Support for Extension as a whole is ruining the job. - 4-H Youth Development Agent Purdue University Employee Review

Funding for this job is dissipating at a rapid rate. They have tried every trick in the book; asking employees to lobby local sponsors for additional funds to supplement wages, leaving positions open for 6+ months to help balance the books, zero overtime (which means in the summer month of your county fair, you'll work 300+ hours and get paid the same as December when you only work half of the month thanks to a well needed holiday break), and asking those of us in counties to ask our county commissioners for more money. None of this works and all of it inhibits progress. We are directly, and sternly asked not to ask our State leaders for more money....even after 20 years of 0 adjustments. A restructuring is coming either 2025/2026 and it will be jarring. There is very little direction and/or leadership, especially for those that are just starting. To be fair, middle-management also doesn't know what is to come, and with things changing rapidly every month, it is hard to train the newbies. This job could be an incredibly fulfilling job, they just cut all stability and love for the position out. It is going the way of our public teachers, sadly. Where you need to choose between getting blasted by youth, parents, stakeholders, and random made up rubrics or leaving a job you love at its very raw core to find a more stable job.