Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[SheWhoMustNotBeOUTBID]

IT is something u can return to.., if u want to, skills are usually transferable into different area's.  Used to work for an IT contracting company in London and while the economic climate is not brilliant.., I am sure u could find enuf work to keep u going if u decide to go that route.

However, taking a break can be a good idea too.  As some of u will be aware Jue left his job (altho it was an unstable temp job) so he could work on cars (mostly Omegas)  and well, we may not be rich, we ARE very busy and having lots of fun.., no two days are the same so its adding a lot to our lives.  As long as u manage to get by but are happier, that's worth it in itself.

Wishing u all the best for the future James.

[JamesV6CDX]

IT is something u can return to.., if u want to, skills are usually transferable into different area's.  Used to work for an IT contracting company in London and while the economic climate is not brilliant.., I am sure u could find enuf work to keep u going if u decide to go that route.

However, taking a break can be a good idea too.  As some of u will be aware Jue left his job (altho it was an unstable temp job) so he could work on cars (mostly Omegas)  and well, we may not be rich, we ARE very busy and having lots of fun.., no two days are the same so its adding a lot to our lives.  As long as u manage to get by but are happier, that's worth it in itself.

Wishing u all the best for the future James.

Thank you, very much

[HolyCount]

Well, James, you have done it now    Best of luck with whichever direction you go in. See how you take to Plod as a Special, despite the aggro ( all jobs have aggro) it's a good direction to travel, if you find that it is for you.

Keep in touch with the IT world --- keep your skills current, that way you still have a fall back plan.

[JueV6]

Just to clarify, I currently have three "occupations".

1) Full time IT Employee for the NHS
2) Part time mobile mechanic
3) Voluntary Police Work

Number three is here to stay, but I am in a bit of a fix over 1 or 2.

The position I am in, in all honesty, I really hate my full time occupation, for a number of reasons. I am sick of I.T, and I want out of it. It's a shame, because I do have some quite specialised skills, but I am slowly losing these because in all honesty, I'm not interested and I couldn't give a monkeys. The people I work with are impossible, some of which don't understand basic IT principles, and some of which who do, but are very set in their ways and quick to ridicule anything new. I'm constantly firefighting systems that are totally unfit for purpose, I can get no funding to replace anything, so usually I just turn up, do as little as possible, and get paid, and feel tense and miserable through the day, which then usually gets taken out on Maria.

I am confident that if I became a full time mobile mechanic, while initially I won't make as much as my current salary, I reckon I could get by. I love doing that, whereas I pretty much detest my day job now.
What would you do?

I know there are pro's and cons of each, and I am scared, but I can't carrry on as I am...

James, I think Helen has already posted, but to be truthfull, the day i binned the day job was probably the best thing that I could have done. I went into the spanners straight from school. did some TA (royal Eng) and got my class 1, so decided to use that for a living. Unforseen circumstances happend so had to cease driving HGV. All the jobs that are about atm are agency, and ther are ALL on a daily basis (even tho the agencies say the positions are temp to perm,  In reality they are just an ongoing contract).

Employers don't give a rats ar$e about their temp employees an altho the government say's that temp workers have almost the same rights as full timers that is NOT the case.

Going back to the spanners has made me alot happier. less of a pain to live with, less stressed. and also i'm doing something I enjoy.

If you can make ends meet and it's what you want and enjoy, then take the leap and make something for YOURSELF (and Maria) and not line the pockets of the of the nameless white shirt that you never meet.

Good luck in whatever you decide

Julian

[gwa]

Kevin has come very close to reading my thoughts, actually... about option 3 being the longer term goal. It'd mean going through the entire recruitment process again, and would mean a possible move of location, however it's definately where I'd like to be in the longer term.

In the interim, I can't take anymore. My job is making me drink too much, lose my temper, and sometimes have me in tears.

Thanks for the advice, but alas it's too late. I can't stand being this unhappy every day, and I have handed my notice in.

My salary is not exactly high (22.7k basic) and it's certainly not worth the aggro and upset.

What will I do now, in the interim?

I will do freelance work, in both the IT industry, and with mechanics - and hopefully later on I will achieve my goal.

Am I scared? Yes, I'm bricking it.

Am I excited and enthusiastic? Definately!!

Here goes, in at the deep end!

I pay a bog standard PC Support person £220 a day, thats around £57k a year and they are always in demand. But for the money I earn I'd even clean the bogs, I don't give a toss what I do so long as the ackers keep rolling in   Its better than putting up with crap. But remember, the higher up the tree you get, the more people there are trying to knock you off. So enjoy the support role, they can be fun

[Gaffers]

Kevin has come very close to reading my thoughts, actually... about option 3 being the longer term goal. It'd mean going through the entire recruitment process again, and would mean a possible move of location, however it's definately where I'd like to be in the longer term.

In the interim, I can't take anymore. My job is making me drink too much, lose my temper, and sometimes have me in tears.

Thanks for the advice, but alas it's too late. I can't stand being this unhappy every day, and I have handed my notice in.

My salary is not exactly high (22.7k basic) and it's certainly not worth the aggro and upset.

What will I do now, in the interim?

I will do freelance work, in both the IT industry, and with mechanics - and hopefully later on I will achieve my goal.

Am I scared? Yes, I'm bricking it.

Am I excited and enthusiastic? Definately!!

Here goes, in at the deep end!

James it sounds very similar to what I was going through about 5 years ago.  I took the plunge and have never not even when I was lying in the snow freezing my butt off and wet through having not slept for 3 days I still wouldent have been back in my pig of a job in Paris.  It just so happens the job I love pays better than what I was getting in France so its win win (not to mention the pension)

Its your choice but I would say do it, if you dont now you'll regret it later  

Like I said if you wanna chat I'm on skype  

[gwa]

James. Reading through this thread, it would appear the consensus of opinion is: Better the devil you know..... (well, for the time being)   Sometimes it pays to eat humble pie and all those other adjectives, but its down to you to review the advice on offer and make your own judgement based on the your knowledge of the situation. I don't envy you, but even though we have never met, I wish you well.

[theowletman]

Good luck whatever you do.

[TheBoy]

I have been trying to quit for about 3yrs, but they keep turning me down for redundancy   (we should get enhanced package).  I cannot afford to leave without the package, unless I walk into another similar job the next day.  I have various server skills - Windows, Linux, Solaris, Netware, Exchange, SQL etc having done 12yrs of 3rd line with that lot, but jobs near me are not common.

I have to deal with idiots all day long, mostly those in grades above me.  The latest is I cannot access our company intranet or email, because I do not have a company build on lappy (because I work 100% at a client site, on their network, supporting their servers). The company I work for will not allow me to use another email address I can access, so I can't find out whats happening with anything. I can't do my time recording, as its on the company intranet, so have to have weekly bollocking over that.  Its a crap state of affairs.

Now, to top it all, I have to spend this evening writing my APR, in my own time.

The NHS, with all its issues, isn't a bad place to work.  The supposedly 'good' companies to work for, mine included, are far worse. And to add insult, we're all about to be TUPE'd for the 2nd time in 4yrs - bloody great for moral.


So yes, I wanted to tell them to shove it, but common sense must prevail.

[JamesV6CDX]

I have been trying to quit for about 3yrs, but they keep turning me down for redundancy   (we should get enhanced package).  I cannot afford to leave without the package, unless I walk into another similar job the next day.  I have various server skills - Windows, Linux, Solaris, Netware, Exchange, SQL etc having done 12yrs of 3rd line with that lot, but jobs near me are not common.

I have to deal with idiots all day long, mostly those in grades above me.  The latest is I cannot access our company intranet or email, because I do not have a company build on lappy (because I work 100% at a client site, on their network, supporting their servers). The company I work for will not allow me to use another email address I can access, so I can't find out whats happening with anything. I can't do my time recording, as its on the company intranet, so have to have weekly bollocking over that.  Its a crap state of affairs.

Now, to top it all, I have to spend this evening writing my APR, in my own time.

The NHS, with all its issues, isn't a bad place to work.  The supposedly 'good' companies to work for, mine included, are far worse. And to add insult, we're all about to be TUPE'd for the 2nd time in 4yrs - bloody great for moral.


So yes, I wanted to tell them to shove it, but common sense must prevail.

Thing is, (old boy ) this is the one time in my life when I'll be able to take some time out (which I've never had) and do something a bit diferent... if I had a house or a mortgage, household bills etc then I would be in the same mindset as your post above... but this is probably the only time in my working life I'll get to try something different / do something for me.

It's definately a time of turmoil, but I can't carry on in a job that my heart is 100% not in...

[Andy B]

......
 but I can't carry on in a job that my heart is 100% not in...

I've managed for the last 2 years!  

[Martin_1962]

I have been trying to quit for about 3yrs, but they keep turning me down for redundancy   (we should get enhanced package).  I cannot afford to leave without the package, unless I walk into another similar job the next day.  I have various server skills - Windows, Linux, Solaris, Netware, Exchange, SQL etc having done 12yrs of 3rd line with that lot, but jobs near me are not common.

I have to deal with idiots all day long, mostly those in grades above me.  The latest is I cannot access our company intranet or email, because I do not have a company build on lappy (because I work 100% at a client site, on their network, supporting their servers). The company I work for will not allow me to use another email address I can access, so I can't find out whats happening with anything. I can't do my time recording, as its on the company intranet, so have to have weekly bollocking over that.  Its a crap state of affairs.

Now, to top it all, I have to spend this evening writing my APR, in my own time.

The NHS, with all its issues, isn't a bad place to work.  The supposedly 'good' companies to work for, mine included, are far worse. And to add insult, we're all about to be TUPE'd for the 2nd time in 4yrs - bloody great for moral.


So yes, I wanted to tell them to shove it, but common sense must prevail.

Are you a BOFH?

[Albatross]

James,

I have only read the 1st page, but as Pete says at the bottom of that 1st page, you have been given some etremely measured and wise advice.

It is threads like this that make this site special. I have never seen a site like it.

Maybe Omegas are "old man's" cars

(I mean no offence, I am old too)

I would heed the advice, and don't let how you're feeling right now let you make any decisions you'll regret in the long term.

I have times like that about once every 18 months; I am in IT too and love it sometimes and hate it others, and yes for months at a time sometimes.

Look at it this way, would any of us go to work if we weren't being paid? I suspect that most of us would answer "no". That's why they pay you; so that you come in. It's not always going to be good, but a steady and stable income is a blessing these days mate. Don't give it away lightly.

On a final note: you are much more employable, in what ever you choose to do, when you're already employed.

Best of luck and chin up and don't do anything rash.

[Martin_1962]

I have been trying to quit for about 3yrs, but they keep turning me down for redundancy   (we should get enhanced package).  I cannot afford to leave without the package, unless I walk into another similar job the next day.  I have various server skills - Windows, Linux, Solaris, Netware, Exchange, SQL etc having done 12yrs of 3rd line with that lot, but jobs near me are not common.

I have to deal with idiots all day long, mostly those in grades above me.  The latest is I cannot access our company intranet or email, because I do not have a company build on lappy (because I work 100% at a client site, on their network, supporting their servers). The company I work for will not allow me to use another email address I can access, so I can't find out whats happening with anything. I can't do my time recording, as its on the company intranet, so have to have weekly bollocking over that.  Its a crap state of affairs.

Now, to top it all, I have to spend this evening writing my APR, in my own time.

The NHS, with all its issues, isn't a bad place to work.  The supposedly 'good' companies to work for, mine included, are far worse. And to add insult, we're all about to be TUPE'd for the 2nd time in 4yrs - bloody great for moral.


So yes, I wanted to tell them to shove it, but common sense must prevail.

Thing is, (old boy ) this is the one time in my life when I'll be able to take some time out (which I've never had) and do something a bit diferent... if I had a house or a mortgage, household bills etc then I would be in the same mindset as your post above... but this is probably the only time in my working life I'll get to try something different / do something for me.

It's definately a time of turmoil, but I can't carry on in a job that my heart is 100% not in...

That is the point, no house no big expenses - time to do something for yourself.

Keep in with IT though - there will always be a need for some - unless you get outsourced

[JamesV6CDX]

I have been trying to quit for about 3yrs, but they keep turning me down for redundancy   (we should get enhanced package).  I cannot afford to leave without the package, unless I walk into another similar job the next day.  I have various server skills - Windows, Linux, Solaris, Netware, Exchange, SQL etc having done 12yrs of 3rd line with that lot, but jobs near me are not common.

I have to deal with idiots all day long, mostly those in grades above me.  The latest is I cannot access our company intranet or email, because I do not have a company build on lappy (because I work 100% at a client site, on their network, supporting their servers). The company I work for will not allow me to use another email address I can access, so I can't find out whats happening with anything. I can't do my time recording, as its on the company intranet, so have to have weekly bollocking over that.  Its a crap state of affairs.

Now, to top it all, I have to spend this evening writing my APR, in my own time.

The NHS, with all its issues, isn't a bad place to work.  The supposedly 'good' companies to work for, mine included, are far worse. And to add insult, we're all about to be TUPE'd for the 2nd time in 4yrs - bloody great for moral.


So yes, I wanted to tell them to shove it, but common sense must prevail.

Thing is, (old boy ) this is the one time in my life when I'll be able to take some time out (which I've never had) and do something a bit diferent... if I had a house or a mortgage, household bills etc then I would be in the same mindset as your post above... but this is probably the only time in my working life I'll get to try something different / do something for me.

It's definately a time of turmoil, but I can't carry on in a job that my heart is 100% not in...

That is the point, no house no big expenses - time to do something for yourself.

Keep in with IT though - there will always be a need for some - unless you get outsourced

I have plans to keep abreast of IT