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ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


Oodles posted:

How do I start planning for my future? How should I make the most of the next 5 years, and where do I start? I have NFI where to begin, and the desire to stick my head in the sand is so great, but I can’t.

What's your actual job function? Do you enjoy it? Are you good at it? Is there something else you'd rather be doing?

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Oodles
Oct 31, 2005

ultrafilter posted:

What's your actual job function? Do you enjoy it? Are you good at it? Is there something else you'd rather be doing?

I’m a support engineer, but I don’t actually run the rig. I represent my companies interest in the partnership that own the rig. I really enjoy what I do, but the two rigs I support will cease production in ~10 years. I don’t think I’m bad, as I’ve got experience of running them from a previous job, I’ve worked at the regulator and in design houses - so I’ve got good experience.

It’s also not that I don’t enjoy what I do, it’s more my concerns that my town is going to decline, and there won’t be a demand for people to stay. So, do I get out while I can, and there’s demand for houses, etc.

I don’t want to make it an e/n, but I really feel at a crossroads.

Oodles fucked around with this message at 21:53 on Aug 2, 2020

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS
Oct 3, 2003

What do you think it means, bitch?
One thing I’ll say for sure: save as much as humanly possible and take advantage of any/all benefits your company offers while you can (including tuition reimbursement). Not knowing where you’re at, you could try to move to another oil “hot spot” (and of course be looking to get behind a desk since rig/field work takes a serious toll on your body, as you doubtless know).

Start thinking on transferable skills (tools, mechanical, I&E) what’s your specialty/interest? Any schooling you might be able to do to expand/Hone with company money would be a big plus. Look at nearby cities, where y’all have family, etc. as opportunities there will help you transition more easily (IMO).

Maybe sit down and do some budgeting, see what y’all can realistically live on (oil money really only exists in oil, it’s rare to see comparable salaries elsewhere, depending).

Oodles
Oct 31, 2005

I’m an Instrument Engineer by background, and so I do have that to fall back on. I could see where there are other opportunities in country, out with oil.

There aren’t any other cities here that have as much focus on oil, with the exception of the capital, and that’s head offices, and not many techies are there.

Family are all in the city we are in, so that makes it hard to potentially move away. I agree that I need to make the most of it while I’ve got it - and we’re trying to do that. It makes us consider our options more, do we spend a fortune on doing up our house or do we make it good enough to sell.

My work are good with training, I just need to look at it more very long term as opposed to short term. I’m crap with development plans at the best of times.

It sucks being a grownup.

Xguard86
Nov 22, 2004

"You don't understand his pain. Everywhere he goes he sees women working, wearing pants, speaking in gatherings, voting. Surely they will burn in the white hot flames of Hell"
Many people in my MBA program were there to get out of O&G.

Many did end up going back, truth be told. However, consulting isn't as big a transition as you might think and that in turn is a half step to another industry. Harder with a family and if you're older but not impossible.

Some guys also went back to O&G on the finance side. It seemed from their talk that they could get into another industry or stuff like renewables via that path.

It's a big expensive move but an option.

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.
If you sold your house what would you do? You seem to indicate that you don't want to move so I'm not sure what selling does for you.

Oodles
Oct 31, 2005

Lockback posted:

If you sold your house what would you do? You seem to indicate that you don't want to move so I'm not sure what selling does for you.

I think I know I need to move, because I don’t want to get into a situation where we can’t move, because there’s no demand for houses.

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.

Oodles posted:

I think I know I need to move, because I don’t want to get into a situation where we can’t move, because there’s no demand for houses.

So let's work from there. I'm getting a bit of panic from your posts and without knowing specifics I would be surprised if you don't have a bunch of time. Oil isn't going anywhere and every year they come up with more and more clever ways of pulling oil out of where it is. I'm not saying it's not good to move off the industry if you think there's a limited future, but you probably have time to do this smart instead of fast.

What other cities would be options? Other places you have family or friends? Or just want to live? What do industries look like there? This is obviously more than a "You" question but maybe look into a couple possibilities. You seem like you'd have transferable skills in all sorts of heavy industry and manufacturing, have you looked there? You could probably also look to do something like process engineering or project management which tends to be more broad.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
Although not financially optimal you can always sell a house at a loss or even just abandon the property if Aberdeen or Stavanger or wherever gets so abjectly lovely. You have plenty of time to plan for this.

Oodles
Oct 31, 2005

You’re right that I could abandon my house, but that’d be the nuclear option.

Similarly there is a note of panic, but that’s just because I’m at the dawning realisation that I may need to move, and someone that was as good as born, schooled and worked here - that’s a daunting thing for me.

I do have time on my side, which is why I want to be as best prepared as I can be. I didn’t know where to begin, and I’ve got a great sounding board here - and I welcome the advice.

ultrafilter
Aug 23, 2007

It's okay if you have any questions.


It sounds like you have a sense that you should be doing something else but no real idea what that something else could be. I think the most important thing is to get a more specific plan.

Love Stole the Day
Nov 4, 2012
Please give me free quality professional advice so I can be a baby about it and insult you
Someone linked me to a big career advice post over on Reddit's Screenwriting community and I thought that this part was insightful:

(Apparently BLCKLST is a website where screenwriters and directors rate and critique one others' stuff on a scale of 1 to 10)

quote:

The bar isn't two 8s on the BLCKLST. That's barely worth noting. The bar is two 10s.

I'm speaking philosophically here, not literally. What I mean is that there is a difference between getting invited into the room and getting invited to the table. The key to making it in Hollywood is everyone taking your screenplay and sharing it because it was so amazing. Everyone wants to be the person that discovered you. Terry Rossio speaks about this on his Wordplayer site: Until you have that screenplay that people will fight to get made, not just nod their head and say, "That's good. That's professional level," you're really just another talented schlub.

SO many times on this site, the advice that the key to getting an agent or attention in Hollywood is "just" writing an amazing screenplay gets shot down. Why? Because they think they wrote an amazing screenplay and it doesn't get noticed. They didn't. They wrote a great screenplay when great screenplays are a dime a dozen. You need to write an exceptional once-in-a-lifetime screenplay. The bar is that high. Quite a few of the professionals here have talked about how they advanced by sharing their work with peers, who got excited and shared it with others, and that led to a producer sharing it with someone. The key, nearly always, comes down to excitement over the work. So aim for those two 10 scores. Nothing else will put you over the hump. They may move you incrementally forward and get you into the room. But getting a seat at the table requires much more.

Source Link

wolfs
Jul 17, 2001

posted by squid gang

So - I’ve been working 3 years in a Texas Department of Transportation laboratory as a contractor.
That is, I’m employed by an engineering services company that provides workers for TxDOT.

Before that I was a research assistant at the state university for 5 years while I was a student: my name is listed as a co-author on some abstracts and papers, I briefly helped grade assignments for an online geology course offered by the university to high school students, did some fleet van / truck driving, and a little bit of geology field work / rock appreciating.

Right now I do general lab maintenance, data entry, prepare concrete cores for failure / quality analysis by TxDOT geologists (my “client managers”), identify, characterize, and catalogue samples of rock and sand used in TxDOT works, and am generally just helpful. I’m a petrographic technician that works for state cement petrographers.

I like it a lot! But the tax shortfall for Texas this year means for FY2021 I’m reduced to 20 hours a week, and if things don’t improve I might be cut entirely.

Now I am looking for jobs around Central Texas - I’m drawn towards quality control positions at the various quarries and cement plants around here, but in the 2 months I’ve been sending applications, no dice as yet. Mining in general seems like steady work (as opposed to oil’s ups and downs) that will let me stay in the region - which is important to me.

Otherwise I’ve also been applying to environmental technician / sampler jobs that are concerned with things like air/soil/water - since I know some people I went to school with do that kind of thing.

I got hired just yesterday for a job reading water meters to make up for the shortfall in income and it seems fine given the season but I don’t want to be doing it come next summer. I’ll work both jobs since the TxDOT position is flexible.

Am I missing something obvious?

TxDOT doesn’t have the scratch to hire me, and I told the company I work for that I’m willing to do other work besides for TxDOT - but that hasn’t yielded anything. I might emphasize that I’m fine with a different hourly rate, I guess.

I don’t hate the idea of working for the state or federal government and I’ve been applying to anything that seems tangentially related to my skillset or vaguely clerical such that anyone competent could probably do it. But, again, no results and I’m told federal hiring is slow and Texas hiring is dicey because of budget concerns.

Thoughts? Am I doing reasonable things? A niche I might toss my resume into that I didn’t mention?

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

If you want to do concrete and soils testing there are tons and tons of places that do it from small firms to the big boys like Terracon and Kleinfelder. The have labs and people who go take the samples or do inspections. Is that what you are looking for?

wolfs
Jul 17, 2001

posted by squid gang

Yes, that’s pretty much spot on - non-biological lab work and sample taking. Construction or mining would be fine.

I’ve applied to Terracon at least twice, yeah, but that other name is new to me. I confess I don’t know what these testing positions are called by other companies or who all the players are - Terracon at least was straightforward in calling their openings “Construction Materials Testing Technician”.

I’ve been getting shown lots of survey crew positions that seem to range from small firms to national level businesses on LinkedIn and whatever, but not for construction testing.

wolfs fucked around with this message at 04:32 on Sep 24, 2020

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

You might ask in the engineering thread if anyone in central Texas knows of the smaller firms. Not sure if central Texas is DFW or Austin or where exactly. These might be good to apply to:

https://jobs2.smartsearchonline.com/kleinfelder/jobs/jobdetails.asp?jo_num=52595&apply=yes&cityZip=Texas&

https://jobs2.smartsearchonline.com/kleinfelder/jobs/jobdetails.asp?jo_num=52651&apply=yes&cityZip=Texas&

Do you have any of your testing certs? If not I would look into getting ACI Concrete testing grade 1 at a minimum.

REMEMBER SPONGE MONKEYS
Oct 3, 2003

What do you think it means, bitch?
I work for a construction company in San Antonio (mostly concrete infrastructure), they have their own mining/aggregate company, Capitol Aggregates, you might check for their listings, etc. not sure where a position similar to yours might reside, but can’t hurt to look.

punk rebel ecks
Dec 11, 2010

A shitty post? This calls for a dance of deduction.
So I'm about to turn 31 and currently make $45,000 a year with good benefits.

The issue is that I'm a bachelor's degree holder (psychology) and the reason my job pays so much is due to accident. I'm an office manager and the job is suppose to pay $35,000 initially but due to a loophole I was able to get paid $41,600 instead and have been in the position for two years and small annual raises have bumped it up a few thousand.

The average male in my age group makes close to $60,000. To be fair the average Hispanic makes what I make but it just lists Hispanics in general not males.

I'm worried that I'm calling behind everyone else and not meeting the standards of someone who completed higher education.

Am I right to be worried or am I overthinking things?

Empress Brosephine
Mar 31, 2012

by Jeffrey of YOSPOS
Wtf the average 31 year old male makes 60k? I make like 30k

Guinness
Sep 15, 2004

Empress Brosephine posted:

Wtf the average 31 year old male makes 60k? I make like 30k

It's going to be really region and industry specific, but 30k isn't even full-time minimum wage in an increasing number of cities. Even in rural America 30k is not a lot these days, especially for a degree holder.

punk rebel ecks
Dec 11, 2010

A shitty post? This calls for a dance of deduction.

Empress Brosephine posted:

Wtf the average 31 year old male makes 60k? I make like 30k

Bachelor degree holders.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

Isn't a bachelor's in Psych basically worthless outside of menial office jobs that require a bachelor degree to get the job (basically the job you have)? Seems like you might right where you expect to be based on what you have done for a degree and with it since then. If you had an engineering degree my response would be way different.

That said if you think you are worth more money go find a better paying office job or a psych job. Nothing stopping you from using the experience you have to jump around and make more money. You really should be able to make more money now that you have some experience.

Handsome Wife
Feb 17, 2001

punk rebel ecks posted:

I'm worried that I'm calling behind everyone else and not meeting the standards of someone who completed higher education.

Am I right to be worried or am I overthinking things?

Do you feel like you're making enough? Do you enjoy the job, or is it at least not stressful and something you can leave at work? Do you have an idea of what you'd want to do that would put you on a path to earning more?

"I want to make more money" is a completely legitimate reason to change jobs and reconsider career paths - it's the basis I've made a lot of my job changes on. But I think it needs to be somewhat intrinsically motivated. Will making more money make your happier or more satisfied, or make your life easier? There's no wrong answer to that question. But I wouldn't worry too much about how you compare to others in your demographic group - that's a good way to ending to chasing jobs you hate.

Jordan7hm
Feb 17, 2011




Lipstick Apathy
I know consultants who work for the big 4 who only have degrees like that.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

Jordan7hm posted:

I know consultants who work for the big 4 who only have degrees like that.

yeah same

Lockback
Sep 3, 2006

All days are nights to see till I see thee; and nights bright days when dreams do show me thee.
Its gunna be hard to know without knowing where you are and what your skills are. I'd suggest getting a resume together, posting here or in the resume thread, and ask for some advice on what can be done to make it stronger and what roles would be a good fit.

punk rebel ecks
Dec 11, 2010

A shitty post? This calls for a dance of deduction.

spwrozek posted:

Isn't a bachelor's in Psych basically worthless outside of menial office jobs that require a bachelor degree to get the job (basically the job you have)? Seems like you might right where you expect to be based on what you have done for a degree

This says I should have had a starting salary of $35,000 with $60,000 after I've graduated ten years later.

Jordan7hm
Feb 17, 2011




Lipstick Apathy

This type of aggregate data is completely meaningless to your personal situation.

Jedi Knight Luigi
Jul 13, 2009

punk rebel ecks posted:

Am I right to be worried or am I overthinking things?

More the latter than the former. I’m around your age and make just a little bit more than you as a PM in a niche field. It’s also pretty laid back, only a couple weeks a year am I working more than 40 hours. If you’re happy with your coworkers and environment then I would say you’re making what you’re worth.

E: i should add my co-PMs are making about 20 grand more than me but they’ve also been with the company for decades longer than I have. Hopefully in about 10-15 years I’ll be in the 65k range if I stay here.

zmcnulty
Jul 26, 2003

punk rebel ecks posted:

currently make $45,000 a year with good benefits.

the reason my job pays so much

tbh I was expecting "so little" here instead of "so much." As other posters have said it really depends on COL in your area and your field.

Orange DeviI
Nov 9, 2011

by Hand Knit
not everyone works in tech

zmcnulty
Jul 26, 2003

Yep and he still hasn't said what industry or area he's in so we can tell him everything will be okay, averages are averages for a reason

punk rebel ecks
Dec 11, 2010

A shitty post? This calls for a dance of deduction.
My job is an office manager and I live in Portland Metro.

Breath Ray
Nov 19, 2010

ultrafilter posted:

What's your actual job function? Do you enjoy it? Are you good at it? Is there something else you'd rather be doing?

Hey really helpful template snipe! Here goes:

Job function:
i work for a gov dept in sponsorship, so im a critical friend to gov-funded public organizations. i lead a team that organises forums for the orgs and forwards testy commissions from the center of gov about how many people they employ and how much they spend.

Do you enjoy it?
No - it's boring and fiddly. There is a lot of chasing people for updates, proofreading my direct reports' notes of meetings and screwing around with powerpoint slidepacks.

Are you good at it?
it's an easy job and well paid for the public sector but despite (or because of??) that i feel disengaged. i do the bare minimum as ive done in all my jobs to date

Is there something else youd rather be doing?
In the area I'm working in now, I'd prefer to be a consultant and go around telling other governmental depts or orgs what assurance procedures they should have in place and then leave it up to them to implement. is that a thing? I dont have a law degree but it's some well known orgs ive worked with

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
Aha this mf thinks there’s less chasing people around for updates and fiddling with decks in consulting ayyy lmao

Breath Ray
Nov 19, 2010
ha youre right. i meant consultant not as in Bain Consulting but in the sense of a outside-gov contractor who swans in and out and doesnt have direct reports.

i used to make a point of chatting to facilitators when they came in to deliver nothing-special learning and development, to learn their setups. they were all sole traders, one man bands who declared minimum wage income. i dont know if flesh and blood facilitators are going to be around for a while though.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22
gross, gently caress people who commit tax fraud

if you go independent there's a whole lot but basically you should NOT try to scam the government and you should set up a real incorporated company and pay your taxes. rates should be about 2x what you are currently paid to take home same money.

spwrozek
Sep 4, 2006

Sail when it's windy

KYOON GRIFFEY JR posted:

Aha this mf thinks there’s less chasing people around for updates and fiddling with decks in consulting ayyy lmao

All I know is McKinsey, Deloitte, and Accenture are realllllllly into fiddling with Powerpoint slide decks.

KYOON GRIFFEY JR
Apr 12, 2010



Runner-up, TRP Sack Race 2021/22

spwrozek posted:

All I know is McKinsey, Deloitte, and Accenture are realllllllly into fiddling with Powerpoint slide decks.

this is all strat and mgt firms

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Democratic Pirate
Feb 17, 2010

Relevant text I received this morning from a relative who is in their first month at a big consulting firm:

“Big 4 needs to quit loving around and just put “you’re gonna be a senior consultant’s little powerpoint bitch” into the analyst job description”

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