I was hired in 2003 by Benet Weapons Lab as a Technician. I had to take a hit of $16k a year going from a high scale QC Inspector to an entry level Tech. My financial advisor was NOT happy, but I said "Honey...."
I was to replace the Lead Technician when he retired in three years. Cool. All was well, the engineers thought I was some kind of demigod because I could turn on a lathe and make square things round. I did this job for four years, almost two as lead tech.
A woman in another Division who has a passive-aggressive personality burned some bridges in her area, called the FBI on a fellow worker, and generally stirred up some nonsense. My boss was instructed from on high to take her, no choice. OK, I'm a Tech and she's the lead tech.
That worked for almost a month....
I got submarined every step of the way! She would change settings on equipment, reneg on instructions and claim I didn't understand, she screamed at me in a meeting, and on and on and on. The final straw was when I was doing a very complex dimensional inspection (she can't even read a mic) and she suggest to the project engineer that "someone check my work". That's it.
I went to my boss and said the we, myself and Management have enough documented evidence to file charges of a hostile work environment. My boss agreed. Do I file this, drag things out for months and embarass everyone, or do you just reassign me to another unit replacing one of several recent retirees?
I got transferred.
Bad news is that there's more travel involved (Yuma, Az in the summertime, yahoo) good news is that I work with a bunch of young enthusiastic engineers that appreciate my diverse background. There is also more money on the horizon. I smile more, I actually look forward to going to work again and I am involved in projects that I never even knew existed! My enthusiasm for projects (cars & home) is renewed, wife is happier and sexlife is rejuvinated.
Sanity.
Hard to define, harder to buy, but you know when it's slipping away.
Dan
Already on my Christmas list.
