Thoughts of a Working Man

Yeah, I'm on the market again. What a pain in the ass. (Obviously, I'm not using this blog to beg for work, eh?) Twenty months ago, I lost my full time job as Lead Technical Writer and Intranet Web Administrator at a financial services company. They decided that they needed to reduce their IT staff by 20%. In doing so, they decided they no longer needed the documentation function at all. Three of us were let go as part of that reduction. As far as I know, the functions we were performing have been dormant there ever since. Since then I've worked two different places on consulting contracts. What I've learned is that I'm a luxury commodity in the local workplace. I have a lot of skills that are prized, but only if they have the luxury or pressing need to bring me in for a short period of time to fill that need. So I come in, fill the need, and give the employer, by their own admissions, more than they expected. But when the money runs out or the project is finished, they don't feel the need to keep me around. I have absolute confidence that I can get another job just like the last two. I'm not sure that's what I want. Aside from the money, which is useful, I am not happy being places where I'm not valued or prized. Frankly, I'd rather work from home. Both of these jobs could have been done primarily off-site, especially after the initial relationships were established. And I'm beginning to prize my freedom more even than money. Technically, all I need is access to a client's servers to be able to do my work. Access to their people can prove useful, but often I'm left to figure out things for myself. I'm tired of dragging myself into offices, as no small expense in parking and travel, so that I can be 'watched' to ensure I'm not ripping off the organization, particularly when the so-called permanent staff are routinely doing much less than they could do or than their managers wish they would do. I'm tired of being the guy folks bring in when they want a job done and then let go so the rest of them can continue their lazy socializing ways. I'm particularly tired of managers who constantly voice concerns that I'm ripping them off when they ignore the dozens of people in their own organization who are nowhere near as productive as I am and whose behavior they condone. Even when I take the time to write this entry, it is because a key network process is down and nobody can work. The others are gossiping among themselves. I joined in for a bit, but it got old. I'm just waiting to get back to work.