I’m just a lowly part-time male secretary whilst I seek my master’s degree, but I have to say, this office isn’t that bad to work in. Appart from not having my own desk (I’m a “float” secretary), there are some really nice things here.
For instance, all the free coffee, hot chocolate, cup-o-soup I could possible desire are at my immediate disposal. This, in my opinion, is a huge bonus, and helps me stagger to work each morning.
What little things does your office have that keep you going?
Free Starbucks coffee, that I usually have to make being the earliest one in … and the Coke machine only costs 35 cents.
And one of my two bosses is in New York (I’m in San Francisco), so I only have to keep one eye peeled when I’m goofing off – such as now.
Amenities??
I work for the federal govt in a 60-year-old former chow hall that we suspect is a sick building. The air conditioning has been out of commission for months, tho it is being replaced right now.
Oh, wait - I know!! Theu just put a water heater in the ladies room - I don’t have to wash my hands in cold water any more!!!
[li] We have a bottled water service (the local water tastes really gross).[/li][li] I’m reimbursed for the coffee and tea I bring in.[/li][li] I have anytime access to a library of several thousand books, periodicals and dissertations on, to name a few, environmental subjects, physics, breeding exotic animals, taxidermy and castration.[/li][li] I get to read the sample books sent for review in our magazine.[/li][li] I got to help pick out the new wallpaper and carpeting for our bathrooms and hallway (we had a major flood a couple of weeks ago, and we really needed new stuff).[/li][li] Free computer tutorials when I need them.[/li][li] I get to talk to the media and government officials.[/li][li] I have a bird feeder just outside my window, with cardinals, titmice, doves and blue jays all over the place chirping and squawking away.[/li][li] I have a Cooper’s Hawk in a nearby tree that occasionally feeds on the pigeons.[/li][li] I have lizards and geckos that crawl up the windows leaving little tiny footprints.[/li] I don’t have to wash the windows.
:eek:
screech-owl, where do you work?!?
Oh, and I forgot to mention that all of the refridgerators on each floor are packed with free soda. Which is nice.
Connor, a very large national conservation organization (named after a guy who painted pictures of birds).
One of our former vice presidents (his daughter donated his books to our organization afetr he passed away) was a bird researchers and did lots of taxidermy work. As for the books on castration, I believe he raised cattle for awhile.
Right now I’m reading a book on citrus cankers and other vegetation diseases and insect infestations. Well-written book, and there’s an interesting chapter on the MedFly.
You get free sodas? Cool! I have to pay for mine.
[ul]
[li]Free soda machines[/li][li]Free Starbucks coffee[/li][li]Weekly beer and catered food[/li][li]All sorts of software to play with[/li][li]Walls adorned with art from a famous person’s collection[/li][li]Lot’s o’ travel if you’re in the right job[/li][li]Home DSL with a connection into the office[/li][li]IP phone which is an extension of my office extension[/li][li]No dress code[/li][li]We used to have free poptarts, but they went away. Considering that in the 7 years I’ve worked there, I’ve traveled to Europe, Canada, and all over the US with top-notch accomodations, I can buy my own poptarts.[/li][li]Generous yearly education allowance[/li][li]All sorts of high-tech hardware[/li][li]Best of all, lots of really nice and smart people[/li][/ul]
Where do you work Purd Werfect? And what’s your job? I want a job like that! is still uncertain of her career and stuff… right now is looking into computer things but has no clue what she wants to do with them
Not necessarily supplied by the office, but…
My colleagues and I are all pretty good cooks. It seems that at least once a week one of us brings in some new culinary delight for lunch/breakfast, and always enough to share. Most recently it was Breakfast Casserole. Before that we’ve had everything from my mom’s secret Buckeye recipe, to homemade BBQ pork, to Red Velvet Cake with Midori icing.
Uhhh… Yum? 
Also, the Air Force has a contract with a company that provides computer based training (CBTs) for everything from Cisco certification, to learning Oracle development, to Sys Admin training for just about any system.
Those are the perks where I work.
Free soda, coffee, tea, hot chocolate & bottled water
Real live 8-hour workdays (instead of the 10-12 hours I’ve been used to)
Free broadway show tickets (2 per show, 6 shows a season)
Damn. And I was excited about the water cooler with hot water tap.
Um…I get all the free movie rentals I want. And I watch movies at work. That’s really about it.
[QUOTE]
*Originally posted by screech-owl *
[li] We have a bottled water service (the local water tastes really gross).[/li][/QUOTE]
screech-owl, doesn’t all Florida water taste really gross? At least, all the tap stuff?!! 
Errr I have a chair…if it doesn’t get stolen…and occasional use of a chair…and the bathroom doesn’t cost anything to use, that’s it I’m afraid…
Keith
occcasional use of a table ** dammit ** table… sigh…must proofread first…
Lets see…
Free Pop,
Dinner Mon-Thurs,
2 Crappacino Machines
Home Cable Modem
Game Room with:
Pool Table,
Air Hockey Table,
DVD Players
Big Screen TV with Cable
Plus I set my own hours.
My old company had all of the above plus:
A Playstation 2 (6 months before it was released in the US)
Ping Pong table
Various 1980’s arcade games
Fresh fruit every morning
Free snacks all day long
Oh and both are a pleasant bike ride from home…
Now if they could only do something about the excessive nerdiness in Silicon Valley, I would be in heaven.
Starr
After a quick scan I’ll note
• Bottled water (although I often resort to the tap because I don’t want it that cold)
• All the corporate drug (coffee) we can handle
• Cherry syrup to add to the Cokes in the fridge
• Manny other soft drinks/fruit beverages/ice tea
• Always some company provided snack food (pretzels, cookies, whatever…I rarely partake)
• A company birthday cake for everyone
And…
• No policy set, but I haven’t found the limit yet on what they’ll pay for continuing ed
• Stock options in a non-dot.com company
• Whoohee bonuses
• Hours? Somebody’s watchin’ hours? Well, yeah, I’d catch some crap if I tried to work more than 40/week.
Oh yeah, parking, great health/dental, 401K (which are not unusual, but they do add up)…
But the real, everyday bennie I appreciate in real time is a side effect of sharing offices with a drilling company. Their vendor (hopefuls) bring real food almost everyday; kolaches, home-made boudin and sausage, fruit, fajitas…, sometimes they even come in and put on a lunch for us. If I really wanted to, I could possibly spend $0 on groceries between Monday and Friday.
I guess my office falls in the middle…
We get free Starbucks coffee, soda, coffee, tea, hot chocolate, and juice. They will also run our mail through the postage meter and send out packages. We have to pay for it, but it saves a trip to the post office. We also get 2 copies of the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post everyday.
I’ve got a personal beer fridge(stocked by the company) in my office, and a wall of windows view to a jogging path where the beautiful women of Boulder go running past.
I get to eat and drink for free at work, both when working and on my days off.
This is not standard to all employees, just part of my “bonus package”.
Obsidian Butterfly, I’m a tech writer for the IT Engineering department of a fairly large software company. When I was traveling a lot, I was a project manager for the same company. Keep in mind that most of the employees don’t get to travel, and in my current position, I don’t jump on too many planes these days.
As for the rest of the stuff, that’s pretty standard here in the Silicon Valley, as it’s easy to get jobs in the computer industry and companies have to look for ways to retain talented people. With the current economic slowdown and the onslaught of dotcom reality, this may be less the case over time.
If you want to get into the industry, either take classes and become certified in some skill, or start low and work your way up to what interests you. I started as a shipping and receiving clerk for a computer store, and just kept my eyes open for new positions while constantly learning new things. Feel free to email me if you want to find out more information.