Big Boss just came in to talk about what would happen when I come back at the end of February. Said his current thinking is that he'd love for me to come back, that my replacement is on a 4 month contract only, so they don't feel obligated to hire her, etc.BUT we'd have to have a talk about my rates, because he's not making enough profit off of me. Granted, I'm WAY overpaid for what I actually do, but not for the work I was hired to do. I've already knocked $45/hr off of my standard consulting rate to account for the long-term commitment and nearly full-time status.If I switch to being an actual employee (vs. a contractor), I'm looking at a dramatic reduction in take-home pay. It'd still be more than enough to cover daycare (even for 2), but it would leave me with a LOT less flexibility...Also, part of the reason he's looking at decreased profits is because he is deciding to spend big $$$ build an in-house lab. I don't see why any of that money has to come out of my pay. If he wants to invest in a lab, invest in a lab, you know?On the other hand, I've always said that I felt that they wouldn't even want me back after I've been gone, since my replacement will have so much more time/energy than I do that she will knock their socks off. We'll see if that turns out to be the case.Ugh. Anyway. I don't technically have to worry about it until February, but pinching pennies while I was unemployed for 6 months this year was not fun. Now I'm wondering if I should be pinching even more pennies than I had planned to during my leave. And whether I'll be back in "OMGWeCanOnlyEatRamenNoodles" mode soon.Yeah, and this is a post & run. I feel like crap and am now hoping I don't have a baby tomorrow, as he'll totally thunderjack our anniversary.
