I can’t even tell you all how many things are wrong here. I’m doing work that I don’t enjoy and that’s not challenging; I was hired for a leadership position, but I’m completely smothered by my immediate supervisor, our “team lead”, but I wasn’t told she’d be my boss during the interview process and etc. I was more or less told she’d be stepping aside to do other things. She’s not, though. She rides my ass constantly. She nitpicks. She shoots down almost every suggestion I make to improve processes (I’ve been doing Systems Administration a long time); one example is that they refuse to have pagers for on-call. Another example is that they don’t warn users of significant changes - I think we should give people a heads up when we’re implementing a screensaver + screen lock policy, or patching computers, or stuff like that. If for no other reason than to reduce panic and calls to the Help Desk (which I have to answer).
For the last 4 years or so, I’ve been leading/managing global IT Operations, outsourcing and insourcing initiatives. We’re in the process of integrating offices in Europe and building new ones. I was told I was being hired specifically because of my experience and expertise in this arena - I’ve not been asked for input, I’ve not been given any information, and when I’ve tried to get involved, I’ve been turned away. My team lead and our/her boss (Director of Technology) make all decisions in a vacuum. All my participation is engaged by handing assignments to me, which are typically closed-end projects which require little creativity.
Did I mention the Desktop Support guy I sit next to? He goes out of his way to tell users I don’t know what the fuck I’m doing. He constantly calls me a fag, a sissy, a homo (I’m not even gay). He’s threatened me on so many occassions I can’t even count - to stab me, to cut my throat, to beat me up and steal my lunch money (seriously). He’s got a shooting target hanging on his cube wall with Osama Bin Laden printed on it. He’s got a bunch of spent shells on his desk. He just applied for and received his license to carry concealed weapons. He’s a classic bully. I don’t really worry about him actually doing anything, but it’s annoying nonetheless. I fight fire with fire. I call him Sally or Mary. I dish it back to him, in other words, lest he should start to think… I don’t even know. But not taking his constant onslaught of shit laying down does seem to help a bit. I’ve seen him manhandle women here in the office. He constantly makes lewd comments to our team lead (she loves the attention). He’s a hard worker, though, so I think he gets away with way more than he should.
On the upside, the money is really good, and it’s pretty close to home (10 miles each way). My plan is to finish my degree program and find a management position elsewhere. I’ll graduate next spring - a year from now (provided I can schedule and pass 7 classes between now and next May). I’ve been in IT for about 10 years now, and I’ve got a really excellent background. I’m just at the right age to transition into Technical Management, but I need a relevent degree to command the money I want and legitimize my expectations and career goals. My last job was running global IT (steering operations in US, UK, Japan, Australia and France). This job, I’m doing desktop support and checking in 50 times a day with my “team lead”.
I’ve got a review coming up. I’m 99% certain they’re going to pass me over for a raise and my 10% performance bonus. If I’m going to say something, that would be the time. I really don’t think my boss is approachable, though. He’s been kind of an ass to me. I really get the feeling that they just don’t like me, and that they’re actually making a coordinated effort to make me unhappy and make me want to leave. Sounds paranoid, right? Ugh. I know. But it actually feels that way.
I just don’t know what to do. I’m really too old for this shit.