What's a good company to work for?

[Dr Stankface]

I need to know because I just got laid off because I can't work full time. Thing is, my employer knew I would be starting school. He just hired 5 more people and said that he has too many people.

Sorry, just had to do a quick vent.

 

[EBMM7181]

UPS - It pays well, and you get to deliver people thier basses, what could be better?

 

[TNT]

I need to know because I just got laid off because I can't work full time. Thing is, my employer knew I would be starting school. He just hired 5 more people and said that he has too many people.

Sorry, just had to do a quick vent.

Hey Stank,

Hang in there!!! This probably won't be the last time you are in this predictament like this!! Here's a thought; why don't you open your own "shop", hire his employees, and put him out of business?? Sound fun??[/QUOTE]

 

[Dr Stankface]

Haha. I don't want to go into the t-shirt printing biz. It sucks.

I've been trying UPS the past few months. Hopefully something will come through.

 

[EBMM7181]

Stanky, or you could come work for the railroad with me, they are hiring like crazy, because they havnt hired for so long, 75% of their workforce is retireing in the next 7 years

 

[Dr Stankface]

Well, if I didn't live an hour and a half away from Atlanta.

 

[EBMM7181]

Well, if I didn't live an hour and a half away from Atlanta.

They do have locations in Mobile and Montgomery.....

 

[Dr Stankface]

That's still an hour and a half away.

 

[Musicman Nut]

I need to know because I just got laid off because I can't work full time. Thing is, my employer knew I would be starting school. He just hired 5 more people and said that he has too many people.

Sorry, just had to do a quick vent.

Own your Own Company Then there's never a Lay Off, My Suggestion though, be a good business Man first though.

 

[Dr Stankface]

Well, at the current moment i'm 19 years old trying to get a college degree. Don't really have any money right now and still have 2 more books to buy. I have about $50 to tie me over until whenever.

 

[adouglas]

Sorry for the long post, but this is an important quality of life question that Andrew has asked.

I don't have specific suggestions, but based on a full-time working career of something like 25 years....

I find that once a company reaches a certain size, it's better to avoid it.

Here's why:

Once you get above the small-company size (above, say, 75-100 employees or so) you wind up with Middle Management. It may be possible to avoid Middle Management in some circumstances, but I'm not sure. I'm speaking only from personal experience.

Middle Managers are, in my experience, the people who make work a living hell. They are responsible for such grand ideas as self-assessments, useless meetings, progress reports, so-called morale-building events, quality initiatives, endless memos, office birthday parties, procedures that make no sense, dress codes....the list goes on and on.

Ever see Office Space? Classic example.

I worked for a company where one of these nimnarts actually tried to institute a policy whereby every time we left the office proper, we had to sign out.

For lunch.

To go run a quick errand.

To go to the bathroom.

I'm not kidding.

This same person tried to get us to forecast ahead of time how many hours we'd log on which jobs in the following month. As if we knew what jobs would come in the door. She was an idiot. A blithering idiot. There are legions of these people, and they all have found a home in large companies.

In a small company, there's no room for that nonsense. What you have is The Bosses, and the Workers. The Bosses worry about making payroll and bringing in new work to keep the Workers busy. The Workers accomplish the task assigned to them, and, because there are so few of them, they are well-regarded team members. Simple and beautiful, no?

The big client I've been working for since about 1995 is IBM. I would never, EVER want to work there. My private office has a huge window (I'm a Worker, not a Boss). EVERYONE in my company has a private office at least as nice as mine. There are no cubicles...we're too small to need them. At the IBM facility I visited, the same sized office would be buried inside the middle of a building and would house two people, who would have to dress a lot nicer than I have to. My clients routinely get on conference calls while on vacation, phoning in from the beach (I kid you not). They work weekends. They stay up until three or four in the morning (two days ago I was talking to a client who had not slept in 36 hours). They are Stressed.

Me, I have fun, because I work for a well-run small company. I'm on a first-name basis with everyone, including the co-presidents. They like me. I like them. There are no a-holes or incompetents, because there's no room for them in a small company.

The company (marketing and sales promo...think product packaging, cosmetic displays, etc.) I worked for prior to my current employer was similar but even more cool. There was a pool table, a stocked liquor cabinet and a fridge full of beer in the office. We called it the Blue Cube Lounge (company logo was a blue square). It was located in the graphic department bull pen, where the freelance art directors would work. Friday afternoons, once the work was done, we'd hang out and socialize. We were productive as hell, highly creative, and very, very happy people. Management knew that blowing off steam was important, and they trusted us to understand that if we abused the privelege it would go away. They treated us like adults, so we behaved like adults. And we had a blast.

Can you imagine such a thing going on at a large company? Seriously...look for the telltale signs of middle management. They KILL cool ideas like that.

I get the strong sense that EBMM is run like a small company. Sterling clearly understands that happy workers are good workers, and that getting the job of producing the best possible product is more important than anything else.

 

[Jodizzle]

Stanky!!!!
I'm so sad for you. I feel ya man! I'd say .. just to get yourself through school .. look everywhere!!!!
What are you going to school for?

 

[Dr Stankface]

I plan on getting my bachelor's degree in history. Possibly secondary education.

I just like history. That's all I know at this point. I plan on getting my degree then going to Nashville or so and try and play professionally. I would do that now but getting my degree as a fallback is more important.

 

[fresnorich]

Look for a student assistant job at your university, perhaps in the secondary education dept. It would give you a foot in the door and they will be flexible and understanding about your schedule. I had several student assistant jobs throughout college and they almost always let me have time off during finals or even just study while on the clock. Plus, you'll save a lot of time and money on transportion.

Good luck!

BTW, I'm a high school English teacher and I feel great about what I do and enjoy the job security.

 

[Randracula]

I plan on getting my bachelor's degree in history. Possibly secondary education.

I just like history. That's all I know at this point. I plan on getting my degree then going to Nashville or so and try and play professionally. I would do that now but getting my degree as a fallback is more important.

Fallback? You been watching Night At The Museum ? Sorry to hear about your job Stanky...UPS is a really good job to get through school while working part-time and there is plenty of opportunity after you graduate if you want to stick around.You might want to try getting a city job also. Many cities hire part-time seasonal workers for different departments(parks,streets,water). It could allow you to still attend school while getting some good work experience......Good Luck

 

[phatduckk]

honestly starbucks pays well here and is a pretty easy job.

concentrate on school dude. and just get whatever job pays the bills. thats what i think

 

[maddog]

good luck Stanky. I know you'll find something that will dovetail in with the schooling.

 

[bassmancb]

Get that education. Odd jobs are everywhere out there, it may not be what you want right now but at least you know you don't have to do it the next 20 years!! Good Luck Ole Buddy!!

 

[Dr Stankface]

Thanks for the support guys! I think I may be getting about $850 in the next week due to some gear selling so things are looking up.

 

[tkarter]

You are a touring bass player. If that doesn't work find the first card board box and move in.

tk