Should I tell?

[mares]

Hey all!

I've been accepted to an MLIS program for fall 2010. I'm incredibly excited and I have decided that I will be taking three or four classes in the fall-- definitely too many to work full-time. Currently I'm working a full-time job. My job is a contract job and two weeks ago I had my contract extended until July 9. In the event that my contract gets extended again (I should know in mid- to late June if it will be), it will be extended until early October since my company does extensions in 90 day increments. Anyway, if I get extended, should I tell my employer up front that I will not be able to work past some date in August, or should I sign the contract and just give them my two weeks notice when the time comes? The contract is not binding as it specifically states that my employment is "at will" - they can fire me whenever and I can leave whenever.

I feel like it would be a courtesy to tell them up front, because I don't want to leave them scrambling come end of August, but at the same time I don't want them to tell me to not bother coming back for the extra month and a half before school starts. I mean, this will all be moot if I don't get extended anyway... I'm just curious as to what other people think.

[Postbib Yeshuist]

If it were me, I'd sign the contract but give a month's notice instead of two weeks.

Be careful and be sure you can quit w/o repercussions. I'm a teacher and sign a year-long contract. Though my employment is also at the discretion of the district (i.e. "at will"), I could face serious consequences if I decided to quit and the district responded by enforcing the contract...

Edited March 31, 2010 by Postbib Yeshuist

[Jus10]

the "2 weeks rule" is there for a reason, sign on and give the 2 weeks when you need to.