Yes, There Is Life Following the Control Room

Damn, I wasted four years of my life. What was supposed to be a summer job until school started back up the following year became this – a steady check, empty promises, acknowledging another dead end, and feeling more burned-out than I was when I came out here. Am I really a sucker for punishment or what!

I really need a break. Might as well take advantage of it now before I age out of some roles.

This brings me to a crossroads:  Where do I go? What do I do? How do I get there?

As I enter middle age, I know I cannot jump around from one gig to another because it won’t give my 401K time to grow for what is unlikely to happen:  my retirement from the workforce.  I know I get bored easily, so where’s the challenge and the money that comes along with it?  Worse, I have worked the night shift since I moved back south nine years ago – an infinity ago, it seemed like I had the world in my palms. Today, that pixie dust has blown away to a reality of groveling to idiots who do not believe in complete sentences and are strangely intimidated by educated brothers. I cannot stress enough to senior management that I do not want their positions! I’ll gladly take their paychecks, though.

My side hustle isn’t going to pay all of the bills yet. Once it does, then I can finally tell the Man to kiss my black ass! I’m doing what I love not the BS that paid just enough to get by.

But before I chunk the deuces to this dead end once and for all, I have to set a contingency plan in place. Beyond the “f**k-it” fund, some other things have to be in place such as a reasonable family health insurance plan [about a year and a half ago, I briefly glimpsed at getting Obamacare for us. Because it was slightly higher than my employer’s plan, I stayed where I was. Today is different] and having the means to maintain our lifestyle. We aren’t wealthy by any stretch of the imagination, yet saving for a rainy day is what has gotten us this far. Below are some other noteworthy questions to consider:  

·         Am I ready to be fully committed to self-employment?

·         If I have to work for someone else, are the challenges to compensation ratio fair enough?

·         Am I required to be figuratively tied to the clock or phone?

·         Will I have Sundays off?

·         Are promotions handled in-house or strictly external hires? What are the chances of advancement – or lateral movement - within the organization?

·         What does the culture look like? I’m looking for genuine emotions, not varying shades of faces that may be dissatisfied in his or her roles.

·         Are my past experiences valued?

·         Does favoritism exist?

When the job feels more like work study than anything worth telling people about, then it is time to get out. Every step in our working lives is a means to something else; why remain stagnant in a place where we aren’t appreciated?