I did the worst of all.
I went back to college at the age of 35 to get an engineering degree.

Until that time I had been working in land development as a draftsman, drawing maps and sire plans and such. It didn't pay that well, but it did pay the bills at least... but then I had the opportunity to get a degree, and chose mechanical engineering. I had had enough of designing things to be built out of dirt- I wanted to work with machinery.

So I quit my job and went to school. As I went on an inheritance the loss of income was covered. I felt like I was on top of the world.

Only thing was, Nurse Ratched absolutely HATED the idea of me going back to school- after all, I was 35 and too old for such things. It Just Wasn't Done! And besides, I would be surrounded by cute little college age girls.

For fuck's sake. I was trying to get a degree to increase my income at least double, and honestly the thought of screwing a 19 year old feels a bit creepy to me- I prefer women my own age, thanks. But nothing I could say would make her happy, so she pretty much sandbagged my college career as much as she could as she saw it as a four year vacation.

We divorced in the midst of this, which cost me heavily as you can imagine. I had to get an apartment, so I was fucking broke now. And yet I persevered, and eventually got through it.

The first company I went to work for made plastic for injection molding. They ended up getting into hard times, so I moved on to a semiconductor factory that a friend was working in. After a couple of years the market for semiconductors got very volatile and the company was split (and folded a year later). Things looked grim so I jumped ship from there. Not a lot of jobs were out there, but there was contract work so I did that for a few years. Then the recession hit.

At this point I'm in a house that I bought while making semiconductors and being paid as an engineer, with a resume that shows a lot of job changes in a short time, in a city that has pretty much closed down most of its manufacturing industries, and have no job prospects. All of the surviving firms are preferring to overload the staff they have rather than hire new people. And because I now have an engineering degree, I'm overqualified to be a drafter and no one will hire me for that either. I'm not sure if I'll lose the house or not, but it's fucking close.

The last ten years has been a bigger waste of money than I ever would have feared.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:11, 24 replies)

That is fucking grim to say the least.
I don't "like this", but *clicks anyway*. Hope you know what I mean. Also hope that everything sorts itself out and a company does hire you.
(Ghost Atreides enjoying incontestable health benefits on, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:19, closed)

at least you stuck to your guns
if you want to better yourself, nobody has the right to tell you not to.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:21, closed)

The irony is
that I would have ended up further ahead if I had never gone to get that degree. I probably would have ended up divorced anyway- things were pretty bad even before that- but I would have been able to keep drafting.

If I can somehow make it through until next June, I can sell this house and at least be free of that as my daughter will graduate high school and I won't be rooted here anymore. At that point it might be wise to relocate to where there is still engineering going on- though the thought of moving to Texas gives me the creeps.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:26, closed)

are they still all christian fundamental-ish there?

( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:29, closed)

Yes, with an emphasis on the mentalist part.
It's also flatter than a platter of piss, unbearably hot and dusty, from what I'm told. As I'm from the mountains of New York the climate alone would be torture. Add in the wacko Christian part and it'd be murder.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:31, closed)

come to england
we let everybody in here ;)
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:33, closed)

Heh.
Nice thought. Only three problems, the last of whom is about to graduate from high school.

Maybe in another five to ten years I might be able to consider it, but maybe not even then. They do need to have their father around and available.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:36, closed)

your kids will always need you around
but remember, as much as you want them to be happy, they want you to be happy, too.
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:39, closed)

She's just as likely to hop the pond
as you are when she decides what she wants to do with her life. Don't feel rooted to any one place. A child will gladly come visit you, whether it be across a country or an ocean. If you find a solid engineering job somewhere, move there, and she'll possibly follow. You aren't just opening doors for yourself. Also, on an engineers salary for a big firm, you may just be able to fork out for the plane tickets to have her visit more often. At the very least you'll give her the courage to get up and go when an opportunity presents itself. As an added bonus, imagine how the ex will feel when you're living the high (middle class) life on another continent.
Not that I have any preference personally, I'm Canadian. But I can say this: at 22 years old, my parents being rooted somewhere has very little bearing on where I choose to live my life. My grandmother's husband is from the UK and moved here about 15 years ago, once all his children were out on their own. They speak regularly by telephone (gotta love Skype) and have been visiting a lot lately as his health has deteriorated due to cancer.
(Turtlenuts, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:01, closed)

The other half of this
is that I have aging parents- Dad is 82 and Mom is 81. I only see them a few times a year at this point, but I suspect that that is about to change. I know for a fact that they would really rather that I move closer to them, and most likely I will. I have seen ads for engineering jobs in New Jersey, for instance.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:18, closed)

better than texas
and not too far from new york
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:25, closed)

Depends on where in NJ it is.
Newark is not to be considered, for instance. In fact, most of northern NJ is pretty much out of the running as it's overrun with guidos and the detritus of NYC. There are some pockets of civilization there, but they're islands in a sea of twatbadgery.

Northern PA is actually quite nice as well. In a year or so I may see what I can find up there. But at this point Virginia is pretty well devoid of much of anything for me as far as I can tell.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:33, closed)

ah well
wherever you end up, good luck!
( Smash Monkey lowering the tone of the whole internet, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:34, closed)

Come
TO AUSTRALIAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA
(lemonadegame, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 23:11, closed)

The land of plenty!
And vegemite sandwhichs
( jakedamusss I understand, and dont care., Fri 1 Oct 2010, 3:11, closed)

You should work for this guy
Hank Scorpio:
Scorpio 1
Scorpio 2
Scorpio 3

He really is a nice, caring individual.
(Turtlenuts, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 15:34, closed)

And Chopper!
www.youtube.com/watch?v=mh6pZQX22CQ
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 1 Oct 2010, 16:20, closed)

Plus if you do want to emigrate
you can find lots of internet people willing to put you up.
( willenium Fist bump for verification, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:02, closed)

Texas
is indeed hot and flat, but at least there is work here in the semi-conductor industry. Samsung are just about to start expanding again, with perhaps another fab breaking ground in the spring. I take it you are looking at Austin?
(ianisme, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 3:03, closed)

That's where I'm seeing jobs posted.
Highly unlikely that I'll move there, though. Again, too far from my kids and family.

My best guess is that I'll find some way to stumble along for a year, sell this house (pretty much guaranteed that I can at least get rid of it, if not make money, because it's a half mile from one of the highest-rated high schools in the country), then figure it out from there. I've married a college professor who is quite open to the possibility of leaving this area once she gets tenured and can start shopping around to other schools for better pay. If we do that we can dump her house (or rent it out) and start fresh somewhere else and not have to worry as much about me having a career. So about two years from now I may be completely off the hook, as it were, and be able to call myself an artist for real. *chuckle*

It just seems horridly ironic that I spent so much money and time going through hell to make sure I had a decent career, only to have the economy shift and make it impossible to work in my chosen field.
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Fri 1 Oct 2010, 16:17, closed)

Surrounded by college girls?
On a mechanical engineering course?
(lolwhites, Thu 30 Sep 2010, 19:53, closed)

In truth, not really.
There were plenty of cute little things on campus, certainly, but none that I ever would have had a chance to interact with. And besides, when I looked at them I didn't so much see potential bedmates as potential babysitters.

Let's face it- a 35 year old man is all but invisible to college age girls anyway, as it should be. It wasn't like I was going to have some little Jessica Alba throwing herself at me. Yet try explaining that to her- she was convinced that it was going to be just like the movies, with the horny co-eds flirting with the dashing older man and him having his pick of nubiles.

The truth is that what I was surrounded by were nerdy guys and a handful of equally nerdy girls with the social skills of Pee Wee Herman. I was more drawn to the female professors. (In all honesty, had I been able to get together with my Circuits teacher I would have leapt at the chance.)
( The Resident Loon Not a demographic. Do not measure., Thu 30 Sep 2010, 20:05, closed)

Welcome to the Sciences and Applied Sciences
I'm a Chemist. I'm typical of the breed in that yeah I'm nerdy at times, but also reasonably personable except for the fact I say "Fuck" a lot. Physics majors tend to be very nerdy, and Biology seems to have a lot more hot, arty types.

As for Mech Engs, What I remember from College was that they were sort of half way between Chemists and Physics in personality. They also used to drive / ride some really old vehicles, that were immaculately maintained, and in better nick than when they were built.
For Instance a 20 year old Honda Superdream without a speck of rust, and with an electrical system of NASA standard? Mech Eng.
(Sir Tainley Barking Ezekiel 23:20, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 1:18, closed)

Academia ...
is the best place for the over-qualified and under-employed.

Now where was I reading about a stunning lack of high school science teachers? Oh yes! Here in Old Blighty.
(Que?, Fri 1 Oct 2010, 5:22, closed)