Gainful Employment

I got me a j-o-b. Today I accepted a position with a college here in the Dallas area, and am quite excited by it. No billable hours, no partners, but sadly, no bonuses. I have been trying to decide between three positions that are so different from each other, it was like vetting the benefits of getting a new cat, an iguana, and a chicken. Each has its benefits, but at the end of the day you'd rather cuddle up with a cat, even if you'd really rather have a dog, because while they're not as exotic as an iguana, and not as economically beneficial as a chicken, they're comfortable and they're independent. This job also offers teaching potential and free tuition for any classes I, or any of my dependents, might want to take. Yay more education! And the hours, oh the hours. One of the positions I was looking at (the chicken) required me to be present in an office 2500 hours per year at a minimum. Another position (the iguana) would require travel, possibly to handle a trial in Guam, but featured some not so great benefits, like an emotionally draining boss who essentially told me at our first interview that he didn't know what the point would be in hiring me, he knew I would leave him. The cat position, on the other hand, requires that I be in the office about 2000 hours per year and there are no billable hours. Sweet! Plus there are good benefits, like great healthcare and retirement, a beautiful office, and great coworkers (the person in charge of the office looks like Jenna Elfman in 15 years -- love that!). The commute is longer than I'd prefer, but it's a small price to pay. The flexibility of this job, and my new laid back boss, make it great for making babies, especially as Dallas is going to take a very hours intensive job starting in late August. My first quasi-day is Friday, as I want to get settled into my new office, and I start for real for real on Monday. Yay!

Comments

[rebka]

yay!!! i am so happy for you. i'm sure the cat position will be purrfect! (sorry--couldn't resist).

[new Blue Shoe]

For what it's worth, the iguana and the chicken taste very similar, but only one of them would have made people turn up their noses in disgust. I think you made a good choice--what you did allows you to be happy at home.

[Enigmatic Female]

Yes, definitely the goal of being happy at home was at the top of the list of priorities. Dallas does not benefit when I am unhappy and has repeatedly assured me that it would be fine to pick a job based solely on how happy I will be doing it. Going to the office today was awesome, as every single person there told me how happy they were I accepted the position and how much they were looking forward to working with me on Monday. I feel loved and needed, and there's no better feeling than that for me.

[Enigmatic Female]

And did I mention that I get 38 days of paid leave this year? Yeah. It rocks. I get spring break!