|
NeuralSpark posted:Every job contract I've ever signed had a section saying "any verbal commitments not outlined in this document are worth exactly nothing". In a situation where money and time off for classes is available and outside existing policy, why would anyone ever think it's ok to NOT get it in writing? I know it's a flight of fancy, but I wonder how companies would handle it if employees began to refuse to do anything not specifically written up. After all, if it's not wrote down then it's obviously not something that can be enforced. Yeah, I know it's a dumb thought, and that wonderful phrase "and other duties as assigned" is intended to cover such an issue, plus the company can just fire you, but a guy can dream, right?
|
#
¿
Apr 13, 2015 21:38
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 9, 2024 03:46 |
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:I like when the hold music has a brief pause where it sounds like you're getting connected and then a recorded voice lets me know that my call is important. "Your call is important to us (but not enough that we will pay out money to provide faster or more knowledgeable support). Please hold for the next available representative."
|
|
#
¿
Apr 14, 2015 01:13
|
|
|
Sefal posted:Had a meeting with a company that's interested in me. It will be my 1st real IT job. Meeting went really well. at one point they asked me what i think i'd make. I said I presume a starters salary. they pushed for a number. I tried redirecting saying what they give starters. That didn't work. I gave out a number that was just a little bit too high (2000/a month after taxes). They immediately were like uhh i'm not sure thats a starters salary. then |I caved in, said what i truly expect to make. which is about 2000 before taxes. Yes. Any time a company pressures you to give out a number and you give them one then you've hosed up. Had the same thing happen to me during a phone interview a month or so ago, only she was pressing for a range that I was looking for, and I told her that the range that would definitely get me aboard was between $65-95k. There was silence on the line for a few seconds and she goes "well, that's a bit high for the position." I stayed quiet for several seconds and let her stew. "You asked. I answered. Now perhaps you might give me the range the position is actually offering and we can discuss it like adults." It wasn't even close, so I suggested that next time she actually look over my resume, specifically the top of the professional experience portion, and call me when she's not looking for someone to fill an entry level helpdesk position.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 15, 2015 12:31
|
|
|
Dr. Arbitrary posted:I'm trying to write up a college class for my local community college district and I'd like to hear some opinions. VMware had an online presentation they did as part of training for the VCA certs. It was generic with emphasis on VMware technology, but it might help you out with how to present the material, or even what material to present.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 23, 2015 19:27
|
|
|
Finally got off my rear end and used AutoLab to create an entire virtual infrastructure in Workstation (DC, 3 hosts, vCenter, vMA, NAS, Router, Veeam One, and Veeam Backup and Replication) and actually had fun doing it. Fortunately my desktop system has 32GB of RAM and a 250GB SSD so it was easily able to handle all the VMs. Currently sitting at about 60% utilization for memory, so next up are some Win7 machines so I can play around with DRS and HA. Haven't been this giddy about anything tech related for a long time. Feels good.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 25, 2015 01:56
|
|
|
I was talking to one of our folks who sits in an office, and it turns out that he's going to be the remote PM for another project out at Langley, VA, and he wanted to know if I might be interested in relocating there to take the just-recently vacated Virtualization Admin position (since I was studying for my VCP5 in preparation of taking the test in 2 weeks). He didn't have a salary range off the top of his head, but he was going to do some calling and would let me know. Told him I was definitely interested. Now I'm trying to figure just how much a Virtualization Admin in Langley, VA should be charging, especially since it's at least a 10-15% cost of living increase. I'm thinking maybe $75-85k, but I might be way off.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 28, 2015 22:33
|
|
|
mayodreams posted:Make sure your LinkedIn profile is descriptive without being buzzword diarrhea, and post your resume on the big sites like CareerBuilder and Dice. And expect to get hounded by Indian headhunters who did a word search and found your resume and think you would make a perfect Network Engineer in Alaska, even though all you have is a Network+ certification and live in Ohio.
|
|
#
¿
Apr 30, 2015 13:41
|
|
|
Got an email asking to schedule a phone interview for a Virtualization Systems Engineer position in VA. I think the only reason they even wanted to talk to me was because their PM works in the same unit as me and saw that I was studying for my VCP5 cert and his contract had just lost their VSE a few days earlier. Not going to lie that I think the position will be something far more advanced than I am familiar with, and frankly the challenge would be quite high and I don't think I'm quite there skill-wise. Nonetheless if I'm not mistaken the going rate for a VSE with a Secret security clearance should earn me close to $115k, which is almost a 100% pay increase - for that kind of scratch I'd be willing to stretch myself and rise to the occasion. Of course, I don't have the job yet, and my lack of experience will make anyone leery about dropping everything into my hands, but at the very least I'll get to hear a bit about the position and responsibilities, find out what skills they're looking for (so I can work on them for possible future positions), and get a chance to talk to someone who has some serious technical skills. Normally I would get really anxious about something like this, but for some reason I feel more bemused by the fact that they even want to talk to me - either their PM really has some serious pull and his suggestions carry a lot of weight, or they are so desperate that anyone with a pulse who is not a flaming retard, possesses a security clearance, and is close to earning his VCP is good enough as far as they're concerned. Frankly I'm a bit ambivalent about a possible move to VA, but I suppose if it advances my career and puts me into the six-figure-salary club then I would be an idiot to pass it up if offered.
|
|
#
¿
May 5, 2015 02:32
|
|
|
psydude posted:Which part of VA? $115k in, say, Richmond goes a lot farther than $115k in the heart of Arlington. Langley AFB, VA
|
|
#
¿
May 5, 2015 12:37
|
|
|
MC Fruit Stripe posted:115k in Hampton is going to grant you a small Earldom. Had the phone interview today and the position is not quite as high as I thought it would be. I'd be working as part of a team of 20 or so people, monitoring and maintaining a virtual environment with about 120 servers across 10 locations. Would be lots of OTJ experience with SANs, fibre channel, updates, installs, etc. Didn't discuss pay, but my gut is telling me they might (and this is just a spitball guess on my part) go as high as $75-80k. I'm still ambivalent about the position, especially when the guy starts going "okay, no enterprise storage experience - that's a setback. No enterprise system updating - that's a setback. No NetApp experience - that's a setback. No..." on and on for a couple minutes. At that point I wanted to tell him that interviewing is a two-way street, and he was doing a drat good job of turning off any interest I had in the position. Of course, the PM is sitting there with me and looks over during this time and mouths "No it's not," and gives me a thumbs-up. After we get off the phone he told me that he thinks I did pretty well and that the guy is somewhat blunt spoken. He also said that I actually have a lot more experience in the vSphere environment than the other 3 candidates they have to interview - their only advantage is that they already live near Langley AFB and two of them have NetApp experience. I tried to end the interview on a positive note and told the guy that I've spent the last 9 years taking on positions of increasing complexity and responsibility, going from helpdesk, to desktop support, to junior systems admin, to Exchange admin, and that I'm looking to take the next step up and be a virtualization admin. I've got a broad range of skills, but more importantly I have the mindset that learning is a life-long occupation. Of course, Mr Sunny Disposition informs me that some of my certs are functionally useless to him, specifically all the VCA certs. I replied back along the lines of "You wanted a listing of all the certs I have. I gave you most of them, only leaving out my teaching certification. I know the VCA certs aren't all that valuable, but when it comes to this position I'd like you to compare the fact that I'm getting ready to take the exam for VCP5 and that I have some VMware certs, versus candidates who don't even have them. Is it better to not have any certs listed, or certs with minimal value that at least indicate I have an interest in the technology?" The PM drat near hugged me after the interviewer thanked me for spending the time to speak with him. As I told my buddy on the phone, coming across as an rear end in a top hat wasn't a check in the plus column for me to accept the position. I like that the position will give me lots of exposure across multiple platforms and technologies, but unless I'm getting compensated by an outrageous amount then I'm not going to subject myself to working for a jackass who might think it's his mission in life to make me miserable - been there, done that (and I vowed I would never let it happen to me again). It's too early to tell if I even made the cut for the position, but it feels like the PM is in my corner and wants me to get the position, plus as I am an alum with the sub-contractor with sterling reviews and comments in my file I've got a leg up over the other three applicants - the company pays very close attention to the project and task leads opinions, and all of mine were 100% positive about me. The only reason I even left them was because they had to trade me away to the prime contractor to move me into my current position - I would have been more than happy to stay with them if I could have. They want someone in the position by Friday, but I've already told them that I'll need 3 weeks to relocate, especially since there's no relocation assistance. I'll already incur a pretty hefty fee for breaking my lease 3 months early. I'm not going to add burning any bridges to go along with it by giving such little notice. poo poo like that has a habit of coming back to bite you in the rear end when you least expect it.
|
|
#
¿
May 5, 2015 22:34
|
|
|
flosofl posted:Yes. Pay off your loans, for sure. But don't let all your money languish in a savings account with poo poo interest. Put what you want semi-liquid in a Mutual Fund or Money Market at the very least. Stuff the rest in a 401K/IRA. Starting NOW will pay off HUGE when you retire. In fact by starting now and doing as much as you are able to afford can mean the difference between retiring in your 50s vs. retiring in your 60s. By putting money into a retirement account in your 20s each dollar invested will earn you $16 in interest over 40 years. By waiting until you are in your 30s that one dollar will earn you $8 in interest over 30 years. Start in your 40s and you're only looking at $4 in interest over 20 years. Do yourself a favor and sock away as much as you can while you're young, and never touch that money until you're ready to retire.
|
|
#
¿
May 8, 2015 22:34
|
|
|
Stop being the loving Goon in the well. You owe nothing to anyone else, especially if they've built their entire current business on your back. You want the weight of the world off your shoulders? Then shrug it off and walk away. Repeat after me - I am not anyone's doormat. Let the fucker come after you - any decent lawyer would have his balls on a gold platter. Blackmail, coercion, threats of violence - the term hostile work environment doesn't even begin to cover that poo poo. Walk. Away. Now. No 2 weeks notice. No grace period. No friendly turnover. Jump out and yank the ripcord, because that plane is going down in flames - you can either save yourself, or die in the crash.
|
|
#
¿
May 11, 2015 20:26
|
|
|
Time for a derail! Not sure if it was in this thread or one of the others, but I mentioned that a week back I was interviewed for a Virtualization sysadmin position at Langley AFB in Virginia. I went in to see the PM today and he told me that they've only interview 2 of the 4 candidates, so it doesn't look like they're in all that much of a hurry to hire after all. Anyways I'm the current front-runner for the position as Candidate #2 was interviewed and put down a bunch of stuff on his resume that he hadn't actually used, saying "I'm not sure why I put those in there." PM was not a very happy camper, and feels that if that's the level of my competition for the position then I'm a shoe-in. Unfortunately, he also was told by corporate that they are probably going to try to get away with paying something close to what I already make. Add in no relocation assistance, as well as a 15% higher cost of living, and the job isn't looking so hot (even though it would give me the experience I need and want). Feeling quite bummed out about it, however I don't have the job yet so it's a bit premature to get all emo about it. Besides, I can negotiate and if corporate refuses to budge then I can walk away. I'll just go with Plan B in that case, which is to ride my current contract down in flames, which is supposed to end in August, but it's expected to get protested at least once, which pushes it into October, and THEN we start the 60 day turnover at that point, which might take us as far as December. Then I hop in my truck and head down south to Florida - Tampa is looking more and more appealing every day, and I've already spoken with a couple recruiters down there. Of course, that kinda sucks because I have to go back to weekend 3rd shift at the beginning of next month and swing shift every 3 months is a bitch. I'd prefer to just punch out now, but there's no one hiring in the area (or at least, they're not talking to me). Oh well, back to studying - taking my VCP5 exam on Friday. Wish me luck!
|
|
#
¿
May 12, 2015 22:37
|
|
|
Docjowles posted:Didn't you say you'd be reporting to a guy who was a complete shitlord to you during the interview? Or am I thinking of someone else? That seems like it would be kind of a deal breaker combined with the weak salary. Apparently the guy oversees the personnel on the project, but he's actually located at Peterson AFB in Colorado Springs, CO. I'm thinking 1725 miles is enough of a buffer that I can deal with him if push comes to shove.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2015 02:27
|
|
|
demonicon posted:Today is friday for me, because tomorrow is a national holiday here in Germany (some Jesus thing or something) and I took one day of my 30 vacation days on Friday. How are you guys doing? I would come to Germany to hunt you down and throw bratwursts at you, but I don't have any vacation time.
|
|
#
¿
May 13, 2015 12:08
|
|
|
Well, kicking back and relaxing in the run up to switching back to third shift in 3 weeks, which I am so not looking forward to. In fact, I'm dreading it, and I'm hoping something comes up to prevent or derail the whole thing. Tomorrow is when I've scheduled to take the VCP5 exam and I feel pretty good, with a combination of anxiety about whether I'm prepared enough and frustration with just wanting to get it over with. Oh, and I managed to tear the muscle in my calf the other day and can barely walk. There is almost no position I can get in that doesn't cause some pain, but a muscle relaxant and a couple ibuprofen help. All the omens point to that either I might be on the way to a new job or an early grave.
|
|
#
¿
May 14, 2015 17:22
|
|
|
Colonial Air Force posted:This was the note (on 2 cards, it's so long): Reply back that you appreciate the reminder that your wife just left you and took your kids. I'm pretty sure even the most determined salesman would be hard-pressed to figure out how to proceed.
|
|
#
¿
May 15, 2015 21:16
|
|
|
In the greatest moment of irony in the last couple years I just happened to find a job posting for a Virtualization Admin here at my current unit, and funnily enough I just happened to get my VCP5 today and am now qualified (on paper) for the position. I'm going to talk to the team lead about it, and if they let me transfer to the position it would make the third contractor I've worked for here without having moved more than a couple rows of desks. There are three advantages right off the top - 1) I would no longer be working the weekend shift; 2) I would get out of Exchange; 3) It's a long-term contract, as opposed to the 2-1/2 month countdown we've got going on right now. If I can talk $6-12k more out of them then it would make things about perfect.
|
|
#
¿
May 16, 2015 00:02
|
|
|
Tab8715 posted:Anyone interested in doing a group Let's Read for RHEL 7? Note, this isn't Michael Jang's book and the reviews for this aren't as consistent but Mike's book doesn't come out until November. I was just thinking about what my next cert should be - couldn't decide between something storage related like Storage+ or one of the EMC certs, or RHCSA. I really would like to do both, but time is no IT person's friend.
|
|
#
¿
May 19, 2015 12:35
|
|
|
Spoke with the flight lead about a virtualization network admin position I was interested in. His response was that it would likely be very difficult to move from the prime contractor (current employer) to the sub-contractor because then that would be another Exchange position they'd have to fill. I responded back along the lines of "I can make your life easier if you move me to the virtualization position, I can take the other virtualization position that I interviewed for and have a very good chance of getting, or I can just quit and head to Florida like I planned and you can look for 2 people for a dead-end contract." It may have been a mistake, since I found out after talking to the PM and getting him on board with supporting the move that the position will likely end come November 30 - they still haven't decided. I may have to take the other virtualization position in Virginia just to make sure I have a job in 6 months. I hate it when I stick my foot in my mouth.
|
|
#
¿
May 19, 2015 22:19
|
|
|
Update on the possible position switch. Apparently my request to our PM to help me transition to the virtualization position worked out, but it also had the effect of annoying the flight lead overseeing the department the position is in. Apparently my employer, the prime on the contract, has decided that they will likely retain me and just take the position for themselves, taking that position away from the sub that the flight lead works for (and for whom he is the company lead on this contract). It's by no means a done deal, and there are still things like the timeframe that needs to be hashed out, but the team lead is pushing hard for it (I started out working on his team and we have a good relationship) and even came over to tell me he wants me moved asap. I pointed at the flight lead's door and told him to go bitch and light a fire under someone's rear end. I also mentioned that I too wanted the move done fast, since in 2 weeks my team goes to 3rd shift on the weekends and I'd just as soon avoid that. I was asked to not go over to the dark side by a co-worker who does ESIs (Electronic Storage of Information investigation requests) since I am one of 3 people who knows how to do them now and we get 5-10 a week, and they take a full day just to do one. I promised him that I would likely not get off that easy and would still have to help out, so no worries. I still have another virtualization position I'm waiting to hear about at Langley AFB in Virginia, and if they do offer me the position then I might have a tough decision to make, especially if they refuse to increase my pay over what I'm currently making. The position is a long-term contract with lots of good experience, but not getting paid more will hurt. But I'd be in a position that has at most maybe 6 months left. Plus my goal is to head down to Tampa, FL to finally settle down. So many things to consider.
|
|
#
¿
May 20, 2015 21:55
|
|
|
OAquinas posted:Something similar happened today (what, a pointless meeting? How unusual!). Only I decided to enumerate how many 2003 servers we had left. Turns out we have 37 boxes about to lose support! If I could actually reveal the numbers you would probably be terrified by the national security implications of how many 2003 servers are still in use in the USAF's SIPRnet. I also found out that rather than screw around with Windows 8 or 8.1 all our workstations are going to go straight to Windows 10 when it finally gets released. I probably won't be around by then, but it would be so fun to watch as they tried to get mission-critical applications working.
|
|
#
¿
May 21, 2015 13:20
|
|
|
Dick Trauma posted:I'm walking through the office and I see the CEO with... my first boss from the last place! Before he can say anything I said "I'm not going back!" I would have shot back "No longer my problem."
|
|
#
¿
May 22, 2015 23:26
|
|
|
Shift lead is 15 years former military and gets worked up about things not following proper procedure. He's a little younger than me and I finally had to tell him that of all the leads, management and leadership, he is the only person that is former military in our unit who apparently actually gives a poo poo about proper procedure. I also advised him that unless he calms the gently caress down then he's either: a) going to stroke out young; b) have a heart attack; or c) get tranked by me. I think he's finally understanding that there's nothing about this job to get so worked up over, especially since we have less than six months left on the contract. Leadership knows that everyone still here has zero fucks left to give, and they aren't even remotely interested in trying to change that since they're just as busy trying to find another job just like all the rest.
|
|
#
¿
May 25, 2015 12:43
|
|
|
I finally had a chance to sit down with our PM and the Messaging Lead and work out what the hell is going on with the Virtualization position I was interested in. Apparently the contract prime (my company) is going to take the position away from the sub-contractor that currently has the position and move me into it (rather than letting the sub-contractor hire me). The position incumbent leaves June 12, however the guy who is going to be my replacement on the weekend shift starts on June 8th, however he's going to need 1-2 weeks to get up to speed. In the interest of making this a done deal I agreed to stay in my Exchange position for up to 2 weeks after the new guy is hired. Still going to be rough for me however, since we switch to 3rds on the weekend starting June 6, and I'll have a couple weeks of the graveyard shift before moving back to days. I'm not too annoyed by this because I will finally be off of weekends and work a normal schedule during the week, with my weekends off, for the first time in nearly a year. Of course, the position is likely going away at the end of November, but that was expected and actually works out for me - I was hoping to head down to Florida before the end of the year, and this gives me some time to get enterprise experience with vSphere before I leave. I figure I'll grab the Storage+ and Linux+ certs before then (and if you get the Linux+ cert you can also get the LPIC-1 cert and the Novell Certified Linux Administrator and Novell Data Center Technician Specialist certs). Not quite RHCSA, but not too shabby.
|
|
#
¿
May 27, 2015 20:29
|
|
|
Tab8715 posted:I think the Linux+ also counts LPIC-1, Novell Linux and SUSE Linux certifications. Hadn't heard about the SUSE Linux cert, but the Linux+ cert is powered by LPI, so if you pass it you get four certs (or 5 if the SUSE Linux is also fulfilled). So, two tests, 4 (or 5) certs, all for under $500 - definitely sounds like a bargain to me.
|
|
#
¿
May 27, 2015 20:47
|
|
|
high six posted:At least in my experience for looking for entry-level jobs, as of late, no vacation time is common. Our detachment counterparts in another part of the country work under the same contract we do, but the sub-contractor who is responsible for putting bodies in chairs offers no benefits of any kind. They keep bitching about people sticking around just long enough to get their security clearance adjudicated before that person is out the door for another position, and have a hard time figuring out why there's so much turnover. Some of us have offered an opinion, but it wasn't well received.
|
|
#
¿
May 29, 2015 20:43
|
|
|
Man, the hits just keep on coming. Yesterday was our unit detachment decommissioning ceremony and change of command ceremony, and during the commander's call afterwards everyone was told that there had been no bids received for the new contract (or the bids that came in were so incredibly high that they weren't affordable), and as such we were looking at another contract extension for at least one more year, and possibly as long as two years. Our commander then admitted that he'd been sitting on this news for a few weeks now, which made leadership absolutely furious - we'd lost several personnel in the last two weeks who jumped ship to other contracts, and as such the 2nd shift, 3rd shift, and weekend shift are all seriously under-staffed, and more people have submitted their notice. We're still awaiting an email from leadership confirming this, but it will have to wait until next week because all of them left just as soon as our commander took off, and they were really pissed when they walked out the door. We're pretty sure they all went to the nearest bar and got drunk.
|
|
#
¿
May 31, 2015 03:13
|
|
|
Arghh! I hate filling out those loving employment applications, especially if it's for a former employer. Shouldn't you still have all that poo poo on file still? It's only been 10 months since you guys traded me to the contract prime for a couple positions of your choice. Anyways, I filled it out after speaking with the project PM for a Virtualization position out at Langley AFB in Virginia. The task lead is apparently some picky individual and tossed a dozen or so resumes out because he didn't like how they were formatted, then added a half dozen more because they were completely unqualified. So for this position a total of 3 people have been interviewed, and one of them had fabricated his resume and got pissed on right off the bat. Project PM was asked by his boss what the problem was and said he wanted me in the position, and the company was putting pressure on the task lead to make a decision already, and when he waffled they made the decision for him. They were all set to let me know my start date when the project PM was like "Whoa guys! You need to talk to him about the pay, because what you were paying him before is not likely to be accepted now." He's right - those fuckers gave me a 45% paycut as a thank you for all my hard work on the previous contract, so I jumped when I got a chance to take another position on the contract (with the contract prime) for an 85% pay increase. I told the project PM that a 15% pay increase over what I'm making now will get my interest, and a 25% pay increase will get my attention (thank you for that wonderful line from Django Unchained Mr DiCaprio). No way I can take anything less than 25% over what I'm making now since I'd have to break my lease ($1250 penalty), move myself, and then pay for security deposit/1st/Last month's rent without any assistance from the company. Not to mention Hampton Roads, VA has a 15% higher cost-of-living over Dayton, OH, and the taxes are a lot higher. So glad I managed to convince the contract prime to move me to the Virtualization position for the current contract in a couple weeks. Experience AND a normal work schedule (no more 12 hour days on the weekend!) was too much temptation to pass up. And since we've been told (although it hasn't been confirmed) that we're going to be here beyond November 30th, it sort of works out perfectly for me. A year as a Virtualization admin should be mighty helpful in the job search when I finally do manage to head down to Florida. Plus I anticipate having a few more certs under my belt.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 2, 2015 23:22
|
|
|
Fellatio del Toro posted:On the other hand, I did hear someone from Daylen Drazzi's exchange team is moving to my organization so at least someone is getting out of there! Nice! I always like it when one of my team members manages to get out and save themselves. I'll be honest - I didn't really ever want to learn Exchange, and I most definitely did not feel like working weekends and swapping every 3 months between 1st and 3rd shift, but I was desperate for the cash. I've got 2 more weeks of this poo poo before I move to Virtualization, and frankly it can't come a moment too soon. Now, I must admit I've learned a few things on the Exchange team, but since weekend is only about putting out fires we were discouraged from trying to work regular tickets - the communication gap is just too big, since I only work Tuesday and Wednesday during the week, and it would invariably result in some passive-aggressive poo poo from the customer. Now I only work high priority tickets along the lines of "Set up Good Mobile account" or "Recover this person's email who is under investigation and email the Special Agent the PST file." I don't mind staring at the screen for 5-6 hours while I watch databases restore. It's actually calming and soothing in a way.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 5, 2015 22:20
|
|
|
Fellatio del Toro posted:Wait is this virtualization position still at Wright Patt? Hmm, now I'm going to have to find out who that is - no one comes to mind readily, and we've lost some people already and I think 1-2 more have either indicated they are leaving now. Time to do some sleuthing. Like Messaging the Virtualization position is supposed to go away once the ENSA contract ends. Here's an excerpt I have from our PM about the whole mess now: "...there will be a messaging presence at Wright-Patt and Scott until the NGES contract is in place. For those of you that don't know about NGES it is the contract to move messaging to "The Cloud" It is supposed to be awarded 19 Jun, however I anticipate it will be a couple of years until it is actually in place. IAFNOS is the follow-on contract to ENSA. This is the contract that was moving messaging to Peterson and to Langley. This is the one where they are now changing their mind and will have a presence here and at Scott still. Again, until NGES is in place. You also heard him mention they are working a bridge and/or extension for ENSA. They are doing this because they aren't expecting the IAFNOS contract to get awarded on time or expecting it to get protested/delayed. Again, history has shown this is what will happen. We all know that the decision to keep a messaging presence here and at Scott makes sense. For those of you who have worked contracts before you also know that it is rare for a contract to be awarded on time and without protest so an extension to ENSA is very likely." So as long as ENSA exists I will still have a position - I was only anticipating it lasting until November 30th at the latest, but it looks like I may have 1 to possibly 2 years now instead of 5 months. My timing on this one was pretty drat near perfect.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 6, 2015 03:09
|
|
|
Danith posted:I've updated my resume a bit over the last year, and did talk to a recruiter like 2 years ago (Robert Haft) but they kept sending me temp gigs and keep emailing me asking if I know any SQL devs or .NET programmers at my current job looking for a new job. Been thinking about asking about projects to work on but past experience is holding me back. It always seems to be a bunch of crappy busy work that the windows admins don't want to do. Just stay the hell away from Robert Half - they are some of the sleaziest recruiters in the business, and 9 times out of 10 they'll only talk to you so they can get the name and number of your boss so they can pitch your replacement at 1/2 your salary.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 11, 2015 03:24
|
|
|
Received confirmation that June 21st is my last day on the Messaging team, and sometime during the week (to be worked out with my new team lead) I will move into the vacated Virtualization Admin position. No more 12-hour weekend shifts, and no more switching from 1st shift to 3rd shift every 3 months. It's like Christmas has come early. I will finally be able to sit back and relax and watch college football live on the weekend, or go out with my friends and not have to worry about scheduling it. Now I just have to worry about the position ending in either 5/14/26 months from now, but that's for another day. Funnily enough (which wasn't funny at 9am this morning when I was just getting to sleep) a recruiter called about a virtualization position. I heard her out, but a 6 month contract with the slight possibility they may hire me as a FTE immediately soured that conversation. And trying to grab my bosses names and numbers didn't go over well. So when she asked about my salary I gave it to her, and she goes "Well that's in line with the position I have," to which I replied "Oh, you misunderstood me - that's my current pay. To get me to leave I'd need $80k." She was quiet for a few seconds. "That's a bit high, but it might be possible." Just to finally kill her off though I said, "Oh, that's not per year - that's just for the 6 month contract. Since it isn't a FTE gig, I have to make enough money to cover me for when I have to start looking for another job." She hung up pretty quickly after that, and strangely enough I haven't seen the position requisition form in my email yet.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 11, 2015 22:26
|
|
|
Hungry Computer posted:Back in May we had a meeting with the VP where he told us I.T. wouldn't have any funding or personnel cuts in this year's budget since we've taken the brunt of cuts in the last few years. I believed him and didn't try to line up a new job for when my contract ends at the end of June. It always sucks when that happens. Just use it as a well-earned lesson to not believe anything upper management says when it comes to money or jobs. In fact, the opposite of what they say is usually far more often the truth. The important thing to know about contract positions is that there is always some indication that it's coming to an end and you need to get out while you can. No matter how hard managers try to hide it, there are always tells that poo poo is about to go down, and frankly that message from the VP about no future funding or personnel cuts was a dead giveaway - as a contractor, you aren't personnel, and the easiest way to avoid cutting funding is to end a contract, since that is usually considered an on-going expense rather than something that comes out of departmental funding. Good luck on the job search.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 13, 2015 01:31
|
|
What a terrible start to the weekend.
|
Yay! Only 40 more hours on the Messaging crew (16 hours this week, and then 12 hours each on Saturday and Sunday) and then I'm off to my virtualization position. I find it rather funny that the person hired to replace me is less than enthused about the prospect of working on the weekend, and in an effort to delay the inevitable leadership decided he could work on third shift during the week days, and the new guy they have in the pipe actually wants to work weekends and third shift (unfortunately for him that's all he wants to work, so the swing shift in 2-1/2 months may not be all that pleasant a surprise). New guy has already stated to a person on third shift that he's likely not going to be around for long, but IT'S NOT MY PROBLEM!!! I've already filled out my paperwork and the PM has made my move to virtualization a done deal, so no takebacks. Feel sort of sorry for the 2 guys left on my team, but they're trying to get the hell out as fast as they can as well and are plotting on how to make leadership unhappy in ways that can't be retaliated. Am I a bad person for making suggestions to assist with their plans?
|
|
#
¿
Jun 15, 2015 12:39
|
|
|
Got a call about the virtualization position out at Langley AFB this morning - they wanted to get a gauge on how serious I am about the position, so I told him that to do that I'd need to know what kind of pay I was looking at. Wouldn't tell me unless I was serious about the position. I responded that my interest in the position was conditional upon them being able to pay me the amount I thought was reasonable for the position. His response was that it was apparent I wasn't serious about the position. Every single interaction I've had with these guys has been something of a pain. I don't think it's too unreasonable to want to know what the pay is for a position, but they've been treating it like it's a national secret. Good thing I already got confirmation of my move to the virtualization position where I'm at now. Just nine more days to go.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 16, 2015 23:05
|
|
|
So, derailing the H1B talk for a moment... I have final confirmation on the virtualization position I'm moving into tomorrow morning (well, technically it's in a couple days, but tomorrow morning is my last day on 3rd shift weekends, so close enough). It was initially going to be considered a horizontal move, but I submitted that the position's requirement for specialized experience made it something of a vertical move and requested a pay increase of about $6,300. They came back and gave me just a little under $5,000 after the PM went to the bat for me. Slowly but surely I'm closing in on that magical six figures. I'm making double what I was earning 4 years ago, so give me a couple more years with time to gain even more experience and get a few more certs under my belt, and I'll have finally made it to the promised land. Okay, back to H1B visas.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 21, 2015 14:45
|
|
|
Looks like I spoke too soon. Our parent unit commander made an informal visit this morning and delivered the news that he was apparently mistaken in regards to the nature of our contract extension. While not directly stated, the gist of our discussion was that there will, in fact, likely be no extensions forthcoming, so on August 13 we will probably be closing up shop. Regardless, I'm in the Virtualization Network Administrator position for at least 7 weeks, so I hope it will help me in my job search. And if all else fails I can still head south to Tampa, FL like I've been planning once the contract ends. I think I'll still get the $2k bonus they promised us right when this mess started, so that will help with relocation. I've got a few grand in savings, and unemployment will cover most of my living expenses. I think all I can do at this point is just take it one day at a time. If we make it past August 13 I can be pleasantly surprised. Daylen Drazzi fucked around with this message at 02:59 on Jun 23, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 22, 2015 15:58
|
|
|
OhDearGodNo posted:I've seen where contracts end up needing to be extended on a week-by-week basis where every Friday is a contractor's "last day" waiting to know if they return Monday or not. Is AFNET isolated from the DISN? I only ask because you mention the possibility of a migration to DISA (mind you the transitions would take WEEKS and that's not counting dealing with equipment that isn't supported.. that'd be interesting nonetheless. AFNET is the single domain for the entire USAF, and it's actually known as area52 (in a humorous nod to the alien buffs about Area 51). Prior to AFNET there were literally dozens of domains that were being maintained. Every base had a domain, every Regional Data Center had a domain, and then there were two additional domains for the NOSCs on CONUS, as well as domains and sub-domains encompassing Europe, Asia, Africa, Middle East, and SE Asia. I think we even had a domain for NATO, but I wasn't involved in maintaining it. It was a complete clusterfuck, and everyone needed multiple accounts and passwords for all of them. I got off lightly - I only needed I think 5 usernames and passwords when I was part of the RDC server farm team. AFNET had been running for a couple years prior to my arrival in early 2013, and there was a concerted effort to migrate every base and command over to it so we could scrap the legacy systems, which was finished in May 2014 (nah, not really - the military just said it was done then and sent all the contractors packing and the fallout was fun to watch). tl;dr: poo poo went sideways, so now newly-minted VCP5 is looking for work down south. Daylen Drazzi fucked around with this message at 02:57 on Jun 23, 2015 |
|
#
¿
Jun 23, 2015 00:15
|
|
|
|
| # ¿ May 9, 2024 03:46 |
|
|
pmchem posted:I'm rather thinking that half the stuff you posted is stuff your bosses might not approve of posting? sheesh, at least you're out of a job one way or another! Perhaps you're right. I just needed to vent a little and I may have gone too far. I'll go ahead and delete the posts.
|
|
#
¿
Jun 23, 2015 02:56
|
|