Well, the work situation is starting to improve.
I picked up a new client for a data analytics project which means I will be billing five clients this week, which is about all I am willing to handle right now.
I feel like I am on the bleeding edge of a paradigm shift here. After several false starts and needing time to get my life together I got a real job with a career path. There was a social contract that if you did the work and put the effort in, the company would help you achieve your goals. The company even paid me to become both a Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter and a Certified Insurance Data Manager. Lastly for the CPCU conferment, they even paid for Rick's airline ticket.
They also shrunk their headcount by about half by the time I left and are now at around 40% of the headcount that existed when I first worked there. I was one of the casualties.
As Rick got sicker, full time opportunities dried up. When the Great Recession Hit, I had a job running a training department that was half time, and I was grateful because I could go to all the doctor appointments. I was then stringing a life of gigs that resulted in one year of two contract jobs from a warm place were the contract staff were definitely treated like fecal matter. In the latter one, I was sacrificed to the God of Executive Bonuses and, believe me, the last day there was the happiest day of my life.
Since then I have swung from vine to vine and gig to gig. It was a great deal as Rick fell apart. And right now I am honestly still sorting things out. I also learned the hard way, should one gig fall apart, I am not that badly hurt because I am doing other gigs too and having multiple income streams is a great way to manage the risk of loss of income.
So, here is hoping things will get better on that front.
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