I need a job

[jason812]

Officially on Sunday, I will be unemployed. The great and wonderful Caterpillar decided to outsource 200 good paying American jobs to Mexico, China, and South Korea. I won't get into specifics but they are actually losing money to do so and managment will call it a success if the cost is less than 25% more.

I have been applying but haven't gotten any responses. The end of the year is a bad time to try to find a new job. I also know that only having an associate's degree is holding me back as almost every employer wants someone with a bachelor's degree and today's resume screening being automated will reject me without looking into work experience.

I have almost 13 years experience programming CNC machines, designing and building fixtures, reducing cycle times, making prototypes and some project management. For the last 8 years I have been a manufacturing engineer with Caterpillar which up until last year was fun.

I had the wonderful buy in from management to do some outside the box projects. One was buying a used CNC mill, having the parts we needed rebuilt and then when delivered, proceeded to take apart and disconnect parts we didn't need. Then build a hydraulic fixture to load, machine, and unload 3,000 lbs parts.

The last 3 years myself and another colleague were responsible for managing the capital expenditures for the plant.

There is a sense of pride when you can drive down the road and see a product on an excavator and know that every piece of that product you had a part in. From plasma cutting the plate to robot weld fixtures and setup welding fixtures to CNC fixtures and all the programs associated with making that product came from your brain. Now all of that is gone. All the machines, fixtures, and even programs were sent to Mexico.

To be honest I am bitter. Up until last year, that was the company I was going to retire from.

Sorry for the long rant. Short story is I need a job. I like taking things apart, figuring how things work, and how to make stuff. I used to drive 45 minutes to work so an hour is not out if the question. That puts me the north side of Waco to Georgetown on 35 and as far west as Killeen. I have 80 acres of family land and am almost through building a house so relocating probably won't happen.

Good news is if I can hurry up and get a job, the real boss has given me permission to use the money Caterpillar gave me to leave and buy a manual lathe and mill for my man cave.

Thanks,

Jason812

[Redneck_Buddha]

Wish I could help but I'm much in the same boat. After I changed careers from accounting to IT back in 1999 I hadn't been out of work a single day until 6/30/2018. Now for some reason I am hard pressed to get any kind of interview in IT, and when I do I show up and it is with 20 or 30 something hiring managers who take one look at my 58 year old face and lose interest before I can even state my case. Also, this forsaken H1-B program can't get wiped out soon enough for my taste.

[Mike S]

I don't know anything about CNC machines, but these guys are in Central Texas, & my limited dealing with them was first class.

https://www.larue.com/careers/

Best of luck to you in the job search.

[jason812]

I don't know anything about CNC machines, but these guys are in Central Texas, & my limited dealing with them was first class.

https://www.larue.com/careers/

Best of luck to you in the job search.

I applied for a job with them yesterday. We'll see how it goes. Thanks for the suggestion.

Wish I could help but I'm much in the same boat. After I changed careers from accounting to IT back in 1999 I hadn't been out of work a single day until 6/30/2018. Now for some reason I am hard pressed to get any kind of interview in IT, and when I do I show up and it is with 20 or 30 something hiring managers who take one look at my 58 year old face and lose interest before I can even state my case. Also, this forsaken H1-B program can't get wiped out soon enough for my taste.

I will be 40 this month and I am a dinosaur in thinking compared to the generation younger than me. Good luck in finding something.

[Bitter Clinger]

I will be 40 this month and I am a dinosaur in thinking compared to the generation younger than me. Good luck in finding something.

Guess that makes me a fossil!

[tbrown]

Sorry for the long rant. Short story is I need a job. I like taking things apart, figuring how things work, and how to make stuff. I used to drive 45 minutes to work so an hour is not out if the question. That puts me the north side of Waco to Georgetown on 35 and as far west as Killeen. I have 80 acres of family land and am almost through building a house so relocating probably won't happen.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Have you considered working for yourself?

I turned my back on the corporate world in early 2017 and I don't regret it one bit. The best part is more free time, and my reduced working hours are overwhelmingly spent doing things that are interesting and/or make a positive difference in the world. However, I won't deny the satisfaction I get by paying lower taxes, enjoying better health, and enduring less corporate coprology.

I don't agree with everything Clarey says, but reading Enjoy the Decline with an open mind helped my transition.

[Grundy1133]

you might try lockheed martin in DFW. they might be hiring. and they pay EXTREMELY well. people i work with would kill to get hired on there.

[Interblog]

I PM'd you.

[The Annoyed Man]

My son is a CNC programmer/machinist QC engineer. He just left a job at a company in Burleson if that’s doable for you. He was happy there and it was by all accounts a pretty nice place to work. He only left because he got offered a lot more money by another company. The former employer may still need someone of your skill set. PM me if you’re interested in the details.

[jason812]

Sorry for the long rant. Short story is I need a job. I like taking things apart, figuring how things work, and how to make stuff. I used to drive 45 minutes to work so an hour is not out if the question. That puts me the north side of Waco to Georgetown on 35 and as far west as Killeen. I have 80 acres of family land and am almost through building a house so relocating probably won't happen.

Maybe this is a blessing in disguise. Have you considered working for yourself?

I turned my back on the corporate world in early 2017 and I don't regret it one bit. The best part is more free time, and my reduced working hours are overwhelmingly spent doing things that are interesting and/or make a positive difference in the world. However, I won't deny the satisfaction I get by paying lower taxes, enjoying better health, and enduring less corporate coprology.

I don't agree with everything Clarey says, but reading Enjoy the Decline with an open mind helped my transition.

I have very much considered working for myself. In February last year I would have bought an established machine shop but all of the partners weren't on board to sell. I am working on some things that could lend to me telling the corporate world adios, it will just take time to make it pay the bills. My goal is to be self employed, I just have to feed the family until then.

you might try lockheed martin in DFW. they might be hiring. and they pay EXTREMELY well. people i work with would kill to get hired on there.

Too much concrete but thanks.

My son is a CNC programmer/machinist QC engineer. He just left a job at a company in Burleson if that’s doable for you. He was happy there and it was by all accounts a pretty nice place to work. He only left because he got offered a lot more money by another company. The former employer may still need someone of your skill set. PM me if you’re interested in the details.

Burleson is a stretch to drive from where I'm at. Thanks though.

I PM'd you.

PM replied, thank you.

[jason812]

Update:

After 3 months I finally have full time job as of April1. I can't believe I couldn't land one in the field I was in. I am of the firm belief that people in HR have all been taught the same way to do things, as just last week I got denied for a job I had 2 interviews with in January. Apparently "we'll be in touch" means you have no chance or you will find out months from now. Even after contacting several companies to ask for an update, still get a cold shoulder. I'm still waiting to hear back from 2 companies that I interviewed with in February. I'm use to making a decision now and living with that decision. So this waiting around bugs me.

Anyway the new job doesn't pay or have the benefits I am use to but the stress level is less and there is no corporate um gollie gollie. For the last 2 years I was working part time at a construction company installing GPS and drive cameras in big trucks and equipment. They offered me a full time position. The fun part is taking the dash out of a new big truck and figuring out what and where the wiring harness needs to be plugged or spliced into. I haven't been doing the new mandated electric driver logs but now I will be installing them as well. I already learned about the SAE spec on how the ECM communicates with external devices and how to tap into the factory harness. I stil get the sense of accomplishment of figuring something out and making things happen, just not with what I'm use to.

Thanks to everyone who suggested jobs. I had numerous PM's and truly believe this is the best forum on the internet.

[OneGun]

Update:

After 3 months I finally have full time job as of April1. I can't believe I couldn't land one in the field I was in. I am of the firm belief that people in HR have all been taught the same way to do things, as just last week I got denied for a job I had 2 interviews with in January. Apparently "we'll be in touch" means you have no chance or you will find out months from now. Even after contacting several companies to ask for an update, still get a cold shoulder. I'm still waiting to hear back from 2 companies that I interviewed with in February. I'm use to making a decision now and living with that decision. So this waiting around bugs me.

Anyway the new job doesn't pay or have the benefits I am use to but the stress level is less and there is no corporate um gollie gollie. For the last 2 years I was working part time at a construction company installing GPS and drive cameras in big trucks and equipment. They offered me a full time position. The fun part is taking the dash out of a new big truck and figuring out what and where the wiring harness needs to be plugged or spliced into. I haven't been doing the new mandated electric driver logs but now I will be installing them as well. I already learned about the SAE spec on how the ECM communicates with external devices and how to tap into the factory harness. I stil get the sense of accomplishment of figuring something out and making things happen, just not with what I'm use to.

Thanks to everyone who suggested jobs. I had numerous PM's and truly believe this is the best forum on the internet.

Congratulations!!!