Anxiety!!!

[SilverLady(SO)]

Yet. in my company, we are desperately short handed. At the same time there is a no overtime policy. The resulting bizarre situation forces us to lie about the fact that we are working overtime to keep from losing customers.

Continuing to work overtime - which is adverse to your company's policy as well as against all labor laws - is a definite no-no. Not only can that result in you (or your co-workers) being terminated for violating company policy, if the labor department gets involved then your company may be required to back-pay everyone for their unauthorized overtime hours and/or be fined by the labor department, and that alone could result in the employee being terminated.

So, how well do you like that paycheck you're receiving for the hours you have actually worked, and do you want to keep receiving it?

My bet is that once everyone stops working unauthorized overtime - and believe me, your boss(es) do know about it but will claim ignorance to protect themselves - then management will be forced to hire new employees or, at the mininum, start paying overtime. Money talks and BS walks, especially if it's the customers that will start to walk due to lack of (paid) manhours to service their needs.


- SL

[Absaroka]

Oh SL you are so idealistic. My experience has always been that when you don't put in the unpaid overtime you get canned for not getting your work done, and they hire someone else who will put up with it. The rationalization of course being if you were competent you could get the work done in the alloted time. And no one goes to the law because that's a good way never to get hired again anywhere, or at least that is the perception.

That was just with hourly employees. It's much worse for salaried employees, who are supposed to be above such things and happy to put in unpaid time as a sign of their devotion to both the work and the company.

Kimberly I'd agree with you in many ways. The truth is that if nobody works, then nothing gets done. Originally work was guarding the cave and catching food, then it was tilling the land, building the home, and defending everything. As we became more organized work became subdivided still further, leading to folks who only heal the sick, folks who only fix the plumbing, and folks who only do the paperwork for this sort of thing. So yes work is what we do to eat, and what we do to avoid being parasites.

Unfortunately, as described in the first paragraph, the distribution of contribution and rewards is sometimes skewed. It probably always has been, as witness behavior in the animal kingdom such as which wolf eats when and how much in the pack. However we are supposed to be evolving beyond that rather than hewing to it as an ideal.

Personally I consider myself extremely fortunate to have found a profession that I enjoy that pays well. Many people have not been so blessed, and although I have worked hard at my profession I haven't worked nearly as hard as the guy that picked the fruits and vegetables I eat. As to how much of a contribution I make to society, it's probably less than that guy I just mentioned who harvested my food. I really don't see how designing McMansions is contributing anything at all besides participating in the economy. But that can be said about a great deal of what we do to keep the economy going, so I don't worry about it a whole lot, and I figure that folks enjoy inhabiting the buildings I design. If all of what we all do is at the level of growing food humanity would be far poorer in every way. After all we didn't really need to put someone on the moon either, but humanity would not be humanity if we didn't try.

[Kimberly Kael]

Oh SL you are so idealistic. My experience has always been that when you don't put in the unpaid overtime you get canned for not getting your work done, and they hire someone else who will put up with it.

While it's true that it does get abused like this in some organizations, especially often when applicants far outnumber the available jobs, in practice some of the best places I've ever worked also involved a lot of unpaid overtime. In a job where I'm well paid to achieve something the number of hours isn't what I'm focused on – it's the task at hand. If I estimated I could do something in two weeks then I feel a certain obligation to live up to my word. Good managers understood that when crunch time came you put in extra hours, but that it was balanced by times of relative quiet when entire teams took 3-hour lunches, or a group would decide to go to the beach on an impromptu field trip. So long as there's some give and take it seems reasonable to work harder when there's something that really needs to get done.

This makes sense in part because for a lot of jobs people aren't interchangeable. You can't always hire twice as many people to get twice as much done, and in fact I've seen cases where twice as many people can only get half as much done because of the coordination overhead! The best teams I've ever been on were small, nimble, and pulled together when it mattered. The trick is to make sure that you respect who you're working for, and that can be difficult when there's an imbalance of power.

Unfortunately, as described in the first paragraph, the distribution of contribution and rewards is sometimes skewed. It probably always has been, as witness behavior in the animal kingdom such as which wolf eats when and how much in the pack. However we are supposed to be evolving beyond that rather than hewing to it as an ideal.

There is no perfect measure of value, it's true. The nature of a fungible currency is the best system we've come up with and it's still far from ideal. I do think it's clear we have moved beyond pure survival of the fittest, though. Welfare, pensions, and national health care are common enough in societies around the world that it's clear we understand there are issues and are trying to address them.

I think the worst problem we have right now is the outsized influence successful people have. There's some wisdom in allowing those who have created value by other people's measure to decide in turn what has value to them, but the effects can also be stifling and disproportionate. Being a stellar salesperson doesn't make you a medical expert, but the potential is there to exert your influence on the healthcare system. Anyone who thinks the solution is easy has never been in a position where they've been responsible for building consensus and instituting these kinds of changes. People are unpredictable, and the law of unintended consequences lives up to its name.

[April Rose]

I thought about replying to this, but I never came up with anything I really wanted to say. I've got about three more years to full retirement, at which point, I will take a lump sum. I've dealt with My company's HR department long enough to understand clearly that they work for upper management, not for me. I've survived 20 years of this stinking swamp, so I'm not too worried about the last 3. Beyond that, the balance of power in this country has gone too far away from working people. the latest J. P. Morgan debacle is just another example of this.

[Paulette]

Anxiety is the natural/normal state today.

Paul Goodman (Empire City, Growing Up Absurd, Communitas) felt that worthwhile work was becoming harder to find, and being honorably poor was something society no longer allowed. And this was in the '50s. Today, it's worse.

"I think the worst problem we have right now is the outsized influence successful people have. There's some wisdom in allowing those who have created value by other people's measure to decide in turn what has value to them, but the effects can also be stifling and disproportionate."

Depends on how one defines "successful" and "value." So long as both are based on money, the well-heeled will always have the most influence.

Not a solution to economic woes, but Beth and I have found Lithium Orotate (and only orotate) to be quite useful.

[Dolores(GG)]

I have been gone for a bit but it was nice to see all the replies.

Volunteering sounds nice...but...where I wonder? I do have to get out there so to speak.

Anita asked what my goal was. I want to be a medical illustrator. I am an artist who went to school and got an Art degree AND did biology ontop of that. I am trying to get accepted to grad school. Meanwhile I would take ANYTHING in the design world. I just want a job where I can learn and work, make money...etc. I have applied to small sign making places along with the big guys. I freelance, but I haven't gotten many clients. Everyone is broke and no one wants to pay alot. I dont really blame anyone but me but it is hard to carry a business when I have not had the chance to work with others and learn how to price yourself so your not screwing anyone else over but also yourself.

I find myself in better spirits today but yesterday both my husband and my bank account hit zero. I cant even afford a jug of milk if I needed it today. I have tried to apply as a receptionist, anything. I guess I just have to keep trying. I dont want to whine, but this is the only place I feel like I can voice the fears in me.

[Anthony Simon]

Good to hear from you again Dolores. You're not whining. I guess that's the deal about this place, if you're a CD-related person you get to come here and talk about your problems.

You could always try volunteering for some medical-related charity and try and get yourself opportunities to do illustrations within that. Like just drawing patients for example. I know that's one element of medical illustration, but I'm not sure if that's the one you're going for. Like it seems quite a wide, if specialised field.

Sometimes I find that when things get really difficult, I can get less wound-up. Like it can just clarify the mind, a situation like that. Of course, underneath...

[Dolores(GG)]

@Anthony - I like coming here, it always cheers me up, if its to chat or just check out how everyone else is doing. It does help to vent a bit, especially on things I don't want discuss with people IRL.

Volunteering with a medical charity sounds nice. There is probably lots of that around here, and I want to learn more about medicine. Your right thought, it is a very wide field - with surprisingly low numbers of people working in it. There are only 2000 certified illustrators worldwide and everyone has their own speciality. Its hard to break into though....

I agree with your last sentence. I see it as....and not to be crass- but it *can't* get more screwed up than this so why panic!

Throughout everything I just try to remember that I am working on having a better life later. It just gets frustrating because it feels like it doesn't come but I know I am young and I should be patient. If it was easy, everyone would do it, no?

[Davita]

Sorry for the troubles, Dolores.

I haven't read everyone's posts but I think enough to know what's going on. You said you wanted to illustrate and was thinking of the medical field. I saw "biology".... What if you drew birds or other animals? Draw anything that has a complex structure that would show your skill? Also, do you have a website or some place else to post your work for others to see? Copyright laws apply to the Internet (just good luck trying to protect it). How about going to local craft shows and sell cards with your illustrations maybe team up with someone that does cards, but could use an artist?

Good luck. I hope your drought doesn't last much longer.

[Bernice]

They say misery loves company. For what it's worth, many of us are in similar positions in the job market. I went 19 months with no work at all starting May 2009. Even now, all I've done since then is temp jobs, though the one I'm in right now pays OK (except for no benefits at all) and may go for 12 or 16 months before I'm back on the streets.

Delores GG, in your case, I do think it would be worth your time to do some illustration - to create a portfolio - that proves you have the artistic talent that your target employers might need.

Though it certainly will not help pay the bills or buy a jug of milk, the key to finding a job in an economy as bad as ours - is to keep looking even and especially when everyone else has given up.

Hugs,

Bernice

[Anita]

Hi Dolores--

Anita asked what my goal was. I want to be a medical illustrator.

You may need to do some research to find out exactly where to apply for something specialized like this. For instance, I install and sand floors. There's a lot of skills that go into that, but one of the more specialized skills is painting lines on basketball courts. Only a small percentage of companies install gym floors. But a line painter would be highly sought after if a company does need them. The painter would probably advertise in specialty magazines, not in the usual job columns.

I'd think medical illustrating would be similar; limited jobs, but if you're qualified, you'd be sought after. Illustration in general has become a hard trade to make a living at, because software has made it possible for everyone to attempt to do their own projects. I have two acquaintances who used to be professional graphic artists. One is out of business completely, and the other one makes a fraction of what she used to make.

But medical illustration depends on anatomical and medical knowledge, not just an ability to use software. So it would seem like you have a better shot than the average person.

[Paulette]

If you and your spouse are financially secure, you might try doing the work you want to do, but for yourself. Create medical illustrations and put them up on your own web site. Or publish and distribute them as a zine. If you can find a way to offer something that is useful to others you may even be able to sell it. If not, you are at least doing what you want to do.

I've done this in education and toy making (http://www.foreworks.com, http://www.flamingsparrow.com) with enough success to keep me fed, housed and happy. I've also had my creative writing needs fulfilled by being the staff reviewer for a national sports magazine - at crap pay, but I got business cards! Fortunately, I merely have obsessions that I learn to monetarise. I don't have a calling.

I realize that I'm very, very lucky. Being a "success" is rarely a matter of simply wanting to do something badly enough and working hard, especially in the current economy.

I hope you realize that there are only a dozen medical illustrators who consistently get work. Everyone else gets temp job or occasional piece work. Apprenticing is a 20-year process, minimum.

My wife is a trained, degreed, and highly experienced graphic designer who has done some medical illustration. She's also done graphic production finishing for Apple (the last step before they go on Apple's web site) and designed all of the display and logotype for the opening of the San Jose Tech Museum and for Stanford's campus transportation system. But right now she can't find work near home either, so we may have to move far from silicon valley for her to get work.

We may wind up in Louisiana, living rent free in her retired parent's large and paid for house, where my now meager income is sufficient keeping us going while she tries to set up a design business and a studio in which to teach. That may even be the answer to our dreams, but we won't know until we try it.

You do what you gotta do and what you can do, and it's always a compromise with what you want to do.

That's not very hopeful or helpful, but it's what I've found to be true.

I wish you good luck.

[Dolores(GG)]

Paulette, your post is hard to read and sort of inspiring at the same time. It does take some wit to fully exploit ones opportunities and there is a price to do what you love. I am glad to hear that you have done well for yourself- and it is a balance- to be happy in your job and make money. I know the illustration gig is piecemeal, but it is a passion. I honestly cant imagine doing anything else.

[LisaK]

Dolores,
I cannot figure out your post. I apologize for my stupidity.
Where are you located ? What is your goal ? So maybe others can help. I am in hopes that with enough people really trying to help maybe you can get kick started toward your goal..
Respectfully-Lisak

[Dolores(GG)]

Lisa, I am an aspiring medical illustrator living in Illinois.