(Not so) Deep Down, I Am A Money-Grubbing Whore
I am strongly considering becoming an assistant. Like a real, fetch-the-coffee assistant.
The problem with my current job is that I am in a "promotable position" a dubious claim supported only by my title change to "Associate". This promotion (which was the most bullshit, meaningless promotion ever, getting me neither money nor respect) was meant to demonstrate the upward trajectory of my career (HAHAHAHAHAHAHA).
Because of all the opportunity and promise here, I get paid crap. Meanwhile, genuine fetch-the-coffee assistants are getting paid twice as much as me. Literally. Sometimes more than that. Literally.
At this point, the only reason to remain on my career path is that it might be somewhat embarrassing if I took a job that not only wasted my top ten college education but didn't require that I have an education at all. I'm not sure I care about that though. Sitting through the movie just because you paid for the ticket is ridiculous.
23 comments:
You sure you don't work in Radio? I'd swear you have my job.
You sound kind of discouraged. Maybe you can have a chat with your boss about your money situation. Sometimes if you give them a nudge hey think about it.
Chin up.
Isn't the pressure of "not wasting" a painfully expensive college education awful?
If I had to do it again, I would seriously consider ditching the status school route and going for the much less expensive state school. BUT I do not live in New York, where status degrees actually seem to carry some weight.
Stick with it. You'll probably have your own assistant in 3 years.
DON'T DO IT!!!! I made that mistake (thinking "hey, i'll get paid so much to do so little...") and now I'm miserable. Not to mention that fact that I somehow wound up working for people younger than I am, which makes it even more humiliating when I have to fetch things and make copies for them. I left a job that sounds similar to yours (what type of company are you working for?) to do this and now I don't know what I was thinking. Obviously I'm not the best person to give advice, but I think it would be better to look for ANY other type of job rather than becoming a professional assistant.
Don't do it.
You'll never get out of secretaridom and there isn't enough money in the world to pay for a shrivelled soul.
If you want out - go WAY out. Do something ELSE.
I know one such assistant who hangs out with one or two similar people and I can say this - they have no self-esteem left. They can never make a decision, are quite unreliable and ask everyone around why they can't hold a relationship. I think they lose IQ points for every month they're in that job...
Sitting through the movie just because you've paid for the ticket is only ridiculous if you've got something better to do.
thats why you jump theaters when no one is looking.....
If you truly have a top ten education, then you can surely think of something to make money with beyond fetching coffee or being called an associate and getting crap pay. It's all about the choices you make and if you choose to remain inside your comfortable little box of assisting, then that is exactly where you belong. If it were me, I'd go out on a limb and make something incredible up for my resume, toss on some very comfortable heels, and hit the streets looking for a job outside of my knowledge base. If you don't know the material, BS it. I can tell you from experience that it works quite well.
hahaha. I knew you had to have a top ten education.
Don't settle for being an admin, though I personally admit to having considered becoming a banking admin in light of the fact that they can easily make $80K and beyond.
Start your own business. Or start a family. Or travel to Katmandu, or at least Oregon (and points between). Don't stay another day in a job you hate.
Being in a job you hate does allow you some freedom however. The same sort of freedom that you have when you drive a shitbox 12 year old car...nobody can do anything to it to lessen its value any farther. "Go ahead...TRY and cut me off!"
Similarly, you can attempt to do some changes to your circumstance. Whats the worst think you can do if you demand a promotion or a pay raise? Fire you? Not likely! Such a move WOULD clear the air, and give you LOTS of blogging ammunition!
Besided, once in a while it works! A friend of mine got her pay doubled when she found the cajones to stand up and tell them that she deserved better! They were just waiting for her to ask!
As you grow older you will note that very few jobs really require a college education.
Big number one. Assistants do not "fetch" coffee any more, run personal errands or pick up the bosses laundry.
Number Two-with the advent of the computer, those assistant positions that are available are given to well educated, socially, politically savvy and technically trained people who can support, assist, train and guide those in their department and company.
Number Three-They have the ear of the top directors and executives and can be responsible for the success of a person's career path.
Frankly, I am amazed at the attitude all of you have toward assistants, secretaries, etc. I do not hope that you all have the general attitude toward your assistants at work that you have here. If your companies are hiring idiots for assistants, then maybe they are doing the same at the management level.
A good assistant can perform her job at a superior level and still leave her boss twisting in the wind if that boss is disrespectful.
Any dollar earned honestly is nothing to be ashamed of. Consider this your first educational lesson in life. College only guarantees a degree, not the knowledge in your head or the gumption to at least try for the job you want. But most importantly, college does not guarantee a job in the field that you studied for.
I don't know anyone ever put it any better than that, CB.
Follow your gut instincts... the rest will fall into place.
Ask yourself, what made you take this job in the first place? What did you think it would lead toward?
When I get bored at work, I try to think of new things to do. Then I suggest them to my boss. Then eventually my plate gets full of cool things because I had the gumption to think them up and do them.
Before you quit your job, why don't you poke around your company to see if there are some cool things that you could do around there that no one else is doing. Pretty soon you could be heading your own projects, your own department, with raises, promotions - ok, maybe I'm just dreaming but sitting around and waiting for it to fall in your lap could leave you sitting around doing nothing for a long time.
Just my 2 cents. Your blog is awesome by the way. I clicked a google ad for ya. :)
I completely agree with Old Lady.
I agree with Old Lady too. And just think, maybe an assistant job is what you need to get in the door of a kick-ass company and you can actually move up from there (due to your degree). I'm just sayin' is all...
My solution for your dilema was always a move within the company or out of it to a new one. From what I know from being a loyal reader, that's exactly what you need. You won't achieve an upward move under the same boss in the same department. My $.02.
CB, sounds to me like you just need a change. Either within your current company or somewhere new. Screw the degree. Degrees get you in the door and fulfill the job description requirements in HR files these days. Even top flight secretarial support needs one these days.
Don't stay at a job you hate or that sucks the life out of you. Find something you enjoy doing, whatever that may be. Most importantly, though, find an employer and a boss that you respect. Your boss can make all the difference in the world. Work for someone you respect and admire and chances are good that it will flow both ways and you'll get what you need out of your job, including the dough, the kudos and the satisfaction.
Old Lady: while I don't doubt that there is some truth to your comment, you should know that:
1. There ARE still assistants who fetch coffee/dry cleaning/etc. I know because I used to sit next to one (and there are definitely more at my firm). Oh, and she BARELY knows how to use a computer, but will support her boss until her deathbed I'm sure. Her doglike loyalty apparently makes up for her intense lack of skills.
2. While there are occasionally opportunities to rise above the generic role of assistant, I imagine it depends on the industry. I worked as an assistant in an investment bank for several years and even though I got more responsibilities than most assistants, at the end of the day my job was still purely admininistrative, not at all creative and ultimately a huge dead-end.
Thankfully, I'm no longer working as an assistant...
WHY MEN AREN'T SECRETARIES...
Husband's note on refrigerator for wife:
Someone from the Gyna Colleges called.
They said the Pabst beer is normal.
I didn't know you liked beer.
aubergine-was that the color of the foot ball uniforms? From Steel Magnolias? You are correct. I started out as an assistant-changed careers a couple of times, and have come back to being an assistant.
Office politics can be cruel, but the general tendency to belittle and denigrate an assistant or any associate as being less intelligent or even less of a human being, or that their job is easy is an incorrect assumption.
Only men used to be Secretaries and Administrative Assistants. This is a job that has slowly been taken over by women and I find it quite interesting that men respect is less.
you velly funny woman
Post a Comment