You're not necessarily as badly off as it sounds. I'm making almost double what you are before OT but I have none of the other advantages you've listed and am likely to be out of work in about a year and a half. Which I calculate will be just about the worst time to be looking around for employment.

- Peter.

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2021 Chevrolet Spark
Formerly...
2000 GMC Sonoma
1981 240D 4spd stick. 347000 miles. Deceased Feb 14 2021
2002 Kia Rio. Worst crap on four wheels
1981 240D 4spd stick. 389000 miles.
1984 123 200
1979 116 280S
1972 Cadillac Sedan DeVille
1971 108 280S

Wise flatulent.

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"It's normal for these things to empty your wallet and break your heart in the process."
2012 SLK 350
1987 420 SEL

Hah! I can always count on the Mistress for a humorous comment!

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Tom, You are in the vanguard of the new energy economy, that must begin for our energy survival and growth! Windpower being one of the primary new energy source alternatives! In Lafayette, the fact that they are in YOUR building and you are collecting rent, you are in the enterpreneural lead, taking the first steps so to say, in our energy policy.

BRAVO...Paul

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SONNY was right...Nobody Cares.
Calogero, from the movie, "A BRONX TALE."

Well, hopefully things will work out well for you.

I really did not mean to make it sound like all gloom and doom for me in my post, because I failed to mention that its not like I could not get another job. I actually can get a job at a local phone repair company making $14.00 per hour and ironically, my boss would be a lady which I used to be HER BOSS! Thats strange I know. I also have a friend at a local airport that has been trying to get me to come to work there for alot more $ than I am making now, but its just where I have been at my job so long now. I love the work, the people I work with and the hours... on average its always 10am-6pm (sometimes I get off @ 5 or 7pm and pretty much leave when I am ready and have no direct boss/manager hovering over me. I actually rarely see him or my supervisor - I guess because they know I do my work, but do not like to pay anything ) and I always make my own schedule, as well as for about 5-8 other people in my department... then as mentioned I have the 401K, super dental/health insurance, ESOP, etc.

Maybe one of these days I may take one of those jobs I have been offered or get myself a meteorology degree and be a meteorologist, but that would mean me driving a total of 3 hours per day to the college I would have to attend, because the closest school offering the classes I need is in Asheville, NC - which is a 90 minutes drive away- then I would have the battle with my poor mathematic skills.

Otherwise, its getting bad here... not many jobs in the way of factory jobs anyway and now what few we have are closing. In this area, unless you are a lawyer, dentist or work at one of the many local hospitals in the metro area, you will not get a good paying job, unless you work at Eastman Chemical Co. in Kingsport, which is a big company where the "well to do" work at in this part of the state. I would never be lucky enough to work there.

Wow! I am going to go get my red cape out of the closet.

Thanks Paul for the always kind words. I am pretty excited about the deal, we are having lunch with them today to hopefully iron out the deal.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Well, if you value the other aspects of the job enough, then staying there is a valid choice if you decide that is worth it.

But anything worth having is hard to get so if you decide that degree is worth the effort, go for it. There are Math tutors available, probably through the school.

My dad used to talk about missing out on a better job at the Studebaker factory forth years after the fact because the training position would have paid ten percent less for a year. Regrets later are truly sad. Opportunites tried even if they fail give you the knowledge that you made the effort.

Often the only difference between the successful and the less successful is in the attitude of being willing to take a risk and try for something.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

I have finally gotten some of those jobs under construction.

I just got some new ones too in the last couple of months:

1. I have a remodel of the Football locker room underway. I got to meet the coach and shake his hand. I am working with the assistant AD. If I do a good job for them I think maybe I might be able to get some good tickets later.

2. I just picked up a job to renovate some engine test cells and provide infrastructure for new dynamometers for the aviation school. That is interesting.

3. I am going to provide a new building to store coal. It is interesting because I got to do research on domes, barrel vaults and steel frame fabric structures.

4. I am replacing a very large 40,000 cfm hvac unit on an animal research building. I was pretty inimidated at first but have found a lot of familiar functioning parts on it from my decades of automotive tinkering. It has a 4" d. mixing valve which works just like the bypass thermostat on the typical mb engine. Oh and it has a couple of radiators (cooling coils) which are essentially large aluminum and copper radiators.

I can hang with the engineers on the concepts but lack their at the fingertip knowledge and ability to make calculations.

I am learning the ins and outs of doing things here and am able to use my experience negotiating with our JOC contractors to get job orders priced and tasked appropriately.

It is gettting to be a lot of fun!

The variety is astounding. If I had had to guess what doing this job was like before doing it I would have guessed a lot of big buildings mostly alike. The diversity of activities including research is simply staggering.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

Just read the entire thread and it's interesting to see how things have evolved over the past two years. Post #1 was pretty heartbreaking but as time went on it cheered me up a bit to see that things were progressing nicely...reminds me of my own life.


So based on all of this maintenance and construction would you say that parts of the economy have begun to stabilize?

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1982 300GD Carmine Red (DB3535) Cabriolet Parting Out
1990 300SEL Smoke Silver (Parting out)
1991 350SDL Blackberry Metallic (481)

"The thing is Bob, its not that I'm lazy...its that I just don't care."

I didn't get that at all; "Post #1 was pretty heartbreaking....?"

This looks to be one of the best threads in OD out there. Truly uplifting and full of accomplishments.

I'm glad I found it! Good stuff, and in my general field of expertise too!!

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

I had no idea that becoming involved as a technical sales specialist in architecture and construction would take me all the places around North America and Europe that it has taken me. Not just physically, but the in depth interest that it has immersed me in, literally around the world! In retrospect, I could not have chosen a profession that suited me better. I hope to spend at least 20 more years in the field. I can honestly say that I have never had an uninteresting or dull day practicing in my field of architecture and construction. Sometimes it's hard to believe that I am being paid in an avocation that I enjoy so much! It's great to read about your experiences too!

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'06 E320 CDI
'17 Corvette Stingray Vert

Right after I hired on at Purdue the economy really went south. From my experience on the local School Board I knew that tax collections would fall soon after the economy tanked, so I spent my first year worrying about cutbacks at PU. The first mission is obviously to educate, so I figured if cuts had to be made they would fall on the academic side last, and physical facilities first, so I sort of held my breath and waited.

There have been a few positions actually cut. Times like this are used to remove unproductive or uncooperative individuals from the roster. The rest of us are sheltered as much as possible. We have not gotten the usual COL raises since I started and the few people who have left or retired on their own are for the most part not being replace. I am just happy to not be gettting cut.

We have received some stimulus money but not as much as I imagined we might. New building projects are thin on the ground but energy saving projects and maintenance projects are populat. One of my collegues is installing electric meters on all buildings on campus, one at a time. This will aid in energy saving because once actual usage can be determined the academic end users can be billed according to actual usage which hopefully will influence operating decisions and save energy.

My dynamometer project is related to development of alternative fuels sources such as saw grass. Fuels will be tested in the same engines under controlled conditions. IE the intake air will come from a dedicated HVAC unit which will provide duplicatable temperature and humidity conditions for the engine to run under so any changes in performance can be attributed to the fuel.

I am flattered that someone would sit and read through the entire thread. Many of the best ideas come from other contributors to it of course.

I am glad it inspired and that truly is the reason I put it up.

I am still pinching my self that at my age I was lucky enough to find this opportunity to do work in my chosen profession doing work that is interesting and challanging among a lot of people that are friendly and (mostly) helpful.

The economy is looking up as I hoped it would and hopefully all of you out there will find opportunities as this old dog did and be able to do things that are interesting, challanging and fun....and pay your bills.

For myself, I tend to be a glass half full guy and have not suffered really through the whole recession directly. True, I sold my old Ferrari but truthfully it turned out to be a great time to sell it and truthfully I have had more fun running autocross in my little 99 Miata than I ever had driving the Ferrari.

Nobody much is impressed with the ownership of a Miata since they are cheap and common, but the fun behind the wheel more than makes up for any bragging rights that come with the Ferrari ownership. I get a lot of compliments on it from women. Men are reluctant to say if they like it since it is viewed by most people as a girlie car.

I never really wanted a Ferrari until this one sort of fell into my lap and I really only bought it because I thought I could make money at owning it so my goals were met. It was fun to have but after the first five years of it being in my garage began to really aggrivate the lovely Mrs W. so I got kudos when I sold it because it paid for my youngest daughters education and knocked off all our credit card debt and some other debt which would not have gotten paid any other way as painlessly. I kept a log of all my work on it and have a slew of pictures which I can look at if I wish.

I had a lot of fun taking it all apart and getting it running and driving. The details of how the engine and the car was built were pretty astonishing. I accumulated a pretty nice little Ferrari related library along the way.

The fellow who bought in in England is rebuilding it mechanically and has the money to do it up right. I hope someday I might be able to go by his house and see it all finished.

As I get new projects of interest at PU I will post up about them.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.

The two happiest days of a man's life: The day he buys his first Ferrari and the day he SELLS his first ferrari.

Doesn't sound like a bad gig at all, Tom! Glad to see/hear things are going well.

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1980 300TD-China Blue/Blue MBTex-2nd Owner, 107K (Alt Blau) OBK #15
'06 Chevy Tahoe Z71 (for the wife & 4 kids, current mule) '03 Honda Odyssey (son #1's ride, reluctantly) '99 GMC Suburban (255K+ miles, semi-retired mule) 21' SeaRay Seville (summer escape pod)

Ha!

I enjoyed it but buying it did not compare with having children or marrying a great gal!

Selling it was sweet and sour at the same time.

At least I sold well.

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[SIGPIC] Diesel loving autocrossing grandpa Architect. 08 Dodge 3/4 ton with Cummins & six speed; I have had about 35 benzes. I have a 39 Studebaker Coupe Express pickup in which I have had installed a 617 turbo and a five speed manual.[SIGPIC]

..I also have a 427 Cobra replica with an aluminum chassis.