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Mooant
41 / male
New Britain, Connecticut, US
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Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
I'm getting frustrated with the current job market. Its basically impossible to get a job (a real one) because everyone wants someone with 5+ years of experience. The only way for the fresh out of school people to get jobs is either getting REALLY REALLY lucky, or going to these god damned temp agencies. They only call you if they think you're a "good" match for a job, as in they think they can sell you easily. The contracts they have you sign are messed up, if your employer ends the contract early, they still have to pay it out, but you don't get any of the money for the time that you lost even though the agency is making out like a bandit. I've actually found out the amounts the companies are paying the agencies for the temps, basically a third of the money they're paying is going to the agency. Fuck the agency, just give me half the difference and I'll be happy! (If its cheaper to get a temp, I can't wait to actually get a job...)
I'm a scientist, I just want to work, and discover. I don't care about the pay as long as I can afford my bills. Why are these companies bringing in temps all the time instead of just offing jobs? Its because they just laid off all their highly paid scientists, so when jobs are opened up (even the 'no experience' ones), the apps are flooded with lots of high experience scientists that the newbies to the field don't have a chance!
ASDKGWQ#YR Q GOSH:LDRYW:#$OTJAFGAOV#J$%^#QW:B#J$^BQWO#J <-- Nerd Rage
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| September 15, 2009, 07:07 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
The Temp services here were a few years ago, running the show. They would hire large amounts of people for their manufacting jobs, (yes, much cheaper wage through the service) then once the contract (6 months to a year) came near, and the company had to hire and increase their pay, cough up that medical health package, they would instead let them all go and hire all new temps, no one actually got hired on after the contract time.
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| September 15, 2009, 13:01 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
I'm wishing you better luck in your career Moo...you've got a wonderful mind and it should be put to good use dammit.
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| September 16, 2009, 11:07 |
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Mooant
41 / male
New Britain, Connecticut, US
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
I know, I can't wait to break out and go all mad scientist on you all 
I have some ideas for immunology research that I'd love to get to play around with. I don't want it to wait too long because the research is starting to move in the direction that these ideas are in (albeit fairly bad designs compared to the ones that I have due to their inflexibility), and I want to get in on it before someone else comes up with similarly useful ideas.
I'll hint at it with a description of the current technology: There's a company in CT that I've been trying to get a job at for the last two years. They specialize in a new type of vaccine for the flu virus, that disables the virus before it infects a cell, preventing it from producing more copies and spreading the infection more. Its useful because you can get a shot of it before you get sick and it will help protect you still (although I'm not fully convinced of the longevity of the protection because the immune system should recognize it as a foreign material and digest it, which could in turn cause a minor to severe allergic reaction from subsequent vaccinations of a similar strain). The downsides are that it is basically a one to one protection system, one molecule of this anti-viral can stop/block one viral cell. The designs that hesitant to reveal should be able to stop a large quantity of viral cells and flag the immune system to dormant viral protein coatings. My system could possibly be custom tailored to any virus strain, whereas their system is limited just to a specific type of flu virus (the H1N1 strain that everyone's worried about). In the end, my form of anti-viral medicine could end up being the cure to AIDS, HPV, Herpes, Hepatitis, a true cure to the common cold, the flu (the list goes on)...
For the non biologists out there, there are basically three types of illnesses that a person can contract (ie: caused by a microscopic living entity). Bacteria, Fungi, and Virus. Bacterias are what the doctors throw antibiotics at and it cures it. Fungi are the same as bacteria, but it's antifungals, a different form of medicine. There is no way to cure a virus, the only method currently used for those pesky bugs is by killing the cell that they infect (basically kill the person to cure them kinda thing for the bad ones like HIV). All the medicine for viruses are to simply ease the symptoms, because there's nothing the doctors can do otherwise.
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| September 17, 2009, 08:31 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
Yep, I believe you need to be out there working!
I hate that there isn't a single thing I can do to help.
Are you just seeking in the US? Are any other countries a better "jumping off" point for you in this field? Just to start of with for a year or so maybe?
Hell, I think you'd be better finding a philanthropist or funding for your own research and lab instead of trying to get on with some established place that's using the temp services...(then you could do some hiring!)
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| September 17, 2009, 12:50 |
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Mooant
41 / male
New Britain, Connecticut, US
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
hehe, It'd be nice if someone gave me tons of cash to start up a lab, but the cash needed to start this kind of lab is a bit extreme (in the 10's of millions), which is why there are few labs that exist and are more likely than not tied to college systems or giant corporations.
I'm getting a couple nibbles in other states, hopefully they'll lead to something. I haven't really looked in other countries, but I don't think I'd want to deal with all the red tape just to get a job.
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| September 18, 2009, 05:57 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
Aw shoot, I figured US would be the absolute lead in Red Tape.
I'm convinced that you are smart enough to find a cure for AIDS, herpes, the common cold...and indeed smart enough to find a job in a really tough market. 
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| September 18, 2009, 12:13 |
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funlovingpair
59 / couple
Frozen Tundra, Minnesota, US
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
A lot of companies will only hire through temp agencies. It's so much easier to remove the few bad apples that way. has been with a temp service for better than 4 years now. The company she works for, won't hire her in job that she is doing. Her agency charges about $6 per hour more as their fee. She used to get holiday pay and a weeks worth of vacation pay. Notice I said used to. The temp agency has taken all that away now. I'm not even sure if they offer any type of a health care package anymore. When they did, it wasn't that great of coverage and was spendy. She doesn't need health care coverage, but it would nice to get holiday and vacation pay and sick pay. We're still hopefull that she will be hired on full time. Their plan, her bosses, is to keep her working in other jobs until the position they want her in opens up. Hell, they created a position that only she was qualified for, and posted it knowing full well she would be the only one to get it. They do have a grand plan, to bad they didn't tell Ma. 
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| September 18, 2009, 17:12 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
I've seen many a times with friends and family that these agencies can be BOTH a blessing and curse, without elaborating. Good luck Mooant!
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| September 19, 2009, 15:37 |
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User no longer registered.
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
They do nothing for the big picture...the local economy and employment figures here.
They're kinda handy for a quick job sometimes, but really keep good people from securing good full time employment, and these people just end up getting dumped back into the unemployment office line on regular intevals.
A constant turnover rate of temps with their contracts up going out, a new batch of cheap new hires coming in.
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| September 20, 2009, 02:10 |
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ashkats
64 / couple
crystal falls, Michigan, US
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Re: Temp Agencies - Blessing and Curse
i had one once tell me i couldn't compete with the ones coming out of school . i had 12 years hands on elect. tech. i was told by another i was decimated on whenn they told me that, happyness is getting old i guess
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| September 24, 2009, 04:58 |
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