My last day at PU was October 15, 2011.
As it turns out I picked up a couple of Architecture jobs and have been working steadily on them since that time.
And I filed for soc security and I will be getting my first check in a month.
I was working in the JOC program at PU. JOC (job order contracting) is a method of delivering construction which is supposed to be significantly faster than the traditional design bid build and involves basically pricing from a cataloge by the JOC contractor and the PU PM and the JOC PM negotiating the final price. My broad background in the field of construction and my extensive business experience gives me a good chance in the negotiating game, though the contractors are pretty tough negotiators too.
About the time I was leaving PU a new round of bids were received with the purpose of hiring a couple of more JOC contractors. I wrote letters to the two new ones suggesting I could help them get their PU JOC programs rolling. I offered to work as a consultant and on a contract basis so they would not have to pay bennies. (I really don't need any).
So yesterday morning I got an email from one of the new JOC contractors, who I pitched myself to, and have started working for them preparing price proposals, which is part of what I was doing for PU but on the other side of the table. I worked getting it set up yesterday and began taking the project off and building the proposal today.
If it works out as well as it has started, it is the best of both worlds, less pressure and less hours than before at a modest decrease in income with it coming as self employment so I can write some things off and come out pretty well on it. I am working in my own office and a minimum of red tape to deal with. Further it is the part of the work I enjoyed the most and none of the infernal internal red tape like what we had at PU.
From what I can tell PU will continue to have JOC projects to hand out to this contractor as long as we do a good job for PU.
My favorite machinist often says I am the luckiest person he knows. I have to agree.