Monday, September 10, 2012

My husband's new job

This hasn't been made official by my barn owner yet, but I doubt anyone from my barn reads this blog (I am sure they would've mentioned it by now). But...my husband has a new job--at the barn!

He worked as a hostler at the Union Pacific rail yard in Joliet, but the contractor he works for was becoming rather unappreciative of their employees. To make matters worse, some of his co-workers were slacking big-time or making mistakes, which cast the entire company in a bad light. He was tired of facing threats of company-wide firings every week, so the search was on for a new job.

Last week, my barn owner sent out a barn-wide email saying she was looking for a new full-time guy at the barn. The guy would feed and water the horses twice daily, turn them out and bring them in, clean stalls, and do other farm work/maintenance.

I let my husband know about the job's availability and he was interested. He enjoys the barn, he already works outside year-round, doing manual labor (and prefers that sort of thing to just sitting around), he knows the basics of horse care and handling, and the barn would be an incredible commute--just 1.4 miles one-way, door-to-door.

We found out that the pay is $1 less per hour than what he makes now, but the greatly-reduced commute would save us $200/month, not to mention wear and tear on his car. Add in the raise I got in July, and we'll be back to where we were in June, financially, which isn't bad. He will get a raise with more experience, which will help.

After some discussion, the barn owner hired him. He starts Monday September 24, although his regular schedule will be Wednesday-Sunday (7am - 3:30pm). I am very happy for him! It sucks when your husband isn't happy with his job, so it's about time he has a chance to enjoy one.

And of course, Limerick will get to see her "daddy" 40 hours a week!

4 comments:

L.Williams said...

That is awesome, congrats to you guys!

Heidi E. Carpenter said...

Thank you!!

Anonymous said...

Kudos to your husband! Security in the long run would always trump uncertainty in the present. It’s alright to start slow, as long as there will be advancement in the future when your husband has gained experience and has established his mantle.

Rupert Echard

Heidi E. Carpenter said...

Thanks, Rupert, you are correct there :-)