u/ExpressCarry239

I'm traveling abroad for 2 weeks in July because my cousin is covering the plane ticket, and honestly, I don't think I would have been able to make this trip on my own at any point. I told work 6 months in advance, but they denied the vacation because I don't have enough PTO to cover it. And we only get 6 days a year, by the way.

I told them I'm not canceling this trip because, for me, it's pretty much a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, so they decided to "accept my resignation," and my last day will be the day before I travel, unless I submit a 2 weeks' notice before then.

They told me I can apply again when I get back if there are openings. Part of me is honestly shocked by their nerve, but another part of me is saying, fine, I'll apply again and ask for a raise since I'm clearly qualified enough that they still want me to come back.

They still haven't hired anyone to replace me.

So I don't know whether I should bother applying again to my job after the trip, or look for something else entirely? The benefits are really terrible, but I genuinely enjoy the work itself.

Part of me thinks I should apply again after the trip just because I genuinely enjoy the work itself. But another part of me is realizing this might be the perfect time to look for something with better pay and benefits. I read a post today about interview tips and it inspired me in case I go into an interview after the vacation.

Look guys, I need someone to snap me out of it. I'm on the verge of quitting my job out of frustration and I need to know if I'm justified or if these are just feelings.

I'm an intern at a big, well-known tech company, and I'm still in college. I started with them on an 18-month contract.

Because it's an internship, they can't just renew it; they have to hire me full-time for me to continue. From day one, the whole team has been praising me. Things like 'a great addition to the team' and 'a dependable person,' you know the story. But over time, the only reward I got for this was more work. I kept enduring and taking on extra work, to the point where I started mentoring new interns, thinking it would pay off in the end.

Fast forward to now. My contract ends in a few weeks, and no one has brought up anything about a promotion or a full-time offer. I thought my performance and work would speak for themselves, but apparently, I'm learning that the corporate world doesn't work that way. Anyway, I gathered my courage and went to talk to my direct manager and the department head. Both gave me the same old excuses: 'The budget is currently frozen,' 'There's no headcount for a full-time position,' 'It's not in our hands, HR is holding things up.'

I said okay, fine. Bad timing, it happens. I was upset but tried to be understanding. About a week later, everyone on the team got a calendar invite for a mandatory meeting. No one would tell me what the meeting was about. I didn't know what to expect, but when the meeting happened, they announced they were hiring another intern on our team.

I was shocked and didn't see it coming at all. He works on different things, but we both started working less than a month apart. We each have a different manager, but both of our managers report to the same director. I don't mean to be arrogant, but my contributions have had a much bigger impact. I was responsible for parts of 3 major projects, while most of his work was support.

It felt like a slap in the face. A complete betrayal. They lied to me outright. I'm guessing there might be a 'hiring freeze' specifically for my position, but they clearly found a way to make it work for him. Maybe they got so used to me doing extra work that they forgot I'm still an intern.

So now I'm stuck. Do I make a scene, burn bridges, and leave? Or do I just finish the last few weeks quietly and pretend everything is fine? Seriously, any advice would be very helpful right now.