The Job Hunt Thread

[tcu2003]

Good luck, drama!

[mojothehelpermonkey]

The recruiter I met with today did have a few positions that might work for me. They would be a step down in salary compared to my previous position, but still enough to live off.
My other phone interview was interesting. Even though the job was posted in my area, it turns out that they would strongly prefer that the candidate relocate to their branch that is 8 hours north of where I live. Also, they really need someone who is an expert in the one immunoassay that I have the least amount of experience with. The hiring manager pretty much said it was a no go, and I can understand why. However, he did say that he really liked my resume and encouraged me to let him know if I see a position that I am interested in at their local branch.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Trying to craft an answer to "So why are you looking to leave your current position?"

Pay is an obvious one, this position I am interviewing for even if they gave me the rock bottom offer would leave me $7k ahead per year.   I don't know yet what their funding situation is b/c that would be another obvious answer. 2 years vs 5 years is also a no brainer.

I do not want to get into the personal stuff which is actually a bigger part of why I want to leave. It's going to make me look crazy if I say I want to leave b/c I am so lonely I've started talking to the animals/furniture.

I've been reading the job description and it sounds like it would put me back on the path I was in the College of Pharmacy.   If I am going to be stuck looking for jobs every 2-5 years I'd at least like to still be moving forward.  This job represents a step backwards in a lot of ways, especially since it will be such a short duration of time.

It is also a better fit for a lot of what I have skill set wise outside of animal husbandry.  I figure I can highlight that as a why they should want me to leave my current position and come work for them.

I'm thinking also depending on how the conversation is going I can work in I would have relocated with my Creighton boss if the timing had been right and I was with the COP for 5 years.  So I am a not a serial job hopper as it would appear to be.   My layoff was bad timing as far as positions/available funding and I need to support my family so I took the first position offered.   Now that I am back on stable ground I am continuing to look due to the duration of the position as of this time and seeking a better fit for my skill set.

I'd think with the nature of the job market right now, especially the field I am in, people would understand I can't wait for the "perfect" fit I have to take whatever is tossed at me if I don't want to become obsolete.  I can keep looking for a better fit while earning a paycheck.

Sound like a plan to you guys?

[swamp]

I've been reading the job description and it sounds like it would put me back on the path I was in the College of Pharmacy. If I am going to be stuck looking for jobs every 2-5 years I'd at least like to still be moving forward. This job represents a step backwards in a lot of ways, especially since it will be such a short duration of time.

that's what you stress.

no personal stuff, just emphasis on how your skills and goals fit better with the new job.  and it pays more.  nothing wrong about mentioning that.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I agree on no personal.   Employers don't care and it's be really easy to cross over into job/boss bashing and that's not attractive in any employee.

A friend of mine was looking for a postdoc and said she can't figure out why they aren't holding onto techs/PhD candidates/postdocs here.  Now that I am here I think I know why.

The second floor from what I have been told is an entirely different universe.   Unfortunately I cannot apply for internal jobs until I have been here a year or with special permission from my direct supervisor.  I bet you can guess how well that would go over.

Besides I haven't seen any positions for them anyhow.

[chen35]

Focus on the desire to have growth opportunities. You aren't getting that where you are, and you really want to be in a position where you can learn more and propel your career forward. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

I think that's what I plan to do.  This is the first time I am interviewing without really needing a job so my standard answer to "why are you looking to leave your position" isn't available.

Plus a lot of it IS personal stuff and I want to make sure I rehearse/prepare so none of that leaks out. I know I cost myself a job back in 2006 by getting too personal during the interview. I was in a bad spot and probably should have taken a break from job hunting at that time. I'm surprised I ever got an interview with Methodist again after that.

Besides after watching the news last night apparently being "lonely" is bad and translates into you are going to shoot up your workplace if people don't watch out.  I think I might want to be more careful when it comes to talking about how isolated I am at work from now on.

[Lizard Queen]

Finally, things are sort of settled with DS's after school care (bunch of BS from his school-- we were so freakin' close to pulling him and going back to his old school.  Didn't want to upset the poor kid, though).
Applied for a flexible part-time gig in town.  Pay is less, but enough for a local job.  Not really what I want to do, but tolerable if it can round out my experience and get me more contacts, or an in for a better job there in the future. 

I have a couple others to apply for as well --1 full-time very close to my house and my mom's.  The temp agency has contacted me a couple times, but no good possibilities there yet.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Having mixed feelings about the interview now. I am still really excited but I am nervous about not getting it. It's going to really suck to get within spitting distance of being back at UNMC and a potentially higher salary only to get rejected. 

I mean at least I still have this job so it won't be near as devastating as when I was trying to keep myself employed.    It's just going to make the few weeks afterwards really rough.

Things are so inefficient here, it drives me batty. I managed to get all the control data gathering done once I got access to the animal room. My PI was surprised I managed to accomplish it all that fast  and instead of moving forward I was given even more busy work to do.  I haven't conducted any actual experiments, it's all been endless amounts of control data.   

My now unemployed friend told me get used to it, she said you think it's bad as a technician think about how frustrating it would be if I was a PhD candidate with a thesis to complete.   The animal technician hinted at the same thing, she said the entire department moves at a snail's pace and is part of why they have difficulty securing funding.  Yet another reason they rotate thru staff so frequently.

If I had someone to talk to I could deal with the rest of the crap a lot easier.  I need to make sure to get a lid on this by next Friday so it doesn't pop out of my mouth during the interview.

Though I do think if they have staff saying I am ready to work as a team again would be beneficial.   I thought being a one woman army would be a selling point since they'd get twice the work out of one employee.  Instead I think people assumed I can't work with others and chose to be alone at my job on purpose, after all if I could handle people why would I have willing worked alone for 5 years? 

In reality that's just the nature of academic research right now, there isn't enough money for a lot of PIs to have a fully staffed lab.  It's hard to make people outside of academia understand how that works.

So I think when the topic comes up I will talk about when I worked with people and how that can help bring about new ideas and also can make things more efficient since there is someone else to help carry the load.  When you work alone there are a lot of things that get dropped b/c you just don't have the time.

ETA: Sorry for the whineys. Abby was up all night and then the stupid dog was also up all night barfing up dead rabbit. Sleep deprivation does nothing to enhance my mood. And right now I am sitting around waiting for my bosses to come in so we can do a noise exposure.

Isolated beige dungeon + boredom + frustration + over tired = cranky DQ.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Found a histotechnologist trainee position thru Nebraska Med. Hours would suck they start at 4am-5am but this was a position that didn't say anything about having to already be certified. I meet the job description requirements, though I might lose out due to the preferences.

It pays really good  and would lead to a nice career.

So I applied. That makes 2 applications at Nebraska Med floating around.

Two got rejected at UNMC so that leaves 5 active applications thru them.

Then the Methodist application for the autopsy assistant is still active as far as I can tell.

[MJ2.0]

Good luck DQ!

I'm convinced that I'm not getting the job for Company L. It's just as well - I'm sick of being a desk jockey doing pointless work. My career aspirations over the years included stuff like lawyer, law/history professor, police detective, architect, engineer... Things that may have had me use a desk/office, but not chained to one! So I help move clothes - BFD. All this stress for what? So a company can sell stuff? Who cares?! I need to just get serious about school so can do something that actually means something.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Meh. I'd consider the work that I do to mean something but I still have a ton of crap to deal with.   Over time it has really lost its luster and it gets harder to keep myself motivated to keep going.

Oh and my pay f-ing SUCKS b/c I went the "do what you love" route.

Grass isn't always greener on the other side.

[MJ2.0]

at this point, I'll settle for doing something I like that doesn't have me tethered to a cubicle all day. I am not IMO well compensated for the crap I have to deal with or what's expected of me. Did you know that sonographers average $60,000/year where I live... and that's with just an associate's degree and a certificate? That's more than I make without the supervisory BS, the "homework", and the corporate dress code.

[steph08]

Oct 8, 2015 13:21:20 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

at this point, I'll settle for doing something I like that doesn't have me tethered to a cubicle all day. I am not IMO well compensated for the crap I have to deal with or what's expected of me. Did you know that sonographers average $60,000/year where I live... and that's with just an associate's degree and a certificate? That's more than I make without the supervisory BS, the "homework", and the corporate dress code.

Sure, they might make 60k, but I wouldn't want to deal with as many grieving people as I do happy ones. Not all ultrasounds are unicorns and butterflies.

[yogiii]

Oct 8, 2015 13:21:20 GMT -5 MJ2.0 said:

at this point, I'll settle for doing something I like that doesn't have me tethered to a cubicle all day. I am not IMO well compensated for the crap I have to deal with or what's expected of me. Did you know that sonographers average $60,000/year where I live... and that's with just an associate's degree and a certificate? That's more than I make without the supervisory BS, the "homework", and the corporate dress code.

That's def something I wish I had known about in high school.

[MJ2.0]

sorry no - the MEDIAN salary is around $60k. Sonographers at the higher end can make over $80k. What?! I don't have to supervise anyone or take work home?!?! I get to look at pre-babies?!?! And I can wear comfy scrubs and shoes all day?!?! Sounds awesome!!!

Downsides: crazy hours/schedules, will probably see gross stuff, uncooperative patients, having to help discover something horrible

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Check out how many sonographers the hospitals in your area actually hire at a time.

There are several professions I know of that are highly paid in the medical community but the hospitals only need a handful of them. So  unless I am willing to move (which DH is not) then it isn't worth it.

A lot of the hospitals here too have switched to part time/on call/rotating hours for anyone who isn't a doctor.   The radiology/ultrasound departments especially.  So is that median income on a full time salary or is it one where you'd be averaging 15 hrs per week?

I am not IMO well compensated for the crap I have to deal with or what's expected of me

Preaching to the choir. I found out that Burger King managers make as much or more than I do.

Not that being a manager isn't stressful but when I consider how many hoops I've had to jump thru and crap I've put up with to remain at the same salary and title for 10 years it's depressing.   At least I'd have risen to the level of manager at Burger King.

[MJ2.0]

I'm sure it's FT. If I could make $60k/year working 15 hours a week I would have done that AGES ago! I hear what you're saying about FT vs. per diem or part time hours... luckily I live near 4 hospitals and countless doctor's offices/imaging offices. I just checked one of the hospitals - one department is looking for a full time imaging person and a couple others are hiring for a part time or per diem one.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Well good luck if you decide to go that route.

I wasn't trying to rain on your parade. I've been looking at education too and saw a lot of high paying medical type positions and when talking to the heads of those programs I found out the reason why they are so paid is b/c the hospitals need them.  However the hospital doesn't need a ton of those positions either and people tend to hold onto them for the long haul so there isn't a high rotation.  Competition can be pretty fierce so being willing to move is a plus.

Trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up is a bitch.  I'd like to avoid getting myself into the position I am in now but it's as impossible to time the job market as it is the stock market.

Applied for another job with UNMC.  This one is the same title as my old job so we'll see. I still really have no clue how the title system works at UNMC since the job duties for a technician and technologist are both the same but the latter seems to be a step up and I am not having much luck getting positions at that title.   So we'll see if I do better trying to get a technician interview.

[MJ2.0]

I know you're just trying to be realistic - I'm just getting very unhappy with the professional aspect of my life. I would much rather go the engineering route but I'm now thinking "4 years of school vs. 2 years of school". Time is money and I don't want to spend a shit ton of either on getting myself into a different career. I have been really lazy career-wise. I just sort of coasted and this is where it got me. Who dreams of being a paper pusher? I know what I need to do, I just have to DO it!

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Yeah I am trying to figure out what to do as well. I still have $19K in student loan debt hanging over my head.   So the idea of graduate school for a masters (which would keep me in the same spot) or another bachelor's doesn't appear to be worth my time. I've looked at several training programs and some of them get expensive.  

I don't feel that I have been lazy. I feel like I was stupid to choose this field to begin with.  I had plans and ambitions but they went belly up under current funding conditions, pursuing that path would lead me to be in an even worse position than I am in right now.

So I don't know what to do. I was so narrowly focused in college and spent a ton in loans to start on the path and have become fairly specialized.   Thanks to everyone else being in this position competition is even more fierce for what little is out there.   I haven't been able to convince anyone yet I can change gears.

Going back to school is difficult as well b/c I want to pick the "right" career this time and keep my SL debt down so I get a good ROI.  Nothing pays good enough around here for me to make up another $30k+ in debt before I retire.

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 9, 2015 10:52:40 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Well good luck if you decide to go that route.

I wasn't trying to rain on your parade. I've been looking at education too and saw a lot of high paying medical type positions and when talking to the heads of those programs I found out the reason why they are so paid is b/c the hospitals need them.  However the hospital doesn't need a ton of those positions either and people tend to hold onto them for the long haul so there isn't a high rotation.  Competition can be pretty fierce so being willing to move is a plus.

Trying to figure out what I want to be when I grow up is a bitch.  I'd like to avoid getting myself into the position I am in now but it's as impossible to time the job market as it is the stock market.

Applied for another job with UNMC.  This one is the same title as my old job so we'll see. I still really have no clue how the title system works at UNMC since the job duties for a technician and technologist are both the same but the latter seems to be a step up and I am not having much luck getting positions at that title.   So we'll see if I do better trying to get a technician interview.

I am at the point where I wouldn't mind retraining to do something else, but I don't want to sink any more time or money into getting trained in another over-saturated field where few good jobs actually exist anymore.

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Yep. I have had people harp on me about going into nursing.

To get my BSN would knock my student loan debt into the $65k range.  I'd kinda like to be done paying the damn things at some point.

Plus the market is becoming oversaturated as the schools churn out more and more students.   While there may be shortages in the rural areas of both states the city areas have more than enough currently employed and job seeking nurses to go around.  Most of the posts I see are for part time or on call since it's cheaper and there are enough people on the market.  They keep a small unit of full time staff and rotate everyone else.

It's still good pay but gone are the days of super high salaries and sign on bonuses.   I wouldn't get a good ROI if I tried to get my BSN on my own.  If I were to go that route I'd need to get my RN and hope I can find an employer to pay for the BSN.

The med tech program would give me a good return on investment but I'm playing a BS game with them over my degree being "too old" and I need three more classes before they'd even consider accepting me.  I also cannot work during that time period which makes supporting a household a bit of a problem.   I wouldn't be able to keep the kids home since I would have to be either in class or rotations so we still need daycare.  Plus DH's insurance freaking sucks.

While I know it's not impossible it's freaking HARD to change course at 32.  I wish I had listened to my professors and my PI at Creighton and changed courses back in 2006-2008.  It would have been much simpler to do that without DH and the kids in tow.  I also wouldn't have put 10 years into a career that's going absolutely no where but down.

[wvugurl26]

Oct 9, 2015 15:41:20 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Yep. I have had people harp on me about going into nursing.

To get my BSN would knock my student loan debt into the $65k range.  I'd kinda like to be done paying the damn things at some point.

Plus the market is becoming oversaturated as the schools churn out more and more students.   While there may be shortages in the rural areas of both states the city areas have more than enough currently employed and job seeking nurses to go around.  Most of the posts I see are for part time or on call since it's cheaper and there are enough people on the market.  They keep a small unit of full time staff and rotate everyone else.

It's still good pay but gone are the days of super high salaries and sign on bonuses.   I wouldn't get a good ROI if I tried to get my BSN on my own.  If I were to go that route I'd need to get my RN and hope I can find an employer to pay for the BSN.

The med tech program would give me a good return on investment but I'm playing a BS game with them over my degree being "too old" and I need three more classes before they'd even consider accepting me.  I also cannot work during that time period which makes supporting a household a bit of a problem.   I wouldn't be able to keep the kids home since I would have to be either in class or rotations so we still need daycare.  Plus DH's insurance freaking sucks.

While I know it's not impossible it's freaking HARD to change course at 32.  I wish I had listened to my professors and my PI at Creighton and changed courses back in 2006-2008.  It would have been much simpler to do that without DH and the kids in tow.  I also wouldn't have put 10 years into a career that's going absolutely no where but down.

I heard a $50k sign on bonus for Sinai in Baltimore the other day for experienced ICU, CCU, etc RNs. I was shocked.

Despite turning out a full nursing class yearly, WVU's hospital is always desperate for nurses. They don't have enough full time people. They have to rely on the per diem people who get big bucks per hour. Maybe it's an east coast shortage. Now in my hometown it is saturated. Baltimore, DC, Morgantown they are begging for nurses.

Since moving isn't an option for you, nursing probably isn't the best choice.

[obelisk]

Getting trained in an oversaturated field is a loosing proposition when you are 30+  especially when you are looking at 2 plus years for your certification.  The best bet for your future is looking at private industries and do what ever it takes to acquire employment even if you have to stretch the truth.  ie getting someone in the private industry to vouch for you.  This is what has worked for me.  If you are unable to move it becomes even more important.  The goal is to get yourself in the door of private industry and nothing else. 

[Lizard Queen]

Hindsight being 20/20 and all, I wish I had really believed that Mustachianism was possible before I quit and went back to school.  School was fun and all, but now it's impossible for me to hold a well-paying full-time job anyway.  So, with the hindsight, I should have just saved the tuition money and held on a little longer, retiring really early to take care of my mom.  I'm so happy to be out of the place I worked at, though.  I'm not sure how much longer I could have put up with it.  It was eating at me.  15 years is way too long for a job that you hated pretty much from day 1.

[jeep108]

I've been a receptionist for the same company for 14 years now.  I'm thinking of going back to school for Nuclear Medicine Technologist.  Having student loans and debt scares me.  Starting over in a different field scares me. 

[mojothehelpermonkey]

Oct 9, 2015 15:41:20 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Yep. I have had people harp on me about going into nursing.

To get my BSN would knock my student loan debt into the $65k range.  I'd kinda like to be done paying the damn things at some point.

Plus the market is becoming oversaturated as the schools churn out more and more students.   While there may be shortages in the rural areas of both states the city areas have more than enough currently employed and job seeking nurses to go around.  Most of the posts I see are for part time or on call since it's cheaper and there are enough people on the market.  They keep a small unit of full time staff and rotate everyone else.

It's still good pay but gone are the days of super high salaries and sign on bonuses.   I wouldn't get a good ROI if I tried to get my BSN on my own.  If I were to go that route I'd need to get my RN and hope I can find an employer to pay for the BSN.

The med tech program would give me a good return on investment but I'm playing a BS game with them over my degree being "too old" and I need three more classes before they'd even consider accepting me.  I also cannot work during that time period which makes supporting a household a bit of a problem.   I wouldn't be able to keep the kids home since I would have to be either in class or rotations so we still need daycare.  Plus DH's insurance freaking sucks.

While I know it's not impossible it's freaking HARD to change course at 32.  I wish I had listened to my professors and my PI at Creighton and changed courses back in 2006-2008.  It would have been much simpler to do that without DH and the kids in tow.  I also wouldn't have put 10 years into a career that's going absolutely no where but down.

My mom was a nurse with almost 30 years of experience who lived in a rural area. Because she lived in a rural area, the only job she could find that wouldn't involve a 45 mile commute over icy roads no matter what the conditions was at a dangerously understaffed nursing home. Long story short, they refused to stop scheduling her for overtime even after she ended up in the hospital for a nervous breakdown. The fiasco ended with her losing her nursing license (not for screwing up and harming a patient or anything like that), but I am glad she did if it means she won't have to work in a job like that again.
At least she was still better off in terms of pay than a fresh nursing grad with no experience. 

[NomoreDramaQ1015]

Got complimented on Friday. I was told they were surprised at how efficient I am and they appreciate it. I am one of the better technicians they've hired.

I appreciate that. At the same time though it's really NOT that hard to be efficient at this job, especially now that I have access to the animal room. It makes me wonder what they expected out of me and what they've hired in the past.

Makes me feel guilty a bit about going on this interview on Friday and still looking.  Dh told me get that thought out of my head right now, I have to do what is best for ME and our family.   He's right of course.

[swamp]

Oct 12, 2015 8:43:53 GMT -5 NomoreDramaQ1015 said:

Got complimented on Friday. I was told they were surprised at how efficient I am and they appreciate it. I am one of the better technicians they've hired.

I appreciate that. At the same time though it's really NOT that hard to be efficient at this job, especially now that I have access to the animal room. It makes me wonder what they expected out of me and what they've hired in the past.

Makes me feel guilty a bit about going on this interview on Friday and still looking.  Dh told me get that thought out of my head right now, I have to do what is best for ME and our family.   He's right of course.

I used to think that everything I did well wasn't that special and assumed everyone else can do it too. I've since learned otherwise.