most of my jobs have had move up potential, but it sometimes easier to go up by moving. And I've seen lots of people move out of the library and into other parts of gov't.

I'm sorry, Nora, I didn't mean to imply that everyone with those characteristics just naturally gets up the chain. Not at all. I know far too many people who excel in their jobs and are still miserable.

I wish I could mentor more people. Actually, if I ever do leave my current workplace, it will be to go somewhere where I've got a good-sized team again. I really like coaching people, especially when I have the means and resources to really reward them with a job well done.

Even being encouraged to get a Master's I am reluctant, because I feel it will make me overqualified.

Yeah, I'm starting to think that myself. I've been framing the Masters getting as an indication of my ability to multi task and succeed. (doing that while working full time).

I have been actually told by supervisors that I should not work so hard or fast, because I would never fit in in University culture, where everything was slow, and not that well done!

Yeah, I run into this slow ineptitude everywhere, yet somehow I get bitched out majorly when I fail to read my boss's mind and include specific headers and footers in an Excel document.

At this point, I'm just about ready to concede that I will never climb the job ladder in a serious way, and just hope that I find something (community oriented) that I actually like to do. Preferably in a place that's not so goddamn hierarchical.

I'm VERY lucky though, that I have a partner that makes a good salary.

Oh- librarian question--

Is it pretty much necessary to have a masters in a subject area before being hired as a librarian at a college? Because I feel like that is something I could do, but it seems silly to get the masters in library science if I couldn't actually get a job. Of course, I saw an MLS or and IT degree listed as a requirement for a data analysis research jb here in the school of nursing.

My two main interest at work, which I perform above and beyond the admin level at, are graphic design/writing marketing copy and database management stuff (at a very low level for IT, but high leel for AA, and I like the logic in it). I would love a way to marry the two, but I have no idea what that would be.

I'm sorry, Nora, I didn't mean to imply that everyone with those characteristics just naturally gets up the chain. Not at all. I know far too many people who excel in their jobs and are still miserable.

Oh, not to worry java- I didn't think that was what you were implying. I'm in a fun self pity stage of my professional life and it doesn't take much for me to get going on that!!!

Oh, whew~! I was afraid I was coming off as a jerk.

No, not at all!

I got the most advancement in my suckiest job. I can't call it mentoring, because they were primarily trying to use existing resources to accomplish as much as possible. Even though they didn't pay me commensurate, they did let me change my title, and that flowed up with subsequent jobs. And the boss in my second suckiest job tried, he really did, but the glass ceiling was low and I was fscked.

Right now, I don't know if I want to shift titles. I've been senior at random different stuff since I was 23. The stuff I do that I'm not senior in yet, it's because it looks like a headache.

At one of my last jobs, they went out of their way to provide a career track that was technical and non-management and led to just about the same pay points, which was great. But that was before the economy crashed. I doubt I'll work like that again.

My current boss is very encouraging. At the very least I'd be happy to explore the boundaries of pay and responsibility of my current role. Or, you know, get a perm position.

You know, this makes me mad all over again about Universal Health Care. I think I would be working freelance in theatre right now if not for the thought of not having insurance, or having to pay my own I might even have stuck with it or gone back to it sooner. But with pre-existing mental health issues, plus being obese (and I was "overweight" classified at a size 6) I am a slae to the man of insurance, unless I find a partner.

I told my boss today (Republican) that the argument for universal healthcare should be that it would get more people starting business and getting growth going, because they would not be stuck in jobs!

In thinking about other fields, I feel extra lucky that that first receptionist job I got was in a tiny nonprofit, which I think made it easier to move over into a non-admin department. But that's just the first example of my job-related luck, which has been very good to me. Not that all of the jobs have been great, and not that I'm not a good employee, but I have been VERY lucky wrt getting jobs over the years.

Anyway, I come with a question for the hivemind: I have GOT to do laundry, forgot I am out of detergent, and can't bear to go to the store. A little google suggests these options that I have on hand: dish soap, shampoo, baking soda. What do you all vote for?