[CS-FSLUG] Career paths

[Nathan T.]

Hey everyone,

I'm being accused perpetually of being a liar at work. It happened  
when we had a shoplifter, and when I told the managers they called me  
a liar and refused to take it seriously until the shoplifter was  
caught on camera trying the stunt again. It happened last thursday  
when I was accused of entering hardware in for service without serial  
numbers, and when I tried to defend my self the one particularly  
problematic manager called me a liar again and said I was doing it  
until one of the other staff members confessed to the offense. It's  
happened when the time stamp on an e-mail notification was within  
five minutes of another manager telling me to notify him if someone  
dropped by, and because the e-mail said that person dropped by  
despite it being fifteen to twenty minutes earlier than when this  
manager had come by, I was accused of hiding the fact that he had  
just been there from the manager. When I tried to defend myself the  
time stamp on the e-mail was all the evidence they needed to call me  
a liar again. It happened again earlier today when after six months  
of working at the store and processing returns I was told that I told  
someone over the phone that I didn't even know if the store had a  
return policy. Of course I know better than to say something like  
that, I knew the return policy because I was telling people what it  
was when they asked, but the more problematic manager spoke to me  
alone and said that I did say these things, he repeated this over and  
over again forcefully on the grounds that my anonymous coward accuser  
claimed to have recognized the voice on the phone as my own when  
visiting the store later on.

I get all sorts of grief for forgetting which one of the hundreds of  
customers I've dealt with in a day bought what, or what PO number was  
on one of the fifty or so order fulfillment forms I've going through  
that day was, and after feeding me non-stop conflicting information  
the managers come back at me and complain that I can't remember what  
details they have settled on when it comes to floor plans. It's time  
for me to consider career options and dump this abusive relationship.

What I was hoping for was some ideas for career paths. I do care to  
some degree about the kinds of incomes I can earn, but more  
importantly I want to retain some will to live while also having the  
job. I have thought about pursuing programming since it's already a  
hobby of mine (for which I find I have very little time), but I hear  
the jobs aren't available, the pay is very low, and the deadlines are  
always passed. I also don't want to ruin a hobby which I enjoy. I  
haven't actually worked with Linux in quite a while, in case someone  
was thinking of work to do with that. Truth be told I've only been  
using Windows XP, Vista, and Mac OS X lately and I'm happy with that  
(although I still use free software). I prefer to work alone, but I  
can work in groups as long as everyone is civil, and whatever career  
path I choose I want to be able to afford an apartment,  
transportation, a computer, food and shelter. Would anyone be  
interested in discussing possible options, and the kind of education  
required, I know this list is full of experienced adults and there  
aren't too many people I can turn to for help without tipping off my  
managers early that I'm thinking of ditching them for a higher  
education.

Looking forward to some replies.

Nathan T.