Just to echo everyone else, I don't find you to be a monster and I think first and foremost you must look out for yourself. Yes, it might put them in a bind, but it's not your fault that they are understaffed.

Re: adminstrative work, I am not in Maine, but I am job hunting at the moment and it seems like this is the only area where there is a need. I don't know if it's a "safe" career, but there doesn't seem to be a shortage of jobs by any stretch of the imagination. Where are you looking? I have noticed a ton of admin jobs on craigslist, and indeed.com, which is a site that pools the postings from all the job sites (sort of like the google of job listings).

Good luck. It's not pretty out there, but I think you'll be ok in admin.

Thanx all. I bit the bullet and wrote a killer cover letter and applied to a position at a medical billing company, not far from where I work now. Since the competition is fierce, I had to get my name in ASAP. I feel like this is the first step toward a better job and life. I really needed some input from you all and my husband is also behind me 110%.

I will keep you posted on how things go and when happens here at my current job.

junebug41: Keep you head up and something will come along!!!!

I agree, you need to do whats best for you at this stage. You are not a monster. There is no loyalty to employees, like others have said, so companies can't expect loyalty from their employees.

I'm looking for Admin work as well. I just wanted to caution you and anyone else who is job hunting to be wary of craigslist. I've found at least 80% of the job postings on craigslist to be scams. So if you apply for something on craigslist, make sure there is a company website in the listing so you can check to see if it's legit. I find on indeed.com it's a lot easier to weed out the fraudulent job offers, most seem to be okay on indeed.

It's really sad to me that in these tough economic times, that people are trying to take advantage of you more then ever with these awful employment scams.

Here in Maine i use jobsinme.com. I don't know where you all live, but this is the best website for jobs in Maine. I too have found craigslist jobs to be a scam and I have given up looking there and I can never find what I am looking for in the newspaper.

It's terrible. I don't know what it is, but from the opening line of a scam alarms go off. Also, at the Compensation section it will say "$28,000-$58,000" and that just doesn't make sense to me.

Here's one: http://denver.craigslist.org/ofc/872328899.html

Here's one that I would trust: http://denver.craigslist.org/ofc/872584189.html

I only follow up with companies who list their company name/info in the listing so that I can investigate their legitimacy myself.

Craigslist can be a great tool in some places (like Denver) and a cestpool of sleazeballs and scams in another, so it's good to be cautious.