Hugepost Part II: Job
Continuing the Hugepost Update, I suppose I should talk a little bit about my new job. For those of you remember, waaay back in... November?, I was really excited about a job posting on the website of our local community college. I didn't hear back, and although that wasn't unusual, I was pretty disappointed since I felt I was actually qualified rather well for the job for once. Finally, in January, I had an interview, and in late January, I was called (at work, no less) and told that I had gotten the job (coincidentally this was the same day Keith found out he was going to sign the papers on the house the next day, so we went out and celebrated). A few people have asked me just what the heck the job was, and I realized that I had never said anything on here past "I got a new job omfg." Sorry!
My new job is basically the same thing I did at Staples, only for more money and less stress. Like I said, I work at the local community college in their printing and publications department. We print materials for the professors, as well as various pretty graphics things made by Publications. I work mostly with two other people who also do printing work, and then there are four people next door in Publications, one guy who works a printing press, and another guy who is kinda like a supervisor and also works the printing press, and then of course the boss, who has her own office. The three of us printing people have a long countertop with our computers on it (yes, I have my own computer!), and then behind us are the three black and white copiers and one color copier.
The faculty and staff come up to a little half-door and ring a bell when they have a job to drop off, and usually it's just doing that, dropping it off. They have paperwork that they fill out on their own. All they do is give it to me. Then they go away. Most of the time they just email their job in to me. It's AWESOME.
It's so cushy in comparison to Staples that I don't even know what to do with myself. There are so many things that I think people who've never worked retail take for granted. I get to sit down, but I also get to stand up. It's a good balance. (The busted veins I was accumulating in my heels have halted their long march up my legs. Thank god. I'm too young for grandma legs). I have my own workspace. I have the option of staying home if I'm sick, and likewise if other people call out, whatever, I was there anyways. I have a solid, unfluctuating schedule with honest-to-goodness weekends, and I don't have to worry about getting called in on those days off. Our “customers,” the faculty and staff, are generally friendly and polite, and usually in no big hurry. I also get to wear casual clothes, jeans and sneakers, and I don't have to wear a uniform. All together this has resulted in decreased appearance of headaches and a generally new chill attitude from me.
I think the best part about it is having a steady schedule. I know what days I'm going to work and what hours I'm going to be working forever. This makes it extremely easy to make plans, and also makes it a little easier to come along on Keith's last minute adventures (Keith doesn't know the meaning of “making plans in advance.” His idea of this is, “Hey, we're going camping tomorrow!”). It also makes it easier on me to do schoolwork. At Staples, a new schedule was issued every week, and it was usually always different each time. I also got called in often on my days off, which was pretty awful since, you know, like a normal person I made plans on my day off, mostly to do homework. I suppose I could have said no, but I like Maria, who was my shift leader, and I knew she was probably going nuts without backup. So like a total sucker I always went in. It's so completely amazing working at a place that is closed on the weekend, and isn't open from dawn till night. That means that everyone is, for the most part, working at the same time. And it's really, really nice. I can plan to do my homework over the weekend, and not have to be scared of the phone.
The only thing that is not awesome is that as a part-timer, I don't get benefits. I knew that going into it, but I stupidly assumed that “benefits” just meant health care, insurance, that kind of thing. It also means no sick day pay, no holiday pay, etc. I make about 4 vacation hours a month, which is nice though, and I guess I have the option to use that time for a sick day. The no holiday pay thing wouldn't really be an issue for days like Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc., except for the fact that, because it's a college, it closes for spring and winter break. So that translates to a week without getting paid for the former and an entire two weeks without pay for the latter. I'm not looking forward to that.
Other than that, it's a pretty sweet job and I feel like my life has improved a lot because of it. I'll still probably be looking for a new job once school gets out (because I'll no longer be under my mom's insurance once I'm no longer a student, and I kinda need that whole health insurance thing), but honestly, if it takes me awhile to find one, that's okay with me.
My new job is basically the same thing I did at Staples, only for more money and less stress. Like I said, I work at the local community college in their printing and publications department. We print materials for the professors, as well as various pretty graphics things made by Publications. I work mostly with two other people who also do printing work, and then there are four people next door in Publications, one guy who works a printing press, and another guy who is kinda like a supervisor and also works the printing press, and then of course the boss, who has her own office. The three of us printing people have a long countertop with our computers on it (yes, I have my own computer!), and then behind us are the three black and white copiers and one color copier.
The faculty and staff come up to a little half-door and ring a bell when they have a job to drop off, and usually it's just doing that, dropping it off. They have paperwork that they fill out on their own. All they do is give it to me. Then they go away. Most of the time they just email their job in to me. It's AWESOME.
It's so cushy in comparison to Staples that I don't even know what to do with myself. There are so many things that I think people who've never worked retail take for granted. I get to sit down, but I also get to stand up. It's a good balance. (The busted veins I was accumulating in my heels have halted their long march up my legs. Thank god. I'm too young for grandma legs). I have my own workspace. I have the option of staying home if I'm sick, and likewise if other people call out, whatever, I was there anyways. I have a solid, unfluctuating schedule with honest-to-goodness weekends, and I don't have to worry about getting called in on those days off. Our “customers,” the faculty and staff, are generally friendly and polite, and usually in no big hurry. I also get to wear casual clothes, jeans and sneakers, and I don't have to wear a uniform. All together this has resulted in decreased appearance of headaches and a generally new chill attitude from me.
I think the best part about it is having a steady schedule. I know what days I'm going to work and what hours I'm going to be working forever. This makes it extremely easy to make plans, and also makes it a little easier to come along on Keith's last minute adventures (Keith doesn't know the meaning of “making plans in advance.” His idea of this is, “Hey, we're going camping tomorrow!”). It also makes it easier on me to do schoolwork. At Staples, a new schedule was issued every week, and it was usually always different each time. I also got called in often on my days off, which was pretty awful since, you know, like a normal person I made plans on my day off, mostly to do homework. I suppose I could have said no, but I like Maria, who was my shift leader, and I knew she was probably going nuts without backup. So like a total sucker I always went in. It's so completely amazing working at a place that is closed on the weekend, and isn't open from dawn till night. That means that everyone is, for the most part, working at the same time. And it's really, really nice. I can plan to do my homework over the weekend, and not have to be scared of the phone.
The only thing that is not awesome is that as a part-timer, I don't get benefits. I knew that going into it, but I stupidly assumed that “benefits” just meant health care, insurance, that kind of thing. It also means no sick day pay, no holiday pay, etc. I make about 4 vacation hours a month, which is nice though, and I guess I have the option to use that time for a sick day. The no holiday pay thing wouldn't really be an issue for days like Labor Day, Memorial Day, etc., except for the fact that, because it's a college, it closes for spring and winter break. So that translates to a week without getting paid for the former and an entire two weeks without pay for the latter. I'm not looking forward to that.
Other than that, it's a pretty sweet job and I feel like my life has improved a lot because of it. I'll still probably be looking for a new job once school gets out (because I'll no longer be under my mom's insurance once I'm no longer a student, and I kinda need that whole health insurance thing), but honestly, if it takes me awhile to find one, that's okay with me.