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WTF is REALLY going on with the job market?

I did and there is literally zero reason race should have ever entered this conversation. You are the one that brought it in. Don’t start that it’s because I’m black BS when it was never a factor.
oh my god dude your the one that just had to justify to me that your "not a racist" by saying you employee your black friend. no one here gives a fuck about your black friend. I dont give a shit if your a skin head edward norton lookin american history x mufucker. I dont know you.
 
It never crossed my mind what color you are. I'm married to a legal immigrant, from Korea. Keep your pity party going. Lazy doesn't have a color, calling you out for having an entitled mindset, throwing out the victim card, followed up with trying to call everyone a racist...look in the mirror.

I've been working since I was a child. Growing up on a farm where child slave labor is legal was normal. Fuck off. I never really knew what being a kid was, I started driving a tractor at 7, mowing and raking hay. A short day was 12 hours in the seat. 7am-7pm every day....minimum usually longer, can't count the days that went from 6 am to 3 am.

At 18 I moved out, found a job building houses for $5.75/hour 6 days a week. It was great, we only worked 10 hours a day, it was like being on vacation.

When I first got to Okinawa, we had shop PT twice a week...I wasn't feeling good, I still ran up 15 antenna poles that day doing maintenance, but when we got back to the shop we were supposed to go for a 3 mile run. I told the boss I didn't think I could make it, so he told me to mop the shop. I said, "ok, I'll get it done". 5 minutes later, I'm sitting at the break room table, and he called me out back. Said, "why aren't you mopping the shop? You got a problem with me telling you what to do, because I'm black?" I said, "no, I'm going to do it when everyone gets out of the shop, so they aren't tracking shit everywhere on the wet floor".

He told me he needed to talk to me after everyone left the shop, handed me a beer and apologized for jumping to conclusions. We got along a lot better after that.
Oh and heres "Im not a racist" #2. What did you fly in the airforce, the hindenberg?
 
You are going on the same assumption that everyone does when they hear someone admit they are a millenial. Are you another boomer that just likes to shit on millenials?

Those particular contract jobs didnt have anyone that stuck around. Good welders go to school for longer than average ones do. That is a fact, not a generational thing. I only got sent in for very basic welding certs, not the crazy multi million dollar under water welding project. And no, thats not because "those meanys wouldnt let me in their program", it was because I honestly lost interest in the trade as a whole. The truth is the most jobs that you qualify for with basic welding training pay shitty.
Just admit you didnt want to work hard. You went to welding school and if you actually wanted to work, you could easily have been making $100K a year and in the last few years much more than that. But you would have to want to work. You could have gone out, got a used welding truck and started hussling and working. Durring the oil booms anyone with a pulse was making $120K a year, but you HAD TO WANT TO WORK.

What most people in here are saying is true. People made bad life choices and are bitching about not having opportunities. The truth is there are a ton of opportunities even for an uneducated person who WANTS to work. Truck Driver, Welder, ANY trade, IT all have pathways to start out making good money and in a few years being able to make $100K easy, which is not much money today to be honest. Most of the guys I hire make between $120-260K a year. They did not make bad life choices. They are just journeymen workers who are at the 50th percentile of their professions. Many do not have college degrees.

Working in a gun store is the dumbest thing one can do. The pay is shit, you gain zero skills, you have regulatory shit you do not have in other retail industries and you always get high on your own supply.

There is a skills gap but part of that is companies not wanting to pay people what they are worth. The labor market has exploded in the last 4 years and the last 2 has been hyperdrive.

People need to stop crying and bitching about their poor life choices and do something about it. Or don't. We don't need to hear about because we do not care.
 
Just admit you didnt want to work hard. You went to welding school and if you actually wanted to work, you could easily have been making $100K a year and in the last few years much more than that. But you would have to want to work. You could have gone out, got a used welding truck and started hussling and working. Durring the oil booms anyone with a pulse was making $120K a year, but you HAD TO WANT TO WORK.

What most people in here are saying is true. People made bad life choices and are bitching about not having opportunities. The truth is there are a ton of opportunities even for an uneducated person who WANTS to work. Truck Driver, Welder, ANY trade, IT all have pathways to start out making good money and in a few years being able to make $100K easy, which is not much money today to be honest. Most of the guys I hire make between $120-260K a year. They did not make bad life choices. They are just journeymen workers who are at the 50th percentile of their professions. Many do not have college degrees.

Working in a gun store is the dumbest thing one can do. The pay is shit, you gain zero skills, you have regulatory shit you do not have in other retail industries and you always get high on your own supply.

There is a skills gap but part of that is companies not wanting to pay people what they are worth. The labor market has exploded in the last 4 years and the last 2 has been hyperdrive.

People need to stop crying and bitching about their poor life choices and do something about it. Or don't. We don't need to hear about because we do not care.
Oh my god dude you are so late to this show with that shit.

BTW whos side are you on anyway? the other day you were flingin shit at the boomers for saying literally the same thing you just said.
 
I went to work at an LGS for the love of the hobby. When you work for a big store, the good ones usually let you buy retail stuff at wholesale price just for working there and thats pretty hard to pass up. That should be pretty easy to understand, were on a gun forum for god sakes lol.

yeah we got off topic for a sec but this was what I was getting at originally. Like all these jobs need people RIGHT NOW on indeed but theyre these shitty little consulting firms or some bullshit that Ive never heard of before, or places like the ones i described in my first post
What do you think is a better financial decision.

Working for a gunstore for $15 an Hour but getting 10% off.
Working a Real job for $50 an Hour and paying full price

Which one do you think can afford more guns? Which one has higher quality of life?

Working as a slave to a gunstore so you can save a few dollars is some cuck shit, and why most people have distain and compept for the people who work there. If they had 2 brains cells to rub together, they wouldn't be working in a gun store.
 
What do you think is a better financial decision.

Working for a gunstore for $15 an Hour but getting 10% off.
Working a Real job for $50 an Hour and paying full price

Which one do you think can afford more guns? Which one has higher quality of life?

Working as a slave to a gunstore so you can save a few dollars is some cuck shit, and why most people have distain and compept for the people who work there. If they had 2 brains cells to rub together, they wouldn't be working in a gun store.
Logic and reason has no place here. We established that in post#1
 
Oh my god dude you are so late to this show with that shit.

BTW whos side are you on anyway? the other day you were flingin shit at the boomers for saying literally the same thing you just said.
2 different issues not related at all. You can't blame boomers for your bad life choices.

I know guys without a degree who are making $3-500K a year working as linemen. I got IT guys with less than 5 years of experience making over 150. You have to make yourself valuable. That is 100% up to you.
 
What do you think is a better financial decision.

Working for a gunstore for $15 an Hour but getting 10% off.
Working a Real job for $50 an Hour and paying full price

Which one do you think can afford more guns? Which one has higher quality of life?

Working as a slave to a gunstore so you can save a few dollars is some cuck shit, and why most people have distain and compept for the people who work there. If they had 2 brains cells to rub together, they wouldn't be working in a gun store.
This is the first gun forum ive ever been on where it seems like the majority of the people HAVE NOT worked at a gun store at least at some point based on the amount of hate that topic seems to be getting.

But to the point, why do think i quit genius?

Side note: if you HAVE NOT worked at a gun store ever you guys have no idea how much you get ripped off on markup. Everybody seems to think its a 10% markup for some reason, but in 2021 I was still paying $8 a box for 9mm while the rest of you were paying $35.
 
Y'all don't want to know what an underwater welder makes.
I'm certified for it but am far too old to do it now.....plus a rather unfortunate diving incident left me with never wanting to go under again.
Not unheard of to make $50k a month.
It's physically brutal though and you have to be a very fit, perfect specimen type.
 
I don't keep track of a lot of the shit going on because a lot of it irritates me, but i'm not smart enough to understand the underlying reasons for it. I generally keep my head down and work on my own shit because I am fortunate to be in the position I am, and blessed to have work to do each and every day. I have 2 daughters to raise, one is on a great path to success. Straight A's, just got a 26 on her ACT, doesn't cause me headaches, no boys to worry about, works occasionally and is always on time, has never called in, and she keeps busy when she's on the clock without complaining about the work....just the boys she works with being "lazy bitches" (her words). The youngest is a budding Lesbian, but she's 13 so who knows if this is a phase, or who she is. Either way, I still love that little fucker even though she's a little girl clone of the pain in the ass I was at that age. Time will tell who she's going to be.

I don't claim to have the answers, or the solutions, to any of the national problems we have. I can however work to help my family as best I can, give my kids the best helping hand I think will work. I see the help wanted signs everywhere, and I know that the incentive to work is diminished as long as unemployment and all sorts of government aid programs are in place, but I think scrapping those programs isn't a solution as they genuinely help a lot of people going through tough times. There was a time in 2007 my ass was broke as fuck. My debit card was declined at Arbys for a sammich broke. I went through some tough years of tough choices, and working my ass off, and being dependable. I went through that shit from 2007, until 2010 when I started working at Manners stocks. Tom was paying me $13/hr when I was full time, I was making a lot more at the previous job but I was terribly unhappy at the previous job, like praying I would die in a car crash on the way there unhappy. I wanted a job in an industry I wanted to be in, and that was my opportunity. The money didn't matter that much to me, I wanted a job that I could enjoy, and I did enjoy it. I look back at the opportunities I had that set me on the path to where I am now. I'm not saying i'm anybody special, but i'm really happy, and I LOVE what I do.

I don't know the type of person you are, I don't know your situation, I don't know your expectations. I know that we're dealt a hand of cards, and you can change those cards with various things, education, work ethic, chance, luck ect. I think the Ace card in every hand is putting in the time, and doing the work. You may have a shitty hand to start with, but if you wade through the swamp of shit, and fight to cross it instead of looking around and seeing others that have boats, planes, or can fly over it effortlessly and then you stop and whine about your situation (not saying you are, just making a point in general), you'll have some decent cards in your hand eventually.

This too shall pass. You will make it through what you're going through as long as you keep moving forward. Work in the system around you because you aren't likely to be able to change the game others are playing.

Branden
 
2 different issues not related at all. You can't blame boomers for your bad life choices.

I know guys without a degree who are making $3-500K a year working as linemen. I got IT guys with less than 5 years of experience making over 150. You have to make yourself valuable. That is 100% up to you.
Listen dude its not suprising to me that a long range shooting forum is full of people who make alot of money because obviously long distance is the most expensive niche of the sport there is. But shitting on people who still work at gun stores is basically shitting on the main people that really take a stand to protect the 2A interest in politics and for the public in general. Its the big gun store owners who make the biggest moves to fund pro 2A anything that goes on in washington.
 
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There are alot of professions where a college degree is required either directly or de-facto. Engineers, Chemists, Accountants, Most finance jobs, Medical field, Any of the hard sciences.

Pick a valuable degree and it will increase your expected lifetime earnings, even factoring lost time value of the cost. You do not have to go to an expensive school or even a university for all 4 years. You can join the Military like many of us did and let them pay for it, while already having a trade or skills and making some money along the way. Seeing 19 year old kids get a Job at NSA making $150K a year starting out with less than a year of experience and all their training provided is pretty cool.

You could start working a trade at 14-15 part time. I got a family friend who owns a small plumbing business. Both his kids started working young and before they turn 21, they will have their Masters Licenses. A journeymen plumber will make about $60 an hour working for someone else, or closer to $100 for himself, after paying expenses. Electricians start out at $20 or so and hour and get raises every 6 months. At 4 years they get their journeyman and get a bump to $40-55 in most places. Same with Elevator, Pipefitters or any other trades. You have to want to work, show up and pass a piss test. Most can't do this because they have the same lazy attitude as the OP.

Even today as a 30+ year old guy, you could start in a trade. You will bust your ass and be treated like shit but if you stick it out and try and learn you will be ahead of 90% of your peers. I think the Linemen here start at $25 or so and that works up to about $60 after 4 years. Add in the per diem , travel and OT you can make about $100K your first year as a fucking helper. Only thing stopping people is their own laziness.


If you are going to be dumb you better be tough. Poor life choices mean a high likelihood of manual labor to make a decent living. Nothing wrong with that, but not everyone wants to bust their ass all day. I like making more and doing less, which is what happens when you make good choices.
 
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I don't keep track of a lot of the shit going on because a lot of it irritates me, but i'm not smart enough to understand the underlying reasons for it. I generally keep my head down and work on my own shit because I am fortunate to be in the position I am, and blessed to have work to do each and every day. I have 2 daughters to raise, one is on a great path to success. Straight A's, just got a 26 on her ACT, doesn't cause me headaches, no boys to worry about, works occasionally and is always on time, has never called in, and she keeps busy when she's on the clock without complaining about the work....just the boys she works with being "lazy bitches" (her words). The youngest is a budding Lesbian, but she's 13 so who knows if this is a phase, or who she is. Either way, I still love that little fucker even though she's a little girl clone of the pain in the ass I was at that age. Time will tell who she's going to be.

I don't claim to have the answers, or the solutions, to any of the national problems we have. I can however work to help my family as best I can, give my kids the best helping hand I think will work. I see the help wanted signs everywhere, and I know that the incentive to work is diminished as long as unemployment and all sorts of government aid programs are in place, but I think scrapping those programs isn't a solution as they genuinely help a lot of people going through tough times. There was a time in 2007 my ass was broke as fuck. My debit card was declined at Arbys for a sammich broke. I went through some tough years of tough choices, and working my ass off, and being dependable. I went through that shit from 2007, until 2010 when I started working at Manners stocks. Tom was paying me $13/hr when I was full time, I was making a lot more at the previous job but I was terribly unhappy at the previous job, like praying I would die in a car crash on the way there unhappy. I wanted a job in an industry I wanted to be in, and that was my opportunity. The money didn't matter that much to me, I wanted a job that I could enjoy, and I did enjoy it. I look back at the opportunities I had that set me on the path to where I am now. I'm not saying i'm anybody special, but i'm really happy, and I LOVE what I do.

I don't know the type of person you are, I don't know your situation, I don't know your expectations. I know that we're dealt a hand of cards, and you can change those cards with various things, education, work ethic, chance, luck ect. I think the Ace card in every hand is putting in the time, and doing the work. You may have a shitty hand to start with, but if you wade through the swamp of shit, and fight to cross it instead of looking around and seeing others that have boats, planes, or can fly over it effortlessly and then you stop and whine about your situation (not saying you are, just making a point in general), you'll have some decent cards in your hand eventually.

This too shall pass. You will make it through what you're going through as long as you keep moving forward. Work in the system around you because you aren't likely to be able to change the game others are playing.

Branden
Thank you again, only for the second time in this whole thread, for providing a real answer
 
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This is the first gun forum ive ever been on where it seems like the majority of the people HAVE NOT worked at a gun store at least at some point based on the amount of hate that topic seems to be getting.

But to the point, why do think i quit genius?

Side note: if you HAVE NOT worked at a gun store ever you guys have no idea how much you get ripped off on markup. Everybody seems to think its a 10% markup for some reason, but in 2021 I was still paying $8 a box for 9mm while the rest of you were paying $35.
I worked in a gun store part time, while working my normal job. I did it JUST for the discount. I lost so much money working there and eventually it wasn't worth my time working for 1/6th my normal rate and giving up my weekends just to get good deals on guns. Dealing with idiots all day is not worth that.

It took me 6 months to figure that out and it was working part time. How long does it take someone working in a gun store before they realize its a dead end?

People hate people who work in gun stores for the same reason explained. Low IQ, low drive and low worth people who know less about the product than the average enthusiast. Why the fuck would I take advice from someone who cant even afford the product I want therefore has no experience with. Finger fucking a gun in the store is not experience or knowledge. Otherwise everyone stocking shelves at circuit city must have been an electrical engineer.

People talking about 10% are talking about firearms. The margins are shit on them and unless you are a massive dealer, I can find guns online cheaper than half the distributors sell to small mom an pop shops. Accessories and Ammo is where the money is made, Guns just get people in the door. Most people know this which is why the gun business is such a shitty return on investment meaning not only are most gun store employees idiots, their owners are just as fucking dumb and business illiterate.
 
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oh my god dude your the one that just had to justify to me that your "not a racist" by saying you employee your black friend. no one here gives a fuck about your black friend. I dont give a shit if your a skin head edward norton lookin american history x mufucker. I dont know you.
Keep playing the race card....it's ok for you to shave your head, but not ok for white folk to shave their head? I shave my head because I like it that way, no hat head, no helmet head when I get off my Harley.
Oh and heres "Im not a racist" #2. What did you fly in the airforce, the hindenberg?
Yes, I was in the USAF for 24 years, active duty. Why do you idiots think everyone is a pilot? Is everyone working in a company the CEO?
This is the first gun forum ive ever been on where it seems like the majority of the people HAVE NOT worked at a gun store at least at some point based on the amount of hate that topic seems to be getting.

But to the point, why do think i quit genius?

Side note: if you HAVE NOT worked at a gun store ever you guys have no idea how much you get ripped off on markup. Everybody seems to think its a 10% markup for some reason, but in 2021 I was still paying $8 a box for 9mm while the rest of you were paying $35.
You're a special kind of stupid. Why would any of us work at a gun store to get a discount on crap the store has on the shelf, when we work jobs that pay WAY more so we can but good stuff?
 
no one here gives a fuck about your black friend. I dont give a shit if your a skin head edward norton lookin american history x mufucker. I dont know you.
This was exactly my point that went over your head. Don’t come in here with the because I’m black BS.

Honestly I’m not sure what else you want or were expecting out of this thread. You asked for advice on how to make good money, and proceed to get angry at everyone giving you advice.
 
Listen dude its not suprising to me that a long range shooting forum is full of people who make alot of money because obviously long distance is the most expensive niche of the sport there is. But shitting on people who still work at gun stores is basically shitting on the main people that really take a stand to protect the 2A interest in politics and for the public in general. Its the big gun store owners who make the biggest moves to fund pro 2A anything that goes on in washington.
Keep reaching. People make big money because they have a skill worth the paycheck. You keep going back to "for the love of the hobby", but still don't want to put in the work so the discount would be nullified. You've gotten some really good feedback in this dumpster fire of a thread, but continue to argue and play the victim card. Not one of us gives a fuck about how hard you think life is. Grow up, put in the work, and you will be rewarded for it. Until then, fuck off.
 
This was exactly my point that went over your head. Don’t come in here with the because I’m black BS.

Honestly I’m not sure what else you want or were expecting out of this thread. You asked for advice on how to make good money, and proceed to get angry at everyone giving you advice.
Did you forget what the first post said? In no way was any of it serious. i was lookin for some jabs at politicians and funny memes, but all you guys come in here with your miserable drudgery of "take a good look in the mirror and quit bitchin". Thats not advice. Thats a fucking buzzkill.

And your the only one gettin pissed off about the race shit, well besides @Cowpokey who wanted everyone to know hes married to a thai ladyboy or some shit.

You know who is a racist? Me. I hate black people. They always want a fuckin deal. They always wanna borrow money. They sit out on the corner and beg me to pay for their goddamn newports. good for you for havin a black friend because I sure as hell aint got none.
 
Thank you again, only for the second time in this whole thread, for providing a real answer
I saw several others shitting on you and knew that even though I didn't have much of an answer, I could at least provide some encouragement. I read your post as you were frustrated with what you were experiencing. I don't think that makes you lazy, or stupid, you came here to vent, and some decided to take shots at you. Negativity breeds more negativity. Heed the advice that is given in good faith, fuck the haters. You got this, you have the recipe, now go get the ingredients. Enjoy those kids, time flies by, really damn fast.

Branden
 
its my thread bitch. idk why your even still here. go fly your hindenberg back to where ever it is yo little ass crawled out of.
I'm here because you are a whiney little piss ant. At least my nephew accepted my kick in is ass and is now doing well. He wanted to fight me when I called him a pussy to his face, he's a big boy, but I doubt he would have been much of a challenge in a fight.

You're a pussy. Fight me, I'll send you directions.
 
Did you forget what the first post said? In no way was any of it serious. i was lookin for some jabs at politicians and funny memes, but all you guys come in here with your miserable drudgery of "take a good look in the mirror and quit bitchin". Thats not advice. Thats a fucking buzzkill.

And your the only one gettin pissed off about the race shit, well besides @Cowpokey who wanted everyone to know hes married to a thai ladyboy or some shit.

You know who is a racist? Me. I hate black people. They always want a fuckin deal. They always wanna borrow money. They sit out on the corner and beg me to pay for their goddamn newports. good for you for havin a black friend because I sure as hell aint got none.
You quit your job at the gun store to be a stay at home dad

Didn’t want to be a welder because fk good pay I didn’t want to try and be good at it

You accepted a job being unarmed security in a ghetto truck stop

You accepted another job at an event staffing agency

You then judge entire economy on these two shit jobs

You expect us to not rib you for your life decisions.

You thought we would blame the politicians for This?

Sorry this didn’t go as expected. I thought y first post here was good life advice and showing what was possible. Guess you didn’t take it that way.
 
I saw several others shitting on you and knew that even though I didn't have much of an answer, I could at least provide some encouragement. I read your post as you were frustrated with what you were experiencing. I don't think that makes you lazy, or stupid, you came here to vent, and some decided to take shots at you. Negativity breeds more negativity. Heed the advice that is given in good faith, fuck the haters. You got this, you have the recipe, now go get the ingredients. Enjoy those kids, time flies by, really damn fast.

Branden
Hey man gettin shit on is half of life. If someones gonna do it at least make it funny. Thats not too much to ask, is it?
 
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I'm here because you are a whiney little piss ant. At least my nephew accepted my kick in is ass and is now doing well. He wanted to fight me when I called him a pussy to his face, he's a big boy, but I doubt he would have been much of a challenge in a fight.

You're a pussy. Fight me, I'll send you directions.
UH OH RED ALERT: BAN-ABLE OFFENCE RIGHT HERE. can the mods finally take this dude out of here now? Thats a threat on a mans life right there.

damn b you really the type of asshole thats gonna lose sleep over this at night haha
 
You ain't that bright are you? Divorce the wife and get on the government dole. That's worth about $50K a year. Then you can sit home with the kid, watch the tube or post stupid shit on the web while enjoying some purple drank.
 
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I ’m still not convinced that you’re not a Cajun pretending to be some sort of com-bloc nazi pretending to be a black millennial.
1208CE77-9B76-4981-B638-CDE89FCAF1B5.jpeg
 
Still playing the victim card...you are resilient.
Listen man. You were one of the first people on this thread, and your still here because something obviously got a rise out of you, that much is obvious. but since you still at it, Im gonna take a second to just go off on you for no other reason than because I can.

First, your beard is weird b. shave that shit. you look like a damn easter island head
Second, why do you think for a minute that any grown man should be wearin a cowboy hat outside of a romantic relationship with another man?
Third, dont be tellin me how I need to make money. you worry bout your own shit. My momma take care a me.
Fourth, what the fuck are you doin on that boat, dumpin bodies? If you just fuckin other dudes ou there then my bad about the cowboy hat...

And finally, you wanna scrap wit me thats on you, but if you loose Im gonna get me a piece a that cowboy ass now, you gon be sleepin in daddy's bunk when the sheriff turn out the lights tonight Oooooooooo
 
The world is full of opportunities, you need to seek those opportunities out. As mentioned before, there are quite a few people who make poor life decisions. We all make mistakes, so learn from those mistakes.

Following a passion is good, but sometimes it's not the right direction to take.

Those guys dogging on you, they're still giving you good advice.

When I was a kid, I wanted to be a race car driver. Possibly it could have happened, if I pursued it, but the reality of it, it was not my calling in real life.

In High School, I thought I wanted to be an Architect, and devoted much of my school curriculum to that pursuit. My Senior year, I had a come to Jesus moment, thinking do I really want to sit in front of a drafting table for the rest of my life?

I also worked retail part time in a Army Surplus store, and spent most of my earnings on discounted backpacking and camping gear. Sound familiar?

I had the opportunity to attend University of Colorado, New Mexico School of Mines, and even offered a full Army ROTC scholarship to a University in Mississippi. So what did I do? I chose to enlist in the Air Force, mostly because of the influence of one of my teachers who was a retired Lt Col. (Combat Pilot). As a kid, I grew up liking to take things apart, learn how they worked, and put them back together. So joining the Air Force was my way of continuing that passion of tearing things apart and fixing them. Aircraft Maintenance (Avionics). I did my best to try to learn, and was always asking questions, even if it wasn't about the things directly in front of you. I also continued to look for and take opportunities. I volunteered for a remote assignment, which was great because as a new E-2, I was treated as just another guy on the team, instead of a huge pool of new guys with no knowledge, and who get all the shit jobs. I also volunteered for every assignment that came up, and worked hard at it. Because of that, I typically never got the shit jobs like the lazy guys did.

Moving forward, even though I liked my job, I saw that I was in a dying career field because of the age of the aircraft system. So I looked for more opportunities, changed jobs, was in tech school for almost two years, and kept on looking forward, while enjoying my work.

Got to do things, and see things that I can't even talk about. High security clearance, with access to programs that most people don't even know exist. Travel the world, sometimes working in civilian clothes.

In the end, I really wasn't cut out to be in the military, as I hated authority, especially authority that made bad and stupid decisions. But fortunately, my supervisors and managers respected my hard work and drive, and quest for making things better. So it was a balance.

Would I go back and change the directions I took in life if I could? Hell no, 90% of my time in the Air Force was the best times of my life.

I moved on, and went from being a technician, supervisor, and manager in the Air Force, back to being strictly a technician in civilian life and earnings 3X outside the military, fixing MW radios and climbing towers. Again, following my passion.

I tried to take a job in Kosovo, maintaining a system on a remote mountain top site, one guy working only 32-hrs a week. Pay would have been $200K per year, with a $200K bonus if I stayed a second year. Easy money, no risk, remote site protected by British Troops after the shooting stopped. Unfortunately, my security clearance had been expired too long, so that opportunity wasn't meant to be, but that's just an example of what exists out there.

Now that I'm semi-retired, there's some things I want to accomplish while I'm still alive and walking. But those opportunities keep on knocking on my door, and every few months I'm asked to come back to work. Good pay at $50-hr plus per diem, etc. But I think I'm done with work as life is too short.

My advice, seize opportunities, constantly learn. Since you're a stay at home Dad, that gives you time to learn. Take advantage of it.
 
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I don't know what you have against Cowpokey, but leave me out of it. The only point I was trying to make about employees being commodities has been understood by anyone who has worked in manufacturing or chain stores for any length of time. I have no dog in whatever pissing match is going on here, so I'll leave you with some tips since I'm also currently changing jobs. See if you can learn something here with my story:

Even though I didn't like my last job very well, I didn't just walk out on it. I got an offer someplace else that does the same type of work and uses the same machinery that I currently run, set up, and maintain. They offered me the same pay I was making at the job I was at, but this new company has better benefits and more upward mobility. So like a good employee, I put my two weeks in. And of course, since nobody at my former place of employment wants to do the work I have been doing for the past few years, they offered me top pay for the position I was at. Now since that place treats employees as numbers and gives out only 3% raises each year, I'm not hanging around. If I had accepted top pay offer, then there would be no more raises and I would be stuck doing the same old shit I have been doing for the past nine years with no hope of doing anything else. Now if former company would have been more fair with pay over the years I was there, I wouldn't have considered leaving. Hopefully that company learns a lesson with my departure, because my last couple days there, other employees were threatening to leave so they don't have to do the jobs I was doing. Anyway, back on track, the take away here is learn to use any skills you gain at whatever you're doing and use those skills as a spring board. Learn not to settle for a "job" and seek out better opportunities. Right now is probably the best time anyone is going to have to get a job they probably wouldn't get in a normal labor pool. Take advantage of other peoples laziness, don't just sit here and complain.
Sounds exactly like a little Ag/Pharma company I know a little bit about - Bayer. The big multinational pull the same shit, especially these past few years.
 
Here's the deal- due to labor unions and minimum wage, us engineering types replace all the mindless nimrods with mechanical and virtual robots.

When evaluating a new job, ask yourself- could this easily be replaced by a robot?

Examples of roles that could be replaced include cashiers, bank, tellers, restaurant servers, inventory folks, etc.

Examples of roles we haven't figured out how to replace yet include heavy equipment operators, Welders, surgeons, mechanics - roles were situational dynamics and problem solving are at play.

Basically non-BS jobs. Find one of those.
 
Oh no dont say that people shouldnt want to be treated like commodities, @Cowpokey thinks everyone who says that is just a whiner who cant get their shit together.

For the most part, employees ARE commodities. Your skillset is the only thing that differentiates you from the next schmuck. Doesn't mean you should be abused, and in fact there are laws against it, but it does mean that you need a marketable skillset.

I am aware of at least a dozen places within 30 minutes of my house that will pay $15 minimum for someone with zero skill, and let you have all the hours that you want to work. And I live as far away from my job as I can and still force myself to go to work every day.

A person with even a basic welding cert in my area can easily make $25-$40 per hour. North Georgia, about 1-1/2 hours outside Atlanta.
 
Sounds exactly like a little Ag/Pharma company I know a little bit about - Bayer. The big multinational pull the same shit, especially these past few years.
The job I'm leaving tries to structure their business model after larger corporations because that is where the jobs are coming from. All their work is just sub-contract work for heavy equipment manufacturers. Many of the multinationals have also been reducing pay scales, increasing the workloads on their employees, relying more on part time/temporary employment rather than trying to keep employees for the long term. It's all in the name of going to "lean" manufacturing, Gotta keep those investors happy.
 
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@HKslave Not sure on your location but find an LTL carrier and work the dock loading trucks. They hire a lot of PT workers and the pay is good. You‘ll work evenings from 4-9 if it’s a freight hub and sometimes longer if there’s enough freight. The docks aren’t heated so it’s basically working outside all year.
 
Labor is a commodity. Very few people have such unique and rare skills that cannot be replaced.

This is what I do for a living and some of my folks, there are less than 10 people in the world who can do what they do. I will still fire their ass and bring someone in new who wants to work and is trainable with a good attitude if it warrants.

No one is not replaceable.

The secret is to make yourself valuable. Be and asset not a liability. That is really all there is to it. Just saved you a $10K self help seminar.