As you know I have been training a new staff member to take over my job and I will be moving into a slightly more technical position doing Tech Support work, but another new opportunity has presented itself.
At the moment I work for the local government and I really like where I work. I have been working there for nearly two years in an IT Support (helpdesk) position. But I do not actually work for them directly, I am employed by an employment agency and work for the local government under contract that gets extended every few months or so. Because of this I don't get any benefits such as sick pay and RDO's (Roster Days Off) and paid holiday leave etc. Also my job is actually not supposed to be permanent, I am filling a roll that is actually filled by an existing staff member that is just currently working on a big project so I may loose my position at some point. But at the same time there is also a high chance that I will eventually become hired full time and get to keep my job permanently, or fill another of the many new jobs that are becoming available at the organisation.
As I mentioned in the last post they have given me the opportunity to step up a level and start doing a more technical roll as a Desktop Support tech which is a step up and will make my resume look a little better and give me more experience.
At the same time my boss, who is a pretty awesome guy and always looks out for me, brought to my attention that the local University has two Service Desk positions advertised that I would be perfect for because they are the same kind of job I have been doing for the last two years and I am pretty damn good at. These positions will be directly employed by the University rather than through an employment agency which means that I get all the benefits and job security etc. But on the other hand it means that right now when I have the opportunity to get into a more technical roll, I will be instead moving back into the same experience level I have been in over the last two years.
So my question to you is, should I go for this job at the University for the job security and benefits even though I will still be at my current level, or should I stick where I am and take the new roll, build more experience have some opportunity to build my resume?
Oh... and I'm just about to leave to go to my uncles place... again! to watch the Grand Final ... again! Hope my team wins this time!
...well kinda, I guess. I am currently training a new staff member to do my job and I will be moving to a more technical position in IT. Unfortunately what this will mean is that for the next few weeks I will probably be posting much less because most of the posts I make on this Blog are done during work hours.
For the next few days or so I will be training the new staff member everything I can so I will be flat out... and I can't exactly just start typing up Blog posts in front of her. After I am done training her I will need to be training in my new position which will take a little while, then after that I will be pretty flat out in the first few weeks at least trying to learn as much as I can before I can really settle into the position and even think about getting free time to type up some stuff for you guys.
I will still post some stuff during that time but because I will have to do it at home it will most likely be much less frequent. But I'm sure I can come up with something for you to decide about changing my life during that time :D
AFL (Australian Football League) is the professional / national league of Australian Rules Football. The game is played with two teams of 22 players, 18 on the field and 4 interchangers. The game is played with an oval shaped ball on an oval shaped field (a modified cricket field). The game is played in quartes, with a 6 minute break between each quarter but a 20 minute break at half time. The four quarters are each 20 minutes, with the clock stopping when the ball is out of play. The aim is simply to score more points than the other team.
A football oval with the playing positions listed
The game is played by either kicking, hand-balling, or running with the ball, throwing the ball is not allowed. When running with the ball they must bounce the ball at least every 15 meters or pass it to another player. Players must always dispose of the ball by either a kick or a handpass. The most basic and most frequently used method of kicking the ball is by holding it out in front of you and 'dropping' it onto your foot as you kick forward, similar to how a soccer goal keeper kicks the ball onto the field. Soccer kicking the ball, punching the ball, etc. are all allowed, only throwing the ball is against the rules and results in a free kick for the other team. Dropping the ball also results in a free kick to the opposition.
The game stars with a coin toss to determine beginning directions. Then the ball is bounced in the centre of the field by an umpire and one team member from each side jumps for the ball and attempts to knock it towards another team member to gain possession. There are positions for players on the field but all players are free to move anywhere on the field during the game.
Scoring might seem a little weird to people new to the game. The aim is to kick the ball between the other teams posts. There are 4 posts at each end of the field. One team aims for one set of posts and vice versa. The teams interchange which direction they kick each quarter. When the ball is kicked between the two big (centre) posts that is a 'goal' which scores 6 points. If the ball is kicked between a small and big post (outer posts) that is a 'behind' which is 1 point. If the ball goes through any of the posts but makes contact with the defending team before crossing the line it is only 1 point even if it goes through the centre posts. If a team scores a goal the ball is returned to the centre of the field to begin play with a bounce. If only a behind (point) is scored the defending team then starts with the ball at their goal line between the centre posts.
Players are allowed to tackle the player that is in possession of the ball. If the player that is tackled does not handpass or kick the ball before getting pulled to the ground a free kick is awarded to the opposing team. If the player getting tackled drops or throws the ball a free kick is awarded. Although tackles are allowed, tackles that are considered too high (grabbing around the neck or head) are against the rules and a free kick will be awarded to the player that was tackled. Pushing in the back is also against the rules but a clean tackle from behind is fine though.
Marking the ball is another rule that some people do not understand at first. A mark is when a player catches the ball directly from a kick from either a team mate or the opposition. If the kick travels over 15m (distance is estimated at the discretion of the umpires) before being marked, the player has the option to pay the mark (basically take a free kick) or to play on. If the player takes the mark he will usually stop when he marks the ball and if an opposing player is about to tackle him he may do something to indicate he is taking the mark such as stop and stick out his hand or something. If the player marks the ball while being tackled or while diving or falling it is usually just considered that he will take the mark. When a player takes the mark the opposition are not allowed to tackle the player, the player is free for 10-15 seconds or so to kick the ball (usually the umpires will allow more time if the playing is going for a kick for goal, particularly for a long distance or hard angle kick). If the player decides to run with the ball that is considered a play on and he can now be tackled.
Here are the highlights from the Grand Final, Only the 3rd time a Grand Final has ever drawn. My team is Collingwood (the Magpies, in black and white stripes):
At the moment I work for the local government and I really like where I work. I have been working there for nearly two years in an IT Support (helpdesk) position. But I do not actually work for them directly, I am employed by an employment agency and work for the local government under contract that gets extended every few months or so. Because of this I don't get any benefits such as sick pay and RDO's (Roster Days Off) and paid holiday leave etc. Also my job is actually not supposed to be permanent, I am filling a roll that is actually filled by an existing staff member that is just currently working on a big project so I may loose my position at some point. But at the same time there is also a high chance that I will eventually become hired full time and get to keep my job permanently, or fill another of the many new jobs that are becoming available at the organisation.
At the same time my boss, who is a pretty awesome guy and always looks out for me, brought to my attention that the local University has two Service Desk positions advertised that I would be perfect for because they are the same kind of job I have been doing for the last two years and I am pretty damn good at. These positions will be directly employed by the University rather than through an employment agency which means that I get all the benefits and job security etc. But on the other hand it means that right now when I have the opportunity to get into a more technical roll, I will be instead moving back into the same experience level I have been in over the last two years.
