Going Out On My Own!

Off Topic
41

[quote]kroby wrote:
So much to say…

Do it!

You’ll find a job in the area once you have a local addy. Way before six months is up. A hotel is okay, but you need to find a place to rent within two weeks. It’s cost effective. Pick up one of those rent guides, and look at the options you want. Then look at the places in person.

Before you go, go to your local library and look at some of the newspapers of the area you’re moving to. Especially the classifieds. Read the paper. Get a feel for what you’re moving into.

Invariably, every time I move, it’s spur of the moment. No job lined up. No idea what I’m in for. I have money saved. The best thing is to send resumes to temp agencies right away.

It’s a chance to start brand new. Fresh. Exciting! You can conquer anything. Really, there’s nothing to be afraid of.

You’re challenging yourself. I’m happy for you. You’ll be proud of yourself, too, when you succeed. And you will. [/quote]

It may be because I’m not that old, but I also say do it.

If you hate NY and don’t want to be with your parents, then move.

To me, “Sucking it up” and working a job you hate is doublespeak for “Be too scared to try to find something better”.

You won’t starve, and you’ll find a job. Go for it.

42

Ack I wish I had seen this earlier.

Let me suggest Huntsville, AL - home of Redstone Arsenal.

EVERY military contractor is there. Many of them are into electronics manufacturing. Also, they make some realy nice toys there: Javelin, LOSAT, drones, hybrid electic Hummers and M1-A, a Hummer that produces 250,000 watts (think of a giant rolling capacitor with a frickin’ lazer).

Anyway, especially with your clearance, I know you could find work in Huntsville. As a bonus, it’s only about 2 hours from Nashville, TN, Birmingham, AL and Chattanooga, TN.

OH… there is a really nice guy there that has a business called “Apartment Finders” (I think). It’s a free service to help you find a place.

Good Luck

43

Yea, it’s a little late for us to pick a different place 4est, but I still appreciate the response.

We have decided to look more in Rio Rancho, which is just outside of Albuquerque, NM.

It looks like it’s going to be what we’re looking for so far.

Also, my boss already spoke with the regional manager out in Albuquerque, and he thinks they’ll be able to get me in over there, so I won’t have to look for another job right away.

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Edit: Double post

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The desert is absolutely beautiful, especially at sunset. Keep us posted.

46

SWR,
I commend your “take a chance” attitude, but if I may, I’d like to give you this advice - finish your degree first.

Whether or not you want to stay in the IT field, getting the degree offers you a couple of things.

First, by having the degree, you will have many more job opportunities to get you situated where you want to live. Then, you can go ahead and get your business degree while you work.

Second, if you want a business degree that’s worth something, you should have that first degree. Having put in 3 years towards your degree and then abandoning it doesn’t look good to admissions folks. However, if you have a 4-year degree, it shows you have the determination to complete a higher education program.

Additionally, since you have a kid, your first responsibility as a parent is being able to support the child. Get your degree, then go to where you want for a few weeks, find a job, and then bring the family back with you. I am skeptical about the seeing your family every weekend. While this is a valiant plan, I don’t see it happening. The NC/SC is farther away from upstate than you think. It will only take a few weeks before it’s every other weekend, then once a month. Trust me.

Whatever you do, good luck. But I urge you to consider putting off your move for 6 months to get your degree. 3/4 of a degree might be worth less than no credits in an employer or business school’s eyes.

DB

[edit] Never mind. I just read the latest. Good luck.

47

Update so far:

I sent my application for a rental house that has the option to own. It’s in a new development in Rio Rancho, and was just built a month or two ago.

I will be able to live there for 3 months before deciding for sure if I want to go the rent-to-own route, or just rent for a year and move (I’m thinking I’ll buy it though).

So far on the job front, I just changed my resume to include this new house address, so I’ll see if that helps. Also, my boss had this to say about me still working for my current employer in NM:

“I checked with Lonnie about a position in New Mexico I think there might be a good chance that he could use your talents. I will let you know earlier next week.”

I’m still looking for something better, but I’ll take that to buy us more time.

Here’s a picture of the house we might get.

48

back side of house.

look at that beautiful green grass…

49

i’d probably finish up that degree first. going to a different state could be troublesome and you are close. if you could hold out for a year, and then move with a degree, i’m sure it would go much smoother.

50

Forget what I said before.

I love your ‘screw everything else’ attitude.

You know what you want, and you took big risks to get it - without wasting time; even when common sense said ‘wait’.

This is not a sarcastic post. Sometimes you gotta say ‘Fuck it, I’m doin’ it now’.

That takes balls.

51

[quote]texasguy wrote:
i’d probably finish up that degree first. going to a different state could be troublesome and you are close. if you could hold out for a year, and then move with a degree, i’m sure it would go much smoother. [/quote]

I see what you’re saying, but honestly the biggest problem with finishing that degree is the fact that I don’t like that line of work. I got into it only because of the money it could lead to, but now I’m more focussed on being happy (or at least happier) with my job, even if it pays less, as long as I can pay the bills.

You are right about it being better to leave with any kind of degree rather than none, and at least my wife will have her Bachelor’s degree before we move, so as long as she doesn’t leave me, we should do alright.

If we make a combined income of $50,000 or more, we’ll be fine (that’s a little less than what we’re making now with my job and her GI Bill money).

Even if I had to suck it up and we each got a $25,000/yr job, we’d be fine until we found something better. If we both can’t find a job over $12/hour, we both have the option of going to school online, part-time and getting a partial payment from the GI Bill, but that’s another worst case scenario, and with her degree, and my experience, I’m hoping we won’t have to do that.

I’ve seen it too many times where people hate their jobs, or the place they live, and I’ve always had the attitude that if you don’t like it, change! I did find out that it’s not as easy as it sounds, and it’s easy to trap yourself into “needing” your job because of the debts you pile up.

It took us 2 1/2 years of living with my parents for $50/mo to pay off both of our vehicles, and a handful of other debts.

52

[quote]lostinthought wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Sounds like trouble. Finish school if you can. Bring the family with you when you make the move.

Without a doubt I absolutely agree. I think you’re leaving out details here…Why leave the wife and kid? Why not wait to complete your eduacation? [/quote]

Best advice.
Just complete your education so you’ll have a better chance of finding a job.

53

[quote]Cthulhu wrote:
lostinthought wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Sounds like trouble. Finish school if you can. Bring the family with you when you make the move.

Without a doubt I absolutely agree. I think you’re leaving out details here…Why leave the wife and kid? Why not wait to complete your eduacation?

Best advice.
Just complete your education so you’ll have a better chance of finding a job.[/quote]

What kind of job would I be happy with, with an IT degree, considering I don’t like working in the IT field?

54

My wife is in IT and hates it just like you. I say go for it, I went to the end of the thread so I do not know if you said where you are trying to relocate to.

Vegas was a good move for my wife and myself. It is such a transitional city it is a good spot to get your shit together and set you up for elsewhere. They are starved for honest hardworking people who can speak English.

I have lived in a MA, NJ, NY, CA, WA, NV, and OR so pm me if you need some advice on how to get some interviews. Online job searches are fine but you cannot come across as a fly by night out of state dude and expect to land a job.

55

When my wife and I were moving to FL,
I heard the same stuff you are hearing.

When I gave notice at work, the owner asked, “What’s your plan?”

I replied, “Plan?”

He said, “A plan. Where are you going to work? What are you going to do? You have to have a plan or you will fail.”

I said, “I plan to move to Florida. Everything else will take care of itself.”

That was 3.5 years ago. A year later we bought a house. After schlepping around a few jobs we bought an existing business and are doing well.

Don’t let anyone deny you your dream.

It takes giant Balls of Steel to do what you are doing. Be proud.

You can go to college anywhere.

Your first job will not necessarily be the job you will have in a year.

Get where you WANT to go, everything else WILL take care of itself.

Have belief in yourself and you will succeed.

Good Luck.

56

I am glad you are bringing your family with you. Good luck and find a way to finish the degree whether you want to be in the field or not. Too employers demand that piece of paper, worthless as it may be.

57

Thanks for the advice and support.

As far as the degree, I AM going to get one, but I’m going for a bachelor’s in business, and I’ll be sacrificing a lot of my current credits in IT, but some of the basic core credits should still transfer.

It just sucks that I couldn’t get an associates after I got enough credits for it. Apparently when you’re going for a bachelor’s with an online school, they don’t stop at an associates and give you a degree for that.