EPT
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Part 1
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Welcome to part 2 of my little fledgling series of a blog. This part, as the title implies, is about my job. I felt this to be a pretty good time for talking about it as my plans for studying last week were all thrown out the window because of it. I'll try to keep this short so I won't get too qq about things.
What do I do for a living?
I do EMC and environmental testing on various electronic devices. If required I also take part in the design process of a device, trying to remove all vulnerabilities the device might have to EMC tests. The actual work is all fine and good so it's really not that important.
Then what is important? Why a screwjob?
In Finland the marxian idea of labour hire is very prevalent. I am also hired through one these labour hire companies. That sort of arrangement allows all sorts of funky stuff on the contract. In my case it means that I'm on-demand workforce. This combined with the fact that I'm basically unproteced from dismissal makes for a very stressful work environment.
How come stressful? Doesn't on-demand mean more days off?
Sure enough it does. For example during the last five weeks I had only about 20 working hours during five days. The occasional day off would be nice but those kind of working hours really don't put food on the table. This also means that I can be called to work basically without any notice. My contract gives me the option to in theory turn down a work shift, but knowing my boss and the fact that I have no protection from dismissal makes it a completely non-viable option.
Why don't I just quit and get a better job?
Way too risky. As I still have not finished my studies I don't really have qualifications for anything. This job I managed to bet by pure luck and chance. After working there as a trainee last summer a co-worker got sick and was on a sick leave for a couple of months. That was when I was offered this contract and I'd prefer to keep it for as long as possible. The naïve side of me also thinks that I might land a proper contract in the near future.
Better stop here I think, don't want to get too whiny about this. Again, if you haven't read part 1 and you are even remotely curious about what's going on go read it now. I'm off to get in a couple of hours of laddering before TSL this evening. Thanks for taking the time to read this mess of a blog, it is very much appreciated.
-CyberAntti
