Foz's turn to rant about work.

[SirFozzie]

As some of you know, I work as a contractor for EMC. It pays ok, the hours are a bit goofy (I've worked 2 AM-Noon, 6 AM-4 PM, 7-5, 8-6 and 2 PM-Midnight shifts as regular shifts in the last six months), and I'm good at what I do.

I've been at the company a little bit over a year (through Siemens Small Business Services), and I hope that someday I get called on to go full time here. Especially since as I'm a contractor, I don't get the little amenities that most of y'all are used to, like sick time, or vacation time, or any of that.

Well.. this week was the Perfect Storm of projects. Today alone, I've served as the test engineer for a customer disk replacement project (teaching them to do it alone), worked to get Indian technicians on our network so they can use our phone lines instead of their lines (their phone system is awful, we have to dispatch a lot of cases because they can't dial into our boxes to check because of a bad phone line. I don't mind, even though they are doing what I used to do, because it opened the door to me getting trained on different things and let me move up.)

Which brings me to the asshole.

He showed up on Wedensday, as the representative of higher-higher ups, trying to see what we do in the Support Lab, and tweak it to simultaneously deliver the most complete and yet cheapest support possible. Of course, the two are mutually exclusive, but let management have their fantasies.

His mission, to go through Roughly 1250 cases, determine if the level of support was deficient, just right, or excessive (IE, we babysat the customer through a proceedure that wasn't necessary).

My shift lead/manager apologized to me on Wedensday when he told me I had been assigned to this insanity.. the guy "didn't want to disrupt the lab" so he had asked for one contractor. Dornell (my shift lead) thought it would take about two weeks.. but during my first sit down with this jackass, he let me know what he expected.

His time frame: Have it all tied up in a neat bow to drop on HIS bosses desk monday morning.

So the last three days, I have worked 12-16 hours (someitmes taking an hour or two break to go home and eat) every day. We get through about 700-800 cases (remember, I had several other projects on my desk as I explained above).

He did a share of it, but most of it was on my desk to do, he more supervised (IE, worked the coffee machine and gossiped).

So on one of his frequent breaks, I went to talk to my shift lead (he had asked for a status update on the Drive Replacement project), but I noticed the asshole talking to him.

I was walking away once I noticed Dornell talking to him.. and I actually stopped and turned in disbelief..

Dornell asked him if he wanted someone to assist me on Monday and Tuesday to finish up the project, and the asshole said.. "Nah.. He can finish it up over the weekend. That's what contractors are good for, after all."

I nearly walked back and punched the son of a bitch in the head.

So now, I am looking at approximately a 78 hour week, the last 20+ of it being ASSIGNED to me, not volunteering for it, and the arrogant prick expects ME to do his work for him over the weekend, WITHOUT consulting me on it.

I complained to Dornell, but truthfully, there was nothing he could do about it, he had already pushed it up the line once before and got told just to provide the jackass with what he needed and to stay out of his way.

So at 4:30, the jackass says.. Good luck finishing the project and leaves. I spent a good half hour ranting and raving to Dornell on that one. But truthfully, if I tell the guy to fuck off, I've blown any chance to get the full time job, I AM making points with the guys who DO matter in the office (the jackass is a consultant type), and the check at the end of it all's going to be fucking Huge.

So really, I'm pissed, but there's not really much I can do about it, except have a lot of anger about a guy that apparently thinks because the name on the company that writes my checks is different, I'm pretty much a contract slave.

Anyway, I just got home, and I think I'm going to watch some TV, and chill the fuck out.

[CraigSca]

Sorry to hear that, Foz....sounds like you're caught in a crappy situation but hopefully the $$$ at the end will make up for it.

On an unrelated topic, can you write binaries for SRDF?

[DaddyTorgo]

that sux Foz. Just think $$$$. What I would do in a situation like that is go shopping online. Figure out how much you're going to make from this and how much of it realistically is disposable, and buy yourself something real nice. Last time I had a week like that I splurged on $300 prescription Oakley sunglasses. Do something nice for yourself.

oh yeah, and since the jackass won't be around while you finish it up, maybe you can just..sweep some of the cases under the table. Give them...cursory reviews to save some time. And mercifully it sounds like that Donell guy is on your side, so maybe he'll go easy on you after to let you recover.

[Joe]

you should sleep at work like george costanza

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by CraigSca

Sorry to hear that, Foz....sounds like you're caught in a crappy situation but hopefully the $$$ at the end will make up for it.

On an unrelated topic, can you write binaries for SRDF?

Sorry, my job's more like telling you why your $30,000 storage system (for the basics) is busted and what we can do to un bust it

[Airhog]

SirFozzie: I feel your pain. I work for Hitachi as a repair technician fixing raid units. I am also a temp employee, and we get treated like second class citizens. All I can say, is attitudes like his, is what causes companies to go under....

[SirFozzie]

Thanks Airhog, I'm just intensely frustrated.. The computer field is recovering, but not anywhere to the point where I can afford to pass up even a contractor job that pays about 35K a year.

[Airhog]

no kidding. The raid business is pretty strong, but hitachi doesnt pay well at all. Most good technician should make about 30k a year before taxes, but hitachi only starts techs out at 19k. Its just sad when I could go get a job at 7-eleven and make just as much money as the job im doing now which requires a degree in electronics.

[Dutch]

"Nah.. He can finish it up over the weekend. That's what contractors are good for, after all."

Wow, he really said that?

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Dutch

"Nah.. He can finish it up over the weekend. That's what contractors are good for, after all."

Wow, he really said that?

Exact quote.

[Yossarian]

So now, I am looking at approximately a 78 hour week, the last 20+

Surely you'll get a MINT for that amount of work? at contracting rates....

[Dutch]

Originally Posted by SirFozzie

Exact quote.

I guess stabbing him in the eye is out, but we gotta come up with something cool you could do to him.

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Yossarian

Surely you'll get a MINT for that amount of work? at contracting rates....

I get paid $17 an hour, so with OT, it's roughly $25.50 per hour. However, that's before taxes, and BEFORE Health Insurance and the like. (don't get that either, have to pay my own way.)

(Any way, at work, a bit more relaxed now)

[Blackadar]

It's billable.

Look at it from the other side. You could be an "exempt" employee and be told to do it for nothing.

[Dutch]

I'd know a thing or two about that.

[Easy Mac]

Has anyone else here ever smacked the copier?... Yeah me either...

[Eaglesfan27]

Least you are getting OT. It still sounds like a crappy situation. Anyway, I hope next week goes better for you.

[Ragone]

You say you wanna be hired by these people.. i'm telling you right now i'd stay in that current situation and look for something different

they sound like the type to screw exempt(read non contracted employee's)

[Chubby]

as a wise man once said...

"If you hate your job you don't quit, you just go in and do a really half-assed job. That's the American way!"

so, take your sweetass time finishing up the report and milk em for every $ you can

[SirFozzie]

Originally Posted by Ragone

You say you wanna be hired by these people.. i'm telling you right now i'd stay in that current situation and look for something different

they sound like the type to screw exempt(read non contracted employee's)

Nah, company policy for their people is if you work more then 40, you get a comp day (YOUR choice) for every eight hours over 40.

So I'd have earned my self a week's vacation this week if I was EMC

[Maple Leafs]

On the one hand, you hate your job.

On the other hand, the Red Sox won the World Series.

I think a year ago you would have agreed to that tradeoff.