I've written about my career and the path I took to get here rather extensively even putting together a a small, but not yet completed,
website about it.
First thing to accept is not everyone is college material and when I say that we need to recognize as well that not being college material doesn't mean you're stupid, it just means you don't like the traditional college route.
I attended San Jose State for one year, I hated it and my grades (ugh!) trumpeted my total lack of interest. Let's just say I did horribly to the extent I've never mentioned the one year on any resume.
But I knew I wasn't stupid. I've taken several IQ tests over the years and on two I know were professionally administered (one by US Army for entrance into Officer Candidate School the other by a psychologist for job placement) scoring 124 on the army test and 128 on the one administered by the psychologist. 124 put me into the top 7% while 128 put me into the top 4%.
About the army (just to prove I was smart). I made OCS and was waiting for a class date. doing the temporary cadre sergeant thing in charge of a training platoon, when I read an article discussing the first year casualty rate among new lieutenants in Vietnam and mom didn't give birth to no dummies. I told the battalion commander I didn't want to be an infantry officer and two and a half weeks later I found myself on the ground in Vietnam. Hard to imagine the military acting this fast but in my case they sure did. Had the meeting at 11:00 AM and at 6:00 PM that evening I was on a plane going home for a two week leave with orders to report for overseas in hand.
The casualty rate, wounded or killed, (1968) was over 50% in the first year and like I said mom didn't give birth to a dummy.
After the army I had the GI bill so I tried college. I was still not 21 years old having been drafted right out of high school to spend 19 months in the military. Drafted meant 2 years but when returning from Vietnam if you had 5 or less months to serve they just let you go. Waiting for my OCS class date and chewed up the time so when I returned I had one week less than five months so they just sent me home.
I went over as a combat medic and spent one year as a field combat medic with the First Infantry Division around Lai Khe which was about 40 miles north of Saigon in the Michelin Rubber Plantation which was the iron triangle. Six days before I got home I was literally in the boonies pulling an ambush along an infiltration trail and the day I got home was the last day to register for classes so off I went, still dressed in uniform, to sign up for classes.
It was kind of cool, one of the admissions people asked why I was so late signing up, that most of the classes were already full, so I showed her my discharge papers showing I had been in the jungle a week before and still taking anti-maliaria pills, she took personal charge making sure I got every single class I wanted.
Like most of the class I couldn't buy beer yet (but the army made sure I had all I wanted) but I no longer fit in.
I quite college and knocked around for a year then took up flying lessons the GI bill paid for. Got my commercial pilots license, instrumet, multi-engine ratings followed by a primary and advanced flight instructors license. Worked as a flight instructor, charter and ferry pilot for about six years and that I loved. There are very few places I haven't been from Panama to northern Canada, from Maine to Alaska and California.
The pay really sucked but I had free access to a lot of fancy and expensive toys.
The pay really sucke and I lived on $400 to $600 a month living in a rental dump and lacking money when I dated we always flew somewhere exciting for a cheap lunch or dinner.
Most of my dates were in a B55 Baron
The early
Baron 55,
55A and
55B were fitted with 260
hp (194 kW)
Continental IO-470 engines and had gross weights of 4880 to 5100
lb (2,200 to 2,300 kg). These had a typical cruise speed of 190
knots (350 km/h) at 7000 ft (2100 m), and came with 116 or 136
US gallon (440 or 515 L) fuel tanks.
190 knots is 218 mph so to really impress going to the beach to get a hamburger on the boardwalk 300 miles away wasn't out of the question. This was a great perk when working for a cheap paying company.
Today a new Baron sells for $1 million dollars so a grand toy that few had access to it was.
Flight instructors had a special bond, we were all poor and desparate, all waiting for an airline job to materialize, and being one you could always borrow a flight instructors car if you'd put gas in it. We were so poor we'd sell our mothers for $10 if we had the chance.
Dating like this was cheaper than a dinner and a movie because i didn't have to pay for the movie.
I was poor but I wasn't boring.
I have many fond memoriies of that time in my life.
On one of these dates I met the special one I would spend the rest of my life with and recognized we wouldn't make it with me remaining a ferry pilot and flight instructor. My future wife had a job as a clerk and made twice as much as I did.
The plus side of the job is you were introduced to a lot of people outside the aviation community that had money and businesses. One of my flight students heard I was looking for something better and offered me a job as a trainee designing sprinkler systems.
The pay to start was double what I was making at the airport and I took that job. I continued working as a part time flight instructor for about 6 years after.
In retrospect it was a great move for me. That is how I ended up where I am not 34 years later. I've never had to worry about having a job, I've never been unemployed for more than 24 hours and even in my 60's I know I woudln't have a problem finding a job even in the recession we are enjoying now. That's a big plus in todays employment market especially when you consider the highest educational degree I have is high school.
One is indeed fortunate when you can say you would do everything over again exactly like you did if given the chance. I am one of the fortunate ones.
Today the field is getting to where a two year degree will be required but I am aware of only three community colleges that offer the training and in practical terms it is the only way to get into the industry now.
The industry estimates 7,500 new designers will be required over the next 10 years and combined these schools are turning out less than 200 per year so the "severe shortage" (the industry's term not mine) of certified designers will persist. This shortage, a shortage that even persists today, is a good thing if you are looking for a job and what enables me to make double what most college graduate teachers earn.
Let me give two examples. This
job in Sacramento (http://jobview.monster.com/Fire-Sprinkler-Designer-NICET-Job-Sacramento-CA-US-85026537.aspx - broken link), CA is begging for applicants.
Quote:
Job Summary
Location Sacramento, CA
Industries Construction - Residential & Commercial/Office Engineering Services
Job Type Full Time Employee
Fire Sprinkler Designer - NICET
About the Job
Growing Company needs a Fire Protection Designer, SprinkCAD experience is a plus.
Desired candidate will have a NICET III with 10 years experience.
Position is located in California, Company is multifaceted and established.
Salary commensurate with experience, plus benefits.
Possible Relocation Required
|
Competition for this job is extremely limited because there are only 49 NICET III's and 36 NICET IV's living in the entire state. They need a NICET III or IV and that is the pool they have to select from.
or this one in Arkansas
Quote:
Fire Protection Designer*
NICET Certification: NICET Level III Automatic Sprinkler Systems Layout preferred
Location: NW Arkansas
**Fire Protection Designers** Live and Work in the Beautiful Ozarks! Excellent benefits and a great place to work.
Read all about this exciting position and apply online at: Benchmark Group - Prototype Building Design, Retail Architects, Restaurant Architects
Benchmark Group Affirmative Action Employer M/F/V/D
|
Arkansas has 13 NICET III's and 14 NICET IV's living in the entire state and three of the NICET IV's are officially retired. There are only 24 possible applicants living inside the state and all those are currently employed. If someone with a Level III certification showed up at their office the chance of them getting the job would be better than 75% because they would probably be the only one to show up.
Pay would range from a low of $50k up to $75k depending on experience.
Count the numbers for yourself, here's a pdf copy of the
national registry as of October, 2009.
As far as a career it isn't as hot as it was just a year ago or especially three years ago. Three years ago all you would have to do is bang on a door and 75% of the companies would hire you on the spot. Today there are still jobs but there have been lay-offs expecially around Las Vegas, Indiana/Michigan area and south Florida but everyone I know of who has been laid off has found a job in a week or two especially if they were in one of the hard hit areas and able to relocate. I can honestly say it is hard for me to imagine anyone who is certified being unable to find a job in two to three weeks.
But then there is always the inspectors jobs if you are really hard up. Here's a little secret, most states will allow a certified designer to inspect but non of them will allow an certified inspector to design or act as a Qualified Managing Employee which is required to obtain a license. There are literally hundreds, if not thousands, of inspector jobs going begging right now. Simply not enough qualified inspectors and this market is tight. Pay is somewhat less an inspector can expect between $35,000 and $60,000 depending on where they were located but 90% of the companies offer benefits on par with the union and I suppose a job paying an average of $45k with family health insurance and a 401k plan is better than no job at all.
And that was my career path.