Yup. My manager, when she found out this was happening and expressed her displeasure, had a stack of resumes waved in her face and told there are plenty of people out there.

Very very very true. Which is the main reason that loyalty to the employer and employee morale are at such record lows in this day and age.

They know that they have you by the throat - which is why when you get a new job you should try to get as much as you can up front. Six months into my current position I was pretty much told that I wasn't getting any raises, so not to expect one. Given that I have a growing family to provide for, staying employed is the best that I can do - until the economy improves, that is. (I don't see that happening anytime soon, though....)

You guys work for dicks.

The job market is coming back though, so that's nice.

I'd look for another job, but since I'll be looking for another job in Boston soon enough, there's not really a point.

You know, I have a lot of confidence in my skills. I'm really good at what I do, so honestly I don't think I would have a lot of problems finding a new job if it bothers me enough. The annoyance is starting all over at the bottom.

And here's hoping that the Boston job market will treat you much better.

In the Washington DC area we were third best job market in the country (might still be, for all I know.) Even so, when it comes to working in consulting/contracting, budgets get slashed and this is one of the first expenses to go. (I remember having job security - way back in 2004...)

For the most part yes. I have a small chance at a raise next year. 6 openings in my department and after 20 interviews boss hired 2 people, reluctantly. That and we're under-running on several projects, so raises would close that gap a bit. Of course, if they let the automatic spending cuts happen, I may not have a job.

Sorry for your troubles Truffle, sounds like a raw deal. Grin and bear as best you can.

My office updated over the weekend to a new email server. Two hours and my computer isn't done. And they kept XP instead of going to Windows 7.

I would say I had job security, but I think I'm more of a poison to companies.

I worked for various companies over time, and almost all of them closed the facility that I worked at (at times while I was there; other times after I left). Here's my track record:

Yankee Pallet - Out of business
Country Cottage - Still in business, but almost closed from salmonella outbreak.
Lifeline - Out of business
EZ Go - Closing this December (facility only)
Git-N-Go - Out of business
Kum And Go - Doing really well, actually
Praxair Surface Technologies - Out of business (facility only)
Labinal - Out of business (facility only)
Harps - Doing really well last I checked
Hewlett Packard - Unlikely to go out of business, but Pfizer Service Desk may not last

Agreed. I'm a skeptic about the second part though. Big companies are still makign the same profits because they are putting the squeeze on their customers and their employees. They have the benefits though of killing any hope for small businesses and being in control of the industry. I honestly don't know that politicians/big businesses are really trying to improve the economy.

I second that.

I've never known job security. I hit the market in 2001 when I was inexperienced and disposable. by the time I'd developed my skills enough to be valuable, the economy went to crap.


My apologies. I realize I am feeling very negative today so feel free to ignore me if it bothers you.

Dude, you got my resume, help me find something back in that area.

(Mostly kidding, kinda sorta not really actually...)

i find that so funny, K, many of the companies i worked for have also gone under. i too am the cursed worker, bwah, hah, hah, hah!

tho, it kinda stinks cause it means i'm job hunting alot. :P

Sounds like this company has found a winning business model.

see another Boston move. it's the place to be.

We're building a nerd Mecca.

Just a little tired of South Dakota... and they keep saying my department will stick around after the sale with the reduced workload, but every monthly review the past few months has been tagged with the note from my manager, "You are looking for other jobs, right?"

Yeah, that's not a red flag or anything...