@“DaveedNoo”#p148981 nope, don't gotta wake up quite that early thankfully.
@"Mnemogenic"#p148984 rrrrraaaaugghhh!!!!!!
@“Mnemogenic”#p148984 that sucks, maybe coming out of the closet would force your boss to confront these matters and take another look at themselves. (unlikely)
@connrrr congrats on job! you‘re gonna smell like bread and that’s going to be cool.
@"MoH"#p148959 I've never done it but depending on the country, there's lots of cool chill times to be had across europe. free healthcare! safe streets! etc! If I were single I'd do it for a while myself. I've spent a lot of time in various countries across the continent so it would kinda depend on where you're going.
@"Mnemogenic"#p148984 This sucks. I know we've got transphobia as policy burning like wildfire across the land but I still want to believe these people should at least feel embarrassed or ashamed to be making these kinds of jokes. Hopefully you can get a better situation soon.
@“Mnemogenic”#p148984 this was in 2012. My at the time boss made a joke about bringing our co-op student to a strip club and pairing him up with a “he-she” to prank him. A few months later I came out to my boss and the store manager and I must have brought the joke up again to express how it made me feel because he got all nervous and backtracked on it. He has changed a lot since then—I last spoke to him in October and it sounds like he's gone on quite a personal journey—but back then he was very obviously uncomfortable around just the topic of queerness, and a colleague he would often have in to do work for us turned out to be gay.
I had a lot of job security at the time and it was clear that the reason the store was running as smoothly as it was was because of me (the only technician in a store that had previous needed to employ multiple to keep up with orders—not to brag but also kinda) so if you have clout in your workplace it could be an opportunity to throw your weight around? Then again this was in rural Canada and maybe I don't know how bad it can be elsewhere.
@“connrrr”#p148779 yay bakery! Make that bread! 
@"MoH"#p148959 My only advice - if you're living in a city centre, don't get a car... but if you're commuting from outside the city, companies in Europe will GIVE you a car. I'm not a big-city lawyer but I'm pretty sure if you ask for a car they HAVE to give you one*. At the very least you can ask and most places will write it into your employment contract. Also Europeans will **force** you to use your vacation days. It's highly frowned upon to waste your days off (which are already twice as many as you'd get in the land of the free). So unfortunately, if you take the job you have to go on holiday to Mallorca whether you want to or not, bucko.
*- this might be a "if you're a cop you have to tell me" type situation.
@"Mnemogenic"#p148984 So sorry to hear that. I once had a coworker who was a real _Joe Rogan_ type -- very insecure and constantly seeking validation, and we were out in public at a convention and he made a super transphobic joke that was so inappropriate and out of nowhere that it completely threw me off and I didn't know how to react, so I just gave him a pissed off look and iced him. He ended up giving a half apology that night and a full real apology later. Which is just to say, most of these idiots don't know what they're talking about and often never really thought about these things or have actual strong opinions. Its ok to freeze up in the moment or just be visibly uncomfortable, its not your job to win over everyone, people can come around on their own, and the simple act of existing means you're winning and that your identity is valid ♡
And don't forget your boss needs you more than you need him!
@“Mnemogenic”#p148984
that sucks :<
im sorry mnem
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@“MoH”#p148959 i might have the opportunity to move overseas (usa -> eu) for my job and there’s a lot of fear and anxiety mixed with the excitement
Go for it! If you have a job lined up and they're prepared to help with relocation costs, depending on the country you go to all you ready need is to work out _why_ not to go! I understand it's scary and a totally new experience but life is full of them! If you go and it doesn't work out, go back - but do it!
There's good and bad points for everywhere you go - what'd be best is finding out exactly where and what benefits you're going to get.
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@“exodus”#p149022 free healthcare!
That's mostly true, some countries you have to pay and are reimbursed the full or part of the amount, depending on both your situation and if you have private insurance, usually paid for by your job in Europe. Eitherways you barely pay anything for medical. As an example I just had 1150 euros worth of dental work done, after my insurance and government reimbursments I paid 86 euros!
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@“Tradegood”#p149040 My only advice - if you’re living in a city centre, don’t get a car… but if you’re commuting from outside the city, companies in Europe will GIVE you a car.
I have never heard of that law anywhere! Granted, if you have a job that means you have to travel **for** it, not **to** it, depending on the role they may do that, but as a law never. Some companies may use it as a bonus insentive instead of paying you in case, for tax reasons, but otherwise you want the job, you work out how to get there.
Depending on the city a car can be awesome. We had one in Paris and it was great to be able to get outside of the city easily and go on great adventures. You do have amazing public transport in most European cities so you don't need it, but if you can it's worth it - but they're not cheap.
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@“Tradegood”#p149040 Also Europeans will force you to use your vacation days.
Yup, you have to not work, it's the law! It's great, and I love it. Plus depending on the country if you work over your contracted hours you get MORE! Yes, in Europe you must take time off work and relax, sorry about that ;)
Also, and making the assumption being in the US you're not in one, we do have are unions! BIG unions, with a lot of power and they will fight for you and your benefits! Membership is usually minimal, if paid at all but they have your back always. I've never heard of anyone being let go and LOSING a case against the company - all you do IF it happens is say "I'll speak to the union" and suddenly it all works out. They have your back more than almost any company will.
If you have any questions about specific countries, laws or just general worries about it please fire them my way - I'll answer what I know or speak to those who live there and do it.
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@“Tom of the Fog”#p149071 I have never heard of that law anywhere! Granted, if you have a job that means you have to travel for it, not to it, depending on the role they may do that, but as a law never. Some companies may use it as a bonus insentive instead of paying you in case, for tax reasons, but otherwise you want the job, you work out how to get there.
Yeah I don't think it's a law or anything, but someone I know was applying for office jobs and just casually mentioned they would get a car at whatever company they worked for. Not only that, they can use the car for whatever they want in day-to-day life and even entry level jobs usually have that option available. Coming from the US it blew my mind, I have never heard of anything like it out here.
@“Tradegood”#p149111 I‘m curious to know which country it was - it may be different to what I know but I can safely say that’s far from the norm for Europe. There are perks such as reduced public transport prices, bicycle purchasing options and various other extras which everyone can have.
I think the working mentality is very different from the US to the EU in a way which would shock people! Here the people are more important than the company and it's reflected in people's attitude to how they work and who they work for.
@“Tom of the Fog”#p149115 It was in Belgium! Apparently taxpayers there help subsidize it? A quarter of Belgians use a company car… its a big deal out there I guess!
@“Tradegood”#p149116 For Belgium that makes sense - in the respects of higher taxes for companies so they save money and still have a car at the end of it. I've known people working there but never anyone have a company car before, could be more the location as they were based in bigger cities.
It does mean going to Belgium though...
I am sick(pretty sure it's covid) but video game industry layoffs, including a couple rounds at my own company in the last 18 months, have me so paranoid about not having a job that I am working anyway. normal stuff.
@“Mnemogenic”#p149643 i would not want to pay for an ai teacher. Good grief
@“DaveedNoo”#p149688 I like how that article highlights specifically how there's just zero intention or meaning in ChatGPT. I think all the senior folks at work just do not understand this at all even when I try to explain it to them.
thank you to @exodus @Tradegood and @Tomofthefog for the advice and well wishes. i would technically be moving there to work for my current (american) company, so i‘m not sure how it would shake out in regards to vacation days, unions, pay, and what not. the wheels are in motion, so it may happen or it may not. in case anyone is wondering, i just do account management type stuff for a software company in a relatively niche industry. i don’t do no codin, just talkin. i already work with lots of international folk.
@Mnemogenic i was talking to my friend about that article today. when i was in grad school i taught comp + creative writing for three years. easily the best job i've ever had, but i decided not to pursue it after seeing the amount of shit those departments had to eat from the university. i'm sadly not surprised to see this development, especially from ASU, which is as evil as stanford but without any of the pedigree. i absolutely agree with your assessment that they will fire everyone and gut the infrastructure before realizing how bad it is. it's terrifying to think we'll soon have people teaching others to write using AI _who have themselves been taught using AI_. it's like the dead internet theory but irl lol. my heart goes out to you.
@sabertoothalex i am almost always thinking about layoffs as a possibility but they are not worth paranoia or working through covid. even if it happens, you will be okay ❤️
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@“MoH”#p149774 i would technically be moving there to work for my current (american) company, so i’m not sure how it would shake out in regards to vacation days, unions, pay, and what not
Confirm with them if it's a secondment or an actual transfer - once you know that it'll confirm your employment status and living status as well. I've done both and while a secondment is nice you do lose the benefits which depending in the country you're in could be far higher than the US.
Good luck whatever you do - even if you don't make the move maybe you've got a taste for life in the EU which is pretty cool!
I'm thinking about becoming a postman. I like sorting things and driving/walking around. What could possibly go wrong?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HiFNt8nGffA&ab_channel=dimb9
I might give it a shot after I move to my new city. If it sucks, I'll just do something else instead.
@“wickedcestus”#p149780 You need to watch more Postman Pat! The adventures he has seem more stressful than his actual job.
Plus there's cat costs, van maintenance and glasses too..
Let‘s not forget that, at the end of the day, Pat feels he’s a really happy man.
@“whatsarobot”#p149785 Well if all the birds and singing and the day is just beginning who wouldn't!
FYI - my boys listen to that theme every night when brushing their teeth. I have those words embedded into my brain from childhood!