You should ask your boss that. Do not take my advice on jobs though. I freelance for a reason. I piss off bosses.

My boss knows that I'm not happy. I don't think I left any mystery about that. I didn't phrase it quite that way, but I got the gist across.

That really sucks, bmarkey. I agree with dabitch -- you should start being squeakier. You're a nice guy, I know, but maybe if it came down to them having to choose between a fuck-up and a stand-up, they'd do the right thing. (I know, I know -- it's hard to put throw someone else under the bus. I know.)

Wait... you and Science Girl?

Gawd I'm clueless....

(((bmarkey)))

I know what you're going through. The mister and I had to do that for a few months; I had a bit of mental breakdown due to it.

I agree with mudpuppie. If there's any way to get squeakier about it, I'd do it.

And, although I know the economy sucks, is there any chance of looking for another job?

I've been looking. Just not finding.

Jesus H., bmarkey. I'm sorry.

But don't expect anything from an employer these days. Do something better for yourself and expect Jack the Ripper to use a scalpel to trim a hanging thread off your jacket in a dark alley.

Look. Out. For. Yourself. And SG.

This may not mean anything dramatic, like a quick ultimatum. But think about a long-term plan that may not involve your current S.O.B. job, or maybe any job for someone else. My uncle gave me a copy of an American Legion article recently that listed only five or six employment tips, and one of those precious few was "consider self-employment or consulting." Kinda tells you something about the current state of affairs, no? You're surely better than what you're doing, anyway. And "You can either work or make money" is what a wise man told me many times.

I show up for work every day, I get my work done and I do it really well...

If that were the real criteria, just sooooooo many people would be in Heaven on Earth. Right?

I feel your pain, bmarkey. I'm on the 4-12:30 shift, and my lady works 9-5. Even worse, I'm the newest employee in the unit, and none of the day-shift people have been making any noise about leaving. Be strong!

Oh, hell. Wow, that really does suck, b. In practical terms, it means that you, the good worker, are being punished in the bad worker's stead.

So, there comes a time when doing a good job and being reliable under difficult circumstances doesn't work in your favor... and that time comes when your managers decide to manage in the most cowardly and lazy way, by keeping the good worker stuck in the not-great position because it's easier than dealing with the next person, who will almost certainly not be as effective or dependable in that position, and they just don't feel like dealing with the effort involved. And, as well, in this case, the bother and unpleasantness (and paperwork, whatever) of getting rid of the bad worker. So you get to take the fall for everyone here?

If it were me, and I knew that I absolutely had proven my value to the company over a respectable period of time, I would be notifying them that I'm going to have to start looking for a new position, and why (not throwing a lot of blame, just saying that your hopes of proving yourself and getting the hours/position you need isn't working out, so you are going to have to look for an employer who will offer that).

That's me, and maybe I'm not the very best adviser, but the way I see it, this does two or three things: 1) it gives them the chance to do the stand-up thing and give you what you deserve - however they decide to work that out on their end (result: you're happy; you know you are valued; they haven't lost or de-motivated a great employee - this is the win move); 2) if they are not willing to do this, it confirms for sure that they do not value you as a long-term asset beyond this difficult position, and makes it clear that you are only treading water as far as this job is concerned, which should 3) give you all the motivation you need to get out there and burn the town down finding your next job.

The way I see it, settling for this state of affairs tells them that it's perfectly okay for them to keep shitting on you (by taking advantage of you, certainly not that they have anything against you), and that they can spend their attention on other things without worrying about doing what's right by you. Mr. Dependable won't make a fuss.

I'd make a fuss.

If I were your manager, or your manager's boss, and you did that, I'd give you a raise, and a promise that we will get you into the hours-structure that you want, with a concrete time-frame. I'm not saying that's what they will do, but it's what they should do.

Thanks, y'all.

I have let them know that I'm looking. The problem is that there's not a lot out there. (And my qualifications are not what they might be. I'm smart enough to do a lot of things; I just don't have the paper that says I can do them.)

To be fair, there are some mitigating circumstances that I can't really go into here. Trust me when I say that I'm not making excuses for anybody. Were I in my boss' place... well, I would have pulled the trigger a while ago, actually. Were I in her place with the circumstances as they are, though, I'd probably do the same thing - except that I wouldn't have promised the person in my position that they'd be starting day shift next week. And that ship has already sailed.

So, fuck it. Day person will eventually fuck up again, and in the meantime I'll keep looking. It's just really frustrating. That's why god gave us bourbon, I guess.