Soldier of Fortune
tl;dr: Sorry for disappearing in such an instant, I was overloaded with work and job wasn`t 20% as good as I wanted to be so I decided to move back to Hungary to my "old" job. In the near future I plan to bring my PC and move to a rent.
If anyone interested this piece of writing may serve as a good example how not to change jobs. So partly I write this to tell my case to you guys, and partly it is a fable with a moral.
Let`s get into the past for a bit: 4-5 months ago, after a few shitty jobs and PhD apply rejections, I decided to move to Hungary, because I was invited to a job, we had the interview via skype. I was invited to another job interview here in another field (public health and national vaccine management related), but they never called me back, so I started working here in the veterinary diagnostics laboratory, but even before I started I was asked from home If I wanted to go home for to work for a human diag. lab. I told them I already work here, but later, I`m willing to go home.
They offered a good enough proposal in the phone.
I moved back to Romania (too bad Transilvania is part of it since the end of WW2), and it turned out the local chief of the company moved abroad at the time we had to arrange the details. So one week later we arranged a new meeting, I asked him the best possible time for him, and while we were on the road, he called me to hurry, because he has to leave sooner. This was a bad indicator, if the former wasn`t already one. Eventually we met, and was able to talk for an hour, and settle some things. Since his offer on phone a lot things already changed, like my wage went down isntantly, I had more tasks to do, and they didn`t supplied me a corporate car either. I heard rumours that this company falsificates results, they do poorly, and has various affairs, which I couldn`t confirm nor deny, because I knew almost nothing about the companay... A bad omen once again.
My first job day was interesting enough, because this boss appeared with the labor contract, which contained once again a tiny bit worse settings than in what we agreed live. I signed it noneoftheless.
As my first hour was passing by assistants gave me a piece of paper telling me that some parameters in the qc wasn`t good at all. On a Hitatchi 911, which was a 26 year old biochemistry machine using DOS and floppy disks, facts already telling a lot. The problem wasn`t that the machine was old, the problem lay in that because it was old, it potentially had faults of his own due to aging and the use...
I was not able to correct the QC at all, since I had no business with that machine before, too bad the personnel didn`t knew shit about it either. So at the end of first day I went home with the user manual and service book to look up things and I read two books, because I had to do everything myself. It turned out I couldn`t fix the parameters, because the machine`s reagent 1 pipettor unit was faulty (I realized this when I saw it pipetting into the reagent 2 chamber reagents... So I called the service. They fixed it, and I tried to do my job. This was my third day, my official work programme was from 7-14, but I was home at 21, after I missed two trains, I had to move with a bus, I was angry becuase I couldn`t solve anything, I was literally wasting my time, nobody was able nor willing to help and I got soaked in the rain too. I wanted to quit that day, but I didn`t. I wanted to be ablsolutely sure in my actions are based not on emotions but on reason.
Things didn`t go that well, as I was already near correcting the paramters the machine failed. It was like constructing the Tower of Babel...
One time I had switch off the machine asap, because it was leaking so heavily that like 10 liters of water was already on the floor, and it was getting dangerous. To avoid electrocution of myself and the personnel, I switched off the machine and stopped the water flow. And this is a biochemistry machine after all, with inteded perfection and punctuality.
The next week was no different: this time the reagent 1 pipettor unit got fauly, I had to call the service once again. We was nearly okay, measuring all parameters at the end of my second and last week thanks to my ingenuity and some clever ideas and executions... (to praise myself a bit)
Meanwhnile all this taking place I was constantly in contact with the boss, telling him what we need, what we have to change, etc. while also bringing up my personal needs, starting with my wage after the end of the probation period. It turned out (if it wasn`t alredy clear to you) this guy, wasn`t reliable at all. He made promises in an instant: as I told him we need a new biochem. machine, he called me, telling me that he in that in that very moment he talked to the head of the company and they already ordered one for me. I stated my minimum desired wage after probation period, and I asked him, if they willing to pay me that sum, but he always dodged the question one way or another. After 3 direct questions, I saw this is not going to change, and I`ll be left with broken vows promises and a borken machine. And besides this shitty lab, I had to go to do and introduce new PCR tests, but funny enough I was overworking all the time already.
The personnel consisted: all chicks, 3 assistants (30-45 old. lab. foxes, who didn`t give a shit about anyhing), 1 physican (~65 year old, after her reiterment, well beyond her prime, outdated views, lacking modern concepts and knowledge, etc.).
And what about the rumors? Well, It turned out they are true to some extent, we... khm... the company had a real bad reputation. We couldn`t measure all paramaters of course, and which we couldn`t, we sent those samples to another lab to finish them, but sometimes the medic sent out the faulty measurements, while we was preparing the samples to send them for a good measurement. She knew we wasnt`t measuring as we should, because I told her, but he sent out the results nevertheless. Human lifes may depend on it, but what the fuck. - this was the common mentality, which I was able to figure out after one week. On the second week one time an assistant wanted to replace the wrong measurements also with MADE UP ONES, and I told her not do it, reprimanding her, I told them that this practice won`t be taking place while I`m working there because partly I was responsible for the results. And not just this: because it was completely immoral, unlawful and shameful.
So the shit pile was stacking up more and more, and I decided enough is enough. I`m not willing to go to jail because of these greedy assholes, I won`t be part in falsifications and misstatments because my morals and ethics won`t let me (either we do our job as we SHOULD and HAVE TO or we shouldn`t do anything), I`m not willing to work in less than decent modern technical instruments and background with people not willing to do their job and not willing to work at all.
After two weeks, I was able to correct most of the paramaters, went home Friday after an exhausting day, I took a 11 hour bus trip and started working the next day in another country. Guess what afer 2 weeks leaving them, they still owe me 2 weeks of payment coupled with 20-30 hours of overwork.
Moral of the story: get as much inforamtion as possbible before starting a new thing (or changing jobs), set your ALL your ideas, needs and conditions in stone in ADVANCE and STICK TO THEM in order to not to be part of any unwanted suprizes, and don`t bother with people who show any sign of unreability or has other negative traits in your eye.
how are you now? Happy to hear you got away! 
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