November 12, 2007
Do quit the day job
In a few minutes, I'll be leaving to go to work for what will presumably be the last time. Another contract came in, and the calculator came out (not really, but metaphorically, right?), and I'm now busy enough subtitling to preclude holding down both jobs, and the subtitling is significantly more lucrative than the insurance work.
If it were a full-time job, that wouldn't be the controlling factor in the decision; there's a lot to be said for things like stability of income and benefits. But it's a temp job, and one where the employer was quite clear on the first day that the job was liable to end with no advance warning whatsoever - that we'd be told the assignment was completed at quitting time of the last day. In that kind of extreme at-will employment environment, I suppose I shouldn't feel guilty about acting in the same fashion.
Certainly the company itself hasn't treated me wrongly - the compensation is handsome for the work involved, and the work not onerous, nor is the commute something I'm unused to. If they were to extend me an offer of employment in the future on a full-time basis, I'd go for it; there's many worse careers than HR.
But if the money's the same, and the one job has a commute of four feet and involves watching anime, but the other job is an hour away and has people timing your lunch and breaks to the minute, and neither of them has any job security... heh. And now even the money isn't the same! Not a hard decision to make at this point.
(Justifying said decision to my parents, gracious hosts that they are, is slightly more difficult. As much as they're too polite to mention, while I may make more money at the subtitling, it would take a significant amount of time for the finances to build up sufficient to allow me to move out again, without risking a dry spell in work and poverty. On the other hand, I still have a massive reservoir of good credit with them for having gone back and completed my college degree, long after they'd given up hope that I'd do so; and I bought them a steak dinner Saturday to boot. But on the gripping hand, as it were, why'd I bother with the degree if I'm going to continue doing anime work, where nobody cares about that sort of thing? ;p)
I finished timing Nanoha season 1 last night. Not finished finished - taking timed files and turning them into collections of DVD subtitle pictures is an involved and not-well-automated process, with this setup - but the timing is there and the scripts are done. I still love the ending for the season... it's not every day you can take an action show like this and have writers who realize that the climax isn't the big battle.
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If it were a full-time job, that wouldn't be the controlling factor in the decision; there's a lot to be said for things like stability of income and benefits. But it's a temp job, and one where the employer was quite clear on the first day that the job was liable to end with no advance warning whatsoever - that we'd be told the assignment was completed at quitting time of the last day. In that kind of extreme at-will employment environment, I suppose I shouldn't feel guilty about acting in the same fashion.
Certainly the company itself hasn't treated me wrongly - the compensation is handsome for the work involved, and the work not onerous, nor is the commute something I'm unused to. If they were to extend me an offer of employment in the future on a full-time basis, I'd go for it; there's many worse careers than HR.
But if the money's the same, and the one job has a commute of four feet and involves watching anime, but the other job is an hour away and has people timing your lunch and breaks to the minute, and neither of them has any job security... heh. And now even the money isn't the same! Not a hard decision to make at this point.
(Justifying said decision to my parents, gracious hosts that they are, is slightly more difficult. As much as they're too polite to mention, while I may make more money at the subtitling, it would take a significant amount of time for the finances to build up sufficient to allow me to move out again, without risking a dry spell in work and poverty. On the other hand, I still have a massive reservoir of good credit with them for having gone back and completed my college degree, long after they'd given up hope that I'd do so; and I bought them a steak dinner Saturday to boot. But on the gripping hand, as it were, why'd I bother with the degree if I'm going to continue doing anime work, where nobody cares about that sort of thing? ;p)
I finished timing Nanoha season 1 last night. Not finished finished - taking timed files and turning them into collections of DVD subtitle pictures is an involved and not-well-automated process, with this setup - but the timing is there and the scripts are done. I still love the ending for the season... it's not every day you can take an action show like this and have writers who realize that the climax isn't the big battle.
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at
07:32 AM
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1
Hell, if I could work from home, I'd jump on it in a second. There's something to be said for a 20 foot commute when gas is over $3 a gallon.
Posted by: Will at November 12, 2007 02:29 PM (WnBa/)
2
So this means you've got enough subtitling work to replace your other job?
I wish I had a home-based job too...
Posted by: grgspunk at November 12, 2007 04:55 PM (POGEh)
3
Yes, but that's not as nifty-keen as it sounds - it's more of an indictment of the crappy temp job and its total lack of job security than it is a sign of tremendous subtitle-based wealth flowing in. (Though, I mean, I'm not complaining about the subtitle-based wealth that IS flowing in. I'm just not counting on it for retirement or anything.)
Rather, it's gotten to the point that I can't do all my subtitling work AND the other job and still do a good job on all of them - I can do some subbing on the evenings and weekends, but there's a limit to how much of that you can do. If the day job were better (well, y'know, like a real job), then I'd simply have to decline the appropriate amount of subtitling work to hit that nice equilibrium, where the income flowing in matches the free time I have to enjoy it with. But here, the utility-maximizing option is to go with pure subtitling - heck, even the profit-maximizing option is to go with subtitling.
So I'm not giving up on the concept of a day job per se, or looking for one for that matter; need to put this degree towards somethin', after all. But it would need to be a decent job; 30k in New York would not fly, for example. (I got one of those offers. I'm sure it's possible to live in NYC on 30k, but I have no intention on essaying an attempt!)
Rather, it's gotten to the point that I can't do all my subtitling work AND the other job and still do a good job on all of them - I can do some subbing on the evenings and weekends, but there's a limit to how much of that you can do. If the day job were better (well, y'know, like a real job), then I'd simply have to decline the appropriate amount of subtitling work to hit that nice equilibrium, where the income flowing in matches the free time I have to enjoy it with. But here, the utility-maximizing option is to go with pure subtitling - heck, even the profit-maximizing option is to go with subtitling.
So I'm not giving up on the concept of a day job per se, or looking for one for that matter; need to put this degree towards somethin', after all. But it would need to be a decent job; 30k in New York would not fly, for example. (I got one of those offers. I'm sure it's possible to live in NYC on 30k, but I have no intention on essaying an attempt!)
Posted by: Avatar_exADV at November 12, 2007 06:19 PM (LMDdY)
4
I work from home and I put about 20,000 miles on my car every year, even though I got into a habit of taking out a rental every time I go down to L.A. Back when I commuted, I only drove 18,000 miles a year. Plenty of discretionary driving, I suppose.
Posted by: Author at November 12, 2007 07:53 PM (9imyF)
5
$30k in New York would be slumming it alright. As it is, Phoenix is starting to get as bad as LA for cost (and quality) of living.
I put about 26k on my truck last year. I got a different job starting in October that's about 2/3 the distance, so hopefully I won't blow through the warranty period as fast as I thought.
Posted by: Will at November 12, 2007 08:08 PM (E3UGR)
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