Sorry for clogging up your Friends Lists with nothing but my Job Saga for days, guys. It just keeps going on and on. o_0

After much agonizing and talking the ear off anyone who would listen, I decided to still turn down my current boss’ offer.

I wanted that money. I wanted it badly. But I’ve grown fond of my sanity, and need to keep it. I’m tired of being hurt and angry and frustrated all the time.

The upshot of Friday was that my boss has accepted that I’m leaving, but she’s offered me a position as a Consultant. I don’t have anything in writing, so I haven’t agreed to anything yet, but basically what this entails is showing up a couple times a month (on the weekend, since my new job is M-F) to help make our flagship media. That way, I can train the new person, and they can still have the same person who has always overseen the production of it (me) continue to oversee the production of it for a few more months.

While I would prefer to make a clean break, I do understand that me leaving kinda puts them on the spot, and this lets me help with the transition and earn get some of the money they apparently want to give me so badly.

My boss asked me to figure out what my time is worth (in $ per day). o_0 WTF? I’ve never done this before, how the heck would I know what’s appropriate?
I Googled “Scientific Consultant fees”, but mostly came across big consulting firms, or full-time consultants who charge $900/day just to show up.

I’m thinking of taking the salary numbers they thrust at me as a counter-offer, and dividing those up into a per-day rate. I figure if they were willing to offer it to me in the first place, they may as well pay it to have me do this. That gives me $230/day on the low end, $307/day on the high end. I was thinking of going for $250/day.
Does that sound like it’s in the realm of “realistic”?

At the moment, I’m assuming they want me for 2 days a month. If they want me for more, like 4 or 5 days, I’ll probably ask for a lot more per day, since they would use up most of my weekend time, and if I’m going to be working 6 or 7 days a week, it’s a pain in my ass and is worth more money to me.

I’d love thoughts and suggestions. I’m still sort of boggled by the past few days.

How do you leave your job when your boss doesn’t want to let you? And throws more money than you’ve ever seen at you to get you to stay?

I still want to go. I want to say yes and take the money and pay off all my debt (sans mortgage) in a year and a half, but the environment was killing my spirit and making me depressed and angry all the time. I feel like shit for wanting the money, and I feel like shit for turning the place on it’s ear to replace me. I feel like shit for wanting to turn down the money, because yes, I am greedy and I want to be out of debt so badly it hurts.

How do I say so without sounding like a retard for turning down my current boss’ offer, and in a way that she’ll actually listen to? Nothing I said today seemed to make her think I would turn down her offer and leave. Despite saying things like “At this time, I want to move my career in [other job]’s direction”. “I don’t think there’s anything you can change to get me to stay.”, etc. She wouldn’t even let the meeting end until I agreed to at least discuss it with Josh.

I never in my life expected such an… almost violent counter-offer. I’m very bad at that sort of meeting, apparently. 🙁

(I can bring the counter-offer to the attention of my new boss – but she’s away of course, and even then the new position is unionized, so I doubt there’s any wiggle room in the salary or anything because it’s all under contract)

I have a new job!

Comparable salary to what I make now, better benefits, a pension plan (cool), a shiny new lab, and a boss who does science. ^_^

Now all I have to do is quit my current job. I’ve never done that before, so I’m really nervous. o_0
Suggestions appreciated. (I’m going for the “don’t burn bridges” approach ^_~ )

I got a message on my answering machine today.

It was the interviewer (boss) from the job I interviewed for last week.

She wants to meet with me to discuss offering me the job! Exact words (pronouns changed, of course). ^_^

So. Very happy, I am.

I’m trying to wait until the job has actually been offered to me before I get too excited or celebrate, but it’s hard.

SQUEEEEEEE!!!!!

I just got back from my interview! I feel that it went very well, and I am pleased. ^_^

The job itself sounds fascinating, which is always a plus. The interviewer (my potential boss) seemed super nice and as a bonus, she actually works in the lab and understands the methods and processes. This would be such a huge improvement for me it’s not even funny.

She liked my blue hair, though I did make sure to tell them I’d happily dye it a natural colour to comply with any dress code regulations, though she said I could dye it any colour I liked if I worked there because it’s more fun and she doesn’t have rules about that. ^_^

The awesome part was, when I gave her my reference list and letter of recommendation*, she glanced at the name on the letter and said she knows the lady that wrote it!! Then we had a “small world!” moment and everyone was happy. ^_^

I will also hear back next week if I get it or not. I’m quite impressed that she’ll actually contact the people who don’t get the job, because I think that’s a very nice thing to do (and also a great opportunity to get some interview feedback!).

Please cross your fingers for me!!

* = I give both because I think the letter sounds very good, and also because the awesome boss that wrote that letter for me is no longer on my reference list because the plant closed down in 2004 and I haven’t been able to contact her since then. Not that I haven’t been trying.

I spent yesterday afternoon searching through Guelph for an appropriate interview suit. Apparently, Guelph doesn’t have any.

We went to a zillion stores, and while one sales clerk in one of the stores was incredibly helpful (especially because he explained how to read European sizes, and then spent a while going through the entire store with us helping us look and giving advice), we only found 2 suits that actually had pants the same size as the jacket. Everything else had all the pants bought without jackets, and of course all the 6s were gone, leaving my options as a nice fitting jacket with either too-large or too-small pants. Since I’m looking for a suit and not just a blazer and pants, I can’t just pick a fitting jacket and wear my only pair of black wool pants or something.

Today I’m going to try the mall in Kitchener and see if I have better luck there. I really hope so. I can pretty much count on needing to get the pants hemmed by about 5 or so inches, so I’d like to find something suitable (see what I did there?) tonight so I have time to get that done as well.