Stuck in a rut (1 Viewer)

[Groundrush]

Are any of you in a situation where you are stuck in your job?

Are you financially better off staying put in the job you are not happy with because it would be practically impossible to get another one that pays better or even the same?

I find this to be the case for me as I don't really have the qualifications to progress further & most similar jobs I see are for higher qualified people with more complicated work but the pay may not be as much as what I'm on now.

It's taken me over 11 years in the same job to get to the pay scale I am currently on but my job title and what I do have changed.

 

[oumahexi]

Sounds about right, not just in the job either...

 

[ColinEssex]

Heard a nice comment the other night on TV. "A woman's work is never done, that's why they get paid less"

Isn't that so true?

Col

 

[oumahexi]

A supervisor told me the other day that she had to stay late to finish something, trying to make herself look important, as they do. I commented that she couldn't be very good at her job if she couldn't get it finished in the time alotted.

It's comments like that that keep me securely on the bottom rung of the ladder to success

 

[Groundrush]

Heard a nice comment the other night on TV. "A woman's work is never done, that's why they get paid less"

Isn't that so true?

Col

I also unfortunatly saw that last night & got a dirty look from my wife as though it was me that said it

 

[Pauldohert]

Are any of you in a situation where you are stuck in your job?

Are you financially better off staying put in the job you are not happy with because it would be practically impossible to get another one that pays better or even the same?

I find this to be the case for me as I don't really have the qualifications to progress further & most similar jobs I see are for higher qualified people with more complicated work but the pay may not be as much as what I'm on now.

It's taken me over 11 years in the same job to get to the pay scale I am currently on but my job title and what I do have changed.

What do you do? What would you like to do?


The most capable and conscientious people I know work for the company, the most successful I know work within the company for themselves , if you see what I mean.

 

[Groundrush]

A supervisor told me the other day that she had to stay late to finish something, trying to make herself look important, as they do. I commented that she couldn't be very good at her job if she couldn't get it finished in the time alotted.

It's comments like that that keep me securely on the bottom rung of the ladder to success

I know the feeling

My boss once claimed that it was easy to make cost adjustments on our system because he had done so many times before. I asked if the reason why he was an expert was because he was the one that made the mistakes that caused the need for the adjustements
He replied by asking me how much i liked my job

 

[oumahexi]

I know the feeling

My boss once claimed that it was easy to make cost adjustments on our system because he had done so many times before. I asked if the reason why he was an expert was because he was the one that made the mistakes that caused the need for the adjustements
He replied by asking me how much i liked my job

My husband doesn't understand why I let my mouth run away like that, I could, after all, have been earning so much more. When I look back at it bearing that in mind, I have to admit, it was all well worth it, just to see the look on their faces when you come out with something like that When I'm old and eating cat food because I can't afford anything else, I'll still be able to smile at my memories.

 

[Groundrush]

What do you do? What would you like to do?

Some might remember me from years ago (not posted much here for awhile)

A good few years back the organisation I worked for changed hands & we lost all our systems along with the data, I luckily kept copies of this info & found that through Access I could present this data in a way that became very useful for us to claim income we thought we had lost.

I then saw the potential & started learning Access with the help of this forum and many friends. Over the years my databases grew & grew and we moved onto other non access systems that I became the administrator of.

Still using my database for other things we did well for a few more years until we got taken over again and the whole process started over.

Because of my databases I was asked to create another one that would be used as a temporary measure for a couple of months until the new “1/4 million pound system” was ready………18 months later we are still waiting.

Anyway, my point is that all this opportunity was there for me to learn & progress to which I have done, getting better paid was my reward but unfortunately if I was to leave I would not be able to get a similar job again.

My access databases are going to be closed down eventually & all my experience will be lost & the new system (when it’s eventually finished) will be managed by other parties.

 

[Pauldohert]

Some might remember me from years ago (not posted much here for awhile)

A good few years back the organisation I worked for changed hands & we lost all our systems along with the data, I luckily kept copies of this info & found that through Access I could present this data in a way that became very useful for us to claim income we thought we had lost.

I then saw the potential & started learning Access with the help of this forum and many friends. Over the years my databases grew & grew and we moved onto other non access systems that I became the administrator of.

Still using my database for other things we did well for a few more years until we got taken over again and the whole process started over.

Because of my databases I was asked to create another one that would be used as a temporary measure for a couple of months until the new “1/4 million pound system” was ready………18 months later we are still waiting.

Anyway, my point is that all this opportunity was there for me to learn & progress to which I have done, getting better paid was my reward but unfortunately if I was to leave I would not be able to get a similar job again.

My access databases are going to be closed down eventually & all my experience will be lost & the new system (when it’s eventually finished) will be managed by other parties.

So now you do access and other dbs? What about what you want to do?

What makes the pay for someone who builds and adminsters db systems lower elsewhere?

 

[Groundrush]

What makes the pay for someone who builds and adminsters db systems lower elsewhere?

What i'm trying to say is that I would not be able to get the same sort of job again on the same pay scale because my job evolved into what it is now. I would not be qualified enough if I ever had to apply for my own job

I got this far from work experience not from qualifications.

 

[Vassago]

What i'm trying to say is that I would not be able to get the same sort of job again on the same pay scale because my job evolved into what it is now. I would not be qualified enough if I ever had to apply for my own job

I got this far from work experience not from qualifications.

My boss and I are both prime examples of that. True experience speaks much louder than qualifications, certificates, or degrees, in any field really. Would you rather have a doctor transplant your heart fresh out of medical school or one who has done so successfully on hundreds of patients for 30 years without a degree? You decide.

 

[Alisa]

Are any of you in a situation where you are stuck in your job?

Are you financially better off staying put in the job you are not happy with because it would be practically impossible to get another one that pays better or even the same?

I find this to be the case for me as I don't really have the qualifications to progress further & most similar jobs I see are for higher qualified people with more complicated work but the pay may not be as much as what I'm on now.

It's taken me over 11 years in the same job to get to the pay scale I am currently on but my job title and what I do have changed.

Nope, I just got laid off. Whatever you do, KEEP YOUR JOB. The competition out here is fierce. I have seen people with more experience than me working for $18/an hour on contract.

 

[oumahexi]

My boss and I are both prime examples of that. True experience speaks much louder than qualifications, certificates, or degrees, in any field really. Would you rather have a doctor transplant your heart fresh out of medical school or one who has done so successfully on hundreds of patients for 30 years without a degree? You decide.

Actually it's not that simple. Many companies have policies where they won't employ anyone without a degree. At least where I currently work they like that degree to be in the discipline you are working in (unless like Groundrush you have experience, but only with them, they will no longer employ anyone just on the grounds of their experience).

A previous employer, before I got a degree (in a completely different area to which I was working), employed a young man right out of uni to supervise me while I developed and trained staff and customer systems. His degree was in Russian. Needless to say, a few years later when the company was in trouble, I was the first to go because I didn't have a university qualification.

 

[oumahexi]

Nope, I just got laid off.

Oh Alisa, I'm so sorry to hear that.

 

[Rabbie]

My boss and I are both prime examples of that. True experience speaks much louder than qualifications, certificates, or degrees, in any field really. Would you rather have a doctor transplant your heart fresh out of medical school or one who has done so successfully on hundreds of patients for 30 years without a degree? You decide.

In the UK you have to have a Medical degree before you can work as a doctor or surgeon.

 

[Pauldohert]

What i'm trying to say is that I would not be able to get the same sort of job again on the same pay scale because my job evolved into what it is now. I would not be qualified enough if I ever had to apply for my own job

I got this far from work experience not from qualifications.

What qualifications do the job(s), call for that you haven't got. Lets pretend its an IT degree. You are not giving me enough really to go on so sorry - if I am off the mark.

I think you would go a long way to solving the problem, simply by enrolling on a part time IT degree, and doing the most relevent modules to what you want to get employed at. This could be done in months or a year, rather than 5 years or whatever. There are also conversion master courses for anyone with a degree, to then get a masters in IT. Many universities will consider applicants without the relevent paper qualifications, if they have good work experience. - Have a chat with some admissions officers.

Also in lots of places in the country (if not all) there is significant financial help for employers to get their staff trained/qualified. Maybe ask your employer about getting some training/qualifications paid for.

If they are not forthcoming, consider setting up your own company (whilst keeping you own job), and getting courses paid for that way somewhat.

Unfortunately as Alisa says its not a good time at the moment cos, competition is fierce, but many of the bigger employers, where quite generous with their own staff in getting jobs without the qualifications, as long as they passed aptitute tests.

ie the big banks, anyone could apply for the IT positions from within. So if you were confident, a part time job as a teller, and your IT experince. Would give you as much chance of other juniorish IT professionals in getting into their IT departments. Probably not like that at the moment though.

Depends on what level of empoyment you are after. BUt the more senior, the less the qualifications matter, and your track record, experince, career history become important.

PS - A lot of job apps - say degree, just to let people know what kind of level they are looking for.

ie THe fact that you filled in a db form all day at the last job, or did a db for your GCSE coursework isn't really what they are after. But if you have 4 years work experience doing a job, that degree level qualification would be expected to do - that may well be a differant matter.

 

[PaulJR]

Anything you can do to spice up your current job?

I think a lot of job postings out there push the boundaries in terms of what they really want / expect from you. Where I work now, new people start at the company, believing they are going to be 'really involved', and very soon find themselves stuck in a rut. My point, the grass isn't always greener! I think, on occasions, it can be more about the person than the job itself.

 

[Atomic Shrimp]

Actually it's not that simple. Many companies have policies where they won't employ anyone without a degree. At least where I currently work they like that degree to be in the discipline you are working in (unless like Groundrush you have experience, but only with them, they will no longer employ anyone just on the grounds of their experience).

A previous employer, before I got a degree (in a completely different area to which I was working), employed a young man right out of uni to supervise me while I developed and trained staff and customer systems. His degree was in Russian. Needless to say, a few years later when the company was in trouble, I was the first to go because I didn't have a university qualification.

It's certainly true that some employers insist on the formal qualifications, but not all do, at least, not yet. If you have not only experience of doing the job, but also experience of teaching yourself to do the job, there are still people who consider that to be valuable.
If you have lots of hands-on, self-taught experience (and if you have to apply for other jobs) sell yourself on your track record of adaptability.

I've worked for both types of employers in the past and in my experience, the one where the formal qualifications were considered important was not the best place to work, and was not a place that got the best work out of its staff. Might just be coincidence though.

If a job ad specifies a qualification without stressing that it is an absolute requirement for the role, it's probably worth applying anyway, if you have experience that could be considered equivalent or greater.
Some will just bin your application, but not all will - and the worst anyone can do is say no to you.

 

[Fifty2One]

If you freelance your trade then your employer will be hiring you for being the best to fit within their goals. The will have the confidence that whether you have degrees galore in the field or years of experience you will give them equal or better service then the other person or people. Some freelancers dont even have degrees or years under their belt, they are the independent thinker who can go way out of the box and tackle issues from a fresh approach and get tasks done.