In which there might suddenly and unexpectedly be EMPLOYMENT.

Right now, I’m literally doing nothing but waiting for school to start in five weeks. I’m drawing EB, and my worker retraining application was approved so I’m not even job hunting, and I applied at WWCC and for financial aid months ago so I don’t even have that to keep me occupied.

At school, I’m slated to take a 1-year curriculum, custom-tailored to help me sit for a bunch of basic tech certifications, like A+, CCNA, and the MSCE. I lit upon this path not out of any great desire to collect paper but because the job market is still in the crapper and I’m pretty certain that the last two jobs I didn’t get were because the workforce is overqualified and the other applicants had certifications I lacked (even though very, very few can match my experience). I figured the community college would be a good way to keep myself off the market for another year of economic recovery while simultaneously making myself more hire-able.

Now a good friend of mine has threatened me with employment. He’s just started a new job at a VoIP software company and needs to build his QA team, stat. He told me today that work might start as early as Monday, and in point of fact he’s off in a meeting right this minute finding out if he has a budget for contract help yet.

As a contractor I wouldn’t receive benefits, but the pay is adequate for having to file a stupid Schedule C. Since the dev team is in another state, I’d be working from home. Hours are what are euphemistically called “start-up hours,” meaning well over 40 per week. (I’ll probably have to redesign my computer area to incorporate a chair, since not even I can sit on the floor that much without having my feet go to sleep.) Software testing should not only be interesting and engaging work – halleluia! – but here’s the icing on the cake: no dealing with end-users! None! I’d be testing and reporting and logging all day! No idiotic support calls, no billing, no metrics!

If the work proved to be permanent, I’d have to pay back the UI money I’ve received since June 20th, drop out of school, and close my financial aid application. But you know what? That would be fine with me! In fact, the only way this could suck would be if the work proved to be contract-only and temporary, and ended only after I stopped filing my weekly UI certifications. (I should be able to keep my claim open for months if I have to, as long as I’m not officially offered a permanent position as an employee.)

Anyway, if you know of any employment deities, could you please take a moment and send up a thought for me? I’d sure appreciate it!