I was informed today that I start a new Job on Tuesday (...after the Civic Holiday ).

It's contract work via a recruiting firm, and the pay's not great (... $65K/yr [no benefits] ),
but it's with a Government department (Public Works) ,
and like everybody tells me, ...once you get your foot in the door,
the possibilities for full-time hiring open right up.

Both the contracting firm and the Government folks know I'm grossly underpaid
for my qualifications so they know things will have to improve when they'll want to renew the contract.
(... and I'm told renewal is assured... )

So I'm happy I'll be getting a paycheck again,
but the speed at which this happened (... I applied for the job last Friday... )
kinda screws-up my summer plans...
(.. we had day-trips planned for the kids and I had a pile of home projects
I wanted to work on... )

My wife is now freaking out at having to manage the 3 boys all day by herself !  

It's amazing how quickly everyone got use to me being home all day !

So sorry Donnie, I'll now have to "withdraw" my request for work on your "set" ...  

Cheers,
Steph

Congrats Steph!    That's low wages compared to Nortel, but if you can ever get a full-time position I doubt the government will reneg on pensions and benefits!  

Quoted from Steph

It's contract work via a recruiting firm, and the pay's not great (... $65K/yr [no benefits] ),

Well it's still the double of what the average Canadian make in a year... it could have been worst

Congrats!!!

...But... pay's not great at 65K? Crap... that is what I make... mind you I have OK benefits... but still.

Congradulations! 65K will buy loads of pinballs

Quoted from Hyann

Well it's still the double of what the average Canadian make in a year... it could have been worst

Quoted from Sparky

...But... pay's not great at 65K? Crap... that is what I make... mind you I have OK benefits... but still.

Yes, I realized after I posted that that it seemed pretty crass to belittle that salary.

It is indeed nothing to complain about  (...and I really have no right to...),
and I realize it's WELL above the national average, but I was told that
for the job description that I will be doing, the usual going rate was quite a bit more
(...I know people doing similar work for 2.5x the pay... )
and that the reason I got the job so quickly (...with only a 15 minute phone interview)
is that they had no-one with the required qualifications willing to work for that salary.

Even the recruiter I spoke to last week said "are you sure you want to work for this rate ? ".

Basically, anything is better than EI, and with this economy, any job is golden.
Besides, the big thing is that I get into the Government circles and from there
I can find a full-time job with good benefits.

I realize my original post "almost" sounded like a complaint,  
but the reality is that it's a HUGE relief to get any kind of income coming into the household.
(...my RRSPs were starting to thin out... !  )

So no, I'm not complaining !



Steph

Quoted from Steph

Yes, I realized after I posted that that it seemed pretty crass to belittle that salary.

It is indeed nothing to complain about  (...and I really have no right to...),
and I realize it's WELL above the national average, but I was told that
for the job description that I will be doing, the usual going rate was quite a bit more
(...I know people doing similar work for 2.5x the pay... )
and that the reason I got the job so quickly (...with only a 15 minute phone interview)
is that they had no-one with the required qualifications willing to work for that salary.

Even the recruiter I spoke to last week said "are you sure you want to work for this rate ? ".

Basically, anything is better than EI, and with this economy, any job is golden.
Besides, the big thing is that I get into the Government circles and from there
I can find a full-time job with good benefits.

I realize my original post "almost" sounded like a complaint,  
but the reality is that it's a HUGE relief to get any kind of income coming into the household.
(...my RRSPs were starting to thin out... !  )

So no, I'm not complaining !



Steph

Good... now that you have apologized, I want to play Joust for the first time.

Quoted from Sparky

Good... now that you have apologized, I want to play Joust for the first time.

C'mon over anytime !

...now that I don't have to sell it to feed the kids, I can plug it in again !



Steph

Congrats Steph.  Life IS wierd.  Unions are striking while unemployment grows.  I was offered a permanent management job in the educational sector with benefits, pension and a decent salary (close to what I was making about 5 years ago SOHO - which is a h*ll of a lot more than I make now...). I had my pinball purchases plotted out.  And yet, in the end, I turned it down.  Why?  Because we just adopted and I am currently enjoying the role of primary caregiver (and head basement finisher). We're very, very lucky to have another full-time income and a benevolent Aunt - but are by no means in the black - I wonder, come September when the kids are back in school, whether I'll regret my decision.  For now, back to eating Mac & Cheese.

Quoted Text

Basically, anything is better than EI, and with this economy

Sorry for sticking my nose in. Just wanted to say at the very least it BUYS TIME until things improve. So, if the govt. doesn`t require your skill level in the long run, you will have survived in time to rejoin the private sector. Financial, energy, health care...those are the sectors that will probably have the cash for the right people in the long term for IT.

Good luck.

Anyway congratulation! Good idea think this job as an opening for a better one and not just a default job.

I got a new job last month too,  I had to budget now because of the salary drop but I'm really happy with this job hope you like it... if not, people with qualification always find a job

Pretty standard route to for starting with the public sector. They should be able to roughly specify how long you will be on before they offer you the real deal. It's a progression and your foots in the door. Salary's are typically set based on the prevailing private sector pay for your qualifications. You won't get the wildcard pay and bonuses that high flying companies like Nortel once offered but then again look where that ended up. In the long haul you'll find probably find it less stressful and come out the same or possibly better without all the ups and downs.