My Boss is weird and I hate my job!

Be patient this is long and complicated but keep reading...

I'm a graduate student and work as a teacher for children with disabilities at a very small company. We have a three person skeleton crew (admin asst, my boss and me). I drive to the family's home so I don't need a classroom. My pay is not good. There are no benefits, I use my own car.

I took the job because it was salaried with flexible hours and for more experience. (Prior to this I was a substitute for several public school districts for three years). I was promised I could arrange my own schedule. My boss is still working a fulltime job and is hardly ever there.

I'm not getting any experience. The flexible schedule never really happened. Because things are slow she expects me to work a full day but school is my priority. Most of the classes I need are in the mornings. I'm a single mom and can't afford to stay and pay a sitter to go to school at night on my salary.

The company has been open for over 8 months and last month we got our first student but most of the time I sit doing nothing. I come in around 8:30 and leave at 4 pm. I am bored out of my mind. I try to help the Admin Asst but she barely has work to do and feels like I'm trying to take her job.

The Admin Asst hardly ever takes breaks or goes to lunch she stays at her desk the whole day. Both she and my boss went with me on the first day I taught our new student. She seems to resent me not showing up to work to go to school. She's been working a the company three months longer than I have.

Today the Admin Asst finally needed a day off and I had to come in early open the office and cover for her. I was glad to help but my boss told her not to give me a key and to give me the number for the maintenance man to open the office. I guess I'm not trustworthy enough to have the keys.

I am a divorced, 44 years old, I have a small business of my own and a college graduate. I have worked in an office for many years prior to changing my career to teaching.

I'm confused because I am the unofficial techie for the office. I set up our company's website, know more software programs than my boss and admin asst put together. I am very smart and capable. I What am I doing wrong? This job makes me feel useless.

It sounds like your boss isn't a very good manager in some ways. Maybe she would be open to feedback if you talk to her about your frustrations. I can relate to what you are saying. I'm a graduate student too, and went back to school because I needed a professional career to feel like I was living my life and reaching my potential. It really is frustrating to be trying to establish yourself as a professional, and not to be treated like they even trust you with basic things like having a key or managing your own time. Part of it might have to do with being in school and that being the priority, as they might feel that they aren't your priority so that affects your status with the company.

Some companies are more supportive of increasing your education than others. I would suggest evaluating your needs and asking yourself if this company can meet your needs or not. You can present your needs to them and see if they will offer changes that will work for you. If they aren't meeting your needs, you might want to find someone else who will. It is reasonable to want a job that recognizes your capabilities and potential and helps you to feel good about yourself. Sometimes speaking up for yourself can make that more likely, and sometimes they aren't willing or able to give what you need. Maybe they need to be reminded of your potential and abilities so that they will recognize what you have to offer.

It sounds like you have great talent that many companies would want in an employee. You need to do what is right for you...but have you considered a new job? I don't know if that is the right solution for you, I am just tossing the idea out there. Really, I don't have any solutions to the problems you are having at your current job. It sounds like you are doing everything you can to make it work out. I always try to remember that my job does not equal my self worth.

You're probably right. I feel guilty complaining about a job where I get paid and I'm not doing anything. But if I can't go to school then the job's not worth it. I'd make more money if went back to office work.

We don't have the facilities or actual staff to offer very many services so we don't get much business. I really think the company is in trouble.

The state pays $80 per hour to teach our one student. This student has only mild delays and teaching students with greater disabilities pays more. I think my boss saw $$$ and thought she could profit by hiring a graduate student, loading her up with children, and paying a fraction of that in salary. Because the starting pay was so low, it took her several months to find a teacher. I was the only one to accept the job. Within the first few weeks, I had questions of whether my boss can make a profit. That's why I insisted on being salaried.

My boss may also be increasing my stress level to help me "voluntarily quit". She has my qualifications on record and with so little work she could easily do my job herself and just not report to the state that I quit.

We have a number of "supporting staff" on paper that don't actually work for us and my boss can't operate without at least one teacher.

I haven't read any of the other posts here, so pardon me if you've already moved beyond this issue.

You describe yourself as being very capable, even owning your own business, being a mother, and also a graduate student. That full plate of yours isn't very conducive to being a graduate student, and since the flexible schedule you were promised never happened, I'd say you've made an excellent case for your departure. Why are you staying at this dysfunctional job that doesn't pay well, has no benefits, and didn't give you the flexible schedule you were promised? You aren't even getting the experience that you were lead to believe that it provided.

You have other income from your own small business, correct? I'm sure that could carry you until the start date for your next job (if you don't quit before getting a new one). There are tons of other job options that you need to look into that at the very least will be better than paying out of pocket your own gas money and mileage for the job your settling for. Honestly, I think you are being used by your boss and probably the admin asst. and you definitely were mislead if not completely lied to about what you would be doing.

Most college students can do quite well with a part-time job after the morning classes.Graduate students can even be teaching assistants, which is right up your alley. Have you looked into those?
Most universities also have a large variety of student job positions that fit very nicely with college courses, which almost always offer flexible scheduling and are usually on-campus or nearby.

I'm sure that you'll have student technology help staff that are employed by your university's computer/technical department (you know, they work in computer labs, answer questions fix printers etc.). Have you considered looking into something like that? It's not a career, it's a job so that you can finish your degree and get on with your chosen career field.

My final recommendation would be to see what you can get in the way of grants and scholarships, as they are sure to help out.

Hi Zelev -- It sounds like you deserve better and you know it. All of the suggestions here sound good. I was a late-blooming grad student, too, who got my degrees in my 40s. Keep going. You can do it!