Antiwork 2: No One Is Getting A Pay Raise

Wes Cecil is a wonderful lecturer on humanist themes. I have never seen him do something so politically adjacent. Excellent work and something every young worker should watch and bear in mind.

tldr:

1. Capitalism strip mines culture just like any other scarce resource.
2. Culture includes personal values like hard work, group effort, and not whining.
3. As capitalism exploits those values to get maximal value from its workers, those values erode and the workers are exhausted.
4. Then capitalism moves on, leaving the wreckage, paying no externality fee.
5. And, needless to say, capitalism is not itself bound by such values, because it is understood that the iron laws of the market are all that operate for it.

The analogy for capitalism I would use is a strong acid. Strong acids have their place -- they are not by definition good or bad, they merely have uses and dangers based on context. So we control them and are very careful about not getting any on us.

So I applied to a job, not because I want it, but because I don't want the other internal candidate to be the only viable option. Also, after reading the job description I believed myself to be more than qualified for it, and other co-workers encouraged me stating they'd rather I get it than the other guy. Well, I didn't even get an interview and the guy I don't respect got the job, and now I'm expected to report to a person that I think is an idiot. *sigh* This is going to be challenging

Ugh. Sorry to hear that wT.



I have my own conundrum. These last few years, I've been slowly adding to my resume with my team of co-workers and have gone from a construction inspector, to materials training, unofficial assistant resident engineer, senior inspector, and recently materials coordinator. All working my way towards being a resident engineer (while kicking and screaming and without a PE).

Then, this spring, our team changed. Two people quit, including the RE for our first big win with the company we joined in 2022. My company scrambled and pulled a former teammate from design back into the field to help, but had to use our subconsultant as the RE for the project (the agency we're working for understood the crunch, but said since we're the prime, we need to be the RE).

Now that we're in the fall slowdown, the agency has asked if my company has someone they want ro hire. Which we do, but the agency, two separate engineers, have requested that I take over as the RE. Both have expressed they feel I am ready for the jump and they wouldn't let me fail. They have seen what I've done on the project so far and feel comfortable to tell the agency and my company they request me as the RE. The subconsultant RE has also said he feels I'm ready and would always answer my phone calls if I ran into a jam.

They're not the first as there have been a half dozen to a dozen well respected engineers and clients I've worked with for the last six years that have expressed that I would be a great RE, but the imposter syndrome is very strong.

I'm not getting younger, and if I don't take the plunge, my career sort of hits a stopping point very quickly as I'll be priced out. I think I need to face my fears and take this next step.

aparch said:

Ugh. Sorry to hear that wT.



I have my own conundrum. These last few years, I've been slowly adding to my resume with my team of co-workers and have gone from a construction inspector, to materials training, unofficial assistant resident engineer, senior inspector, and recently materials coordinator. All working my way towards being a resident engineer (while kicking and screaming and without a PE).

Then, this spring, our team changed. Two people quit, including the RE for our first big win with the company we joined in 2022. My company scrambled and pulled a former teammate from design back into the field to help, but had to use our subconsultant as the RE for the project (the agency we're working for understood the crunch, but said since we're the prime, we need to be the RE).

Now that we're in the fall slowdown, the agency has asked if my company has someone they want ro hire. Which we do, but the agency, two separate engineers, have requested that I take over as the RE. Both have expressed they feel I am ready for the jump and they wouldn't let me fail. They have seen what I've done on the project so far and feel comfortable to tell the agency and my company they request me as the RE. The subconsultant RE has also said he feels I'm ready and would always answer my phone calls if I ran into a jam.

They're not the first as there have been a half dozen to a dozen well respected engineers and clients I've worked with for the last six years that have expressed that I would be a great RE, but the imposter syndrome is very strong.

I'm not getting younger, and if I don't take the plunge, my career sort of hits a stopping point very quickly as I'll be priced out. I think I need to face my fears and take this next step.

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When others are saying you're fit, you're fit.

Take the plunge. Butterflies are good. They keep you honest.

This is why I think everyone should be required by law to work at least two years of customer facing jobs. Retail, fast food, etc.

dxmnkd316 said:

This is why I think everyone should be required by law to work at least two years of customer facing jobs. Retail, fast food, etc.

Click to expand...

I've worked at Planet Fitness for roughly 1 year. Started there after a girl ripped handfuls of my hair out in residential.

$13.50/hour isn't enough to be screamed at because some jerks think "because I didn't use the gym, I don't have to pay."

I don't know where our members got the audacity from today, but they need to put it back.

Let me know if you guys think I have a right to be annoyed as I am. Or rather as I was, as this happened last Wednesday.

One of my teammates (G) was the point person/lead on this very large, high profile event - live and in person with the President/CEO and the entire leadership team, but also streamed company wide. One of my other teammates (S) was helping (second lead if you will) her out with logistics, etc. I helped out S, providing her with my wealth of info on managing onsite events for which she was very grateful. I also offered to help out day of for set up and also for the social hour after the high profile event itself ended. Event was 3:00-4:30, social hour was 4:30-6:30, though they're usually over by 6:00.

So, I'm manning the welcome table for the social hour. G and S are talking to a few other members of the team, not really doing anything. About 5:50, G runs by the table and says to me "I'll be back in a few minutes!!" and heads down the escalator to event site. S also did that, along with whoever they were chatting with. I figured she had to run down to chat with the production company staff as they were taking stuff down, packing up. Around 6:10, the social hour is ending. G and S nowhere to be found. I didn't just want to leave. Ran down the escalator, didn't see them. So, now it's up to me to shut down and pack up and event that isn't even mine. I'm annoyed because "I'll be back in a few minutes" to me means maybe 5-10 minutes. I had to pull up tablecloths, track down sign holders, prizes, trophies, clipboards, among other things. I went back up to my floor to get a my little flatbed to lug stuff, had to make three trips, locked all in my closet because no one was around to tell where stuff needed to go, did the internal stakeholder need anything, etc. mostly because I wasn't planning on being in the office till tomorrow.

After my third trip storing stuff, I grab my phone to text G to ask her "Where the f*ck did you disappear to?" (well, not in those exact words) My assumption was the internal stakeholder wanted to get the team together for a celebratory drink in the office, which sure. Well deserved! It went well. I check my phone a little after 6:30, finally see a message from G "Be back shortly for clean up." Huh? Shortly? You said you would be back in a few minutes!!! Anyway, I text her back it's all done and I left her clipboard on the welcome table and then I went home. Radio silence for another 45 minutes then get another text from G with a big thank you and you're a rockstar blah blah blah. No "I'm sorry - we all got together, went a little longer but thank you to taking care of clean up" etc. I did not trust myself to respond Wednesday night. Like, was she expecting me to just be sitting there till they came back? I don't mind helping out but if she had said "The event team is going to have a little celebratory thing - are you OK here? Do you need anything? I should be back in a half hour/hour" I would have asked her a couple of quick questions and said go have fun. But I had no idea where they were, what they were doing or when they were coming back.

Thursday I see an Instagram story from S that they went to a bar for a drink, Again, I do not begrudge them toasting to their success. I'm just annoyed that they basically left me there with no instructions, etc. and left the building to do so. I did tell S I was annoyed with the two of them on a call Thursday afternoon and only S showed up. She was super apologetic. Not sure if she told G or not.

As the subreddit goes you are NTA and you have every right to be annoyed/pissed/flabbergasted.

Yes, you have the right to be annoyed.