New Job Update - Part 2

I'm halfway through my fourth week at my new job.

Last night, I dreamed about one of my former jobs, Intermountain Hearing Clinics. Gosh, I loved that place. I loved the two people with whom I worked, I loved my job duties, I loved most of our patients, I loved the commute (3 minutes), I loved the office, I loved our Accountant, etc. I worked there for 7 years before deciding to move on to a different job. It was a hard move but it set in motion changes that really impacted my life. Ever since, then, though, I've been looking for a job that felt as good as that one did. A place where I didn't dread going into work, where I felt I was accomplishing things, where I liked the people I worked with and the things I did at work.

My last job, a student worker at the Student Health Center at WSU, almost fit the bill. I really liked the people with whom I worked and I never dreaded going into work. It was an easy job and most of the time I just did my homework or surfed the web. That was nice but I always kind of felt bad for being paid to do not very much. My supervisor kept telling me not to worry about it, so I mostly didn't.

My new job has a lot of potential to be like my job at Intermountain Hearing Clinics, if not better in ways. I work with some really nice people that make the workday go by nicely. My training hasn't been the most effecient, productive in the world, so it's been kind of hard to determine if I'd like my job duties, but as I'm slowly learning them, I think I'll enjoy them. It's a different kind of bookkeeping than I did at the audiology clinic, but it's still crunching numbers. I support two departments in the IT division, departments that are very different and have different ways of doing things. One department is used to having a support person, the other isn't but has wanted one for a long time. It's going to be interesting working out how to support both departments and their different quirks. I like a good challenge. And, I like that I'm blazing a new trail. The gal I'm replacing has set up a good system, but it's her system. I like that I'll be able to rework it a bit to fit my role - something that is different that what her role was in ways.

I have my own office. I've never had my own office before. At Intermountain Hearing Clinics, my "office" was a built in desk in the kitchen. It made grabbing a snack from the fridge extremely easy, but it was also a high traffic area. At SUU, I had a cubicle...well, more like a desk in the middle of the room with really low walls surrounding it. I now have an office with four walls and a door that I can close if need to be left alone to get an important project done in time. I have walls that I can decorate! I'm not sure how I'll decorate them or when, but I can!

Unlike at Intermountain Hearing Clinics, I now have lots of good benefits - medical (which I declined because I'm insured through the Air Force), dental, life, and retirement!! I'm the most excited by the retirement. The school is very generous with what it contributes to their employees' retirement funds. I also get free tuition for up to 6 credit hours a semester and 3 hours a week of release time to do wellness activities. I'm enrolled in a yoga class twice a week and I don't have to make up that time at work (i.e. come in early, not take a lunch, etc.). I wish WSU had release time for classes like SUU did, but I am really grateful to have it to exercise and do other wellness activities (there's a relaxation room with massage chairs that I can go to once a week - again, without having to make up the time at work!).

Last night, Steve and I made plans for the extra money I'm bringing in now. I'm really excited to be contributing to our financial future. Even when I wasn't working at all, we were in a good spot financially, but now we have the chance to do some things that will really be good for us, now and in the future. I'm glad, and very fortunate, to be married to someone who thinks the same as me about money and savings and debt. The money isn't the most important thing to me (I'm fortunate to be in a position where I don't need to work), but it's definitely a wonderful part of my job.

I hope to stay at WSU for a long time. I plan to stay in this position until I graduate with my Masters, and then I hope a position opens up in the Accounting Services division (Payroll, Accounts Receivable, Purchasing, etc). I'd like to eventually start teaching beginning Accounting classes as an adjunct or assistant professor until I get my PhD. I like working at a university. The atmosphere is different than in a corporate setting. I like the emphasis on learning. My VP really encourages his staff to take or teach classes. And he isn't alone in that; most departments feel the same way. After all, we're at a university! I feel very fortunate to finally be working at a university again. And, I feel very fortunate to have landed in this position, with these people.

It's a good job.