great. so now the lab manager wants to meet with me. :-(

[magical thyme]

I have no desire to meet with her. I really would prefer not to see any of them again.

I got an email a week ago Monday from the scheduler asking about October. I wrote back that my understanding is no per diems are to be scheduled until both techs retire at the end of the year. I didn't hear back from her.

But I found the email very upsetting and was sick within a day. So upsetting that I set up a filter to send their emails direct to "archive." Have not been right until this morning.

And then I felt the urge just now to check the "archives" but couldn't find them. So checked "all emails" and there it was, dated yesterday.

I'd rather go work at the animal shelter. I put in an application 2 weeks ago and then called back last Friday to check in and was told the shelter manager it out for a few weeks on medical leave.

I'm just now finally settling in to being out of work, just starting to feel motivated, just starting to get a routine down.

BLeahhhhh....

[Baitball Blogger]

1. Are you expecting a pink slip?

Sometimes these things can turn into an opportunity. Maybe they're trying to figure out if there is something else you would like to do within the company. Be positive.

[magical thyme]

2. I'm per diem there and was regularly schedule for 4 years until last month.

I expected to be busy through December, as usual. Maybe busier because 2 techs are retiring in the Nov/Dec time frame. I was at the urgent care lab on a Saturday, checked the schedule and discovered I was not on the Sept schedule at all.

THe next Wednesday, at the hospital, the lab manager told me they just hired 2 techs, so are "overhired." Therefore, no per diems until both techs retire -- 3 to 4 months with no income for me.

She told me she didn't want me to think they don't appreciate me. She just forgot to call and let me know. Like we hadn't been face2face just the week before. I call that adding insult to injury.

I also took it to mean I'm out for good since 4 months out of the lab is a long time to get rusty. Especially since they're about to change IT systems and I have zero training on the new one.

[Baitball Blogger]

3. Can retraining change the situation for you?

Sucks. I know you're very talented. I hope they see it too.

[magical thyme]

4. I re-trained to become a lab tech. As a result, I was financial ruined.

Government statistics said 14% annual growth for the foreseeable future.
The State university said 100% employment for its graduates.
Local hospital HR gave a false salary range to me, and a year later to a classmate.

As a result I took on student loans that I expected to be able to pay back. Now I am in the income-based repayment program and my loans have grown 24% in 4 years because I can't earn enough to pay the interest, never mind the loans. When I'm 83 years old, assuming some centrist or rightwinger doesn't turn off the program and put me into the street before then, the loans will be forgiven and, unless I'm fully disabled, I will owe taxes on the gigantic forgiven amount. I anticipate a complete economic collapse before that time and that is what I'm planning for now.

The reality is the field is shrinking, not growing, due to increasing automation, increasing numbers of simplified "waived" tests (like pregnancy tests on a card), and hospital and lab chain mergers.

At our graduation "celebration" we discovered that half the class hadn't even been able to get interviews. The program head's boss sweated bullets while he told us to just "hang in there for 5 years...you should see the numbers." The young woman sitting next to me was fighting back tears when she turned to me and said, "I don't understand. These are all p/t jobs. They told us there was 100% employment." I had to tell her that they'd lied to us.

I was one of the lucky few who got p/t, per diem employment. The pay was 75% of what I'd been led to expect. I've had 2 raises since then and have yet to make what I thought was the starting salary. There isn't even a "per diem differential." I had to go back to my old job at a lower salary than I'd been making when I left to finish the clinical training.

I ran my ass into the ground, and caused my horse's injury that ultimately led to his death, going to school and working p/t. Halfway through the program I discovered that a large chunk of the class was going for *free.* One set of students were from a mill layoff. Their unions paid them full salaries to go to school and the state paid their tuition, books and fees. Another set were immigrants from Somalia who barely spoke English. Twice, once in school and the 2nd time when I realized I couldn't even begin to make the 1st loan payment, I nearly committed suicide.

The rest of us were robbed, run into the ground and fucking ruined. I'm one of the few in my 50s (at the time) who didn't lose my home.

I will never, ever, ever believe the fucking "re-training" bull-fucking-shit again.

I start social security early in December. I do NOT want to work with those labrats again.

[Baitball Blogger]

5. I agree. Retraining is a red herring.

The universities get all the money and the students gets screwed. We desperately need a Democratic president in the executive office for another two terms to fix the financial damage that Republican and neo-liberal policies have caused us.

[riderinthestorm]

6. Although I've heard your story before, it's still immeasurably sad

So so very sorry it's been this way.

I truly hope 2016 is an easier, more hopeful, more prosperous time.