The reality of my situation is starting to sink in. There is a very good chance that I will be out of this job by mid-June. It occurred to me last night, when I was thinking about the money I just spent on a replacement van — what kind of money I’m going to be making over the next few months, how many hours I’ll be working, etc. It occurred to me that I need to not bank on this job being around, six… no, three… months from now.
Oh, we got a really good van, by the way, for about $2,000 less than book price, because it doesn’t have all the power “bells and whistles” that people come to expect, and it’s been sitting on the lot since September. I really feel like I got lucky, finding that van. It’s smaller than the one we had before, so it’s easier for my spouse to drive. Plus, it’s a 2005 with under 100,000 miles (I know – where did I find that?) and it only had one accident reported on the carfax. Pretty amazing. I managed to cobble together the money to pay for it in full up front, and we even have a couple thousand dollars left to live on. It’s not much of a safety net — 1/6 of what we had 24 hours ago, and if anything catastrophic happens, we’re pretty much screwed — but I get paid on Thursdays, so there will be money coming in from this contract for at least a little while.
Yep, we got lucky.
And now my luck continues, actually, because I might be out of this job in another 3 months, after my major projects are delivered, and the company switches over to a new technical infrastructure. What makes me think so?
- Nobody has added any projects to my docket after my two big projects launch at the end of May/beginning of June,
- My boss has been spending an awful lot of time at corporate HQ and has stopped going out of their way to be super nice to me,
- My boss’s boss has been dismissive towards me and cancelled the 1-to-1 meeting they scheduled with me when they first came on the job, and
- Nobody on the “new technology infrastructure” team is making eye contact with me.
That’s what my keen observational powers are detecting, anyway.
To be honest, it’s a relief to think I’ll be out of there. I’ve really been disliking the work environment, with all the political changes going on, the rumors, the gossip, etc — and the company switching over to an “open” workspace configuration. God, that sucks. Talk about fresh hell. The wild thing is, for all the technical environments I’ve worked with, and all the teams I’ve been part of, this extended team is the one I like the least. They’re okay as people, but they’re not the most inspiring.They’re more interested in feathering their nests and keeping up appearances, than kickin’ it in the technical sense.
And I just don’t relate to that.
But in another few months, it’s probably going to fall into the category of “not my problem“, which will be wonderful.
I’m sure there will be other problems at my next job, but this team and the dynamics will not be one of them.
So, I’m getting proactive and gussying up my resume, updating it on job sites, and also updating my other online profiles. I’ve reached out to folks I used to work with, to see if they can keep an ear open for me. I also have talked to recruiters and put them on notice for June timeframe. Even if I don’t get shown the door, I’m probably going to shift out of there, once my big projects are done. I have no enduring loyalty to this company. I don’t actually like the products they make. I just like the paycheck and the commute. Other than that, I’m fine without them in my life.
It’s funny… I’ve had this nagging suspicion in the back of my head for some time, that the 2-3 year contract they set up was not going to be fulfilled on their end. They’re letting other contractors go, and with a “last in, first out” approach, that puts my head on the chopping block next, because I’m the most junior contractor left.
Now that it feels more definite, I feel like things are freeing up for me.
Ideally, they’ll just tell me what the deal is ahead of time, so I can get a running start. I’m already talking to recruiters… And I’m not waiting for them to come clean, because they generally don’t — and probably can’t. If I hold my breath, waiting for them to do things the right way, I’ll probably suffocate.
So, it’s onward and upward.
100 days to go (max) — then I’m free to go. 🙂
Broken Brain - Brilliant Mind 
Excellent!
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I am wondering if you have seen this article from Nation of Change http://www.nationofchange.org/2015/02/23/becoming-independent-contractors/ . I work as an independent contractor myself, and won’t challenge it because I am so grateful for my current employment, I enjoy what I am doing (mainly database DESIGN) for my niece who is one of the few people I know who manages to make enough money as an artist to support herself, I enjoy freedom in my hours and work from home. AND, forking over my social security when I pay taxes is a burden, but that’s just the way it is. Nonethele4ss, I found this article interesting.
Secondly, I wanted to share with you that when I became disabled, originally from a heart attack and quad-bypass in 2005, I knew I had to stop the work I was doing because I knew the stress was killing me. I was making great money, working as the sole answer-person for IT in a small but lucrative company in Baltimore. And the work was killing me. So it was a great relief for me that I could no longer do it. Now that I “own my own time” even if my pay is meager and I’m always struggling to keep my nose above the waves, I do what I want when I want, and if I just sit and ponder for an hour or so, that’s fine also. It was a Godsend to kiss that Baltimore job good-bye!
So onward and upward, and best of luck in finding a better solution for that “paycheck.”
You see to be doing everything you need to get there.
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Thanks for the link to the article – I just read it and it’s good. The one thing he misses in his discussion, though, is the advantage that you can have as an independent contractor in changing jobs frequently. I have usually found that companies I signed up with on a full-time permanent basis were an interpersonal horror show, where terrible bosses lord their power over you with impunity. As a contractor, I can tell them to go screw, if need be, and move on to a better opportunity with my agency without the stigma of a lot of short-term jobs. As a contractor, that’s expected.
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