reaching fork in road of life

[NbyNW]

I get activated to go to Iraq on April 11th.

Whoa! And I thought just moving was stressful. Be careful over there. Not that you wouldn't be.

And re: the main topic of this thread, I've been feeling like I can't plan my life more than 5 weeks out, for a few years now. Partly because I've had an injury that seems to govern what I can and can't do, and partly because my DH works in finance, and while his job has been "safe" since he's been dealing with a lot of crisis management, the notion of greener pastures is sounding appealing, as rare as they may be.

We've really become fond of Seattle, though . . .

[boy in a kilt]

Thanks. I'll be the Battalion Intelligence Officer so I should be reasonably safe. If nothing else, I'll be protected because of the information I'll carry around in my head.

We moved to Seattle in 2005. In that time, I've lost three jobs. In one case, I was a contract programmer for NOAA and my contract ran out. I got laid off from another job that I really liked and fired from one I really hated.

I like my current job, but the company is on dicey ground and we don't know if we will still have jobs in six weeks. But one of my personal mottoes is "Die Trying."

I draw my power and persistence from my family. I've made certain promises to SGTiger and I intend to keep them. Now that I've bought a house and she'll have the garden she has always wanted. Next promise is putting her through school without her having to scramble for funds like I did. I had to call in an old debt for about $0.25 on the dollar to have enough money for my last term of college.

The point of all that is that having a larger purpose gives you inspiration. If the greener pastures are really greener and will help you accomplish your goals, whatever they may be, the decisions are easier to make.

[NbyNW]

The point of all that is that having a larger purpose gives you inspiration. If the greener pastures are really greener and will help you accomplish your goals, whatever they may be, the decisions are easier to make.

Too true. Not sure if there's anything greener than Seattle, but whither the wind blows . . .

I'm glad you'll at least get a little time to settle into the new house before shipping out.

[shootingstar]

The point of all that is that having a larger purpose gives you inspiration. If the greener pastures are really greener and will help you accomplish your goals, whatever they may be, the decisions are easier to make.

Stay safe boy in kilt.

Not sure if what I might have to decide later means a whole lot greener pastures. Or if I will be facing 1 choice vs. 2 choices. One thing for certain I can't continue to burn myself out in a contract job. At least I've had incredible exposure to high-octane-paced project management environment and unusual things that happen in large construction projects.

[boy in a kilt]

I was a project engineer (read: assistant project manager) for a large project for about six months. It was nuts. I can see why people would want to get out of that field.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I was a project engineer (read: assistant project manager) for a large project for about six months. It was nuts. I can see why people would want to get out of that field.

Cross that one off my list!

I finally got paid for 5 months I worked and had been waiting for since Feb. I have to say the job I have (consultant) is flexible and good time wise (if I would be a better time manager I would be just loving it) but you never know when they will just pull the rug out.

I worked for a company for 8 years out west that decided to head to Mexico. I know all about the lay off feeling. Half the company was laid off two years before closing. It was us 'lucky' ones that were left behind to pack everything up. Looking back those were some of my best mountain biking years because there were many days we had nothing to do but...well ...mtn bike!

[Andrea]

The 19th marks 1 year from when I moved out from my (now ex) hubby. I'm much happier now

[TJ_Relic]

In the last year I have:

Left the Air Force, started college full-time as a physics major, bought a parrot that will rule my life for 25 years, left my husband, returned to my husband, changed minors three times, left my husband again, sold my car and started biking exclusively in the last week.

Other than that...no changes whatsoever...

[boy in a kilt]

I have a BS in physics. Fascinating stuff and it provides you with the background skills for almost anything.

However, unless you are planning on grad school the employment opportunities for physicists as such are few.

If you can hack it, try a double major or a major/minor combo that involves physics and something like engineering (particularly electrical or civil), chemistry or biology. Pretty good market for CE's right now. Also, there is some demand for health physics.

There is some demand for physicists that write code. I've made a little money off that.

I realized a few years ago that I'm probably a better engineer than scientist so I may be a bit biased.

[TahoeDirtGirl]

I realized a few years ago that I'm probably a better engineer than scientist so I may be a bit biased.

I entered college as a physics major but found myself thinking that I didn't want to wind up like my professors, most of which were a little...kooky. I realized finally that if I wanted to apply physics that engineering (mechanical) was the thing for me. And it worked. But it's no guarantee of a job, that's a whole other ball game...funny how it never gets as 'easy' as you think it will. But nothing that is worth it is ever easy

[boy in a kilt]

Looking back, I probably would have stayed in physics, but taken the Engineering Physics option and gotten my EIT.

I've made money doing all sorts of things. In my current job, I do a little electrical, mechanical and civil engineering, a lot of chemistry, some biology and a little bit of psychology. I've also made some decent money making and analyzing computer models.

I guess the whole thing about a physics degree is you have to be able to mutate.

[Blueberry]

Hmmm...I've left a really, really bad for me job (in every way), and am figuring out what's next It's exciting

[NbyNW]

I guess the whole thing about a physics degree is you have to be able to mutate.

Likely true for many degrees, but it often takes people a while to realize it.

[TJ_Relic]

I have a BS in physics. Fascinating stuff and it provides you with the background skills for almost anything.

However, unless you are planning on grad school the employment opportunities for physicists as such are few.

If you can hack it, try a double major or a major/minor combo that involves physics and something like engineering (particularly electrical or civil), chemistry or biology. Pretty good market for CE's right now. Also, there is some demand for health physics.

There is some demand for physicists that write code. I've made a little money off that.

I realized a few years ago that I'm probably a better engineer than scientist so I may be a bit biased.

I'm minoring in math by default, so I recently added English with Technical Writing Specialization. Hopefully that will give me some sort of edge. I tried to minor in Chemistry, but those professors are intolerable really, and we have no engineering program. So yeah, it'll probably be grad school for me, somewhere, but that is a major life decision that I can put off for at least a year still.