Week One: So Far, No Shaving Badgers
Since folks have been asking I wanted to update on how my first week at the new job went.
It's a small office in Tarrytown, NY, with only about a dozen employees present with a few freelancers out of state that they send work to from time to time. The actual building is a two story office that shares spaces with a bank, and print studio and a few other businesses. The restroom in the shared hallway has a pass code lock on it. It's a nice area, very rocky and hilly, with the typical office complexes along the main road. I'm told there are stores and eateries nearby, but I haven't explored much yet. And the other day I saw a wild turkey wandering around our parking lot. My commute is about 40 minutes, and I hit traffic on the way there once I get close to the bridge and on the way home when I get close to my exit off the Parkway. Overall, the view is pretty and I finally found the New York NPR station on the radio. Christine and I are looking into getting an EZ Pass for me, and I think they have a sweet deal for the Tappen Zee Bridge commuters. I'm still concerned about all this wear and tear on my poor old car, especially in the summer heat. But we'll see how that goes. I make sure I get to work on time everyday, but it appears that they aren't too strict about those kinds of things - traffic being what it is in the area they are very forgiving.
Specifically my job is to design advertisements for small companies that get shown on benches, shopping carts and in welcome displays that give out their company information in the form of business cards and brochures. So I get a packet of information about what they want and what sizes they want it, and an email with any graphics or photos they want to use. And I do touch ups and use my 'elite design skills' to put together something they like, and then I email them a draft. They email back with revisions and the process repeats until they get something they are satisfied with before the deadline. They said I should try to keep it down to three revisions if I can - though some clients have been known to nit-pic their way up to like ten revisions. I'm supposed to discourage that. It's a lot of Photoshop work. It's CS3 right now, but they may be upgrading very soon. I picked up a really good tips book at the Barnes & Noble last night and I'm going to hit it for at least part of this weekend. At present I am working on a ghetto-rigged laptop (it's on a stand to keep it eye level and has an attached mini-keyboard) - but they have a computer coming for me soon. Whatever, I can work with that. I have my own little cubicle space and I can just plug in my headphones and go to town undisturbed (thanks again to Christine for loaning me her ipod).
My boss took us all out for lunch on Friday to this place - http://www.redhatbistro.com/index.html. Holy cow, this place was amazing. Right down by the river. And the food was fantastic. Apparently business if very good.
So, yeah, so far I can't find much to complain about. I was a little unsteady when I first got there. I had that moment on my first day of 'holy crap, now I have to actually perform - AHH!' kinda came and went. My supervisors seem satisfied with what I'm doing and generally seem to want to have me there as part of the team. I try to be friendly and upbeat - so far they laugh at my jokes. The business is doing well in a crappy economy, so I can't wait to see what happens when the recession all turns around. I'm fairly confident that if I can maintain for the next three months I'll have a full-time yearly salary and a nice niche where I can do what I can do and get paid for it - which is all I really wanted anyway.
I fill out my last unemployment form on Wednesday.
It's a small office in Tarrytown, NY, with only about a dozen employees present with a few freelancers out of state that they send work to from time to time. The actual building is a two story office that shares spaces with a bank, and print studio and a few other businesses. The restroom in the shared hallway has a pass code lock on it. It's a nice area, very rocky and hilly, with the typical office complexes along the main road. I'm told there are stores and eateries nearby, but I haven't explored much yet. And the other day I saw a wild turkey wandering around our parking lot. My commute is about 40 minutes, and I hit traffic on the way there once I get close to the bridge and on the way home when I get close to my exit off the Parkway. Overall, the view is pretty and I finally found the New York NPR station on the radio. Christine and I are looking into getting an EZ Pass for me, and I think they have a sweet deal for the Tappen Zee Bridge commuters. I'm still concerned about all this wear and tear on my poor old car, especially in the summer heat. But we'll see how that goes. I make sure I get to work on time everyday, but it appears that they aren't too strict about those kinds of things - traffic being what it is in the area they are very forgiving.
Specifically my job is to design advertisements for small companies that get shown on benches, shopping carts and in welcome displays that give out their company information in the form of business cards and brochures. So I get a packet of information about what they want and what sizes they want it, and an email with any graphics or photos they want to use. And I do touch ups and use my 'elite design skills' to put together something they like, and then I email them a draft. They email back with revisions and the process repeats until they get something they are satisfied with before the deadline. They said I should try to keep it down to three revisions if I can - though some clients have been known to nit-pic their way up to like ten revisions. I'm supposed to discourage that. It's a lot of Photoshop work. It's CS3 right now, but they may be upgrading very soon. I picked up a really good tips book at the Barnes & Noble last night and I'm going to hit it for at least part of this weekend. At present I am working on a ghetto-rigged laptop (it's on a stand to keep it eye level and has an attached mini-keyboard) - but they have a computer coming for me soon. Whatever, I can work with that. I have my own little cubicle space and I can just plug in my headphones and go to town undisturbed (thanks again to Christine for loaning me her ipod).
My boss took us all out for lunch on Friday to this place - http://www.redhatbistro.com/index.html. Holy cow, this place was amazing. Right down by the river. And the food was fantastic. Apparently business if very good.
So, yeah, so far I can't find much to complain about. I was a little unsteady when I first got there. I had that moment on my first day of 'holy crap, now I have to actually perform - AHH!' kinda came and went. My supervisors seem satisfied with what I'm doing and generally seem to want to have me there as part of the team. I try to be friendly and upbeat - so far they laugh at my jokes. The business is doing well in a crappy economy, so I can't wait to see what happens when the recession all turns around. I'm fairly confident that if I can maintain for the next three months I'll have a full-time yearly salary and a nice niche where I can do what I can do and get paid for it - which is all I really wanted anyway.
I fill out my last unemployment form on Wednesday.