I recently interviewed for a Medical Imaging local job after being a Medical Imaging Contract Worker for two years. Contract working is ridiculously lucrative. A "cheap" job is netting $1700/week for 38 hours. I've gotten $2400/week for more like 44+ hours. I opted for three months of vacation the first year, and 5 months of vacation the second year, living off the excess from my contracts while doing and paying for my own house renovations during the time off. Also, omg, I hate full time work and I was mentally exhausted.
Anyway, back to the interview. The hospital has a Contract Worker in the department when we're doing our walk through. And we're doing the usual chit chat "are you social or a introverted mouth breather" back and forth thing when the contract worker asked where all I'd been.
I listed off Arkansas, Arizona, Michigan, Tennessee, and California.
"Where else?" he asks, expecting a far longer list for my two years of travel employment.
"Well, I went to the California place three times and I've had two assignments in Tennessee. But I guess my list is also short because I take at least a month off after every assignment."
This grey haired man, obviously in his 50s, makes a scoffing noise at me. Then asks, "What, got a rich husband?"
I blink at him in bewilderment for a split second, then get an edge of steel in my voice. "No. I'm the rich wife. I've always out earned every partner I've ever been with."
It strikes me later that this question didn't come just from a place of sexism. But from someone who didn' t know what the eff to be doing with the fire hose of cash that Travel Contract work provides. How is this gray haired man not rolling in it (or at least as wealthy as I am) if he's been doing it for LONGER @_@