
As you already know, I did not post last Saturday evening as I planned, and from this, we can learn two things: 1) I am not to be trusted with respect to my intentions to post and 2) life comes at you fast…
While I didn’t mention it then, I was actually posting last week from my best friend’s home in the northeast. (Have I given her a moniker yet?) She and her partner recently ended their relationship and she needed an ear and a distraction. I did my best to provide both. However, I returned to the Southeast this past Sunday at Boss Lady’s request that I attend two staff meetings on Monday. I was a bit concerned about attending these meetings given that I still didn’t have an official offer letter, however, as Boss Lady and half of the department will be at a conference next week, it seemed like something I needed to attend. (Note: Human Resources (HR) at University B is almost universally panned for being egregiously slow…) In any instance, fourteen business days later and I finally have an official offer letter.
As I mentioned previously, the new gig with University B is full-time and temporary through July 1st. However, and this was a pleasant surprise, it comes with University B’s financial and healthcare benefits. (Yay to no longer raiding my HSA to pay for consistent basic healthcare!) As a salaried, exempt employee, I am paid monthly and my annualized salary is $51,000.00. Now, I know what you might be thinking: that seems like a significant step down from the previous role with Organization C in terms of salary ($75,000.00). And on the basis of salary alone, it is. It’s also a step down in terms of title but my ego and I got over it. However, the reason I was willing to accept this offer, in addition to Boss Lady being kinda awesome, is that the role comes with a three-bedroom apartment and a meal plan. 👀
My new department at University B does not regularly hire temporary employees and when I was initially talking to Boss Lady about this role, it was her expectation that the role would be temporary, hourly, not benefits-eligible, and would not come with the fringe package. However, and it’s almost enough to get me to take back my own critique of their timeliness, HR told Boss Lady’s boss that to ensure pay equity with my peers in the same or similar roles, I had to be offered benefits and a fringe package. Well, I’ll be.
Because Boss Lady had originally told me that I would not be offered a fringe package, and it is a temporary role, I had no intention of moving. However, after thinking it over, I have decided to move into my campus apartment because 1) it’s a requirement of the role if housing is offered, 2) a current colleague told me of his intention to leave the department at the end of the semester and shared this with both Boss Lady and Boss Lady’s boss, creating another permanent opening on the team, and 3) and perhaps most significantly of all, I have been extended interviews by three other universities in my state…making it to the final round of all three. And, as Boss Lady shared during my orientation meeting, it is currently a job candidates market in this field. Following the COVID-19 pandemic, people have re-evaluated the kinds of work they want to perform, and fewer and fewer graduates are interested in the high-touch, high-care aspects of this field. Things I really enjoy. For now, I’m pretty confident that even if I can’t remain at University B, on July 1st, I will have somewhere to go.
Once I made the decision to move, I needed to decide when I would move. Well, it turns out my new housemate has a friend in a pretty rough living situation who would be open to taking over my lease beginning March 1st. We emailed my landlord last night and she approved the lease termination/transfer…which means, over the next six days, I will need to move from my current place to my new apartment. 👀 I am extremely fortunate that my best friend works remotely, is still a bit lonely, and immediately volunteered to come hang out and help me move.
Moving obviously has financial implications and I will get to those in my long overdue “2023 Financial Goals” post, which will include my plans to replenish my beleaguered emergency fund and return to aggressive student loan repayment. 👀