So Meika might just prove useful after all...

She got an email on Friday afternoon from another employee who needs a job backfilled after the old employee got a promotion. She was asked if she knew anybody with UNIX and database experience, and she thought of me and two of the guys in our group. The other two guys both have MUCH more UNIX experience than I do, but neither of them have much database experience. Of course, when I was in college, as a Management Information Systems (MIS) major and Information Systems minor, I had oh, about seven courses, all told, on databases. I've done everything from data analysis, database concepts, design, the actual construction, administration, etc, and on both Microsoft and Linux/UNIX based platforms. I keep multiple copies of my resume, so I got one together, quick-like, and got it to her. Hopefully I'll meet the necessary qualifications. With that said, a little about my current job...

I am a UNIX administrator, and while I love my job, I can't stand the part of LM that I work for. See, LM has six different divisions, which all act as semi-autonomous companies. They all have separate finance, accounting, procurement, staffing, and IT departments, along with their own vice-presidents. So, we've got Maritime Systems and Sensors (MS2), Space, Aviation, Information Technology, Finance, and Technology Services. I work for Tech Services, which is basically the "red-headed stepchild" of LM, because of the fact that we're not a profit center. Our "company" serves a support role for the rest of LM, and we bid for work from them. So, if you follow logic, we are merely an income redistribution scheme from LM, and although we do have SOME outside companies that we support, we support mainly LM proper. What does this mean? Well, our salaries are about 15-20% lower, we get less vacation time, we have shittier benefits, our pay grade structures suck, our raises don't even approach half of the annual inflation rate. We're overutilized, overleveraged, underpaid, understaffed, and of course, overworked. My group is currently two people short of fully-staffed, and has been for like three years.

So, while I love my job and what I do, I can't wait to get out of it, get over to MS2, start making some bucks, and get my name out there. While you're in Tech Services, and especially in the building I'm in, you're pretty much under the radar. While some people like this, I can't stand it, because I like to see good jobs, whether I did them or not, go appreciated and recognized. Over here, none of the management sees what you do, and you could be putting 60 hours in per week, which I was close to for a few weeks, but all they see if your pay stub, when they approve your overtime.