I have just been told that the contracting company that employs me screwed up their application and I might not have a job starting April 1st.

I work as a consultant at the County of Westchester. Westchester, with about a million people, is the 43rd largest county in the US.

I have been busy here for the last 8 years coding Java and PHP for the Physical Facilities group that includes the Internet site, Westchester Airport, Rye Playland, and important systems such as Parking, Solid Waste management and Security systems. I have really liked working here. Recently they have started allowing a few PHP projects in the mix and I have enjoyed the challenge.

I am not alone and there are 18 people in IT whose jobs are in jeopardy. The application required that the contract company apply on-line and many or them missed or ignored the requirement. One contracting company submitted the wrong application, sending in last years’.

I am hoping that this gets straightened out, but the issue is that 85% of the contracts were submitted correctly, and those companies would have to be notified that there are exceptions being made. Alternatively, the contracts can go out to bid again, which would require a month or so before they could be processed.

I looked and this seems to be a good time to switch jobs. There are lots of Java and PHP jobs now on the boards. There were times in the last three years when there were none. They tend to be lower pay than I make now. I don’t want to switch jobs. I am quite settled here. The rules are that they can’t pay me for overtime and I am not allowed to work past 4:30. There is a union for regular employees (not me), and the union keeps an eye on me. I like that a lot. Most places expect you to “donate” extra hours by working late or weekends.