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Question and Thoughts on current Job situation (Your opinion and experience needed)
earonw49
Member Posts: 190 ■■■□□□□□□□
Good day/evening everyone!
Before I proceed I just wanted to thank anyone in advance for reading my post. Secondly, since I work for the State Govt I will try not to give too much info on the department I work for and say any names etc out of the sake of my job security and reputation. Let this be known, I am grateful to have a job and despite my circumstances with my current position, I could be in much worse position (I have read nightmares on this forum, trust me I am grateful).
With that being said, I would like to humbly request for anyone's opinion and wisdom on this situation and how to proceed/deal with the circumstances I am in. I am the kind of person that needs to ask a large amount of people before making a final decision on major life choices (no pressure ladies and gentlemen ).
WARNING, this is a rather LONG POST, THE TL;DR VERSION IS BELOW:
I work as a Contractor for an American (State) Government's D.C.S division as a Traveling Desktop Support and Jr. System Admin. I am the only "IT guy" among 700+ users within 15 counties, with over 20 offices in which their locations span over 60+ miles from all directions. It sounds like a lot of ground to cover and believe me it is a lot. Unbeknownst to me prior to taking this job, the government removed over 80% of the IT Techs in my department and moved them to different departments...so with that being said...
When I started this job I entered into a political battlefield to say the least. Of course I didn't expect much with this job being government related, however at that point in time I just got married and was ready to move further in my career. This was an opportunity that I felt as if I just had to take.
After accepting the job, it all essentially "went downhill from there".
I quickly discovered that when I was interviewed my interviewers IMMENSELY downplayed my position and what my responsibilities were. I of course did not know my position required 50% travel (once I was able to, more on that below), nor did they state it in the interview or in the job description. They told me that I would only cover a "few users within a single building" with only around 100+ users. They also stated that I would rarely have to go to any other sites and if I needed to , they would "let me know". When I questioned them more on the travel, they essentially lied to me, telling me that it would be "rare' to travel etc. There were also duties and responsibilities listed on the job app (and what they said in the interview) that my position has not to do with or random other "duties" that are out of the scope of even an IT tech (for example, delivering sensitive social worker and court documents between work sites, etc).
It took over 40 days in order for me to receive the necessary tools to do my job. In order for me to access the state servers and access all the data needed to pull up tickets, look at manuals, access the NAS and storage shares etc I required a state laptop which I didn't have. I also wasn't given a state cellphone, log in credentials, badges, security access, access to remedy/ticketing systems etc). For 40 days I quite literally was stuck in my office with my personal computer. Once I got my email address I waited hand and foot on my "trainer" to call me and email me tickets so I can at least do something (re image PC's, fix printers, setup PC's images, do standard AD organization of containers, etc).
In case anyone was wondering, I have currently have NO supervisor or manager. The previous manager left the department about a year ago and that position has been vacant ever since. The current temp supervisor, is one of the senior techs... more on him later.
About two weeks into the job, one of the property managers I work with reviled to me that the position I took was vacant for over 8 months. When all was said and done after 40+ days I had finally received the necessary tools to do my job. I discovered that nearly 90 percent of all the tickets, projects and work the previous tech left behind were still there. The techs who assisted and covered my "area" during my position's vacancy did the best they could to pitch in however they themselves have so much to handle because the lack of IT personnel (11 Traveling/"Ground" techs including myself and 5 central office helpdesk techs throughout the entire State). A far as the workload goes, I LOVE staying busy and I love a good challenge however I feel terrible for the customers and those who have been waiting on ticket updates for MONTHS. Of course till this day I am playing catch up while taking on major projects etc but, it is what it is. Bad call by the government to wait this long, but lets be honest, the government is known for making bad calls. So basically, I stepped into one crazy situation, hahaha!
On a positive note , I really REALLY like my fellow IT team
(minus my current supervisor). This team is the tightest friendliest team I have ever been apart of. They of course are just as behind as I am when it comes to projects and tickets (once again, due to the lack of personnel), however they are making the most of it while trying to help each other out including me, the newbie. I am the youngest out of the 11 "on the ground" techs (I'm 24 years old) and everyone else is 40 and above with families, kids , grandkids etc, so I am literally like the "kid" of the group, however they all they treat me with respect and care. They have done more than enough (even sometimes against our current bosses' instruction) to help me...I tip my hat off to them. These men and women are some of the wisest, humble, relaxed and respectful people I have ever worked with. 
__________________________________________________________________________________________________
So now that you have a small "snapshot" of my current position, I want to get down to the core story as to why I opened this thread...
My current temp supervisor isn't exactly the most professional. He is a verbally abusive man. He is mean to me and all the other techs, curses a lot , yells etc. I have observed more than a few times that he is like this outside work as well through observation of his personal phone calls (he answers his personal cellphone on the job and is almost always rude to his "friends", girlfriends etc). Of course he "downplays" his words/verbiage as if he is just "playing around" and unfortunately, all the techs have worked with him for over 10+ years, so they are "used to it now". He clearly isn't management material which the other techs and myself confess. Despite all the rudeness and unprofessional-ism I have been shown over the past 3 months, I just accept it for what it is, keep my head down, say yes sir and no sir. I am a contractor so I am afraid of loosing my job.
Over the past 3 months I had diligently practiced the mindset of "it is what it is" and just "toughed it out" while my work situation was getting worse. I am a fighter and always have been my whole life. It takes a lot to really get under my skin and make me sad however last Thursday really hit me to the core. That day broke the camel's back so to speak.
You see, my manager has been, in his words, "joking" about pulling my contract. He has been very rude towards me and has a long and terrible history of being very mean, rude etc. He has made people quit before from what the other techs have told me, however since no one has spoken up against him, he is, till this day still working in my department doing the same thing and has been for years. I have had a few face to face meetings with him over the past 3 months and during each meeting he stated to me on in a very mean and harsh way that I am "not needed and that I can pull your contract anytime I want" (direct quote, he repeats himself a lot). Of course the occasional "Don't mess this up, I don't want to get any bad reports from you, you better not screw this up" and things of the like. You see I understand that I am indeed a contractor and I am "disposable" in his eye however he has threatened me on more than 6 occasions, all 6 of those times I quite literally did nothing to provoke him to threaten me and my job status. I am not joking, even my fellow techs have talked to him on a few occasions (Senior Techs) and tried to "get him off of me" verbally, which SHOULDN'T be happening in the first place. Anyways, about last Thursday...
Last Thursday I was on a conference call (which I recorded on my cellphone) with him as well as a few other technicians discussing a deployment project. My phone has been acting odd ever since I dropped it in a bit of water a month ago so it was hard communicating with him and the other technicians. Anyways, during this call he had asked me a question. He didn't hear me due to the phone acting odd. He had thought I had him on mute and he immediately yelled at me stating (and I directly quote) "Boy don't you ever put me on mute ever again, I will pull your contract so fast. You wont be working next week if you do that again. This boy thinks I'm playing, shoot I'll pull it. We will get another person." Then he proceeded to laugh and chuckle while everyone else was just on the phone dead silent. Of course I simply apologized profusely and tried to explain to him what happened to my phone. He asked "what was wrong with it?" and I explained to him again, and he simply shrugged it off and said "Whatever" and proceeded with the meeting.. Of course I put my feelings aside throughout the duration of the conference call and simply participated. After that call I am not even sure what happened but I sorta felt...insignificant. I was on the borderline of tears, which is HARD to do to me. I felt uncomfortable and very very... "small". I have been in situations such as this before, however this was very unique to me. I just felt different about this situation.
So...my contract expires Feb 2015. Over the past month I have been told by several of my fellow technicians that our temp supervisor told them that he was seriously considering hiring me full time or at least extending my contract due to my "great work ethic" and "sticking with us despite of what is going on". Over the past 3 months, in between all the remarks and threats he calling me or emailing me saying things like "you're doing a good job out there" and "keep at it and we might keep you". One day he is yelling at me, the next week or so he is telling me that I am doing great. He is one of the most confusing human beings I have ever encountered
I can guarantee I will get some sort of a call from him tomorrow from him "praising me". 
To be honest, at this point I do not want to work for this man. I usually don't throw in the "towel" over someone else's personality flaws however I do not feel comfortable at all being in the position I am currently in. It seems like I should just put in my letter of resignation and move on however, feel as if I should stick with it until my contract is up.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
My brilliant, awesome wife (words cannot express how proud I am of her) will be graduating next May with a degree in Aerospace Engineering (she is an aspiring rocket scientist). Last month she was offered 5 interviews and two job offers. This month she has been offered 2 jobs that have come from two of her top 3 choice companies. She has been offered a position of "Aerospace Engineer" with Northrop - Grumman in Melbourne, FL and Lockheed & Martin in Palmdale, CA. Both are high paying jobs and each company is offering to cover any and all expenses to move to either location, up to $5000. Not only that, both locations are packed full of IT opportunities within each city and they are both an hour away from cities with major IT opportunities (Orlando and Los Angeles). We couldn't be anymore excited than we already are, hahaha! 
So since my contact is up in Feb 2015 (if I am not fired by then) I am wondering/asking myself these questions/asking you, the community these questions:
1. If the State/Temp Supervisor offers to extend my contract if I am offered a full-time position, should accept it and stick with this job until we move?
2. Should I start looking for a new job in January and if so, how would I explain to my potential employer that I am leaving in practically 4 months.
3. Should I even mention to my current employer that I am leaving next June? Of course I personally don't want to or feel led to but for professionalism's sake, should I at least give them some sort of notice (after my contract or during contact negotiations if there are any)?
5. Should I throw in the towel before the year ends?
4. Any ideas, thoughts or wisdom?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TL;DR Version:
I am a contractor who's been abrasively threatened on more than 6 (recorded a few on my phone) occasions to have his job terminated by a temp supervisor with little to no reason. Last week I was threatened again. I have been lied to about my job, it's duties, travel requirements and responsibilities.
First 40 days of job were a complete train-wreck and less than desirable.
Supervisor is verbally abusive to me in some instances, confusing to me and my team and has been adding unneeded stress on me and other techs as well.
My contract ends Feb 2015 however I have been told that my supervisor has told other techs that he wants to extend my contract (confusing).
My Wifey will be graduating May 2015 and has been offered two Aerospace Engineering jobs (rocket science stuff).
Both jobs are located out of state (FL and CA). We WILL be moving to EITHER location, depending on which one she accepts of course.
Read questions in bold above.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you so much! I apologize for the thesis statement above, hahahah!
Before I proceed I just wanted to thank anyone in advance for reading my post. Secondly, since I work for the State Govt I will try not to give too much info on the department I work for and say any names etc out of the sake of my job security and reputation. Let this be known, I am grateful to have a job and despite my circumstances with my current position, I could be in much worse position (I have read nightmares on this forum, trust me I am grateful).
With that being said, I would like to humbly request for anyone's opinion and wisdom on this situation and how to proceed/deal with the circumstances I am in. I am the kind of person that needs to ask a large amount of people before making a final decision on major life choices (no pressure ladies and gentlemen ).
WARNING, this is a rather LONG POST, THE TL;DR VERSION IS BELOW:
I work as a Contractor for an American (State) Government's D.C.S division as a Traveling Desktop Support and Jr. System Admin. I am the only "IT guy" among 700+ users within 15 counties, with over 20 offices in which their locations span over 60+ miles from all directions. It sounds like a lot of ground to cover and believe me it is a lot. Unbeknownst to me prior to taking this job, the government removed over 80% of the IT Techs in my department and moved them to different departments...so with that being said...
When I started this job I entered into a political battlefield to say the least. Of course I didn't expect much with this job being government related, however at that point in time I just got married and was ready to move further in my career. This was an opportunity that I felt as if I just had to take.
After accepting the job, it all essentially "went downhill from there".
I quickly discovered that when I was interviewed my interviewers IMMENSELY downplayed my position and what my responsibilities were. I of course did not know my position required 50% travel (once I was able to, more on that below), nor did they state it in the interview or in the job description. They told me that I would only cover a "few users within a single building" with only around 100+ users. They also stated that I would rarely have to go to any other sites and if I needed to , they would "let me know". When I questioned them more on the travel, they essentially lied to me, telling me that it would be "rare' to travel etc. There were also duties and responsibilities listed on the job app (and what they said in the interview) that my position has not to do with or random other "duties" that are out of the scope of even an IT tech (for example, delivering sensitive social worker and court documents between work sites, etc).
It took over 40 days in order for me to receive the necessary tools to do my job. In order for me to access the state servers and access all the data needed to pull up tickets, look at manuals, access the NAS and storage shares etc I required a state laptop which I didn't have. I also wasn't given a state cellphone, log in credentials, badges, security access, access to remedy/ticketing systems etc). For 40 days I quite literally was stuck in my office with my personal computer. Once I got my email address I waited hand and foot on my "trainer" to call me and email me tickets so I can at least do something (re image PC's, fix printers, setup PC's images, do standard AD organization of containers, etc).
In case anyone was wondering, I have currently have NO supervisor or manager. The previous manager left the department about a year ago and that position has been vacant ever since. The current temp supervisor, is one of the senior techs... more on him later.
About two weeks into the job, one of the property managers I work with reviled to me that the position I took was vacant for over 8 months. When all was said and done after 40+ days I had finally received the necessary tools to do my job. I discovered that nearly 90 percent of all the tickets, projects and work the previous tech left behind were still there. The techs who assisted and covered my "area" during my position's vacancy did the best they could to pitch in however they themselves have so much to handle because the lack of IT personnel (11 Traveling/"Ground" techs including myself and 5 central office helpdesk techs throughout the entire State). A far as the workload goes, I LOVE staying busy and I love a good challenge however I feel terrible for the customers and those who have been waiting on ticket updates for MONTHS. Of course till this day I am playing catch up while taking on major projects etc but, it is what it is. Bad call by the government to wait this long, but lets be honest, the government is known for making bad calls. So basically, I stepped into one crazy situation, hahaha!
On a positive note , I really REALLY like my fellow IT team
(minus my current supervisor). This team is the tightest friendliest team I have ever been apart of. They of course are just as behind as I am when it comes to projects and tickets (once again, due to the lack of personnel), however they are making the most of it while trying to help each other out including me, the newbie. I am the youngest out of the 11 "on the ground" techs (I'm 24 years old) and everyone else is 40 and above with families, kids , grandkids etc, so I am literally like the "kid" of the group, however they all they treat me with respect and care. They have done more than enough (even sometimes against our current bosses' instruction) to help me...I tip my hat off to them. These men and women are some of the wisest, humble, relaxed and respectful people I have ever worked with. __________________________________________________________________________________________________
So now that you have a small "snapshot" of my current position, I want to get down to the core story as to why I opened this thread...
My current temp supervisor isn't exactly the most professional. He is a verbally abusive man. He is mean to me and all the other techs, curses a lot , yells etc. I have observed more than a few times that he is like this outside work as well through observation of his personal phone calls (he answers his personal cellphone on the job and is almost always rude to his "friends", girlfriends etc). Of course he "downplays" his words/verbiage as if he is just "playing around" and unfortunately, all the techs have worked with him for over 10+ years, so they are "used to it now". He clearly isn't management material which the other techs and myself confess. Despite all the rudeness and unprofessional-ism I have been shown over the past 3 months, I just accept it for what it is, keep my head down, say yes sir and no sir. I am a contractor so I am afraid of loosing my job.
Over the past 3 months I had diligently practiced the mindset of "it is what it is" and just "toughed it out" while my work situation was getting worse. I am a fighter and always have been my whole life. It takes a lot to really get under my skin and make me sad however last Thursday really hit me to the core. That day broke the camel's back so to speak.
You see, my manager has been, in his words, "joking" about pulling my contract. He has been very rude towards me and has a long and terrible history of being very mean, rude etc. He has made people quit before from what the other techs have told me, however since no one has spoken up against him, he is, till this day still working in my department doing the same thing and has been for years. I have had a few face to face meetings with him over the past 3 months and during each meeting he stated to me on in a very mean and harsh way that I am "not needed and that I can pull your contract anytime I want" (direct quote, he repeats himself a lot). Of course the occasional "Don't mess this up, I don't want to get any bad reports from you, you better not screw this up" and things of the like. You see I understand that I am indeed a contractor and I am "disposable" in his eye however he has threatened me on more than 6 occasions, all 6 of those times I quite literally did nothing to provoke him to threaten me and my job status. I am not joking, even my fellow techs have talked to him on a few occasions (Senior Techs) and tried to "get him off of me" verbally, which SHOULDN'T be happening in the first place. Anyways, about last Thursday...
Last Thursday I was on a conference call (which I recorded on my cellphone) with him as well as a few other technicians discussing a deployment project. My phone has been acting odd ever since I dropped it in a bit of water a month ago so it was hard communicating with him and the other technicians. Anyways, during this call he had asked me a question. He didn't hear me due to the phone acting odd. He had thought I had him on mute and he immediately yelled at me stating (and I directly quote) "Boy don't you ever put me on mute ever again, I will pull your contract so fast. You wont be working next week if you do that again. This boy thinks I'm playing, shoot I'll pull it. We will get another person." Then he proceeded to laugh and chuckle while everyone else was just on the phone dead silent. Of course I simply apologized profusely and tried to explain to him what happened to my phone. He asked "what was wrong with it?" and I explained to him again, and he simply shrugged it off and said "Whatever" and proceeded with the meeting.. Of course I put my feelings aside throughout the duration of the conference call and simply participated. After that call I am not even sure what happened but I sorta felt...insignificant. I was on the borderline of tears, which is HARD to do to me. I felt uncomfortable and very very... "small". I have been in situations such as this before, however this was very unique to me. I just felt different about this situation.
So...my contract expires Feb 2015. Over the past month I have been told by several of my fellow technicians that our temp supervisor told them that he was seriously considering hiring me full time or at least extending my contract due to my "great work ethic" and "sticking with us despite of what is going on". Over the past 3 months, in between all the remarks and threats he calling me or emailing me saying things like "you're doing a good job out there" and "keep at it and we might keep you". One day he is yelling at me, the next week or so he is telling me that I am doing great. He is one of the most confusing human beings I have ever encountered
I can guarantee I will get some sort of a call from him tomorrow from him "praising me". To be honest, at this point I do not want to work for this man. I usually don't throw in the "towel" over someone else's personality flaws however I do not feel comfortable at all being in the position I am currently in. It seems like I should just put in my letter of resignation and move on however, feel as if I should stick with it until my contract is up.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________
My brilliant, awesome wife (words cannot express how proud I am of her
) will be graduating next May with a degree in Aerospace Engineering (she is an aspiring rocket scientist). Last month she was offered 5 interviews and two job offers. This month she has been offered 2 jobs that have come from two of her top 3 choice companies. She has been offered a position of "Aerospace Engineer" with Northrop - Grumman in Melbourne, FL and Lockheed & Martin in Palmdale, CA. Both are high paying jobs and each company is offering to cover any and all expenses to move to either location, up to $5000. Not only that, both locations are packed full of IT opportunities within each city and they are both an hour away from cities with major IT opportunities (Orlando and Los Angeles). We couldn't be anymore excited than we already are, hahaha! So since my contact is up in Feb 2015 (if I am not fired by then) I am wondering/asking myself these questions/asking you, the community these questions:
1. If the State/Temp Supervisor offers to extend my contract if I am offered a full-time position, should accept it and stick with this job until we move?
2. Should I start looking for a new job in January and if so, how would I explain to my potential employer that I am leaving in practically 4 months.
3. Should I even mention to my current employer that I am leaving next June? Of course I personally don't want to or feel led to but for professionalism's sake, should I at least give them some sort of notice (after my contract or during contact negotiations if there are any)?
5. Should I throw in the towel before the year ends?
4. Any ideas, thoughts or wisdom?
_________________________________________________________________________________________________________
TL;DR Version:
I am a contractor who's been abrasively threatened on more than 6 (recorded a few on my phone) occasions to have his job terminated by a temp supervisor with little to no reason. Last week I was threatened again. I have been lied to about my job, it's duties, travel requirements and responsibilities.
First 40 days of job were a complete train-wreck and less than desirable.
Supervisor is verbally abusive to me in some instances, confusing to me and my team and has been adding unneeded stress on me and other techs as well.
My contract ends Feb 2015 however I have been told that my supervisor has told other techs that he wants to extend my contract (confusing).
My Wifey will be graduating May 2015 and has been offered two Aerospace Engineering jobs (rocket science stuff).
Both jobs are located out of state (FL and CA). We WILL be moving to EITHER location, depending on which one she accepts of course.
Read questions in bold above.
_______________________________________________________________________________________________
Thank you so much! I apologize for the thesis statement above, hahahah!
WGU B.S. IT - Progress: Feb 2015 - End Date Jan 2018
WGU M.S Cyber Security & Assurance - Progress: March 2019 - End Date June 2019
WGU M.S Cyber Security & Assurance - Progress: March 2019 - End Date June 2019
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techfiend
Member Posts: 1,481 ■■■■□□□□□□
Just going on the TLDR version
1. Not if the issues still exist.
2. It sounds like you want out. Maybe say you found a better fit for your goals.
3. Nope, maybe a month notice but 2 weeks should be fine as well.
5. Earlier than that if you really want out, but be professional enough to give 2 weeks notice.2018 AWS Solutions Architect - Associate (Apr) 2017 VCAP6-DCV Deploy (Oct) 2016 Storage+ (Jan)
2015 Start WGU (Feb) Net+ (Feb) Sec+ (Mar) Project+ (Apr) Other WGU (Jun) CCENT (Jul) CCNA (Aug) CCNA Security (Aug) MCP 2012 (Sep) MCSA 2012 (Oct) Linux+ (Nov) Capstone/BS (Nov) VCP6-DCV (Dec) ITILF (Dec) -
OptionsCodyy
Member Posts: 223 ■■■□□□□□□□
Do you absolutely need this position for financial/benefits reasons? If not..
"To be honest, at this point I do not want to work for this man."
You answered your own question. Sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do, but if you're not in that situation, professionally throw the deuces and move on. -
Optionsbhcs2014
Member Posts: 103
Your Supervisor isn't going to terminate your contract. I've dealt with people who act like this before. Being a young guy like yourself (21) I realize that some insecure men will try to threaten and act unprofessional towards us because they can get away with it. He's just a small man who wants to bully you so he can feel better about himself.
I think you should start looking for a new job asap. Just truthfully explain to any potential employer your situation and they will understand. Just be professional about it. -
OptionsCodyy
Member Posts: 223 ■■■□□□□□□□
Your Supervisor isn't going to terminate your contract. I've dealt with people who act like this before. Being a young guy like yourself (21) I realize that some insecure men will try to threaten and act unprofessional towards us because they can get away with it. He's just a small man who wants to bully you so he can feel better about himself.
This. I also doubt the pulling contract part. You mentioned it's a government position, I'm military but mainly work around civilians, both contractors and DoD employees, & from what I understand it's not exactly easy to just terminate a contract. Most of the contractors I'm around are pretty care free, not to say they don't do their part but I often get the vibe that they aren't too concerned about their job security, no matter how they perform.