----- Original Message -----
From: "Dan Minette" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
To: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Wednesday, June 20, 2001 8:08 PM
Subject: Re: Angry enough to spit
> > He's not chained to the desk, and no one is
> > going to send the bloodhounds out after him if he decides to find
another
> > employer.
> >
>
> It depends on the field. I worked for a company where a V.P. said "who
> would hire you" when someone complained about the lack of raises for two
> years, while the top management got large bonuses. When he went to work
for
> a competitor, he was sued for stealing what was in his head. He was told
> that he could not possibly design something new without stealing trade
> secrets. You could say work for a non-competitor, but after spending 20
> years becoming the top person in his field, changing fields did not seem
> like a good option.
>
> Dan M.
>
This is why I absolutely refused to sign a non-compete agreement with the
present company I work for. I plan to leave this town within a few years,
and the non-compete agreement said that I could not work for any competitor
or any other company related to my present job for 2 years following my
leaving the company. Considering that my job includes computer animation,
web programming, graphics design, minor IT tasks, etc. signing that would be
a fatal blow to any hope of landing a job in computer animation (or any
other computer field) when I finally leave town even though Disney, Square,
Sony, Pixar, ILM, etc. are not our competetors, since the job would require
doing tasks that are in my current job duties. I think such non-compete
agreements are specifically designed to deter employees from moving to
another, better, job when they are not happy with their current job. When
they asked me to sign the non-compete and said that my job would be
terminated if I did not sign it, I told them flat out that I would not sign
such an agreement because they knew when they hired me that I only planned
to stay in the job for a few years and I was not going to throw my future
away by signing that. What do you know, almost a year later, I still
haven't signed it, and I am still working there.
I also refused to sign a paper (that was not affixed to any doccument)
saying I understand and agree to the policies outlined in the employee
manual. The employee manual was loaded with contradictions and some
restrictions which I considered unreasonable, that I knew that I would
dislike having to strictly adhere to (and I never sign a paper that is not
affixed to the doccument that the paper says I am agreeing to abide by).
Why do I still have a job if I have refused to sign almost any paper that
crosses my desk regarding any restrictions about my job? Because I am
fortunate enough to have skills in a town of unskilled workers. Most people
with my skills would have moved to another town long ago to get better pay,
but I am quite comfortable where I am for the moment (at least until my
student loans are paid off) , the pay is ok (better than any other job I
could get in this town, though much lower than the national average) I don't
have to pay rent because I live at my mother's house still (I'm not a
freeloader though, I buy all my own food and I help with the bills). And
finding an apartment where I could live and still keep Bebe would be a royal
pain, and very expensive.
On the topic of surfing the web at work, I am not in the practice of surfing
(except when looking for GNU freeware and code tips to make my job easier,
save time, and save money for the company), but, when frustrated, tired, or
burned out will surf 3D computer art sites. Considering that my job duties
include computer animation, I do not consider that an abuse, but I still
keep it to a minimum. On breaks though, I surf where I please (usually the
"exposure" section of the Sci-fi channel site, though I never downloaded
"Tripping the Rift" at work. "Antebios", yes; "More", yes; "Me and the Big
Guy", yes; "All is Full of Love", yes; "Tripping the Rift", no way in hell,
I don't care if it is computer animated, that is not something you want to
see more than once, and you definately do not want to download that at the
office).
The Dolphin
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
