College.. Meh, whatever. I fix multimillion dollar radar systems. What would I do with college? Sit behind a desk and tell people to fix multimillion dollar radar systems.. Who wants a desk job? Not me, thanks. I'll stick to being in the field. I'm sure there are people who want the desk jobs, that make more than me to tell me when to go fix something. Perspective, maybe? It's more than about the money to me.. I have to be happy with what I'm doing. Why else would I be buying another diesel benz?

Ha, that's exactly my experience . I just figured he was a guy who did Ford commercials and that they had given him a name to personalize the commercial.

Does he do ads with a lady or is that someone else?

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"Senior Luna, your sense of humor is still loco... but we love it, anyway." -rickymay ____ "Your sense of humor is still loco... " -MBeige ____ "Señor Luna, your sense of humor is quite järjetön" -Delibes

1982 300SD -- 211k, Texas car, tranny issues ____ 1979 240D 4-speed 234k -- turbo and tuned IP, third world taxi hot rod

2 Samuel 12:13: "David said to Nathan, “I have sinned against the Lord.” And Nathan said to David, “The Lord also has put away your sin; you shall not die."

I agree. I also hire Construction Inspectors and have stopped taking resumes from P.E.'s and laid off CM's because they just don't get it...they either try to redesign the jobs they are on or become "Shanty supers" when it gets cold outside.

I now recruit guys from non union labor positions on jobs I go to. The guys that show up at 6 and work until 5 and just get the job done. I talk with them and if they have a HS Diploma and can grasp basic ideas I offfer them a chance at a better job.

so far it has worked, I have a crew that is better then the other guys, doesn't have a predetermined "list" of NCR's and understands the job.

Observe, Document, Report.

How difficult is that?

Mucking out a stall seems like good money when you are young and have a good back but when you get older you, well, get older. My wife's dad worked as a welder for 30+ years and he can hardly get out of his chair now because of his bad knees, bad back, and bad shoulder. It pays to save yourself and your joints a bit.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman

OTOH, I work for a REALLY cheap engineer. I am afraid that once I get them trained and capable, they will be off for better pay. I will not blame them. Management usually gets the quality they demand. Don't expect much, don't train, don't pay,.....it all evens out in the end.

Stony--You in soils inspections? I once was checking on a job where my employer had a "graduate Engineer from India working as a soils inspector. He was doing his one-points on a pile of 3 rocks he placed on the ground. I told him he needed a mass of at least 200 pounds, He replied he was graduate engineer. All this while he was within 10 feet of a say, 10 ton boulder with a flat top! Observe, document, report.

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

I did 2 years on a Water Main replacement Project and a MTA Ventilation Plant job doing GeoTech (Drilling, Rock Cores, Stabilization, Controlled Fill), so yeas I have done my time in the dirt.

1 Point Proctor is a piece of cake, used to do them on the tailgate of my F150 everyday to establish the Max DD for compaction. Hell I can even do the Troxler Moisture trick when you don't have time for a 1 Pt test and I'm usually within 1lb of Max DD.

I know what you are saying about too much education! The difference between us and the rest is we offer a full package and the Health Plan is way better than the other guys (seriously when I show the guys exactly what the competition gives them vs us its a game changer). Plus we guarantee 40 hrs a week, if the weather sucks then you do your time in house fling paperwork or cleaning gear but we don't just tell the guys "Sorry No Work this Week"!

A friend just became EVP of a mid sized Testing Lab in the area and asked me for some advice. Their rep is "cheapest guys in town" and I quite frankly tole him he has an uphill battle because they pay ****e and their crew is mostly weed heads and lamers. I pointed out we tossed them off 2 jobs for not understanding how to test/sample SCC and not being lab certified to test high strength concrete and his eyes rolled.

I'm quite blunt with the guys I hire and ask if they want a career or just a job. Their answer tells me if they really want to take a step up.

Hire guys with a wife and kids and give them a good medical plan and treat them right is the key to loyalty in my shop.

The last census shows that those with a college degree earn a million dollars more over their lifetime than those with just a high school degree.

And the unemployment rate of those with a college degree is significantly lower than those with just a high school degree.

I'm not posting this to demean in any way those who work in blue collar / manual labor jobs, but wanted to give some perspective on getting a degree.

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Paul S.

2001 E430, Bourdeaux Red, Oyster interior.
79,200 miles.

1973 280SE 4.5, 170,000 miles. 568 Signal Red, Black MB Tex. "The Red Baron".

Some college degrees mean more than other college degrees.

Get a BSME or BSEE and employers stalk you. Get a degree in art history or sociology, etc and look for a job.

Stoney, Seems like we could get along quite well. My current Engineer is just like your friend at EVP. No guarantees to employees. Good health insurance, though. I can't even get him to use the winter to train techs, AND get them some hours. Plus he discourages them from claiming unemployment insurance because it would raise his rates!

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1982 300SD " Wotan" ..On the road as of Jan 8, 2007 with Historic Tags

He apparently made quite a wad over the years. From what I heard him discussing in an interview on the radio recently, he has a couple job related websites focusing on learning about or pursuing careers in the trades. I think Trades Hub is the place.
Big time into job creation venues. Probably should run for the big door.

Amen, Bot! I agree. He comes across as a real "everyman." I've had a lot of jobs in my lifetime, many of which were pretty "dirty." I'm always amazed at people who would rather wait for a handout than do whatever it takes to earn a living, even if it seems "beneath them."

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" We have nothing to fear but the main stream media itself . . . ."- Adapted from Franklin D Roosevelt for the 21st century

OBK #55

1998 Lincoln Continental - Sold
Max 1984 300TD 285,000 miles - Sold
The Dee8gonator 1987 560SEC 196,000 miles - Sold
Orgasmatron - 2006 CLS500 90,000 miles
2002 C320 Wagon 122,000 miles
2016 AMG GTS 12,000 miles

We're still talking about a guy that portrays working people on tv, right?

I guess it depends on how we define, "portrays". I would think the word "profiles" might be more accurate. But I don't know what goes on behind the scenes.

Mathematics is a wonderful thing. So is experimental design.

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You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows - Robert A. Zimmerman