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Leaving my job?
billwill
Registered User regular
Registered User regular
Hey all. I'm going to try and keep this as concise as possible.
I fuel airplanes at the local airport. As a college student, it's a pretty good job. The pay is 11.25 dollars an hour and I get to start work at noon. The work itself is actually pretty easy, though it can get stressful when many airplanes are coming in at the same time and I'm not getting much help from my lead (which is happening more and more every day).
I don't enjoy it, though. All that noise constantly gives me mild headaches (even with hearing protection), and I'm breathing in a lot of fumes out there on the tarmac (the airport does not require smog checks for its vehicles), which really worries me.
I also don't like my bosses, for the most part. I have a lead that is supposed to help me on my side of the airport when I need it, but he always takes his time and is frankly just a pain to work with. Most of the supervisors are apathetic about everything and just sleepwalking through their job.
Something that exacerbates this situation is that I've been getting sick relatively frequently the past few months; I've had to call in about three or four times. My buddy was talking to a lead yesterday (a day which I had to call in because of severe stomach pains) and the lead was telling him that I'm close to being fired because apparently there's some sort of "pattern" they've noticed with my absences (always on a Sunday or Monday).
So on top of the already stressful job, I have to worry about whether I'm going to be called into the big boss' office on Friday and be relieved.
Part of me just wants to leave. When school starts back up, I have no days off (work Friday through Monday and go to school full time Tuesday through Thursday). It physically exhausts me, and as an aspiring writer, I'm finding that I'm finding less and less time to write. As soon as I get off work I just shut down. If I left, I'd finally be able to really throw myself into a novel I've been picking at. Even if it doesn't get published, I'd feel as if I accomplished something. Life seems to be passing me by right now.
Obviously I failed at keeping this concise, so I think a pros and cons list would help present a balanced view of what I should do.
Pro:
+ Make good money
+ The schedule is nice
+ On days when it's easy, it's easy
Cons:
+ Worried about breathing in noxious fumes and what effect that'll have later on in life
+ Very stressful
+ I don't enjoy it, and I don't enjoy my co-workers
+ Infringes on my writing
+ Worried about back problems; there is a lot of heavy lifting and I've been getting tweaks in my back
There are a few more details I would like to share before you offer advice. I currently live at home, so I don't have to deal with rent. My only expense is food, and I can keep that to around 100-150 a month (probably less). I have about a grand saved up right now, so I could more than easily make it through summer to the start of school, maybe even until winter, so money won't be an issue for quite some time.
I don't know, H/A. Am I insane to leave this job? Is the economy still as bad as it was a few years ago? I very much want the summer off to finish my novel, but on the other hand, I don't want to sacrifice a (relatively) stable job. My mother doesn't support me leaving at all, but she's also told me to never work somewhere that I don't enjoy.
Thanks for any and all advice.
I fuel airplanes at the local airport. As a college student, it's a pretty good job. The pay is 11.25 dollars an hour and I get to start work at noon. The work itself is actually pretty easy, though it can get stressful when many airplanes are coming in at the same time and I'm not getting much help from my lead (which is happening more and more every day).
I don't enjoy it, though. All that noise constantly gives me mild headaches (even with hearing protection), and I'm breathing in a lot of fumes out there on the tarmac (the airport does not require smog checks for its vehicles), which really worries me.
I also don't like my bosses, for the most part. I have a lead that is supposed to help me on my side of the airport when I need it, but he always takes his time and is frankly just a pain to work with. Most of the supervisors are apathetic about everything and just sleepwalking through their job.
Something that exacerbates this situation is that I've been getting sick relatively frequently the past few months; I've had to call in about three or four times. My buddy was talking to a lead yesterday (a day which I had to call in because of severe stomach pains) and the lead was telling him that I'm close to being fired because apparently there's some sort of "pattern" they've noticed with my absences (always on a Sunday or Monday).
So on top of the already stressful job, I have to worry about whether I'm going to be called into the big boss' office on Friday and be relieved.
Part of me just wants to leave. When school starts back up, I have no days off (work Friday through Monday and go to school full time Tuesday through Thursday). It physically exhausts me, and as an aspiring writer, I'm finding that I'm finding less and less time to write. As soon as I get off work I just shut down. If I left, I'd finally be able to really throw myself into a novel I've been picking at. Even if it doesn't get published, I'd feel as if I accomplished something. Life seems to be passing me by right now.
Obviously I failed at keeping this concise, so I think a pros and cons list would help present a balanced view of what I should do.
Pro:
+ Make good money
+ The schedule is nice
+ On days when it's easy, it's easy
Cons:
+ Worried about breathing in noxious fumes and what effect that'll have later on in life
+ Very stressful
+ I don't enjoy it, and I don't enjoy my co-workers
+ Infringes on my writing
+ Worried about back problems; there is a lot of heavy lifting and I've been getting tweaks in my back
There are a few more details I would like to share before you offer advice. I currently live at home, so I don't have to deal with rent. My only expense is food, and I can keep that to around 100-150 a month (probably less). I have about a grand saved up right now, so I could more than easily make it through summer to the start of school, maybe even until winter, so money won't be an issue for quite some time.
I don't know, H/A. Am I insane to leave this job? Is the economy still as bad as it was a few years ago? I very much want the summer off to finish my novel, but on the other hand, I don't want to sacrifice a (relatively) stable job. My mother doesn't support me leaving at all, but she's also told me to never work somewhere that I don't enjoy.
Thanks for any and all advice.
I hate you and you hate me.
billwill on
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Also, are you getting so sick that you HAVE to call in to work? Are you going to a doctor? If you're calling in that frequently, you want to document your illnesses with notes from a physician. Is there some underlying cause as to why you're getting sick so frequently? Any boss would be looking at you suspiciously for calling in that much.
You should probably keep the job till school starts back up at least. Money is a good thing to have stockpiled in these shitty times.
I would say quit that job and get some shitty retail job/food service job through school. Try not to be unemployed, but probably any job will seem easy after that, and a pay cut of a couple dollars is probably well worth not breathing fumes all day if you don't need the money and you don't like the job.
A call center job might not even be a pay cut, and same for food service, depending on how nice the restaurant is.
Face protection is not advised for my position, since we have to run up to the actual airplane after fueling it and apparently passengers have freaked out in the past. I know, I know: why not take it off when actually entering the airplane and then put it back on when exiting? Unfortunately such rationality eludes the airport.
I hadn't considered a back brace, but I'll definitely look into it.
And yes, I am.
Generally it is a terrible idea to quit a job you need without having another job already lined up.
Actually my school is completely covered. It's my state university, so it's very cheap, and a large portion is covered by grants. The last few hundred dollars is covered by my parents as long as I make A's (which I do).
I only pay for food, gas, and whatever I want to buy for myself. I got rid of my cell phone long ago as it was too much of a financial burden. If I left the job this summer my gas costs would go drastically down; going to the occasional movie with my friends and going shopping every two weeks, I could just take my bike everywhere.
They don't care for it, to be honest.
They've always told me to do what I love, but when I went for a degree in English and told them I wanted to become a writer, they said, "Adam, you crazy. Why aren't you getting a degree in business?"
I don't think either of them believe I will be able to make anything out of it, but fuck it. I need to try.
Obviously if they say, "You can't live here if you quit!" I won't have much of an option. But I think they'll go along with it. Hell, they're leaving for Egypt (for anywhere for a few weeks to a few months) this Saturday, so they won't even be here.
It's not advised or it's forbidden? If you're wearing what I'm assuming is some sort of safety-esque (reflective jackets, etc..) any passenger freaking out is just being an idiot. If it's a health concern, they can't forbid you to wear protection.
If you're getting that sick, go to a doctor and get a note.
I was expressly told not to do it when I started. They said there aren't any health issues and then they gave the example of a passenger freaking out. Who would I even talk to about that?
I will from now on, but I can't exactly do that retroactively.
If you decide to continue in the job till you find another, try protection more your ears while you work there.
Good luck,
You should consider that even though they won't be in the house, they are still paying the mortgage, home insurance, electric, water, trash, and possibly gas bills. Their physical absence ought not factor overmuch into your considerations here.
Doing what you should do is not the same as doing what you want to do. If you feel the need to write a novel, I respect and support that entirely. However, you shouldn't expect other people to support your more immediate needs (food, shelter) when you're healthy and able to do it yourself, so that you might fulfill your personal goals (finishing a novel).
In other words, you should have a conversation with your parents. If they want you to work while you live with them, your personal goals should take a backseat to your obligations. If that's not tolerable for you, then you should find a way to support yourself so that you can focus on the things that are important to you without asking (explicitly or implicitly) others to provide your basic needs.
Consider: the fact that you don't need to provide the basics for yourself is guaranteed to skew your view of what constitutes a need. Talk to your folks, and handle your obligations before you tackle your aspirations.
If you truly don't want to work there anymore, get your resume tidied up and get ready to pound some pavement.
Mmmmm....toasty.
You would call OSHA
You have the right to a safe workplace, and if you're concerned about fumes and other hazards an OSHA rep will come out and inspect your workplace to make sure that you're safe
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Give notice, quit the job, if you are noticeably less sick after a couple weeks after leaving this job go see a doctor. Start looking for work immediately and when you find something start saving more of your income. With that kind of pay and almost no bills you should have more than a grand saved.
Finding a job might not be easy, but if you treat looking for a job as your full time job then you're more likely to succeed. By that I mean try putting forth honest effort, upwards of 40 hours a week into looking for work.
As regarding your lazy supervisor/colleagues, pretty much everyone thinks that about their colleagues, and I'm sure they have their own little gripes about you. Doing a job you actually ENJOY is a pretty rare thing, most people get by doing a job that is tolerable, not enjoyable. If not for the safety concerns, I don't think you have anything over-much to complain about.
By all means ask your parents if they're willing to support you to write a book, but do keep in mind that even successful writers don't often make that much money. That might not sound like a big deal to you now, but keep in mind you're currently being mostly supported by your parents which gives you a rather skewed view on what kind of money you can live on.
And I did something similar to you in the sense that I decided to take a semester off school to focus on my writing, though I still worked a full time job in the meantime. I don't regret the decision because strangely enough it allowed me to go down a path at work that's given me a better pay/job, but on the writing front, I found I didn't do as well. If you do end up quitting your job, make sure to treat your writing as a full time job then. That means having a set schedule where you sit down at your desk and don't get off it till you either written a certain amount or been there a certain amount of hours.
Customer service, retail or food related jobs can be shitty sometimes, but if you find a place that works for you it can be tolerable. Many large retailers have high turnover and are always looking for marginally polite people with a clean work history. It is not the best, but you are likely to find work with a few weeks effort, possibly much closer to your home.
I would recommend finishing whatever degree you are currently working on before taking time off to write, particularly if you have a full ride right now. Once you have a degree you will be in a much stronger position to get a better job. If you do not work at all or limit it to 10-15 hours a week, you'll still have a few hours a day to get started writing something.
There should be resources for you where ever your school is to both find employment now and about future prospects. If your not sure, go to your student union, administration or academic advising and see if they can direct you to the correct area.
Nothing is passing you by, set your own goals and look to achieving them. There is no need to judge yourself by some "normal pace" that is perceived from the outside. Get advice from professionals about how to support yourself now and in the future and feedback from those around you that you trust and go from there.
But don't take the summer off to work on writing. That will not work out. Instead, look for a closer job to your residence, and work on writing after hours in a more focused way.
Also, your parents are right. You can pick up a minor in business to go with your English major fairly easily, and it is something that you should do. The job market is pretty bleak and looking to get worse before it gets better. You really want to pick up bankable skills and contacts right now.
Quit, but find new work, even if thats just writing.
See about work on campus.
Less commute, works around your class schedule, Double win.
Now, the real test: be 100% honest with yourself. If you take time off to write, are you going to be doing very much writing? Right now, it sounds (if I understand correctly) like you have Tuesday-Friday off, and you aren't writing. What makes you think you will with 7 days a week off? It sounds a bit like you asking us to tell you take stop working so you can have one last "summer break fling" which are awesome. I had one of those, but it was due to the job market being closed more than my own volition.
I think you should try to be very honest with yourself about both what you want, and why you want it, and then *and only then* examine your options.
You could always look for a job somewhere where you don't have to breathe in exhaust all day, like as a waiter or retail clerk.
Regarding the economy and its effect on finding jobs, it varies region by region. I've seen tons of "college student" type jobs (waiter, cashier, etc) available in my area. But in other areas it may be ridiculously hard to get a job. So that's just something you'll have to gauge for yourself.
But one general piece of advice I will give . . . use your school's resources as you job search. There should be a career office on campus somewhere and those usually have lists of summer/part time jobs. But if a teacher, TA, or English advisor can personally point you towards a job, that's even more valuable. Networking, my friend.