This is just a vent post. I'm not looking for someone to tell me I need to go back to school or move to a low cost of living area or anything like that. Just need to vent because this was dumb as hell.
I'm a new employee at a community college, I've only been hired a little over a month with a probation period of 1 year. I make $16 an hour and currently work between 28-30 hours per week. I'm the youngest in my office and do a lot of receptionist type stuff – making sure students sign in, replying to emails, answering the phone, monitoring students accounts to make sure they pay their tuition and fees, that kinda stuff. A lot of busy work because my supervisor has admitted she “doesn't like doing any of that stuff”. I'm also the ONLY person in my office that has kids – my supervisor is a 40 year old child free woman, there's two dudes in their 50s who don't have kids, and my oldest coworker is in her 60s with grandkids and stuff. Every body else besides me is salaried, not hourly, get PTO and overtime, that kind of stuff. I've been told Human Resources will NOT let me work more than 32 hours a week.
Usually on Fridays, someone brings in muffins or donuts or a cake. Some type of “treat”. Today my supervisor asked me why didn't I bring in a “treat” for the office and scolded me for not “being inclusive”
I just looked at her and told me that the college doesn't pay me enough to bring in a dozen donuts or muffins on Fridays. My supervisor looked at me like I had two heads. I AM thankful for this job, because its the most I've ever made. Before this, I worked retail making $10-12 an hour so this IS an upgrade, and I would love to get a pay bump and become a full time employee, but I don't think that'll happen until my year long probation period is up.
I do a lot of busy work and make sure my coworkers can focus on their jobs. I work to earn my paycheck, pay my bills as best I can, keep a roof over mine and my child's head and keep food on the table with the help of food banks (which are becoming hard to go to because of my work hours) I know my supervisor has been at her job for over a decade now so she probably just doesn't understand why I can't bring in a treat, but I'm here to work and pay my bills. My coworkers and supervisor don't know that I still struggle, but I can't believe my supervisor would have the audacity to scold me for not bringing in a “treat” when she's the one who approves my hours and knows how much I get paid per hour.