Off topic (Bigtime!) - Job required

[Gizmo750]

Well, after yet another day in "corporate world" listening to the usual rubbish I have finally realised that I am totally fed up with working for a large corporate employer who couldn't pick me out of a line up, let alone bother to spell my name correctly. I am tired of being employee number xxxxx and want to go back to being Guy - after all, I have known him for 33 years next week and I quite like the chap.

I am finally at the end of my rope with big company bollox. I've been doing it for too long and am tired of all the bull*hit that goes with it. I have no enthusiasm for it any more. I was at a meeting the other day - you know the type - talking about strategies and synergies and objectives and I was thinking to myself "I couldn't give a flying toss!" I really couldn't. I've now finally decided that life is far too short to be spending your time eating s*it and talking complete nonsense 8 hours a day. I don't want to be 60 and look back and say "Bugger me, I've done sod all with my life".

There has got to be more to liffe than pretending to be someone that you are not just to play the "corporate game".

So, anyone out there know of any exciting and genuinely interesting opportunities for a 33 year old chap who has spent the last 13+ years working in the IT and Telecoms industry in sales and account management roles and who is currently looking for a better quality of life?

Or should I do the same as at least three people I know, and sell up and look for quality of life, lower taxes, better roads, lower prices and less stress in another country? ? ? ?

Rant over. . . . . thanks for letting me get that off my chest

 

[Steve_Perry]

I'm also seeking another job, as after tomorrow I am officially redundant. Our offices at Swansea have been continually mis-managed from a distance (HQ is near Basingstoke) for the last 4 years, to the point they've now decided to shut us down and anyone not willing to relocate will be made redundant

Here's my office today...

There used to be 14 of us working flat out in that space, for the last 4 months it's been 2

Gizmo, I know exactly where you're coming from when you say you're fed up with "big company bollox". Our management say they want to grow our business but they've consistently downsized the company over the past years. Even though I don't have an MBA even I can see they couldn't manage a f**k up in a brothel. Grr

/end rant too

S.

 

[Shude]

Well said!

There are some benefits to working for a larger company though, I have worked for both large and small companies and have seen both sides of it. You work for a large company and you're just a number and it feels like nothing you do actually counts for anything. You work for a small company and you have to do everything yourself because there is no-one else there . My last employer (I was employee number 7 on the payroll) didn't even see fit to get me a computer or a desk so I had to sit wherever anyone who wasn't in that day normally sat! I struggled to find stuff all the time because I didn't have a drawer or anything to keep stuff in! Even though I had worked there for two years I still had to do all the annoying noddy jobs, like changing the backup tapes, because there was no-one else to do them. They saved me the trouble of quitting by making me redundant at the end of July. Dispite only providing me with a very small severence pay, I have yet to receive it, nor any pay for the holidays I didn't take, nor my P45. Small companies suck just as much!

P.S. Anyone need a qualified Notes Admin with 3 years experience?

 

[Flyer]

Originally posted by Gizmo750
Or should I do the same as at least three people I know, and sell up and look for quality of life, lower taxes, better roads, lower prices and less stress in another country? ? ? ?

Guy, trust you had a great honeymoon, mate .

I've never worked for a big company, in fact I've been self-employed for the last 15 years so I can only imagine what it's like for you and Steve. I would actually like to work for a big company as being s/e is not always what it's cracked up to be. Dealing with the tw@, sorry, nice people at Customs and Inland Revenue is one major downer.

I hadn't thought about moving abroad, but my 14 year-old daughter emigrated to Oz last month and she absolutely loves it (as does her mum). Clean air, 28p/litre petrol , sun, can see the Indian Ocean from her bedroom (surfing!). I can see the attraction (although the police in Oz are even more obsessive about speed, so that's a *big* negative).

Chin up mate, just take the beast out for a blast .

Cheers
Andrew

 

[scotth_uk]

Guys, I'll check the vacancies at work for you all.

Shude: We still use notes - there's hope yet!

 

[MainMan]

Dead right

I know exactly what you mean. Bullsh*t and boll0cks seem to pervade IT. We've got a new CEO at the company I work for (it's an American company) and he can talk for hours and I have absolutely not the slightest clue what he's on about - and I don't think he has either. At the last video presentation he gave someone handed out bullsh*it bingo cards to try and make it more interesting - you know the type of thing with all the buzzwords on, synergy, think outside the box, etc. £5 for a complete line. Talking nonsense seems to be well paid though. He's got a private aircraft, a yacht and several houses. Meanwhile, the company is firing people by email and moving work "offshore" (i.e. to India) so that the managers can pocket even more money. I'm going to stick it out till I get my email - can't be too long from now.

 

[swl]

Guess it's true that the economy is going downhill. Like you guys, my husband was made redundant 3 months ago. His boss had sold the business to another American. The new owner decided to close down the UK office. My husband's boss had originally hoped that the new owner would keep my husband on as a contractor to support the UK customers. At first, the new owner agreed to the suggestion and even asked my husband to fly to the US to talk terms. Then, there was silence for a few weeks. When my husband emailed his old boss to check the situation, he got a bcc informing him that his services is no longer required. To add insult to injury, they made him work out the notice period instead of letting him go immediately. So, there he was working alone (everyone else were told to go immediately) in the office until his last day which was two Fridays ago.

To be honest, I don't hold out much hope on him getting a job soon due to his age (forties) and his skills being in Unix and Cobol. His PC and networking skills are self-taught.

Anyway, I thought we (especially me) need a rest. So, we are off to the Far East (fingers crossed that it will be clear of SARS) in 3 weeks time to recharge our batteries.

Guys, good luck with the job search.

Regards,
swl

 

[MainMan]

My personal opinion is that the economy is heading for a crash. The bursting of the stock market bubble has not yet been fully worked through, partly because it has been replaced by a housing market bubble. But when houses start falling in value and genuine deflation sets in I don't see that there's a thing that the government can do - or should that be "willing to do". Lowering taxes on people and industry doesn't seem to be part of their agenda.

 

[RichardM]

Originally posted by GDC200
Sorry having reread this if its a bit heavy but .........

That really was a great post and I'm sure most of us relate to it!

 

[scotth_uk]

Here's the jobs where I am. No IT unfortunately.

Americas

Senior Architect Added 08 July 2003
US Procurement Manager Added 08 July 2003
Senior Security Assessment Analyst Added 23 May 2003
Manager/Director Marketing Communications Added 19 May 2003
Senior Financial Analyst Added 15 May 2003

Asia-Pacific

Europe, Middle East, Africa

United Kingdom

Customer Reporting Analyst Expires 13 October 2003
Manager, Customer Reporting Team Expires 13 October 2003
Asia Service Manager Expires 3 October 2003
Assistant Billing Manager Expires 30 September 2003
Financial Accountant Expires 30 September 2003

 

[Gizmo750]

GDC200

That is so accurate - all of it. I guess it comes down to having a bit of bottle to not take the safe option. At the end of the day that safe option is very likely to be sole destroying and I am fed up of being a miserable bugger and generally feeling down.

Gets to the stage where you snap at the ones you love and afterwards you realise that you are not so keen on the person that you seem to have become!

Well, I need to suck it up and get out of corporate bull*hit life before there is none of the original me left. . . . . . . .

Not being morbid or depressive here - just thinking out loud, amongst friends, and sharing the moment when I make the life changing decision that GDC200 has already been through.

Watch this space. . . . . . . . (and thanks for the support)

Guy

 

[Gizmo750]

@ Flyer

Chin up mate, just take the beast out for a blast .

That is no way to talk about my lovely lady you know.

Better watch out or I will tell her

Guy

 

[Shude]

Think hard lads, there's gotta be a business we can set up to use the skills of an IT Salesman, an IT Technician/Analyst and a Chemical Engineer. Hmm...

 

[Flyer]

Originally posted by Gizmo750
@ Flyer

That is no way to talk about my lovely lady you know.

Better watch out or I will tell her

Guy

<huggybear>Hey baby, I's cool </huggybear>

Originally posted by Shude
Think hard lads, there's gotta be a business we can set up to use the skills of an IT Salesman, an IT Technician/Analyst and a Chemical Engineer. Hmm...

WMD Exporter?

 

[AJTHOMAS]

Best deal for a Chemical Engineer these days is plumbing, allegedly !

IChemE salary survey shows plumbers achieve higher salaries and enjoy greater work flexibility than chartered engineers between the age of 25 and 45.

Gutted...

Multinational coporates have their perks, final salary pensions, annual bonuses, they carry you when your not in the mood.

Grab the cash while you can then run-away !

 

[Steve_Perry]

Thanks for the words of support peeps

Nick, Umm hehe I seem to be the odd one out in terms of skills in our team

AJ, I've read that report too. Infact as I recall I'm sure I've read an article about a Chemical Engineer that gave 'it' all up to become a plumber. As you say 'gutting'. Are you in the 'business' perchance? I thought I was the only one on the forum here

S.

 

[Kinky]

I agree with all that has been said. Working for one of the biggest companies in the world - you are just a number (EVERYTHING is based around your employee number)

I've also been at the other end of the spectrum - 7 employee company which was a nightmare.

That said - Shude - we might well have notes admin/dev jobs going in Manchester - I'll dig around for ya tomorrow.

K

 

[AJTHOMAS]

Gutted, totally....

Working as a process engineer, one of dozens amongst thousands on site...

Every few years staff get sent on a 'product awareness' refresher course to remind people what exactly it is that we make !!

Then you know it's time to get out and try something different.

 

[Steve_Perry]

Originally posted by AJTHOMAS
Gutted, totally....

Working as a process engineer, one of dozens amongst thousands on site...

Every few years staff get sent on a 'product awareness' refresher course to remind people what exactly it is that we make !!

Then you know it's time to get out and try something different.

Ah ha, I'm not the only one here then I was a project engineer for an industrial membrane systems manufacturer. 'Was' being the operative word

Here's a small example of big company crap... We get a special UPS delivery today at about 10am, a pack of corporate marketing staff newsletters/magazines called 'Your life in our hands' or similar crappy title, the very same day they're shutting the entire site down. Oh the irony

S.

 

[jack-n-gill]

Degrees and all that

You know guys? There's a lot of hype about getting a university education and now having to pay for it, £9K over 3 years.

The carrot? Better salary when you qualify.

The rub? Can't get a job 'cos you've got no experience.

The truth? With A level technology you can get a job in the service industry-Gas-electricity-water that pays about £14K in your first year.

University ed cost = £3Kx3yrs=£9K + 3yrs @ £14K= £51K behind the A level guy who has a job. And that's before you even get a job.

Question 1 - How long will it take the Graduate to earn the extra £51K to catch up with the A-level guy?

Question 2 - Will the graduate's job be more or less secure than the A-level man's job?

Question 3 - Will the graduate have to put up with more or less rubbish and shit jobs than the A-level person?

Discuss all three and produce a 100,000 word essay on the probability of getting a better quality of life by taking a degree than living in the real world with real world skills.

Apologies to all you guys with degrees. I have an old school chum who failed every exam he ever took. Now he runs a successful company from the comfort of his own mansion. The business? He hires out Portable Loos to building sites and venues like Glastonbury etc. Where there's muck there's brass!!! He probably even employs students to do the dirty work.

Quality of life is what counts. Live it 'cos it's too short to waste.