Work: Getting It, Cont'd

I think I got exactly what I wanted, and surprisingly, it doesn't offer a long-term conclusion.  During this time, I have to continue to follow my gut.

Working under a temporary contract has been a surprisingly good experience.  I have appreciated the (mostly) flexible scheduling and the opportunity to get paid while I learn.  I have appreciated the chance to work in multiple departments of the same company.

What surprised me was that when there was talk of putting me on salary and hooking up my email to the outside world, I felt panicked and a little queasy.  There have been some red flags.  After my managers indicated to me verbally (in a rushed, last-twenty-minutes-of-the-work-week-closed-door conversation) that they were hoping to make me a full-time I offer, I had questions about the position, the expectations, the compensation package, and the company.  They wanted me to write them down, so they could respond with more time and thought.  Then they never responded.

There was never a formal interview, and the manager under whom I work only for the first time today started to ask me some questions about my background.  The person I have replaced (I'm already doing a lot of the work for the open position) had one week to both train me and to learn her new position simultaneously, and we weren't allowed to tell the other team members what was going on, because the managers didn't want to, didn't have time to, or couldn't, tell them yet.  It was all very awkward, confusing, and incomplete.

Deep-down, I hoped I could stay on my original, six-month, anything-goes contract, which felt like a good fit in my life. It's a good blend of learning and responsibility, with some freedom and still enough energy left over to pursue other endeavors.  It was unclear to me whether that would be possible after my team filled this open full-time position.  But today I got my answer.  It will be possible for me to have plenty of hours through the end of my six-month contract of which I'm currently at the mid-point.

The experience reinforces what I have been thinking lately, which is that it's time put my theory into practice, and to try to use our household mobility as a career-building asset, instead of a liability.