The Thursday Blews

So yeah, it's official, I'm pretty damn sick of my job. First off, I'm tired of them bouncing me around every shift available over the course of the last month. The sleep changes have rendered me completely useless, all for no reason. Theoretically it was due to me getting some cross-training. I was brought on to be a network guru, but they've now decided they want me to be a network guru and a mainframe guru. I'm the first of the contractors to have to deal with this. From here on out, supposedly every contractor will get this treatment. That's fine, it makes me more valuable as an employee...right? Well, not really. Instead of knowing one part of the job really well, such as network...or mainframe, now I get to know a little bit about both parts. It has become quite obvious to me that I am now not competent in either discipline. I volunteered to work Sunday night for a network guy that was in training, and I was fine, until the phone rang and there was a problem, I just had no idea what to do since I had been cross training for the last month and a half.

At this point, I should be fluent on the main frame side, since I have been cross training so long. Well, with what I've been taught, I am comfortable with. The problem is, they completely suck at getting me access to be able to do what I need. There's not one department that gives you access, there's not a list of all the access I need. Basically, the first day someone says, you need this this and this. Ok, I request that access, and get it...maybe. Every day for the next 3 weeks I find some other access I need, so I submit for that access. It's inevitable that if I send an e-mail requesting the access, I get chided for not submitting the proper online form that is used to then create a trouble ticket. If I send the form, and have a trouble ticket made, I get chided for not sending an e-mail because that particular group only works off of e-mails. So for each access I require, it's a different person or group that has to request it. The company is also split into two parts, aka two entities. Therefore each access has to be granted on each entity...ala two different people. So as it stands, I'm still unable to perform my job functions after a month and a half of fighting for access.

In the meantime, I'm still flying in limbo because I'm a contractor. What was supposed to be a 6 month contract, has been extended to a 1 year contract, because well....no one can tell me why, other than that's how they do things now. Never mind the fact I never would have taken the job knowing it was a one year contract. I have no benefits, I could deal with that for 6 months, I wasn't willing to sacrifice that for a year. But here I am, sacrificing it for a year. So now I'm told, if they do decide to hire me on, it will be as an employee-contractor. Whatever the F that means. All I know is that the company will pay me like a regular employee, I'll get most of the benefits of a regular employee, but not quite all of those benefits...like sick days. WTF?

So April 24th is my 1 year anniversary. They can't even tell me for sure yet if they're going to hire me on as an employee contractor, or just get rid of me and bring in another contractor. They really do like to bring in contractors, it's amazing. They've flat out told me, I stand a better chance at getting hired on if I apply for a position that opens up in another department. Fine with me, I don't particularly like the area I'm in. Well I've passed up positions that I qualified for, because I felt that it would be too strenuous on my back. Finally, the position I was waiting for opens up. A job I'd be really good at, have experience with, and would somehow in a mad scientist way...enjoy. I get the e-mail saying this position has opened up...but wait, it doesn't say anything about accepting external candidates. Usually they post these positions internally and externally. Being a contractor, I don't have access to the system where I can view and apply for internal postings, but have access to the e-mails telling me these positions are open. So I e-mail the hiring manager. He gets back to me telling me that this position won't be posted externally unless they are unable to find someone internally who meets their requirements. Freakin awesome. So if the company does hire me on (as a pseudo-employee), then I'm in a job I hate, but pays the bills, if they don't hire me on, I'm jobless, and likely homeless unless I can find another job that pays this much (not likely.)

I'm frustrated and angry. I apologize now if you're on the road in the morning and I take it out on you. <primal scream>AAAAHHHHH</primal scream>