Looking for a job after 27 years... [updated 11/5, post #57] - Page 2 - PassPorter - A Community of Walt Disney World, Disneyland, Disney Cruise Line, and General Travel Forums
As of January 1, 2019, we have closed our forums. This is a decision we did not come to lightly, but it is necessary. The software our forums run on is just too out-of-date and it poses a significant security risk. The server software itself must be updated, and it cannot be without removing the forums.
So it is with a heavy heart that we say goodbye to our long-running forums. They came online in 2000 and brought together so many wonderful Disney fans. We had friendships form, careers launch, couples marry, children born ... all because of this amazing community.
Thank you to each of you who were a part of this community. You made it possible.
And a very special thank you to our Guides (moderators), past and present, who kept our forums a happy place to be. You are the glue that held everything together, and we are forever grateful to you. Thank you aliceinwdw, Caldercup, MrsM, WillCAD, Fortissimo, GingerJ, HiddenMickey, CRCrazy, Eeyoresmom, disneyknut, disneydani, Cam22, chezp, WDWfan, Luvsun, KMB733, rescuesk, OhToodles!, Colexis Mom, lfredsbo, HiddenMickey, DrDolphin, DopeyGirl, duck addict, Disneybine, PixieMichele, Sandra Bostwick, Eeyore Tattoo, DyanKJ130, Suzy Q'Disney, LilMarcieMouse, AllisonG, Belle*, Chrissi, Brant, DawnDenise, Crystalloubear, Disneymom9092, FanOfMickey, Goofy4Goofy, GoofyMom, Home4us123, iamgrumpy, ilovedisney247, Jennifer2003, Jenny Pooh, KrisLuvsDisney, Ladyt, Laughaholic88, LauraBelle Hime, Lilianna, LizardCop, Loobyoxlip, lukeandbrooksmom, marisag, michnash, MickeyMAC, OffKilter_Lynn, PamelaK, Poor_Eeyore, ripkensnana, RobDVC, SHEANA1226, Shell of the South, snoozin, Statelady01, Tara O'Hara, tigger22, Tink and Co., Tinkerbelz, WDWJAMBA, wdwlovers, Wendyismyname, whoSEZ, WildforWD, and WvuGrrrl. You made the magic.
We want to personally thank Sara Varney, who coordinated our community for many years (among so many other things she did for us), and Cheryl Pendry, our Message Board Manager who helped train our Guides, and Ginger Jabour, who helped us with the PassPorter-specific forums and Live! Guides. Thank you for your time, energy, and enthusiasm. You made it all happen.
There are other changes as well.
Why? Well, the world has changed. And change with it, we must. The lyrics to "We Go On" for IllumiNations say it best:
We go on to the joy and through the tears
We go on to discover new frontiers
Moving on with the current of the years.
We go on
Moving forward now as one
Moving on with a spirit born to run
Ever on with each rising sun.
To a new day, we go on.
It's time to move on and move forward.
PassPorter is a small business, and for many years it supported our family. But the world changed, print books took a backseat to the Internet, and for a long time now it has been unable to make ends meet. We've had to find new ways to support our family, which means new careers and less and less time available to devote to our first baby, PassPorter.
But eventually, we must move on and move forward. It is the right thing to do.
So we are retiring this newsletter, as we simply cannot keep up with it. Many thanks to Mouse Fan Travel who supported it all these years, to All Ears and MousePlanet who helped us with news, to our many article contributors, and -- most importantly -- to Sara Varney who edited our newsletter so wonderfully for years and years.
And we are no longer charging for the Live Guides. If you have a subscription, it's yours to keep for the lifetime of the Live Guides at no additional cost. The Live Guides will stay online, barring server issues and technical problems, for all of 2019.
That said, PassPorter is not going away. Most of the resources will remain online for as long as we can support them, and after that we will find ways to make whatever we can available. PassPorter means a great deal to us, and to many of you, and we will do our best to keep it alive in whatever way we can. Our server costs are high, and they'll need to come out of our pockets, so in the future you can expect some changes so we can bring those costs down.
Thank you, thank you, thank you for your amazing support over the years. Without you, there's no way us little guys could have made something like this happen and given the "big guys" a run for their money. PassPorter was consistently the #3 guidebook after the Unofficial and Official guides, which was really unheard of for such a small company to do. We ROCKED it thanks to you and your support and love!
If you miss us, you can still find some of us online. Sara started a new blog at DisneyParkPrincess.com -- I strongly urge you to visit and get on her mailing list. She IS the Disney park princess and knows Disney backward and forward. And I am blogging as well at JenniferMaker.com, which is a little craft blog I started a couple of years ago to make ends meet. You can see and hear me in my craft show at https://www.youtube.com/c/jennifermaker . Many PassPorter readers and fans are on Facebook, in groups they formed like the PassPorter Trip Reports and PassPorter Crafting Challenge (if you join, just let them know you read about it in the newsletter). And some of our most devoted community members started a forum of their own at Pixie Dust Lane and all are invited over.
So we encourage you to stay in touch with us and your fellow community members wherever works best for you!
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Wow what an exciting time of life ! I recently made a huge career change myself and I know that great feeling of being wanted by several employers 😊 It sounds like that part time with excellent pay would be amazing - you did spend the last 27 years committed to 40 hours a week? Personally I would like the change of that as long as you have the health insurance anyways😊
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Well, I FINALLY had the interview for the part-time, excellent pay position with the local city government! Let’s just say the city doesn’t move very quickly! I know I made the highest score on the civil service test that we took, but you never know. If the spouse of a police officer is in the mix, then that person will be chosen. You know how that goes. I should find out in a few days.
In the meantime, at my current part-time job, there’s a guy who works for a big insurance operation. He is very highly regarded and insists, “I can get you hired!” (He’s a part-timer like me because he got into credit card debt and is working to pay that off.). They have lots of openings, because business is growing, and most are not licensed insurance, but support positions. The money at his place is fabulous, full-time, benefits (including a paid week of vacay after only 90 days... and 2 more weeks after a year.) He said all I needed to do was forward him my resume’, which I did over the weekend.
So, I feel cautiously optimistic that I will have something permanent in a couple of weeks. Until then, I pick up extra hours as I can, and we’re doing okay.
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And, then yesterday, one of the low level supervisors at my current part-time told me she recommended me to be the newest person of that same rank. I also heard back from the insurance situation today. I should have an interview very soon and a job offer there. The guy was quite certain.
I think I’m suddenly in the “when it rains, it pours”phase.
I’ll definitely take the insurance job, if offered. It’s got the best perks and the best money. You know, really, life is good. I had begun to wonder if I had made the right choice turning down the two that I did, but I think it’s all turning out well. Having only worked part-time for the past 4 months, I have had a chance to do something I had rarely done for a long time - get some real rest. It has been nice. Now I want to get back to real work.
Just a bit of advice. IIRC, you were not happy at your last job. Instead if evaluation offers by money and benefits, also think about how you fit in with others in the workplace, how you feel about the boss/supervisor and if you will like doing the work.
Being happy at work is much more important than salary and benefits. I am self employed and often accept cases that pay a fraction of my going rate. I do it because I like the people and the work really challenges me. I don't have paid time off and I pay for my own health insurance. But I am happy going to work everyday and that is the most important thing.
Just a bit of advice. IIRC, you were not happy at your last job. Instead if evaluation offers by money and benefits, also think about how you fit in with others in the workplace, how you feel about the boss/supervisor and if you will like doing the work.
Being happy at work is much more important than salary and benefits. I am self employed and often accept cases that pay a fraction of my going rate. I do it because I like the people and the work really challenges me. I don't have paid time off and I pay for my own health insurance. But I am happy going to work everyday and that is the most important thing.
Safe to say that any job for which I have interviewed would be considered a gift for me. Yes, I was most unhappy with my previous situation, so much so that I told the boss, when she asked me to stay another year, that I’d rather be poor. Any of the three potential opportunities that I currently face would be far, far preferable and I have an attitude of thankfulness about all of them. So, the question becomes about other advantages and disadvantages. I’m weighing everything, but I am already much happier and I know that I will continue to be.