PastorOfMuppets
Banned
In my early 20's like many recent grads and drop outs, I struggled to find a job in my field so I took the next best option which was a desk job while telling myself that I'd save up some money, go back and get a degree in something more useful and then leave.
So here's the problem:
I'm nearing my 30's and I'm still here. Why?
Basically, it's very likely that I will never have benefits anywhere near this good again. The pay was average but my union recently negotiated a very good deal with my employer. Over the next three years, my salary will be going up by 5.5% per year for the first two years. In year three, it will go up by 2.5% + the rate of inflation as deemed by the government.
So here's the deal, I'm stuck in a pretty major dilemma that I will admit is entirely a first world problem but it's still a dilemma. Like the title says, it's a dead end job. Mobility is limited because of nepotism and seniority issues. It's also dead end in that it's a basic desk job that requires very little in the way of general skills so I'm not developing on a professional level. Now because of the new collective agreement, I will be overpaid to in addition to all of the bullet points above. I have no major debts and I don't have a family. The only obligation I have is a mortgage on my downtown condo. I get no fulfilment from my job but it affords me to explore my hobbies and interests more than the average person because I never have to take it home with me. The flipside of the coin is that because of the nature of how public service jobs work, the longer you're here the harder it is to leave because you leave a lot on the table for the unknown. I could find another job but I leave all of the above on the table. I could also go back to school and develop some skills but I'd have to leave my job.
My question to you guys is: What would you do in my shoes?
So here's the problem:
I'm nearing my 30's and I'm still here. Why?
- Job security is ironclad; it's a union job and unlike many unions in the modern world, mine is very strong.
- Defined pension package.
- Five weeks of paid vacation
- For nine weeks out of the year, I switch to a four day work schedule while maintaining my five days of pay. I get to pick whether I have the Monday or Friday off.
- I work in an industry where it's impossible for my job to be automated or outsourced because it can't be privatized nor can you outsource a government job.
- If my employer deems my job to be no longer required, they have to find me another one. They can't decrease my salary for any reason even if it's for a job that is lower on the totem pole. So as an example, if they abolished my position and I was making $80,000 and the only thing they had for me was a custodian, they'd have to pay me $80,000 a year to clean toilets. That's an extreme example but that actually happened to one of the older employees that recently retired.
- I have private access to a bathroom with a large shower.
Basically, it's very likely that I will never have benefits anywhere near this good again. The pay was average but my union recently negotiated a very good deal with my employer. Over the next three years, my salary will be going up by 5.5% per year for the first two years. In year three, it will go up by 2.5% + the rate of inflation as deemed by the government.
So here's the deal, I'm stuck in a pretty major dilemma that I will admit is entirely a first world problem but it's still a dilemma. Like the title says, it's a dead end job. Mobility is limited because of nepotism and seniority issues. It's also dead end in that it's a basic desk job that requires very little in the way of general skills so I'm not developing on a professional level. Now because of the new collective agreement, I will be overpaid to in addition to all of the bullet points above. I have no major debts and I don't have a family. The only obligation I have is a mortgage on my downtown condo. I get no fulfilment from my job but it affords me to explore my hobbies and interests more than the average person because I never have to take it home with me. The flipside of the coin is that because of the nature of how public service jobs work, the longer you're here the harder it is to leave because you leave a lot on the table for the unknown. I could find another job but I leave all of the above on the table. I could also go back to school and develop some skills but I'd have to leave my job.
My question to you guys is: What would you do in my shoes?
