• We’re currently investigating an issue related to the forum theme and styling that is impacting page layout and visual formatting. The problem has been identified, and we are actively working on a resolution. There is no impact to user data or functionality, this is strictly a front-end display issue. We’ll post an update once the fix has been deployed. Thanks for your patience while we get this sorted.

Not sure how much longer I can keep this up

Fritzo

Fritzo

Lifer
My position at my job right now is based around the fact that over the last 10 years, I have a reputation as a miracle worker. Everyone here thinks I'm some super genus that can fix anything, learn a new skill in 5 minutes, and pull out a gadget for any situation.

I used to like it, but as I get older, I realize that nearly every past accomplishment was pulled off by the skin of my teeth and sometimes sheer luck. It's getting harder and harder to live up to my reputation...and I think the stress is affecting my health.

So, as my final "miracle" project, I'm going to try to manipulate things around the company to produce a new "Technical Director" position, where I basically do what I'm doing now, but I get to create projects and make my own due dates. I'm almost certain I can pull this off, but I won't know for sure until my evaluation this October.

Anyone else the "go-to" guy at their job? Are you in the "this is great!" stage or the "I can't take this anymore" stage?
 
I'm *sort* of like that. I came in and automated a few things and worked 80-hour weeks to get some stuff out. It's great and all, but now I hear things like "Well, you got the last project done in a month, you can get this one done in a month too, right?"

Sure, if I put in a bunch of 16 hour days. Of course, I'm not the only one. Once any company finds out who is good at their job and willing to put in overtime, they'll just give them more to do until they quit.
 
It was sort of like that at my old job at the pizza shop, but sort of the opposite. When things broke, I'd do whatever I could to get them back up and running & leave a note about what part needed to be ordered. It took years before my boss figured out that really, I knew what I was doing. He'd call in someone at much greater expense to do the final repairs to things I had temporarily mended. A diaphragm tore on a solenoid valve on an ice maker. I temporarily got it working with a piece of latex from a glove. "Expert" was called in to replace the diaphragm. He gripped the solenoid part with channel lock pliers, crushing it enough to stop it from functioning. Ice maker ceased making ice after 1 batch as a result. I trouble-shot it again, and did what I could to get that solenoid working again, but wasn't believed when I said I found the problem. "If you're such an expert, why are you here instead of working for <...> company."

I finally "won" when the oven repair expert company was called out of Buffalo - a 1 1/2 hour trip each way for the repairman (and billed.) I had been assigned incredibly simple repairs on it before - replacing a switch that had a burnt out bulb in it. And, after the knob to adjust the temperature was accidentally broken, the boss thought it was another really easy repair. It was a major pita since I had to take half the oven apart to get the new thermocouple in place - this is on a big pizza oven with air impinging. 6 months later or so, the main controller on the oven went. I had used the same manual a repairman would have used to diagnose the problem correctly. But, since it involved almost 8 wires, the boss considered it to be something to call in the "expert" to take care of. Enter that repairman, for about the 3rd time in as many years. "Wait a second - one of your employees replaced the thermostat? Are you fucking kidding me? What'd you call me in here for to replace this part? If he can replace the thermostat, he can replace anything on this oven, especially since he had to remove half the stuff to do so."

So, I sort of "won" - I was called in any time something broke, because I was a hell of a lot cheaper than the repairman. But, I had the employees pay me with free dinner rather than pay me for my time.
 
Originally posted by: moshquerade
so... you're what we call a gopher? 😉
Click to expand...

I'm longing for those days 🙂 I work for a Dilbert company, and they'll do things like "OK, we signed a huge contract to supply the customer with a e-commerce sight that is tied into their sales system. Now, who here knows how to do this? Nobody? OK, give it to Fritzo to figure out by next week."

Our company is based around selling services we don't know how to provide 😀
 
Originally posted by: Fritzo
Originally posted by: skywhr
Originally posted by: Fritzo
Everyone here thinks I'm some super genus
Click to expand...

They were wrong.....
Click to expand...

I put that in there on purpose to see how long it would take for an ass to point it out. "That's my story and I'm stickin to it!"
Click to expand...

fixed for ya...😀

I've held sort of similar jobs before. Kind of the "jack of all trades" guy on a job. Assigned to no one job, but able to do any of them that need doing whenever they need doing.
While it was sometimes a PITA to bounce around from barge to barge, to the laydown yard, the receiving dock, and from boat to boat, the variety was usually nice, and it kept a wide variety of job skills tuned up, AND learned a few new ones along the way.
 
In my firm I am not only a paralegal, but I am the IT department. Everyone calls me for every little thing from a paper jam to Amicus problems to the server crashing. Every time the boss wants a new video put on the website, graphics designed, his kids' computer searched for porn and chats, etc., I am the one. Blackberries, laptops, home networks, email, little web projects he starts on the side, I am the one who has to do all that stuff - in addtion to my paralegal duties that are not supposed to suffer. It's a never-ending struggle to balance my stated job duties with all the extra crap.

They are definitely taking advantage but I've only been here 2 1/2 years so far so I'm just now getting to the point where I feel I've reaped all the benefits I am going to get out of the hands-on experience and it's just a big PITA now. Just a couple months ago our antiquated servers started having serious problems and I finally took a stand a little bit. I told them that I would not touch the server at all anymore. I am not going to be responsible for that. They don't pay me for it and not having enough experience in a domain environment, I could easily do more harm than good. They finally put an IT company on retainer for me to bring in for server and domain issues.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

TRENDING THREADS

Back
Top