Stereodude
Not really a
Well, most countries have limits on how long you can stay when you arrive as a tourist or for a business trip so they want to see you at least have a plan to leave within the allowed time.
Something Random
- Thread starter ddrueding
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CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Stop searching Google for naked grannies.
Ewwww! :smack:
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
Happy retirement. Piled enough on the side to last the few years left?
What? I meant that they rejected me for the treatment in France.
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
I'm the winner of an artificial hip installation at 42. Slip and fall is no joke.
ddrueding
Fixture
A buddy is having his hip replaced this week. Scheduled to spend 4-6 weeks horizontal?
Stereodude
Not really a
Treatment for what?
Yikes, are you going to be our first bionic member?
time
Storage? I am Storage!
Nah, you can usually hobble after a day or so, but of course full recovery can take several months. Those 4-6 weeks will be spent following exercises devised by your physio.
Howell, I thought hip replacement was mostly due to arthritis?
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
I landed on it exactly wrong and crushed the head and shattered the neck. Like with bones with arthritis, if you can't repair you must replace. 4-6 weeks sounds more like a repair. They told me rehab would be more intensive with a repair before they knew they could not repair.
I'm already up and about with the help of a walker every hour. I should be released tomorrow if not today. Then a couple weeks of outpatient pt.
I'm already up and about with the help of a walker every hour. I should be released tomorrow if not today. Then a couple weeks of outpatient pt.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
That sounds horrible. They already did the replacement surgery?
Howell
Storage? I am Storage!
Thanks guys. Since the surgery I've really not had much pain, but I have a pretty high pain tolerance. I'm the talk of the hospital both in the injury and lack of post-op pain.
I smashed it Monday evening right outside the house sometime after 5, in the rain. That was excruciating, nearly passed out trying to get out of the cold and rain and notify the wife.
I was in surgery by noon Tuesday and up and walking every hour by Thursday morning.
No more marathons for me but apparently I can bike all I want after a while.
I smashed it Monday evening right outside the house sometime after 5, in the rain. That was excruciating, nearly passed out trying to get out of the cold and rain and notify the wife.
I was in surgery by noon Tuesday and up and walking every hour by Thursday morning.
No more marathons for me but apparently I can bike all I want after a while.
Mom was walking 2 days after each of her hip replacements. One inch incision and mostly automated/robotic surgery.
Stereodude
Not really a
So, I received my "bonus" for the 2nd half of 2016 on the 28th. My job hunt starts in earnest as soon as I return from China.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
Care to share how bad it was?
Oh that is terrible. I hope you reach a decent state of recovery eventually. It's too bad nobody was responsible.
Our 2016 bonus went away and we took a 5-10% pay cut for the last four months which continues for another 8+ months. I still like my company and have no incentive to search for a job elsewhere. It all comes down to how a company treats you and handles these issues and the people you work with. My point isn't to say poor me in any way, but rather I hope you can find a company similar to mine that you like even when conditions aren't perfect.
At least you have a round trip ticket.
Damn man, that sounds like a stressful time. I remember when my mom broke her hip and how excruciating the pain was for her. I was just in the room next door when she fell and she wasn't able to move. I can only imagine how that must of left you feeling a bit helpless while trying to find your wife. I hope the PT goes well and you can return to normal actives soon.
Stereodude
Not really a
It was about 1/2 a month of salary. When I interviewed they told me how the company usually paid around 2 months of salary in each bonus period. I haven't seen that yet, but factored in getting at least 1 month salary each time when I looked at compensation and whether it was worth changing jobs. I thought my last company was stiffing me on the bonus (any they kind of were always having some excuse to reduce payouts some), but comparatively speaking to this job they paid well at bonus time.
There are a variety of other factors that have me very unhappy with the job. It's not just the bonuses. The bonus situation is just the proverbial straw that broke the camel's back.
I've probably somewhat unwisely been mixing it up with the GM of the US branch of the company via e-mail letting him know my feeling on the bonus plan and how the amount is calculated, but I don't really care if there's fallout.
8% isn't so bad for non sales if the base is good. Unfortunately some companies onboard people with a low base and entice with a bonus that never materializes. I'd rather have a better base and not be too dependent on a bonus.
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
I wholeheartedly agree here. Depending upon either a bonus (or overtime if you're an hourly employee) to make a decent amount isn't a good way to live.
On another note I might be joining the ranks of the unemployed later this year or next. The project I was hired for is moving to the next stage. They may or may not be using different people. It's not even my present bosses decision, although he can put in a good word for me. That said, I did know going in this job was going to be temporary. The fact it's lasted three years so far and counting means it probably already lasted two years longer than I thought it would. It's also the first job I've had where I really have no complaints about anything. I work mostly at home. I only needed to go to the lab in NJ twice so far. The work is very interesting and challenging. I've been very well compensated (last year I made $130K). I'll be sad whenever it ends, but that's life I suppose.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
Can you find a new job based on the work you did here?
jtr1962
Storage? I am Storage!
Probably. What I did looks very good on a resume. The only issue is I need to work primarily at home since I'm the caretaker for my mom. Unfortunately, my mom started getting dementia in the last few years and needs someone there. My brother and sister both work full-time. It's not an option for them to take care of her. They can mind her if I need to go away on an occasional basis (i.e. every few months) but there's no way I could do a job which requires me to go on site regularly. We can't afford to pay full-time help either, nor would mom be comfortable with a stranger in the house on a regular basis.
That said, if they need me for the next stage, and it lasts a few more years, the need to look for work after the job goes away is far less imperative. I've been saving most of my earnings. I'd say if I continue to earn at this rate, I can probably just retire in a few more years if I want to.
Stereodude
Not really a
8% is nice if you were expecting less, like 0. But, if you're expecting something more like 16-33% it's disappointing.
I'm rather unhappy with my job and somewhat unhappy with my career. I keep finding myself at bad companies with considerable challenges to overcome. I keep wondering if I should find a job that pays say half as much, but one that is less stressful, less demanding, and more fulfilling. Or maybe at least a job even if it's not very fulfilling that I can leave at the office. One where I'm not on calls in the morning and evening, or having to chase people in Asia down for information all the time. Something more like a real 8-5. I surmise that most of those sorts of jobs pay less than what I make now though.
Or, maybe I should just go get a job at Costco. So far concerns about saving for retirement stop me. I think I could live on a Costco salary. Obviously, I'd have whole lot less spending money, but I think I could sustain my current lifestyle due to the fact I will have no debt in a few months. I'm quite sure though that I would not have the ability to max out a 401k every year as that would be nearly half of the pay (as I understand the pay at Costco).
Ultimately, I should probably suck it up and at least keep the sort of job I have now for a few more years saving as much as I can. I've used most of my income to pay off my mortgage very quickly and haven't saved a whole lot outside of maxing out my 401k each year and I've been a little spendy recently. I think I could save ~33% of my gross salary each year on top of maxing out my 401k and not be all that tight on money.
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There should be a stated target range per grade and position, so you know what to expect. Of course there is an adjustment for personal and corporate performance and sometimes compa-ratio, but I think they were screwing you over.
Numerous studies show that job satisfaction is more important than pay, at least over a reasonable range.Stereodude
Not really a
Yeah well, I sure don't have job satisfaction at this one. Pretty much never did. I knew I was in deep trouble within a month of starting when I went to China for "training" last year.
I had it for a while at my last job, but the company slowly changed around me for the worse.
fb
Storage is cool
It doesn't hurt to look around for other interesting opportunities. I thought about getting a job in a completely different sector, but now I 'm going from sysadmin to BI-developer. It's pretty nice to go from 24/7/365-availability to 8/5/251 + colleagues with IT-competence.
Stereodude
Not really a
I wish I had colleagues with competence. Instead I'm a bi-directional information filter / incompetence compensator. In one direction my basic job is to keep the end customer from discovering how utterly incompetent and inept the organization I work for really is so they'll buy our product. I'm not sure if I'm the lipstick on the pig or the make-up artist. In the other direction I function as a bit of a sanity check on customer requests preventing them from overwhelming and confusing the folks across the pond with big words and "complicated" ideas.It doesn't hurt to look around for other interesting opportunities. I thought about getting a job in a completely different sector, but now I 'm going from sysadmin to BI-developer. It's pretty nice to go from 24/7/365-availability to 8/5/251 + colleagues with IT-competence.
In any case, my job isn't the slightest bit technical. I'm a glorified babysitter and proofreader. I imagine this is how the parents of toddlers feel. The only difference is toddlers grow up and that's never going to happen here due to the culture and rampant employee turnover.
At my last job I had to help hide the customer's technical incompetence from their customer. It was much more palatable and technical.
:frusty: :frusty: :frusty:
fb
Storage is cool
It"s sad how an organisation can get turned from successful to mediocrity in very short time. I had a 60+ old politician as a "boss" for the last couple of years. His personality/appearence/leadership style is best described as the real world version of the marshmallow man from Ghostbusters.
It was very "interesting" to see the place change from a company with some ambitions, to a political party convention where science and logical reasoning was banned from the decision chain and backstabbing was the way to move forward inside the organisation.
It was very "interesting" to see the place change from a company with some ambitions, to a political party convention where science and logical reasoning was banned from the decision chain and backstabbing was the way to move forward inside the organisation.
CougTek
Hairy Aussie
So what happened to your company is pretty much the history of the U$ Republican party over the past fifty years.
To Stereodude: endure until you are debt-free and have some spare cash on the side to last several months. After that, if your base expenses are low, you're basicly a free man. Free to leave whenever you want. Free to try other field of employment. Free to be your (often unpleasant) self since you don't really need that job to survive. Just free and that in itself has immense value.
Plus, having a qualified worker (in whatever is your field of expertise) working at Costco is bad for the economy. Costco and similar are fine for people with low education level and/or work ethics. If you're allergic to incompetence, don't go there or you'll kill yourself. You'll be surrouned by people for whom work isn't the priority in their lives. If you are where you are now, it's because work is a big part of your feeling of self-accomplishment. Whether you like it or not, it's a big part of how you define yourself. You won't get that at Costco. You'll become someone who's lost his identity and your brain will melt.
I don't like you very much, because you're not very likeable to begin with. But I can see that there's value in people like yourself and that value would be wasted in a Costco alley. I'm not very likeable myself either and I fell underpaid and I don't like the way my company handles business either. But I suck it up and I keep going, because that's what I am and that's what you're too.
fb
Storage is cool
Well written CougTek. I sucked it up for quite some time too. I got a bit of stress related sick leave between october 2015 to march 2016, and now I began to recognise the same symptoms again. (Irregular sleep, memory related problems, migrane, short temper with the family etc.) So, my advice to you guys is to suck it up to a certain degree, but preferably not until you get sick. It's not really worth it.
Stereodude
Not really a
Months? Already got that covered. I want years worth of living expenses saved. Then I can be free to walk at a moment's notice.
I'm not sure I buy the argument that I have some sort of obligation to society to use my full potential and suffer in a job I don't like. If someone wants to go cut lawns with a PHD that's their choice. Maybe cutting lawns makes them happy.
Ultimately, the job I have now doesn't tap my potential or expertise. I'm paid a lot but probably anyone who is a little detail oriented could do the job with a little training on the product. For me it's mostly an exercise in patience. Something that as an engineer I don't tend to have a lot of. I see a problem and want to fix it. I see the problem here and can't do anything to fix it and it's not getting any better. They probably should be hiring elementary education majors with an emphasis in special education, child therapists, or just people with the patience of saints.
PS: I'm very likeable.
Stereodude
Not really a
I've heard the same thing. That's exactly why I used them in my random thought. FWIW, I don't get the feeling from my interactions with the people that work there that the staff is incompetent or there because they're poorly motivated in life as Coug suggests.I hear that Costco is actually a pretty good company to work for.
timwhit
Hairy Aussie
SD, what industry are you in? If you could work for any company in that industry which would it be?