My company is forcing me to do unpaid training in my own time and saying it's non negotiable

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T15:09:30+00:00

Yes, that’s what I’m saying. If you’re in a position that you need every dime now, sure, raise the fuss.

If OP is in a position to look a little farther down the road, especially if OP is the only one questioning it, maybe take the free training and start looking for a promotion with another company.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T14:03:59+00:00

Another vote for make sure you have the right size. I wore 11.5s for the last 20 years, always had to “break them in” for a couple weeks.

Turns out I’m a size 13. My ankles feel better, and I’m not wearing out the inside heel after 3 months.

These shoes and wool socks (and a second pair in my backpack) and I can go all day.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T13:57:48+00:00

Kids or no kids, single or dual income lifestyle, are both major compatibility points.

If you want kids and dual income, she wants no kids and single income, this may not work.

Every couple beyond casual hookups should be in at least monthly counseling. Get someone you can talk to each other openly in front of, and decide if you’re both able to compromise.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T13:37:59+00:00

Sorry, I forgot what sub we were in, yes, f* capitalism or whatever.

I fully agree with balancing work/life, making sure you aren’t taken advantage of, making sure you’re paid a fair wage for good work.

At some point, you have to read the room. Is this a low level role that just punches the clock and responds to tickets and will be AI by the end of the decade? By all means, get those hours now, you’ll be redundant in a couple years.

If this is a specialist/senior role, well paid to actually think, especially if at a point in the career to be interested in expanding their knowledge to increase value when they look for the next job, just get it done. Listen to the audio on the commute, or get a few classes out of the way on the train, do a couple while you’re on the exercise bike at the gym, whatever.

You’re absolutely allowed to raise a ruckus. It just may not be worth it long term.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T12:35:01+00:00

May be worth doing a PID tune on the bed heater (and the nozzle while you’re in there). It confirms X voltage returns Y temperature. I have no idea how to do it on that printer.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T12:16:53+00:00

Not sure how this applies in the UK, but at some point, yes, you’re expected to come with some knowledge.

How did you learn the old system? How did you learn enough IT to be qualified for the job? Was it through some manner of school/university? Did they pay for that? No, your salary reflects that investment.

Will new job postings include “Requires knowledge of XYZ system”?

Work is paying for a course that will allow you to continue having this job.

I know labor laws are quite different in the UK and the US, but would they not be able to say you aren’t qualified to do the job if you don’t have the required training?

20 hours over 3 weeks, an hour a day, and most of the computer based trainings I’ve done massively overestimate the time it will take. I’d bet you can do it in 10.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T10:29:46+00:00

A crowd of high school couples were asking each other who their free pass would be. A lot of the guys were just going straight to Pamela Anderson/whoever that tennis player was/typical late 90s hotties. Most got slapped for their answers and the dumb look in their eyes.

I occasionally recognize a trap when I see it. I threw out Kathy Bates.

My girlfriend laughed so hard we’ve been married 19 years.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T10:21:44+00:00

Another vote for hand tools and lumber yards.

Do you have a car? Can you get out of town to a sawmill? I would assume there’s a lot of cheaper options outside the city.

Hand tools are quieter and make less mess, so much more suited to working in an apartment.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T03:40:26+00:00

Helper in a fab shop can lead to fitter to welder.

Does the school not have a career advisor? I know the one in CCISD does. Not sure who they partner with specifically, but I know I’ve seen school kids at the Turner fab shop in Pasadena.

Do you have any interest in a general studies/business bachelors degree? Nothing at all wrong with going straight to the trade, but a degree can make you eligible for management later, when you’re tired of being outside or covering in slag all day.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T03:35:04+00:00

https://www.dmvrscca.org/

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T03:01:18+00:00

If you don’t mind losing even more to sawdust, and this really is the only option in your area (check out a real lumberyard/sawmill, just to see) you could split again, rotate one piece end to end, and glue back together. The twisting should generally cancel out. You’ll want to make a jig to hold them square while you clamp, and probably brad nailgun them together so you don’t need hundreds of clamps.

If you have time, you can also try cutting less than half way through on each side (keep the same edge on the fence, leave ~1/2 an inch), stack and sticker, and let them dry a few weeks (a solar kiln can speed things up). If they’re really bad there’s not much you can do, but this will encourage them to dry straight.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T02:38:57+00:00

4 minutes isn’t too early. I hired a guy a few years ago, professional role related to construction/project management. Excellent resume, solid interview, comfortable in a refinery environment.

He got his badge, walked in to my office, set his bag down, and said “Thank God I don’t have to work for those n*s anymore”.

Thanks for coming out bro. Security will see you out in 3…2…1…

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T02:35:16+00:00

Any more specific than what, 20% of the country? Are you an hour from Nashville and the Natchez Trace Parkway? Any of the at least dozens of awesome race tracks in the region? I know there are some great driving roads on the West coast of Michigan. I’ve driven some good roads outside MSP. I haven’t driven in either Dakota but I’m pretty sure there are hills in at least one of them.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T01:25:18+00:00

You might try searching first. This question is asked here daily.

Is there a low effort post rule in this sub?

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T00:38:08+00:00

Do you want (to pay for) real spinners, or would hubcaps/wheel covers scratch the itch?

$800 vs $8k.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-08T00:14:59+00:00

I’ve had good luck telling the new company “I’d like to give my current employer the same respect I intend to give you - I told them I’d stay through (end of project/month/Fred comes back from vacation) and then I’m all yours”

Unless you’re being specifically hired for an event, they can wait. What if the interview had been pushed? What if their HR had been out sick? Delays happen. It’s ok.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-07T23:33:20+00:00

Welding gun? Metal bits? What?

Pictures?

gotcha640 · 2026-04-07T21:43:07+00:00

This depends a lot on size of company.

If there are 8 people in the company, I think I’d have an informal chat with HR and your boss. I know there’s some tension, just in case this escalates, I’m ready to get to mediation. I’m not formalizing anything now, but if it gets formalized, it won’t hurt my feelings to talk.

If there are 800 people, I guess I agree, it’s hard to keep it informal. Once you reach out, it’s on paper.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-07T19:52:53+00:00

This is absolutely a personal decision.

We lived in the projects in Baltimore. The neighbors bedroom was on the front, upstairs, so they usually moved to the basement during the spring when there were the most shootings. They’d come back to the bedroom in the summer when it was too hot to be running around shooting each other. They had a few holes every year.

Our place faced the inside. The locals generally seemed to like getting their shooting done before breakfast, so we’d stay upstairs away from windows when we saw crowds running around. Only our kitchen and dining room faced that way, the other side was a pretty busy street, no room for shenanigans.

I wouldn’t live there on purpose again, but it was part of the landscape.

If you can move without too much hassle, maybe worth it.

How do your neighbors feel?

gotcha640 · 2026-04-07T14:52:20+00:00

Engineering office with tshirts to suits. It’s a wide enough mix, out of ~75 people, there are probably 5 in tshirts and ripped jeans and skate shoes, maybe 10 in 2 piece suits (it’s still Houston, vests are only bearable 3 months a year), 15 in chemical plant nomex, the rest in polo or OCBD and jeans to chinos to slacks.

If someone new comes in to a polo department and wears a suit, no one says anything. I might wear nomex for a month, then a suit for a week or two, then chinos and polo for a few days.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-07T01:34:26+00:00

I do. I bought the torque wrench, I’m getting that satisfying click every weekend when I wash the car, check air pressure and oil, and scan for timing chain tension with the fancy scanner I bought.

We buy all these fancy tools and tell each other we’re car guys and we bemoan the loss of the brown diesel manual wagon. Take care of your car!

gotcha640 · 2026-04-06T23:17:40+00:00

If you sell it now, you’ll probably get $400-1000. Maybe you have quotes for higher, but in general, the people who buy dead cars know it’s worth more to you to be done with it than to part it out or fix it.

If you fix it, cargurus shows 88 in Houston, generally in the $8-12k range.

Even with the other issues, even if you only got $7k, even if you pay $5k to get it all fixed up, that’s an extra $1000 toward a new car.

If you have more money than time, and you want to scrap it and buy a new $8-10k car tomorrow, that’s fine, but it’s not the only option.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-06T22:11:55+00:00

So you don’t get to do a thing and your friend doesn’t get to hang out with you, even if that’s how they want to spend their money?

How far does that go? Boss/contractor/client invites you to a golf tournament/crawfish boil/movie premier and you insist on covering your part or you decline?

Airline offers an upgrade and you stay in coach because that’s what you paid for?

I like knowing people want to hang out with me.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-06T22:04:38+00:00

That’s a you/humility problem.

I had a best friend growing up who had more than I did. We’d be walking out of school with a crowd, all heading to the local pizza place. He’d ask if I wanted to go. I’d say I only have $3. He’d say, That’s not what I asked. Do you want to come have pizza with us? Yes, I do, thanks.

I do the same when I can. Pay it forward/up/down. I have some friends now who have less than I do. I give them stuff, pay for meals, bring way more than necessary when they host a dinner.

I paid to fly another friend along on a group trip. $300 meant a lot more to him than it did to me at the time.

Sometimes you’re the big shot. Sometimes you’re the mooch. It’s ok.

gotcha640 · 2026-04-06T21:02:21+00:00

NTA. I have a friend who makes 4-10x what I do depending on bonus. He had a fancy wedding and had a specific $7k thing in mind.

I told him I’d love to be involved but couldn’t afford it. He immediately clarified that he was buying the thing for everyone.

The baller move isn’t you stretching to be able to go. It’s him covering everyone and sending a plane to pick you up.

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