Re: Word to PowerPoint Conversion/Job advice (long)

["M Rassmussen" <mrassmussen -at- hotmail -dot- com>]

Thanks to everyone who helped with my question.  For some of the photos, 
rather than import all of them with one or two to a page, I made a Flash 
movie that stores the desired photos and allows the user to choose which 
ones to display.  I think that was a better solution and makes for a more 
streamlined look.  For the text, I just copied and pasted.  Will Microsoft 
ever make it easier for Word and PowerPoint to talk to each other?

I do have another question, and it's less tech writey and more job related.  
I'm one of them there recent college grads, and I need advice.

I, like millions of other Americans, do not like my job.  The people I 
closely work with are great.  The assignments have allowed me to learn quite 
a bit in the four months that I've been here.  But it's clear that there's 
no room for advancement and it's nearly impossible to get things done due to 
an overwhelming level of incompetence.  Even though I know one should stick 
with one's first job for at least a year, I'm seriously entertaining the 
idea of quitting.

Here's why:

First, the backstory.  I interviewed for a position at one company in 
February.  I was offered the job in April, and I accepted because there 
aren't many entry-level tech writer positions.  When I started in May --only 
one week after graduation -- suddenly, I was employed by a new company.  In 
the interim, the company had been swallowed by a larger one, and the new 
company's master plan was to merge several divisions into one -- a process 
that will be completed in January.  No one seems happy about this, and it's 
not been a smooth transition.  I'm new to the MegaGlobalCorporation world, 
and I'm getting a real lesson in it.

At lunch, one of my co-workers told me that it's pretty much impossible to 
advance in this industry (defense) without moving to another company.  The 
logic among the head honchos is, "Well, why should I give her a promotion or 
raise if she's doing the same job she was doing the day before the promotion 
or raise?"  So, to earn more money, get better assignments, etc., it's 
necessary to jump ship.  I would prefer being at a company for a few years, 
so I don't like the idea of needing to shop around whenever I want a few 
extra bucks.

Also, I found out shortly after starting the job that the main project I'm 
working on will likely be scrapped next year, thus costing me my job.  Not 
only that, they're unsure if there will even be enough money in the current 
contract to take us until new funding comes in in November.  That's not 
particularly reassuring.  Had I known...

The company has adopted an inane policy on Internet usage, to the point 
where I can't even get my work done.  I do a lot of graphics design, along 
with tech writing, and I use the Internet to find royalty-free clip art and 
graphics, Photoshop tips, Word to PowerPoint conversion advice, etc.  Now, 
almost every site I go to is blocked or is blocked shortly after I visit it. 
 I've written to the network admins at headquarters about it, and I've 
received no response.  My boss is pissed off about it, but even he seems 
unable to get anything done.  It's a huge company, and getting anything done 
needs a committee.  (Ask me about the hand lotion incident.  Please.)

And I don't go to anything I would deem "inappropriate."  I need to use the 
Internet as part of my job because I'm sort of flying by the seat of my 
pants with my current projects.  So, I subscribe to useful mailing lists 
(e.g., this one, one on ToolBook II, etc.) and search for tips or ideas for 
programs I haven't used much (e.g., PowerPoint).  I've been left to do my 
own thing, which is great, but a lot of the tools I'm using are new to me 
and I need that little boost that the Internet can provide.  Also, our 
e-mail server is down constantly.  I use a free e-mail account so that our 
customers and off-site co-workers can reach me.  We send a lot of files back 
and forth, so it's imperative that I have an address that works.  One can 
only hear "Sorry, but for the next few hours, all e-mail sent to a foo.com 
address will be bounced back to sender until we figure out the problem" so 
many times.

The muckety-mucks sent a company-wide mailing about abuse of Internet 
privileges, but it didn't say what sites would be considered appropriate or 
if there's some sort of process for employees to say, "Hey, these are the 
kinds of sites I need to visit."  It's frustrating, and it's made me 
incredibly paranoid about doing my job.  Shhh, what if they're listening?

Where I work, there are only four people (including me) from my division.  
Everyone else is from another division, and trust me, we're reminded of this 
constantly.  It's like high school.  We're treated like bastard red-headed 
stepchildren.  None of my co-workers in my division are happy about working 
for the new company, and they complain about it bitterly and constantly.  
It's gotten to the point where I think, Well, they've been in this industry 
for a long time and if they don't like this company or where it's headed, 
why do *I* want to work here?

The icing on the cake is that this job is a 140-mile roundtrip commute.  I 
took the job because I had planned on moving near the office after so many 
months, but for obvious reasons, I'm not about to do that now.  So, I wake 
up at 5:30 a.m., leave around 6:30 a.m., get to work around 8, leave around 
5:30 p.m. and get home around 7 p.m.  It's a long, tiring day, but it's a 
sacrifice I was willing to make for what I thought was a great job.  I 
turned down good jobs that were closer because this job offered the best 
opportunity to learn new skills.  Now, I'm at the point where I'm ready to 
chop off an appendage just to go on short-term disability and not deal with 
any of this for a few weeks.

My friends and family keep asking why I'm still there, and the only answer I 
can give is that I need the experience, which is a really strong reason to 
stay.  But I wonder if it's worth it?  Is this just how today's workplace 
is?

-Michelle



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