Come to Atlas King, where maps rule.
Tuesday, 30 March 2010 19:40![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
a_bit_of_wit_2It's ironic, or so I think, that the New York Lottery, who is constantly flouting and bragging about how much money it gives to education in this state, is making it bloody difficult for me to continue my college education.
One of the great things about working for the Lottery is that it's a small agency; for a state agency that most of you probably see or hear about at some point on nearly a daily basis, whether you play it or catch a radio or TV commercial, it only employs about 350 people statewide. For an agency that makes about 8 billion dollars a year in sales, that's fucking amazing. It's a tiny agency, which means that most everyone there has a function. It's a pretty busy place, you're not going to find yourself bored often, there's barely any employee turnover, and overall, it's not a bad place to work.
Unfortunately, it's one of the things that sucks the most about the Lottery--it's that smallness that makes it difficult to pursue anything without it directly impacting your office.
I mentioned that I am registering for classes next fall, but that, as a photo/fine arts major, many of the classes offered at Sage are during the day; very few are offered at night. This has presented a problem with my boss. Now, during these last 3 semesters, I've been lucky--required courses have been offered at night, so I've been taking them. However, I knew it was going to reach a point where my only options for courses would require me to radically alter my work schedule, or take a small cut in hours. And I told my boss this when I went back to school in January of 2009. One further point: when I was interviewed for my job, I was asked if I had plans to go back to school. I said yes, and I was hired anyway.
That scenario had now arrived.
Of all possible courses I could take next fall, two were offered at night, and both of them were classes I really didn't need. They were electives. I do need to take a number of electives as part of my major, but right now, I prefer to get my core photo and art classes out of the way--in fact, many of the electives have pre-requisites; those said core classes that I need. The two evening electives were Papermaking, and Ceramics 1. However, I wanted to take two mandatory classes, Photographic Processes and Art History 1. I submitted ideas for schedules that would allow me to work around these classes; one would make it so I keep my full work week, one would cause me to lose a half a day per week during the course of the semester.
Those ideas were rejected; my bosses preferred I select one of the evening electives. I explained that I really didn't need them, but to no avail. And because I need to take a minimum of 6 credits (two classes) to keep my financial aid and also to keep my student loan payments deferred, I decided, begrudgingly, to take Papermaking.
When it finally came time to register, I discovered that the Papermaking class was dropped, leaving Ceramics as the sole evening course to be offered in the fall. I also saw that Art History 1 moved so that it'd take place in the late morning instead of early afternoon. I submitted two new possible schedules; again explaining that Ceramics is an optional elective that I don't really wish to take.
Again, rejected. Rejected because I've become too valuable to the office. Why does it always come to this in every job I've ever had? I always get denied to further my own goals and dreams because I become too valuable (translation: I work--I do it well, I do it quickly and in great abundance, I'm hardly a problem, and am eager to help others if I get bored and/or run out of my own work) and therefore don't want to be lost to something else? Herein lies that whole thing about working in a small office--if I am out for any length of time, it means that my work has be done by someone else--and if those other people already have a full workload, things aren't going to get done. Apparently, I'm so valuable that even losing a half a day a week, or even working a split shift would put undue stress on my boss and co-workers. This, to some extent, is true. My boss allowed my co-worker to take the ENTIRE MONTH of February off (my co-worker went on a cruise). As a result, this put extra work on the rest of the office. And because my boss is so meticulous, the type of person to lose sleep if something doesn't get done THAT DAY (I wish I could say I was joking), she worked 12-14 hour days while my co-worker was away, so that she could do my co-worker's work. All that unpaid overtime...and all that stress evident on my boss's face.
The office comes first, they say. So in today's discussion about college when my boss was explaining her reasons for rejecting FOUR of my possible scheduling ideas, I was told that because of the work that we do in this office, I very likely will never be allowed to take two day courses because it'll put extra work and stress on the rest of the group. I asked her point-blank what will happen if it ever reaches a point where I don't have ANY courses to take at night, not even electives. So I got a polite answer: reduce my course load to 1 class for the semester and absorb the loss of my financial aid and the resumption of student loan payments or find another position. Translation: suck it up or get another job.
So there we go. I'm too valuable of an asset in this office to risk losing productivity to my college career, yet my boss refuses to compromise on a workable schedule--and in doing so, is going to be the reason I end up leaving the Lottery. I'd think she'd want to work with me on this if I'm so valuable. No one is going to stop me from finishing my degree.
The job hunt is on.
One of the great things about working for the Lottery is that it's a small agency; for a state agency that most of you probably see or hear about at some point on nearly a daily basis, whether you play it or catch a radio or TV commercial, it only employs about 350 people statewide. For an agency that makes about 8 billion dollars a year in sales, that's fucking amazing. It's a tiny agency, which means that most everyone there has a function. It's a pretty busy place, you're not going to find yourself bored often, there's barely any employee turnover, and overall, it's not a bad place to work.
Unfortunately, it's one of the things that sucks the most about the Lottery--it's that smallness that makes it difficult to pursue anything without it directly impacting your office.
I mentioned that I am registering for classes next fall, but that, as a photo/fine arts major, many of the classes offered at Sage are during the day; very few are offered at night. This has presented a problem with my boss. Now, during these last 3 semesters, I've been lucky--required courses have been offered at night, so I've been taking them. However, I knew it was going to reach a point where my only options for courses would require me to radically alter my work schedule, or take a small cut in hours. And I told my boss this when I went back to school in January of 2009. One further point: when I was interviewed for my job, I was asked if I had plans to go back to school. I said yes, and I was hired anyway.
That scenario had now arrived.
Of all possible courses I could take next fall, two were offered at night, and both of them were classes I really didn't need. They were electives. I do need to take a number of electives as part of my major, but right now, I prefer to get my core photo and art classes out of the way--in fact, many of the electives have pre-requisites; those said core classes that I need. The two evening electives were Papermaking, and Ceramics 1. However, I wanted to take two mandatory classes, Photographic Processes and Art History 1. I submitted ideas for schedules that would allow me to work around these classes; one would make it so I keep my full work week, one would cause me to lose a half a day per week during the course of the semester.
Those ideas were rejected; my bosses preferred I select one of the evening electives. I explained that I really didn't need them, but to no avail. And because I need to take a minimum of 6 credits (two classes) to keep my financial aid and also to keep my student loan payments deferred, I decided, begrudgingly, to take Papermaking.
When it finally came time to register, I discovered that the Papermaking class was dropped, leaving Ceramics as the sole evening course to be offered in the fall. I also saw that Art History 1 moved so that it'd take place in the late morning instead of early afternoon. I submitted two new possible schedules; again explaining that Ceramics is an optional elective that I don't really wish to take.
Again, rejected. Rejected because I've become too valuable to the office. Why does it always come to this in every job I've ever had? I always get denied to further my own goals and dreams because I become too valuable (translation: I work--I do it well, I do it quickly and in great abundance, I'm hardly a problem, and am eager to help others if I get bored and/or run out of my own work) and therefore don't want to be lost to something else? Herein lies that whole thing about working in a small office--if I am out for any length of time, it means that my work has be done by someone else--and if those other people already have a full workload, things aren't going to get done. Apparently, I'm so valuable that even losing a half a day a week, or even working a split shift would put undue stress on my boss and co-workers. This, to some extent, is true. My boss allowed my co-worker to take the ENTIRE MONTH of February off (my co-worker went on a cruise). As a result, this put extra work on the rest of the office. And because my boss is so meticulous, the type of person to lose sleep if something doesn't get done THAT DAY (I wish I could say I was joking), she worked 12-14 hour days while my co-worker was away, so that she could do my co-worker's work. All that unpaid overtime...and all that stress evident on my boss's face.
The office comes first, they say. So in today's discussion about college when my boss was explaining her reasons for rejecting FOUR of my possible scheduling ideas, I was told that because of the work that we do in this office, I very likely will never be allowed to take two day courses because it'll put extra work and stress on the rest of the group. I asked her point-blank what will happen if it ever reaches a point where I don't have ANY courses to take at night, not even electives. So I got a polite answer: reduce my course load to 1 class for the semester and absorb the loss of my financial aid and the resumption of student loan payments or find another position. Translation: suck it up or get another job.
So there we go. I'm too valuable of an asset in this office to risk losing productivity to my college career, yet my boss refuses to compromise on a workable schedule--and in doing so, is going to be the reason I end up leaving the Lottery. I'd think she'd want to work with me on this if I'm so valuable. No one is going to stop me from finishing my degree.
The job hunt is on.
