guidelines put out by the state, I'm in group "1B." However, no word at all about the vaccines have been received from our chain of command. That's not all that surprising (this agency has an issue with communication) but our facility is teetering on the brink of being declared an outbreak by the health authorities. One would hope that they come up with some plan soon, such as having the vaccines administered on-site but that may be too logical.

In other news, and in the "career change" vein, I've been told by several different people lately that I should be a dispatcher (public safety, not aircraft). Unfortunately, those people aren't doing the hiring as every previous application has been rejected. {bored}

I've been trying to get some info out of Embry Riddle lately on a BS in Aviation Business Administration. I've been keeping my eye on jobs in Airport Operations and feel that a more specialized degree would help. Having a BS in Management apparently isn't appealing to them (airports). So far, ERAU doesn't seem to be able (or willing) to tell me what I want to know: how much of my current degree will transfer and how much ERAU coursework will be required to get the ERAU degree. It's the old, "I have money, just tell me how much you want," situation were they respond with crickets.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Fumanchewd 21 Dec 20, 06:12Post
ShyFlyer wrote:Going by the criteria put out by the state, I should be amongst the first group to get the vaccine due to my line of work. According to guidelines put out by the state, I'm in group "1B." However, no word at all about the vaccines have been received from our chain of command. That's not all that surprising (this agency has an issue with communication) but our facility is teetering on the brink of being declared an outbreak by the health authorities. One would hope that they come up with some plan soon, such as having the vaccines administered on-site but that may be too logical.

In other news, and in the "career change" vein, I've been told by several different people lately that I should be a dispatcher (public safety, not aircraft). Unfortunately, those people aren't doing the hiring as every previous application has been rejected. {bored}

I've been trying to get some info out of Embry Riddle lately on a BS in Aviation Business Administration. I've been keeping my eye on jobs in Airport Operations and feel that a more specialized degree would help. Having a BS in Management apparently isn't appealing to them (airports). So far, ERAU doesn't seem to be able (or willing) to tell me what I want to know: how much of my current degree will transfer and how much ERAU coursework will be required to get the ERAU degree. It's the old, "I have money, just tell me how much you want," situation were they respond with crickets.


Right now there are thousands of unemployed ERAU graduates looking for scraps, we've laid off a good half-a-dozen from my work alone. I'm sure that by the time you would graduate things will probably be better, but aviation is and always will be a bitch with cyclical downturns and layoffs. Pilot organizations are recommending people delay professional training right now too.
"Give us a kiss, big tits."
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 05 Jan 21, 16:15Post
Fumanchewd wrote:I'm sure that by the time you would graduate things will probably be better...

Well, I already hold a BS in Management, so I'd like to think that I'd obtain the new degree rather quickly. Job market with regards to airport ops seems to be just fine. I've applied, and have been rejected for, several positions over the past year.

****

With respect to my current line of work, being a civilian in a law enforcement agency is a bit of a mixed bag: one minute you're a valued member of the family, the next minute you're forgotten about. When a critical incident happens, I function much like a Dispatcher. Unlike a Dispatcher, I'm not considered a "first responder." A recent proposal to have us classified as such was rejected, largely on the fact that unlike Dispatch, we are not a "Public Safety Answering Point." I still have to keep track of the assigned locations of staff in case of duress alarms and I'm the one that will be speaking to our agency's Dispatch or that of Fire/Rescue when outside resources are needed.

My job is one of only two civilian jobs in the agency that has a chain of command entirely made up of commissioned law enforcement. Other civilian positions have at least one or two layers of civilian supervisors. In order to become a Training Officer, I had to pass an oral board consisting of three Sergeants and attend the same FTO Basic course provided to Deputies. While I train Deputies (as well as civilians) to do my job, I'm paid half of what the other Training Officers are paid. The county's HR department classifies my job as an entry-level job, but refuses to specify the job to which is a stepping stone.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 27 Jan 21, 21:14Post
With regards to the education front, MSU Denver has gotten around to evaluating my past education. Seems that I have all the GenEd courses covered and there won't be any nonsense courses like Gender Theory or Rain Forest Theatre. I'm not sure if the classes that I will have to take will amount to the minimum number of credit hours I need to obtain what would be my second BS Degree. I'll have to get in touch with my advisor on that. Questions about cost remain as well. I had hoped to start this semester but I'm ok with summer.

On the actual job front, I've been asked to take on another role: teaching the FTO Basic Course. I'll be part of a group of people doing it, but I'm pretty sure I'll be the only civilian training the trainers.

Two new opportunities for advancement within the department have appeared: one working in the radio shop, the other working with the body-worn cameras. Radios pays significantly more, but the camera stuff has lower barriers to entry.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 28 Jan 21, 01:31Post
As I await a response from my advisor, I found an estimate of $4100/semester. That's with the assistance of the "College Opportunity Fund." Based on the number of classes I need to take, I'm looking at at least $16K. This doesn't look good.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 08 Feb 21, 19:35Post
ShyFlyer wrote:teaching the FTO Basic Course. I'll be part of a group of people doing it, but I'm pretty sure I'll be the only civilian training the trainers.


Yep, I'm the only civilian in the cadre of new instructors for this course. Pretty darn significant as civilians are often forgot within law enforcement agencies.
Make Orwell fiction again.
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 21 Feb 21, 19:30Post
Speaking of being a Training Officer, my supervisor and I recently encountered a situation that left both of us scratching our heads and, quite frankly, a little disappointed. According to our HR Droids, I cannot receive training pay and OT pay at the same time. I'm interested in y'all thoughts on this, so let me lay out how this all works.

For the hours that I provide training, I receive what HR calls a "Training Stipend." In practice, it's actually an extra $3.00/hr applied to my current base-pay rate. When I train someone, I go into our scheduling system, request that the relevant hours be changed from "Regular" to Regular-Trainer." When the change is approved, the payroll system (separate from scheduling) will then calculate my pay at the Trainer rate for those hours, and my normal base rate for non-training hours within the pay period.

It sounds complicated. It is. The fun starts, however, when one works an OT shift and trains at the same time. Not wanting me to lose out on both OT and Trainer Pay, my Supervisor consulted with HR to see how to properly code the hours. HR said there was only one solution: employee has to choose which they want: Trainer or OT Pay. Can't have both. The system, as currently designed, would have applied OT Pay (1.5x) to my Trainer Rate, not my Base Rate.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Mark 21 Feb 21, 21:12Post
Years ago, while working as a nurse in the hospital, I was... let me get this straight... I was called in to work a 16 hour night shift on Christmas Eve while not on call on a day that was not my scheduled holiday to work. In the middle of the shift, I calculated it out while on a break... I earned 3.5 times my normal hourly wage... I made $129.50 an hour working that 16 hour shift. On December 26th, I went to HR and they confirmed it. That same day, they issued a directive to the supervisors to make sure to never allow that situation to happen again.
Commercial aircraft flown in: B712 B722 B732 B734 B737 B738 B741 B742 B744 B752 B753 B762 B772 A310 A318 A319 A320 A321 DC91 DC93 DC94 DC1030 DC1040 F100 MD82 MD83 A223 CR2 CR7 E175
ShyFlyer (Founding Member) 23 Feb 21, 17:43Post
My agency isn't stingy with the OT, but for practical and budgetary reasons, supervisors have to be sure that they use only what is necessary. For example, our shift patterns overlap, so if you are covering a day shift spot, rather than work the full 10hr shift, you go home as soon as swing shift is onsite, which will get you at least 8hrs of OT.

As a Training Officer, though, I'm essentially doing two jobs: I'm covering the post as a required staff member and supervising the trainee.

I can propose a change to the compensation process, and believe there would be broad support for it, but the challenge is making the case so that people outside my chain of command understand and agree that providing training for free isn't the best solution.
Make Orwell fiction again.
Fumanchewd 25 Feb 21, 03:36Post
So at first were the layoffs and cutbacks on salaries and commissions. After some time, that has led to low morale that led to people leaving- four very senior people that I respect (and the one that hired me) have left upset with the current state of things. As of January 2020 we had over 15 sales people, there are only 3 (including me) left from that group and they have added 1 more from another department. We are only 4 now. We have had a good month, selling two separate landing gear sets, considerable engine parts (I had a fan disc), over 7 figures in airframe rotables, etc.

But something tells me that these guys aren't going to give us our previous pay back until they absolutely have to. I'm going to give it some time, but it might be time to look somewhere else a little more seriously. Sometimes you have to leave to get paid more at the same job.
"Give us a kiss, big tits."
 

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