HEY THERE
So, I actually worked on the holidays. For once.
Did I get a part-time job? No.
Did I get a casual job? No.
……. Did I even get a job? Yes, I did. Thank you for your vote of confidence.
I got myself a temp job. What is this magical thing called a temp job, you ask? It is a temporary job.
You remember that part in School of Rock where Jack Black’s like ‘So, you’re a temp?’ and the other guy’s like ‘No, I’m a substitute teacher’? Well, it’s like that. Except I’m not a substitute teacher. I’m a temp.
Well, I was a temp. You see, the thing about temp jobs – they end pretty quickly. Coz they’re temporary.
What happens is you apply, and do some tests and stuff if need be – I had to do a competency test for Microsoft Excel. Then – if you get the job – they send you an assignment. Yes, it does make me feel like an international super-spy.
In fact, this temp job was at Victoria University. The Footscray one. (A great place to get lost on your first day… Good job, me.) So I was pretty much sussing out the competition for us RMITers. Infiltrating enemy lines. Doin’ it for the team. (I am only joking, VU!)
The reason I do temp work is that it’s short-term work, it offers a variety of job experiences, it pays really well, and it takes into account to your own schedule. And it pays well.
What was my job? I was entering in 75,000 student results. Which meant I had to learn how to use the crazy computer system for it all (yeah, I got my own staff ID. I felt special). It was entering, checking, uploading results into the online database. My least favourite part was having to enter hundreds of results that were randomly ordered, strangely marked/graded, and which were given to us as an IMAGE FILE. I mean, SERIOUSLY. A FREAKING IMAGE FILE??? That meant I had to go through hundreds of students – find them, and enter in the result ONE BY ONE MANUALLY. FLBWDPEOWKDWEPODKWEONIFOREFEORIJFIORJFOREO. WHAT CENTURY DO YOU LIVE IN, TEACHERS WHO DID THIS TO ME?
Anyway, it was kinda cool. I travelled between campuses, too. I did some work at the city campus. But I don’t even want to talk about it. I was given over 300 hours of work to do by myself in one day. Yep. Over 300 hours. By myself. I can’t even. Just, no. Stop. It was pointless, too. ‘Running reports’. This meant that I printed out reports for meetings. Reports which were perfectly available electronically. Reports which could have simply been brought up on projector during the meetings. Printing them out is a pointless task. Again, I ask, WHAT CENTURY DO YOU ALL LIVE IN???
I was also going to be a ‘note-taker’ in the teachers’ meetings, but the results kinda kept coming and coming and the meetings postponed and postponed. These are meetings where teachers (from a specific program) go over each student’s results, and look at their academic history and decide whether they want to alter the result in any way. This would have meant I got a couple of free taxi rides between campuses. Which would have been fun. Coz I don’t like parting with money. Well, spending it on that kinda stuff.
Anyway, I learnt a lot during those weeks. 1. There are many foreign students at Victoria Uni. With names spelt almost completely in consonants. Very long names. Very very very long names. Like reeeaaallly long. 2. Very few people receive 100%. I think there were three students – that I noticed – that got results of 100%. This was an eye-opener for me. It showed me just how different university is from high-school. University calls for a different approach altogether.
So, yes, I came away with a much deeper understanding of how results processing all works, and a much broader view of it all. Of life in general. Hence, it was a worthwhile experience.
AND GOODBYE.