Whatta piece of work.

Recently I have had a lot of conversations based around employment, benefits, layoffs, budget cuts, and burnout. The more I talk about these things with people, the more thankful I am to have the job that I do.

Growing up, I always wanted to do something to help people. My dream would be to have an animal therapy program, using the human animal bond as therapy to people with disabilities, depression, or anxiety. I worked in healthcare for 6 years, and went to school for education. Every job I have had before my current position, has had some sort of customer/patient service involved. Over time, I realized how stressed I always was from the jobs I was doing and how little I was making for the amount of work I was putting into it.

A few years ago, I stumbled through a rough patch and was waitressing and bartending to make ends meet, and I was barely scraping by. My friend told me to apply at a local manufacturing plant that I knew nothing about. I applied, tested and got hired. I was finally able to quit working 2-3 jobs at a time and just work one. After a few months, I got hired on full time. My salary increased exponentially, I was offered insurance, vacation and sick time. I was very lucky to get hired on when I did, and even luckier that they were hiring for full time not too long after that.

I often find myself saying, "Du Pont wants to pay me this much to do so little?" My job is not hard, most of the time. I have zero interaction with customers, and I even have time to have a little fun at work. I make WAY more than I did as a CNA, which I believe is a very hard job. It takes a physical and emotional toll on you, and you barely make over minimum wage.

You always hear people complain about "working for the man" and last night I had a good conversation with a friend that is leaving social work to "sell out" and go corporate. These things are always spoken of so negatively that I have always viewed them that way, but really I am lucky to be working for the man. I am 25 years old, I have over $11,000 in a 401k already, because my corporate company matches what I contribute up to 9%, my base salary before overtime is considerably higher than it would be starting out as a non-tenure teacher, I have 3 weeks of vacation time, I get a raise every 6 months, I get an annual cost of living raise, I have insurance and I work 40 hours a week. Mind you, I often work more than 40 hours a week but I make time and a half overtime pay on top of my salary for it. My job is secure, Du Pont is a multi Billion dollar company that is global. My plant is currently in the process of building on, and planning to hire even more people. I have the opportunity for advancement not only in my local plant, but nationally or globally if I wanted to.

I'm not saying any of this to brag or rub it in other's faces, but just as reflection on how lucky I am to have my job. A job that I never would have guessed I would be doing. Almost 3 years ago, I started this job as a way to get caught up and never imagined that it would end up being so permanent. Of course I never dreamt that my dream job would be making dry herbicides, but it isn't hard and it pays the bills. This is the longest I have been at a job since I was a lifeguard. I am happy with where I am, and I am looking forward to advancing in the company in the future.