Archived It's time for me to get out of Target

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lac704 said:
Not everyone can afford to attend grad school. Yes, you can get loans, but when you're already saddled with debt after four years of undergrad, the cost is out of reach for many people, even at state schools.
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In some fields, particularly those major subjects that have introductory undergraduate classes that many other majors take (psychology, math, English, chemistry, physics, biology, foreign languages), graduate students can get Teaching Assistantships. You work for the University teaching undergraduate classes such as small-group labs, take classes full-time, and in return get tuition remission (i.e., free) plus a small wage (stipend). The upside is that you don't go into debt to study a subject. The downside is that you work long hours for meager wages. Some fields (engineering, computer science) are heavily underwritten by the government, so Research Assistantships (work for a professor in his research rather than teaching) or even Fellowships (no strings attached, just study and graduate) are also available.

If you are going to graduate school full time, most types of loans accrued from undergraduate study go into cold storage, at least suspension of payments, and possibly also interest accrual, while you are enrolled.

Unless you are going into a very lucrative field like medicine or law, or possibly an MBA, it doesn't make a lot of sense to enter a program without some kind of support like this, or at least support from your employer to study part-time (Masters degrees can be done part-time if you are highly motivated and manage your time, PhD's really require full-time attention, and over a much longer period of time).
 
Parker51 said:
In some fields, particularly those major subjects that have introductory undergraduate classes that many other majors take (psychology, math, English, chemistry, physics, biology, foreign languages), graduate students can get Teaching Assistantships. You work for the University teaching undergraduate classes such as small-group labs, take classes full-time, and in return get tuition remission (i.e., free) plus a small wage (stipend). The upside is that you don't go into debt to study a subject. The downside is that you work long hours for meager wages. Some fields (engineering, computer science) are heavily underwritten by the government, so Research Assistantships (work for a professor in his research rather than teaching) or even Fellowships (no strings attached, just study and graduate) are also available.
If you are going to graduate school full time, most types of loans accrued from undergraduate study go into cold storage, at least suspension of payments, and possibly also interest accrual, while you are enrolled.
Unless you are going into a very lucrative field like medicine or law, or possibly an MBA, it doesn't make a lot of sense to enter a program without some kind of support like this, or at least support from your employer to study part-time (Masters degrees can be done part-time if you are highly motivated and manage your time, PhD's really require full-time attention, and over a much longer period of time).
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I definitely agree with most of this, except for implying an MBA is very lucrative. I know people who can't even find a job with them.
 
So I got a phone call yesterday from a psychology-related job I interviewed back in June. Apparently they had a hiring freeze right after I interviewed and they want me now. Unfortunately I believe starting with the job I got a few weeks ago plus Target (I have to keep it because my 401k loan is sizable and cannot pay it off in one shot right now) I cannot work this job too. It was just a bit more than what I'm making at Target anyway. Change is a bit difficult for me to comprehend and I think I would be overwhelmed if I start two new jobs at one time.

Never thought I would be turning down a job! When I call I am going to tell them I'd be interested in applying again at a later date.
 
Would this new one be better than your other new one? Since you have to keep target (thats what I get from your post about the 401k) you should take on whichever new job would benefit you more in the long run, and either have more earning potential or look the best on a resume for what you eventually want to do.
 
I was definitely in the same boat at Target. I had my bachelor's and was just a regular TM. We had some good leadership when I first started, so the only obnoxious thing was the hours. I asked for 25 hours to start with (since I was taking classes for my teaching license) and that was fine, until it got cut down to around 10 hours. It went up around holidays - you all know the drill.

I took an LOA in the summer to work at a camp and after it was over, I realized I didn't want to go back. I stayed on LOA an extra month and job hunted. Lo and behold, I ended up back at Target. I took a second LOA the next summer to work at camp again but came back, semi-willing. That's where it all went downhill.

I was still job hunting, but without my license, I couldn't do a whole lot. A few places called me for interviews, but nothing happened after that. A couple TL spots opened up at Target - I figured, why not? I lost out to someone younger than me, who hadn't started college, and turned into a real jerk after it. They told me I didn't have the leadership qualities to lead. O rly? Right. I had experiences leading teams at camp and in college, plus the whole teaching thing. Then we started getting ETLs that were complete morons. Our TLs started leaving and moving around. We ended up with one who hid upstairs all the time, another who hung out in the backroom, and everyone started forgetting about softlines. (Somehow, the mentality came up that while hardlines needs 4+ people, softlines could get by with 1 or 2 and maybe the operator.)

I applied for GSA a few times too (to get steady hours) and kept getting turned down because I "could get a teaching job at any time". They told me that in 2010. I finally found one this summer, and we've kept GSAs less time than that. (I could rant about GSAs too, but I'll save it.)

There ARE better things out there, you just have to go look for them. Last year, I picked up a second job at a women's clothing store. I liked my coworkers there a lot better and the company is WAY nicer to their employees than Target. Starting pay is higher, discount was better, plus they actually took care of you. The downside was it was women's clothing. (And you thought softlines was bad...) This year, a lot of people left my store because of other jobs: engineering, Verizon, teaching, corrections, etc. There is a way out.

It's real easy to fall into the mentality of, "Oh, this isn't so bad" after a rough night/week/month of Target. It was almost nice to wander into work and shut my brain off for awhile. Well, until other TMs broke photo and I had to spend my shift (no matter WHERE I was scheduled) fixing it and being on the phone with Kodak. Target isn't real life. There are better things out there. 🙂

In the end, I didn't tell hardly anyone I was leaving...just a few friends, my TL, and HR. HR screwed me over and terminated me a week earlier than my two weeks' notice without telling me. Whatever. Freedom's nice. :yess:

Sorry for the long rant...good luck to you, Dan!
 
band_rules16 said:
I was definitely in the same boat at Target. I had my bachelor's and was just a regular TM. We had some good leadership when I first started, so the only obnoxious thing was the hours. I asked for 25 hours to start with (since I was taking classes for my teaching license) and that was fine, until it got cut down to around 10 hours. It went up around holidays - you all know the drill.

I took an LOA in the summer to work at a camp and after it was over, I realized I didn't want to go back. I stayed on LOA an extra month and job hunted. Lo and behold, I ended up back at Target. I took a second LOA the next summer to work at camp again but came back, semi-willing. That's where it all went downhill.

I was still job hunting, but without my license, I couldn't do a whole lot. A few places called me for interviews, but nothing happened after that. A couple TL spots opened up at Target - I figured, why not? I lost out to someone younger than me, who hadn't started college, and turned into a real jerk after it. They told me I didn't have the leadership qualities to lead. O rly? Right. I had experiences leading teams at camp and in college, plus the whole teaching thing. Then we started getting ETLs that were complete morons. Our TLs started leaving and moving around. We ended up with one who hid upstairs all the time, another who hung out in the backroom, and everyone started forgetting about softlines. (Somehow, the mentality came up that while hardlines needs 4+ people, softlines could get by with 1 or 2 and maybe the operator.)

I applied for GSA a few times too (to get steady hours) and kept getting turned down because I "could get a teaching job at any time". They told me that in 2010. I finally found one this summer, and we've kept GSAs less time than that. (I could rant about GSAs too, but I'll save it.)

There ARE better things out there, you just have to go look for them. Last year, I picked up a second job at a women's clothing store. I liked my coworkers there a lot better and the company is WAY nicer to their employees than Target. Starting pay is higher, discount was better, plus they actually took care of you. The downside was it was women's clothing. (And you thought softlines was bad...) This year, a lot of people left my store because of other jobs: engineering, Verizon, teaching, corrections, etc. There is a way out.

It's real easy to fall into the mentality of, "Oh, this isn't so bad" after a rough night/week/month of Target. It was almost nice to wander into work and shut my brain off for awhile. Well, until other TMs broke photo and I had to spend my shift (no matter WHERE I was scheduled) fixing it and being on the phone with Kodak. Target isn't real life. There are better things out there. 🙂

In the end, I didn't tell hardly anyone I was leaving...just a few friends, my TL, and HR. HR screwed me over and terminated me a week earlier than my two weeks' notice without telling me. Whatever. Freedom's nice. :yess:

Sorry for the long rant...good luck to you, Dan!
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Look up "strain theory". Something you learn in college. Explains a great deal about TMs who get stuck at Target and other places..... Also look up internal/external locus of control and fundamental attribution error. Pretty much applies to tons of people.

When I left Target for my job at Sony, several ETLs went out of their way to mess with me and show that they still had "power" over me. It bothered me at the time, but looking back on it now I actually view them with pity and disgust.

I actually got cards from several TMs during my last week. Some of them said basically that I was the only leader in the building that they could trust. I know they were legit because, seeing as I was going in a week, there was no reason to go out the way to get me a card telling me that if they didn't mean it.
 
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StateofTarget said:
I actually got cards from several TMs during my last week. Some of them said basically that I was the only leader in the building that they could trust. I know they were legit because, seeing as I was going in a week, there was no reason to go out the way to get me a card telling me that if they didn't mean it.
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Wow, that's awesome. I had a lot of people that were sad, but the only thing was that my GSTL requisitioned a big bag of candy (which I shared with everyone). I gave away a lot of my red to one of my cashier friends and donated the rest, along with my khakis.

I'm kind of glad it worked this way. I didn't need or want much recognition for leaving.

It's sad that the ETLs thought that they still had power over you...mine was mostly HR woes. Like how I got cut early and was without health insurance for a couple weeks without knowing. My HR was completely unhelpful.
 
Yea for Walruses!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Run, run for hills.
Enjoy your new life, sing and be happy.
But remember us, still toiling away in the land of Spot and drop by now and then.
 
You'd better 😉
Did you feel the weight sliding off your shoulders?
 
It's about time for me to sound off regarding this subject. Ever since my promotion I've become more and more disenchanted with Target and especially with my store. My promotion to TL came right around the time we got a new STL in the building after our former one left the company (of her own volition). Morale has since tanked. The entire Logistics side of our store is completely broken. We can't finish trucks due to severely understaffed Flow and Backroom teams. Our ETL-LOG is clueless and spends more time in the TMSC phoning his wife. Our STL is hellbent on having a Golden Contribution store so payroll is allocated at a bare minimum (looking at logistics, flow gets about 660 hours, backroom 230, backroom day 150, instocks a measly 60 hours.) And yet we still go over. Last month we overspent by over 400 hours (this was partly due to the need to come clean for inventory, but our Flow TL will never fail to call in extra people or ask people to stay late - there's no communication between the FlowTL and ETL). The STL is over the top about the Vibe and it's ridiculous thinking that we are expected to put guests first yet finish our tasks with our staffing situation and the way we're scheduled.

As a leader in the building, it's increasingly more challenging for me to come in every day with a happy face and try to engage and inspire a team that is so completely worn out and sick of seeing a truck full of freight to be worked, a stockroom full of backstock, and no additional help. I walked in last week and an hour later, very nearly walked back out, never to return. I spent a full two minutes thinking about it. I'm behind about 3 business walks, I have a 90 day review to give but can't because I haven't even seen the person I need to give it to, and a team that is *****ing about their hours getting cut despite the fact that there's no one else to schedule. I'm a 21 year old guy who should be finishing his degree, living it up and having the time of his life but instead I'm working myself to death for a company that doesn't appreciate me (I got written up for working 40.34 hours a few weeks ago. Clearly, Target and my store do not value my time the way they used to.)

In every previous workcenter, I've been passionate about my work and take pride in the way I do things. Now, I can never seem to finish things and 99 percent of the time, I leave feeling defeated, and I know that my backroom team does the same. I can't do it anymore. A month or so ago I applied to be a merchandiser for a very well known soda company and I received the job. It is only part time but I was assured it would be full time before I knew it. Since I will be moving as well, I asked for a demotion and transfer to a Super target much closer to my new home. I asked to be in presentation since I really know the workcenter and would be a pretty valuable asset to their team. I'm waiting to hear back on the transfer but I told my HR that my last day in my current store would be 10/31.
 
"As a leader in the building, it's increasingly more challenging for me to come in every day with a happy face and try to engage and inspire a team that is so completely worn out and sick of seeing a truck full of freight to be worked, a stockroom full of backstock, and no additional help. I walked in last week and an hour later, very nearly walked back out, never to return. I spent a full two minutes thinking about it. "

I know exactly how you feel. I felt the same way during my last year at Target. Fortunately, I lucked out and I got a lead on a new job without even expecting it.

My advice is to listen to your feelings on the issue. Looking back on it now, I realize that I felt sick about coming into work for good reasons. It wasn't anything wrong with me, it was simply what Target had become.... and it wasn't the right job for me anymore.

People here think I hate Target, and in some regards I do. Looking back on it now, I do feel they screw people below ETL level too often, and I feel kind of bitter that I spent so many years there now that I see what kind of job I could have been working. That said, I still see some good in Target. It's still a decent first job, and I would recommend Target to someone looking for a first job. If someone was unemployed and looking for any job, I would still recommend Target. It's not *that* bad..... but there is a point when target simply is not "good for you" anymore, and I think a lot of people (like myself) got stuck at Target for wayyyy longer than they should have. Be lucky you are 21.... I wasted my 20's working there, and I really wish I could have done it all over again....

There is nothing wrong with moving to something better. I don't know much about vendor reps in food, but we did have a TL along time ago who got a part time job as a Kelloggs vendor. A year later, he was out of Target, was working full time for kelloggs, and was promoted twice. So good things can definitely come from a part time vendor job.
 
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