Heavy needs advice....

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Difficult position. As I see it the main problem is the immediacy of financial need. There are a myriad number of courses that take under two years that will provide you with the ability to get a good paying position in a field of your choice. Decide what you are willing to or want to do. Research places to acquire the necessary training. But first arrange for a loan or a part time gig to get you through the training period. As others here have said. thee hardest thing is narrowing your choices. Good luck and be well
Michael
 
Dude, you can make one hell of a leather sheath. The one that came with the Howling Fat was kick ass! Why not make sheaths? Not everyone wants kydex.
 
our backgrounds have some similarities. one thing for sure, I'd stay the heck out of cubicles. there aren't enough anti-depressants in the world to keep you going in a job you hate.

I love working with my hands and seeing a real product (artisan breads) produced. I own my own bakery but only because my wife, a Doc, supported us for several years.

I don't know if you were in commercial or residential construction, but have you looked at both?

I do know some house framers who have travelled and worked a week at a time away from home. I couldn't be away from my family that much.

God Bless
 
Hey Heavy, you don't know me and I don't know you, no matter as what I have to say someone I did not know told me.
Look at your kids, look at your partner and look at yourself, feel the love you see, don't doubt.
Find a place of solitude in the bush somewhere, spread your arms open and look up into the sky and ask the universe to look after you and your family.
The universe ain't no stranger, you are the universe, we all are. Don't ask for to much, stay real and you'll see that all will work out.
Believe, as it is your gut feel that has taken you as far as you have. If there were wrongs in your life accept those as part of your life, they are you too.
This is working for me, stay positive, you have achieved much. This periode now will pass.
Good luck, we all deserve.
Cheers Urs
 
greens said:
Dude, you can make one hell of a leather sheath. The one that came with the Howling Fat was kick ass! Why not make sheaths? Not everyone wants kydex.
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Thanks bro. I do make sheaths though I haver sold one. I also do make knives...but just for me. Truth is I never even thought about offering sheaths for sale....maybe I'll make some and put them on the exchange board.
 
Heavy said:
Thanks bro. I do make sheaths though I haver sold one. I also do make knives...but just for me. Truth is I never even thought about offering sheaths for sale....maybe I'll make some and put them on the exchange board.
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I'll Take It! :thumbup::D
 
Murray Carter just sent out an e-mail to everyone on his mailing list. One of the things that it mentions is that he is turning his one-man show into a two-man show. He is looking for an assistant so that he can spend more time working on forging blades. That might be a good fit for you.
 
Sorry to hear, bro. I'm in the middle of a relocation now in an attempt to avoid the "rug pulled out from under me" sort of feeling that many of us have experienced. The relocating process truly sucks - especially when you're got little kids - but we're working thru it.

If my position disappears, I typically have two options: relocate to another market (metro area) or take a job as a configuration engineer to commission broadcast systems. The config engineer means out of town 3-5 days per week. Both options mean I "lose" lots of familytime but at least the relocating option has an end in sight.

Specific to your situation, I would try and decide which type of work you find more fulfilling - construction or Mac/publishing - balance that against being certain that the winner still brings in enough funds. Then go after it with a vengeance. It may mean relocating to a better market - it may mean doing the manufacturer rep kind of thing (engineer/wizard for the manufacturer of the press system) until you find one with a permanent home.

Wishing you the best, bro. The days of 50 years service and the gold watch are long gone. If anyone here *hasn't* been through this one yet, the overwhelming odds are it is only a matter of time. You (and I) have seen it a few times.

Times are hard right now but it is only temporary. I know enough about you to know that you "go after it." You wouldn't have the past resume of success if you didn't. Take a moment. Decide on the plan, then go for it like Chuck Norris after some B-grade extra villain. ;)


I wouldn't bet against Heavy.
 
Heavy, hoping and praying that all will turn out well for you and your family. Having hung my keister in the wind a couple times (traveled cross-country with enough gas money to get there, but not enough to return), I now know that the life-changes put a person through their own changes, but usually aren't fatal.

Heck, in the long run getting married & having kids are infinitely more important and life-changing than job & residence changes. I know in the midst of going through them, job changes are really stressful. But in the course of your life history they are in retrospect just speed-bumps we get over pretty quickly.

Hondo.3 said:
Murray Carter ... is looking for an assistant so that he can spend more time working on forging blades. That might be a good fit for you.
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Give some serious thought to this!! Murray is not only a master forger, but is also one of the few makers I've met who seem to have a sense of what running and growing a business is supposed to look like. (Many makers seem to wing it by the seat of their pants. Their success seems to be coincidental or accidental.) What a lot about both knifemaking and business he can teach anyone lucky enough to work with him and pay attention.

Also, Murray lives pretty close to me, so I feel qualified to say that his shop in Vernonia, OR is in a nice part of the world. Rural, temperate climate which may (or may not) freeze any given winter (typically a few days per year), and is located only about 45 miles from Portland, OR for its shopping, airport, etc.
 
Thanks again for all the advice guys.

I think I may know which way to go at this point... My prayer is that God will open doors for me to get there or close them if it's the wrong direction....
 
Like Heavy and some others I'm about to lose my job after a year and a half. I'm a wildlife biologist, but unfortunately grant money is tough to come by these days, so I'm outta here by the end of September. My old man owns his own construction business too (mason). Unfortunately he works almost 2 hours away from where I live and my wife has a great job up here. I'm not sure what I'm going to do, but I'll figure something out. Don't give into the pressure of getting an office job if you don't think you'll be able to stand it. When I took this job in January of 2006 I thought I would be out in the field much more than I have been. I've only been in the field about half a dozen times this year. For a biologist that seems like very little doesn't it? But I have been set up in a beautiful cube in the basement of my office. Did I mention that I share this 15'x15' room with 2 other guys? To put it bluntly it sucks. I think being let go is a real blessing in disguise. Let's all get together, get drunk, and take over the Wauseon shop. There's no way Jerry could hold us all off. He'll have to give us jobs grinding, riveting, packaging, and answering the phones. I call dibs on the phone next to Amy-O, so don't try anything funny. Think of the production line we could have. What do you all think of that?:D
 
Heavy said:
One other thing I forgot to mention...I really hate the idea of going back to an "office".

Cube hell....

In the city of Chicago I can find many jobs that would pay well...but at what cost? Suit....tie....I hate that stuff....

Hard to know what to do...

I need to have a job in the knife world I think...It's the only industry I am interested in.....
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Okay Heavy, buckle your seat belt. I think since you are unemployed, and have been repeatedly over the last 12 year?, you may need to be more flexible. I think you need to make a list of things you'd like to do for a living and then consider whether you can make a living and have job security, while enjoying yourself. Few of us can do that.

Maybe you need to also distinguish between a job and a career. Jobs keep you in beer and cigarettes, but a career is something on which you can build and depend. In a career, you have a skill set which is transferrable.
You should try to devolop knowledge and skills that are sought after by emplyers. Try to pick a field you believe will be around for as long as you'll be.

Don't be afraid of additional education. Sometimes going back to school is the sacrifice one needs to make to become more employable.

Never feel secure in any position. Always be planning and preparing for your next move, if you lose that job. Always be growing and never be satisfied!

Personally, I had many jobs over the years. Right out of high school, I played pool for a number of years and I had it all. clothes, cars, women. I was living the life of Riley. I was also a thug. Then I grew up a little and got several jobs in factories, retail sales and as a bodyguard.

Then, I grew up some more and got a job I thought I could turn into a career. Guess what. With only a high school diploma, I found many doors were closed to me. My advancement was limited because I lacked formal education. So, I bitched and moaned about how unfair it was that Joe College got a job I wanted, just because he had a degree. I looked at myself in the mirror one morning, at the age of 32, saying "Poor me. Poor me." I then told myself to grow up some more, stop whining and go get what Joe College had.

At the age of 32, married with two children, I started night school. I had never so much as stepped foot in a university until I was 32 years old. It took twelve years but I got my BBA degree in public accounting. During this time, because I was doing something positive and making an investment in myself, I had more confidence and felt better about myself. I found employers respected my efforts and more doors were opened to me. Employers also helped pay the tuition. During this time, I also worked to get my Certified Financial Planner designation because this was the field in which I wanted to work.

For the last seventeen years, I have been self-employed as a financial planner. In this role, all I have to do is obey the laws and take care of the clients who are taking care of me.

When my son Dan was about twelve years old, he wanted to buy a guitar and he asked me how he could earn money for the purchase. I told him that when I was his age, in Chicago, I had three paper routes and maybe he could deliver papers. He said, "Aw Dad, if I delivered papers, I'd have to get up early." I told him he was right...that I got up at 5am every morning to get my papers delivered, get cleaned up and eat breakfast before school. Well, my son was averse to getting up early. Then I pointed out that I had seen young guys in the neighborhood mowing other people's lawns. He said, "Aw Dad, If I mowed lawns, I'd get all dirty." I laughed and told him nobody was going to pay him money to sleep late and stay clean.

The point is, most of us need to do things we don't particularly enjoy, in order to earn a living.

I hope you don't think I've been too hard on you heavy but I think these are the facts of life in today's world. There are no free lunches.

I believe that if I can do it, believe me Brother, so can you.

I wish you well my friend.
 
Willie,

Thanks for your imput man I really do appriciate it.

I've only worked for three companies since 1993. My multiple positions are due to promotions.

My skill set is all in desktop publishing. An industry that is ever changing but never going away. Trouble is I feel like I spent all those years preparing for a career that I don't much like. That's the real crux of it..

At some point you decided you wanted to be an accountant, you went after it and you got it...perfect. That's where I am. Pick a direction and stick to it.

Maybe I gave the wrong impression but it's not like I have been sitting around waiting for someone to give me something. I am a quite a handyman and have been doing little projects for people all along. I've hung doors, changed toilets, fixed sump pumps, changed outlets and on and on. Hard work I like. It's the 10 more years in publishing only to realize I still don't like it is what scares me....

I also have a little side business with some old buddies...you can see that in my sig line. Not making money yet but we're on our way.

I also just registered another business with the State of IL....details on that to follow....:D
 
Heavy said:
Trouble is I feel like I spent all those years preparing for a career that I don't much like. That's the real crux of it..

You cant't change what's in the past. Most people change careers two or three times these days. The days of getting a job as a young guy, and staying there until retirement seem to be over. That's what happens with jobs, they leave us at the mercy of some bean counter in corporate. However, a with marketable skills like those of an accountant, stock broker, dentist, etc, can take their skills anywhere.

I have always told my kids to try not to be a "situation guy." By that I mean having a job using a skill set only valued by the company for which you work. (I've been there.) If you lose that job, you're out of luck and on the street. Situation guys can make a nice living as long as the company lets them, but they are a the mercy the company. If they lose the job, they have to try to find a company who needs their specialized set of skills and that can be tough.

At some point you decided you wanted to be an accountant, you went after it and you got it...perfect. That's where I am. Pick a direction and stick to it.

Believe me, I was the consumate screw up. I just picked a direction and stuck to it, just like you said.

Maybe I gave the wrong impression but it's not like I have been sitting around waiting for someone to give me something.

No man, I never thought you were sittin around. I saw a guy who has had some bad luck, i.e., the company eliminating your department, the family business going under, etc. I empathize with you because I've been fired and layed-off by the best of them. When I decided, finally, to pursue a real career, I did so becasue I was tired of some "suit" deciding my fate and the well-being of my family. I decided: f%@* em and the horse they rode in on. In the future, I'll be the one to decide when I should lose my job.

How old are you heavy?

How old are your kids?

Does your wife work outside the home?

Where in the Chicago area do you live. I grew up in the city, on the south side. Man, I miss Chicago.
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Have you thought of joining law enforcement? I have worked in financial markets for about 6 years now and when my son starts school and my wife goes back to part time work I am considering it, even though the pay will be less.
 
Irezumi said:
Have you thought of joining law enforcement? I have worked in financial markets for about 6 years now and when my son starts school and my wife goes back to part time work I am considering it, even though the pay will be less.
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That sounds like a great idea.
 
Willieboy said:
How old are you heavy?

How old are your kids?

Does your wife work outside the home?

Where in the Chicago area do you live. I grew up in the city, on the south side. Man, I miss Chicago.
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34

12, 8, 6, 4 and 1

no

Wester Burbs. about 15 miles outside city limits. Was born and raised in the City...I LOVE the food....you know what I mean I'm sure....Beefs....HotDogs.....Pizza....Jimmys on Grand...mmmm....polish....

Irezumi said:
Have you thought of joining law enforcement? I have worked in financial markets for about 6 years now and when my son starts school and my wife goes back to part time work I am considering it, even though the pay will be less.
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I have thought of that...was looking into become a correctional officer...
 
Hey Heavy,

I know you don't want a "cube hell" job, but check this out

http://jobview.monster.com/getjob.asp?JobID=60023490

It's for an EXPERIENCED PRODUCTION MAC OPERATOR / DESKTOP PUBLISHING in Wooddale, IL

It sounds to me like it's exactly what your skills are in, and if you're 15 miles west of chicago, it should be in your back yard.

Nosh
 
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