I've been debating whether to do this, but I've reached that point where I feel like I need a safe space to rant with a potentially lower chance of being found out by my current boss. So strap in, it's a long-ish one. And I'm on a mobile so apologies if this isn't easy to read.
I'm a teaching assistant for a place that is definitely fucking over the best working environment I've had.
And I currently hate working for them, along with everyone else. Except our new boss…
Over three years ago, I joined the course as a student that provides the unemployed the opportunity to gain the skills and knowledge for getting into work or back into education.
Alongside some other stuff that is likely a once in a lifetime opportunity and lifetime skills. Ever since I felt like I could do this job, give something back to the community as my own skills and knowledge could be put to use towards the community.
After the course I was given the opportunity to work for the college on the very course I was a student for.
It's definitely helped a lot of people in more ways than one. People join because of disabilities, for the social aspect, because they don't know what they want to do in life, or just need that extra help in getting what they want to do in life.
Over the years things definitely started to slowly go down hill but, it was tolerable. My boss at the time was very understanding and supportive.
But let's start with the first ever problem; every day I have to complete online work, as none of the courses were ever at the college itself. We rent out spaces in cities far and wide to actually attract people who needed these courses to help them, because the college itself isn't that local for most people unemployed to reasonably travel to every day.
But, this meant accessing college systems from home.
On personal computers…
The system that I was told to use, effectively takes over your computer. It downloads a program, I input my log ins and I gain access to the college systems.
I felt incredibly uncomfortable doing this, my personal laptop utterly felt at risk if the college systems were hacked and flooded with malware, viruses all the bad shit.
I complained to IT at the college stating I how I felt and was immediately shot down. Saying the system was secured.
Guess what, it wasn't.
A colleague of mine, “John” was also having issues even getting this access and secretly asked a friend to figure out why as John was getting the same shit from IT and apparently his friend was able to hack the college systems in seconds. Which to John and his friend was a massive red flag.
Either way, back to my own issues.
I complained to my Boss (less call him Karl), and informed him that I own a very expensive laptop, and I don't no feel safe using this program on my personal computer.
So he thankfully said I could submit a document instead of using the college program.
Till college themselves forced everyone to do it on their systems…
I had to do it from home, where we provide the course doesn't have public WiFi or computers, and nobody had a work laptop.
(Even then, why would I use a public domain and computer knowing it probably wasn't secure?)
I decided to buy a antivirus, well a upgraded and from some research it was definitely better than what I had initially.
The damn thing straight up consider the program I had to download as a extremely high risk and blocked me from downloading it.
Called IT and got “just authorise the program or disable your antivirus.” My reply was “if a antivirus flags your system, it's at risk of God knows what, so I'm never doing that.” And submitted a complaint to my boss.
Again, my boss being supportive, kept my back saying I could submit my work via email to him or another member of staff.
Pandemic and lockdown hit.
Was effectively forced to work on my personal laptop, but thankfully, who I was working remotely with bad a work laptop and understood my situation and decided to take my work load on for me.
(Long story short all my colleagues in this department are supportive.)
We got back to working as normal afterwards and every college teacher had a remote laptop, so that issue was resolved. I could borrow the laptop and do my work at work.
But, everything. And I mean everything fell apart a month ago or so.
Our very supportive boss announced he had quit. Although rumour has it that he was forced to say he quit, due to constant disputes with the college itself. Who, we now know, utterly hates our department for preforming the best. (Not a brag, we had the statistics) but also, not doing the exact same as the college itself. We didn't teach the same stuff, we taught people employment and life skills, and of course we were a massive drain of funds.
Either way, our boss quit and left and a new guy was brought in.
Initially we weren't sure about them. They felt different.
The we got hit with the bombshell:
“The college is downsizing the department, the amount of courses we run and are offering voluntary redundancy, and those who want to have to reapply and/or express interest in their current job to keep it.”
This seems to have broke everyone's mood.
Although I don't work with everyone in the department, it's obvious where everyone was putting their mind; rumour has it the vast amount of people is going for redundancy.
Which to be honest is no surprise anymore, with the uncertainty of the future of our department at this college, nobody believes the higher ups at the college, even wants this department to exist.
It's cutting back on funding, on members of staff, on equipment, everything.
And it's clearly affecting the current students we have, the college is fucking us over as well as the students were supposed to support. Either to save money and/or out of spite towards the department.
Oh, and guess what the head master of the college put out in a email?
They are putting 2.5millions into expanding a section of the college that has little use.
Virtual Reality. Whilst I understand it's gimmick, and it can be useful, from what I've gotten from other colleagues, as I'm rarely at the college itself to see, it's barely ever in use. Only by those who express interest in that technology. So, from what I can gather, it was a massive waste of money.
Despite that I expressed interest in keeping my job, just because I need time to seek employment elsewhere, figure out what I want to do. I'm not keen on most jobs anymore, I want to use my skills to help the people.
And whilst I hate the college, I need to earn money, and I earn more on this job than I would unemployment benefits. Slightly more but still more.
But I've had utterly no response from the new boss or anyone, I chased it up once a few weeks ago and nothing.
The utter lack of communication just makes me believe I've been silently fired.
I was supposed to go to work roughly an hour and half ago, but I have no interest or energy to do so. I still will go to work shortly after. My colleagues and the students still make work enjoyable, but by the gods of the world, fuck this college.
So off to a job that I love for a college that doesn't give a shit about.