***Update: post 17***What are your thoughts on this? (job related)

[Luv2Scrap]

I always seem to come here for advice on these matters, but I know there's lots of private sector work experience here (I work for the county, and it's a whole different world here), and I need thoughts from someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight. I can't seem to think clearly on this one.

It is highly likely that I will have to make a decision this week that will definitely affect my next two years negatively, but could affect my future in a very positive way after that.

I'm up for possible transfer (totally my decision if I want to do it or not). Same job title, same pay, but completely different job - lots more work and lots more to learn. I'm "just a clerk", and I love my job a lot. I've turned down promotions because I really like where I am that much. The promotion was a crappy job that didn't pay very much more, so it was an easy choice for me to stay put.

Now, I've got an opportunity to transfer into a job where I will still be "just a clerk", but I will be taking over stuff that is a higher pay grade than mine, without the extra pay. Why would I even consider such a thing? Because I think what I will learn will help me a ton in finding a better job once I get my degree in 1 1/2 to 2 years. At the very least, it will make my resume look much better.

I will be learning a lot of technical things. I will be solely responsible for maintaining the county website (I don't know how to do it at all, but they are confident they can train me easily), I will be a key player in rolling out our new online document management system, and anything else I want to learn, they will teach me. I think this information would look fantastic on a resume - much better than saying, "I do clerical work for the county." KWIM?

I already know the supervisor is fantastic, and the people in the unit are mostly great. I'm not worried too much about that.

My big {very big} concern is this: I swore to myself that I would not transfer into another job while I was in school. I am spending so much time on the school stuff, both on nights and weekends, that I really have NO downtime whatsoever. I barely get the bare minimum done - bills get paid on time, but just barely. Household chores are done much less frequently, which really bothers me. My 12 year old son feels bad when I get too busy to spend time with him in the evenings, so I try really hard to do as much of it as possible when he's in bed, which means staying up late - really late!

Honestly, my only downtime right now is when I am at work. I know my job well, and I've got it running like a well-oiled machine. I have a LOT of freedom to adjust my schedule as needed, and nobody hovering over my shoulder micromanaging me. I do my job how I want to do it, and as long as it gets done (which it ALWAYS does), nobody questions me.

For the next year and a half, while in school, this is how I planned to spend my daytime hours. Now I am considering taking on a job that will require a lot more brain power of me, and I will probably have a lot less freedoms.

If you had to make this decision, what would be more important to you - keeping your sanity for the next two years, or having something good to put on your future resume?

 

[RunningGirl]

I was all for you taking this new job, until I read about your 12 year old son. You'll never get these years back and in 2 years, trust me, he is not going to want to spend the time with you he does now. His social life will really pick up then and you'll have more of your own time. Keep the current job and enjoy your son.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

I would keep your current job until you have your degree. I also wouldn't take a job that took more time away from my kids, if they were already having issues with quality time spent with me.

Either quit school and make the new job your full-time focus so you'll have time for your kid also, or keep the job you have with the knowlege that you're doing it to get your degree.

Pick a track-right now it looks like you're on the school first job second track. The other job has a bright future, but it's a the expense of your present.

If you don't need a degree to do that new job, and it has possibilities for advancement without a degree, then ask yourself why are you in school if you can get the job you want without the degree.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I was all for you taking this new job, until I read about your 12 year old son. You'll never get these years back and in 2 years, trust me, he is not going to want to spend the time with you he does now. His social life will really pick up then and you'll have more of your own time. Keep the current job and enjoy your son.

Yeah, that is a big concern. Right now he's spending his annual 6 weeks with his dad, which this summer was a really good thing, because one of my classes literally required WAY TOO MANY hours a week from me. Thank God that class will be almost over by the time I get him back!

 

[ericamanda01]

School is a major commitment, I think some people forget that. Especially when your working full time, it can be a lot, as you well know. I think you should stay where you are, UNLESS this is the field your getting your degree in. Then it would be beneficial to learn more from the inside. Other than that I have to say I would stay where you are.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

I would keep your current job until you have your degree. I also wouldn't take a job that took more time away from my kids, if they were already having issues with quality time spent with me.

Either quit school and make the new job your full-time focus so you'll have time for your kid also, or keep the job you have with the knowlege that you're doing it to get your degree.

Pick a track-right now it looks like you're on the school first job second track. The other job has a bright future, but it's a the expense of your present.

If you don't need a degree to do that new job, and it has possibilities for advancement without a degree, then ask yourself why are you in school if you can get the job you want without the degree.

NO possibility for advancement, well... very little anyway. DH and I are both in school because the county/city/state jobs here are going downhill fast, and we both know the only way up is to get out.

School is definitely the priority, and thankfully, my current supervisor understands that.

 

[karibritt01]

Judging by your post, I would guess that your stress level is very high due to pressure of school, work, and your DS... even with your job running smoothly. I think the added stress of learning a new job, having less freedom, and increased responsibilities would be huge. And for no additional pay? I think I would pass on the job, and focus on school. And if you really want some additional experience, let your boss know that you are willing to take on an additional task on top of your work load.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Judging by your post, I would guess that your stress level is very high due to pressure of school, work, and your DS... even with your job running smoothly. I think the added stress of learning a new job, having less freedom, and increased responsibilities would be huge. And for no additional pay? I think I would pass on the job, and focus on school. And if you really want some additional experience, let your boss know that you are willing to take on an additional task on top of your work load.

boy did you nail it with that statement!!!

Honestly, I think I already know what the best thing to do here is...

 

[mousey]

Keep the job you love to do. If they really want you to do the other job they should pay you to do it.

 

[barkley]

i want to warn you on this. if you have any intent of trying to use your degree to get a better job within you county or another government agency-doing that additional work without having the title to go along with it may not be of any benefit to you.

this is coming from a retiree from county government with a dh whose a retiree from county government-and i also worked with h/r on hiring decisions.

the reasoning is-when you look at certain promotional opportunites on job m.q.'s it will say that you had to have HELD certain positions. having done the work of a certain position does'nt meet the m.q. of having held it. so while you may for 2 years slave away doing the job duties of the position that the duties of along with your degree would normaly qualify you for-never having officialy held the job title that is officialy responsible for those duties can mean it won't count for anything.

dh was in i.t. for the county we both worked for-he did things that were identical to a much better paying higher grade job in another county. his applications were initialy denied for even an interview because when the new county looked at what his official duties were for the job title he held-it did'nt list all the extra things he did. we had to jump through hoops to prove he did them. the county we worked for forbade supervisors from providing anything to say what a person actualy did-we could just confirm if the person actualy got to the point where they had gotten interviewed and were being considered for hire in another county. dh and many others in his situation could'nt even get their foot through the door for an interview. the new county just looked at what his official title was and pulled out a copy of what that job's duties were and it went into the 'do not call' file.


this was why our union successfully fought for a special classification- "AOC"-acting out of class. it identified you as (in your situation) a "clerk" acting outside your classification taking on the duties of ______________ (and the title of the classification of the job that was normaly responsible for it). you might want to see if there is something like that within your county.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

i want to warn you on this. if you have any intent of trying to use your degree to get a better job within you county or another government agency-doing that additional work without having the title to go along with it may not be of any benefit to you.

this is coming from a retiree from county government with a dh whose a retiree from county government-and i also worked with h/r on hiring decisions.

the reasoning is-when you look at certain promotional opportunites on job m.q.'s it will say that you had to have HELD certain positions. having done the work of a certain position does'nt meet the m.q. of having held it. so while you may for 2 years slave away doing the job duties of the position that the duties of along with your degree would normaly qualify you for-never having officialy held the job title that is officialy responsible for those duties can mean it won't count for anything.

dh was in i.t. for the county we both worked for-he did things that were identical to a much better paying higher grade job in another county. his applications were initialy denied for even an interview because when the new county looked at what his official duties were for the job title he held-it did'nt list all the extra things he did. we had to jump through hoops to prove he did them. the county we worked for forbade supervisors from providing anything to say what a person actualy did-we could just confirm if the person actualy got to the point where they had gotten interviewed and were being considered for hire in another county. dh and many others in his situation could'nt even get their foot through the door for an interview. the new county just looked at what his official title was and pulled out a copy of what that job's duties were and it went into the 'do not call' file.


this was why our union successfully fought for a special classification- "AOC"-acting out of class. it identified you as (in your situation) a "clerk" acting outside your classification taking on the duties of ______________ (and the title of the classification of the job that was normaly responsible for it). you might want to see if there is something like that within your county.

VERY good info, thanks for the input! Our county does have an out of class status, but they are VERY stingy with it, as it comes with a temporary pay raise. They won't even admit that this would be above my class - that's all information I got from the supervisor himself. It's job description shows as a more mundane and boring job than what I have now, but the sentence at the end of the job description, "and other misc duties", gives him leeway to do what he wants with the position, and he's told me exactly what he plans to do with it. He also told me not to ever hope for it to be reclassified because he already tried and was denied.

I'm REALLY hoping to get out of government jobs and into the private sector. both areas of work are equally scary right now, as far as job security goes, but each and every year we lose more money and more positions, and 2009-2011 they stand to lose more than ever - we have nowhere else to squeeze money from. They even took away our letterhead! (can you believe that??? ) This year they are starting to talk about layoffs for 2010, rather than just not replacing vacated positions, as they've been doing for a few years now.

I know I would be a fool to do a higher job for lower pay, but honestly, I truly believe I already am - my job description has changed a ton from when I started it, but we can't get them to do a job audit for anybody right now. They don't want to admit we've got more responsibilities (many of us do, because so many positions have been cut), because that would mean they need to pay us more!

 

[BriarfoxinWA]

If you are thinking that you will eventually go into the private sector, I'd say scale back on your college but don't totally quit. Take the new job and with a lighter class schedule you will have more time with your DS. You might even want to take a semester off just until you are comfortable with the new job. In the private sector (I work for a bank) we don't look at the "Job Title and Duties". We look at what you put on your resume as experience, what skills you have and may or may not confirm with your former employer that you did those things.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

If you are thinking that you will eventually go into the private sector, I'd say scale back on your college but don't totally quit. Take the new job and with a lighter class schedule you will have more time with your DS. You might even want to take a semester off just until you are comfortable with the new job. In the private sector (I work for a bank) we don't look at the "Job Title and Duties". We look at what you put on your resume as experience, what skills you have and may or may not confirm with your former employer that you did those things.

More good info! I totally would lighten my class schedule in a heartbeat if it were an option, but I have to push through full time year round so I can graduate at the same time as DH (he's ahead of me but will only be half-time during the school year). He works for the college part time as a second job, which means between his two jobs, he works M-F 8 am to 10 pm 9 months out of the year. This gives us a HUGE discount on our tuition, but he's been doing this schedule for so many years, he just physically and mentally can't do it anymore. For each semester I attend anything less than full time, will add another 4 months of working two jobs for DH (both to keep the tuition discount and to be sure we can make the bills until we find better jobs!).

 

[GRUMPY PIRATE]

I always seem to come here for advice on these matters, but I know there's lots of private sector work experience here (I work for the county, and it's a whole different world here), and I need thoughts from someone who doesn't have a dog in the fight. I can't seem to think clearly on this one.

It is highly likely that I will have to make a decision this week that will definitely affect my next two years negatively, but could affect my future in a very positive way after that.

I'm up for possible transfer (totally my decision if I want to do it or not). Same job title, same pay, but completely different job - lots more work and lots more to learn. I'm "just a clerk", and I love my job a lot. I've turned down promotions because I really like where I am that much. The promotion was a crappy job that didn't pay very much more, so it was an easy choice for me to stay put.

Now, I've got an opportunity to transfer into a job where I will still be "just a clerk", but I will be taking over stuff that is a higher pay grade than mine, without the extra pay. Why would I even consider such a thing? Because I think what I will learn will help me a ton in finding a better job once I get my degree in 1 1/2 to 2 years. At the very least, it will make my resume look much better.

I will be learning a lot of technical things. I will be solely responsible for maintaining the county website (I don't know how to do it at all, but they are confident they can train me easily), I will be a key player in rolling out our new online document management system, and anything else I want to learn, they will teach me. I think this information would look fantastic on a resume - much better than saying, "I do clerical work for the county." KWIM?

I already know the supervisor is fantastic, and the people in the unit are mostly great. I'm not worried too much about that.

My big {very big} concern is this: I swore to myself that I would not transfer into another job while I was in school. I am spending so much time on the school stuff, both on nights and weekends, that I really have NO downtime whatsoever. I barely get the bare minimum done - bills get paid on time, but just barely. Household chores are done much less frequently, which really bothers me. My 12 year old son feels bad when I get too busy to spend time with him in the evenings, so I try really hard to do as much of it as possible when he's in bed, which means staying up late - really late!

Honestly, my only downtime right now is when I am at work. I know my job well, and I've got it running like a well-oiled machine. I have a LOT of freedom to adjust my schedule as needed, and nobody hovering over my shoulder micromanaging me. I do my job how I want to do it, and as long as it gets done (which it ALWAYS does), nobody questions me.

For the next year and a half, while in school, this is how I planned to spend my daytime hours. Now I am considering taking on a job that will require a lot more brain power of me, and I will probably have a lot less freedoms.

If you had to make this decision, what would be more important to you - keeping your sanity for the next two years, or having something good to put on your future resume?

Hmmm.

first of all, I would stop self describing as "just a clerk" try "I help administer the county" or " I expidite the ground level documents to get the countys business done"

I don't say that in jest, but having worked for the government for 35 years, I will tell you that the administration personnel in any level of government will either help or hinder any efforts to get things completed.

Think of a government job as steps up. ecah time you learn a new job, that could be a basis for advancing later on. The new set of skills in the next job, once mastered, could be the basis for opening yet another job opportunity that you might like.

I have worked with upper level administrators who have started out in the "mail room" so to speak, and just kept advancing. Most government managers look at job performance and willingness to learn when looking for the next office manager, or supervisor.

good luck in the new job.

 

[Kickapoo Joie Juice]

More good info! I totally would lighten my class schedule in a heartbeat if it were an option, but I have to push through full time year round so I can graduate at the same time as DH (he's ahead of me but will only be half-time during the school year). He works for the college part time as a second job, which means between his two jobs, he works M-F 8 am to 10 pm 9 months out of the year. This gives us a HUGE discount on our tuition, but he's been doing this schedule for so many years, he just physically and mentally can't do it anymore. For each semester I attend anything less than full time, will add another 4 months of working two jobs for DH (both to keep the tuition discount and to be sure we can make the bills until we find better jobs!).

Dh and I did something like this, I worked full time at the college during the day (I started as a temp and they eventually hired me for real), and I took classes at night. Dh was a full time graduate student on a teaching scholarship (he was paid by the school to teach classes while he was getting his graduate degree in computer science). Neither one of us ever paid for classes, and both of us graduated debt free using this system. I think education's the way "out" for many people-it was for us.

Hang in there-I remember it being the MOST exhausting time of my life-it was work, school, sleep, work, school sleep for me and DH, but it was worth it.

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Dh and I did something like this, I worked full time at the college during the day (I started as a temp and they eventually hired me for real), and I took classes at night. Dh was a full time graduate student on a teaching scholarship (he was paid by the school to teach classes while he was getting his graduate degree in computer science). Neither one of us ever paid for classes, and both of us graduated debt free using this system. I think education's the way "out" for many people-it was for us.

Hang in there-I remember it being the MOST exhausting time of my life-it was work, school, sleep, work, school sleep for me and DH, but it was worth it.

Thanks! We'll keep plugging away at it! We each have our moments, so whenever one of us feels overwhelmed, the other one is there to help us remind ourselves why we're doing this!

 

[Luv2Scrap]

Just a quick update:

I met with the supervisor of the unit I would be transferring into (as he specifically asked me to interview and has been trying to get me in his unit for over a year), and he convinced me to stay on the list for an interview. I told him all of my concerns about getting burned out, and he assured me I could learn exactly as much or as little as I want, at any pace I want, and he is very flexible with schedules and vacation leave. I have talked to others who have been in his unit and they confirmed that this would be true.

After talking with him, I feel much better about the job. I really don’t think I will be under pressure to learn and be responsible for difficult things quickly. There are plenty of things to do that I either can learn quickly or already know how to do. He said the rest can come whenever I’m ready for it.

This also means I don’t have an obligation to do the things that are above my pay grade, unless I choose to do so (which I would, to some extent, because the whole point of me being there would be to learn the hard stuff!). He said he’s willing to re-work the job description as needed to accommodate me – he’s a big believer in finishing school!

I know part of his being so willing to work with me is the fact that there’s only one other person that signed up to interview is somebody he would never take in a million years (I’m not trying to be mean, it’s just very true ).

As a supervisor, he seems too good to be true, but like I said, people that have been in his unit have confirmed it!

I’ll be interviewing on the 13th at 11 am. Wish me luck!