Working for the NMDOT. (employment, transferring to, construction)

[bentstrider]

I would've posted this in the employment section, but that probably would've gotten me replies from irrelevant areas.
Getting to the point of being worn working these 12-16 hour shifts, I've perused these openings on the various sites for highway maintenance workers.
Being it's a stage position that doesn't require much in the way of education (hs diploma and my CDL are already qualifiers), it looks like it could be worth the shot at putting in an app.
That and there's also the chance of slightly shorter hours worked under normal circumstances (?).

Any ways, is there anyone here who has worked, or knows someone that works in the NMDOT?

I just want to get a little more research done before making another leap.

[TKO]

I worked in acquisition not construction but I know for NMDOT and state government in general the idea of getting your foot in the door is very important. Then you're in a position to know when and what jobs open up that suit you better.

Granted it was 20+ years ago but NMDOT, or the NMSHTD as it was known then, was a cesspool of corruption. I left it for the much tamer world of Tax and Rev. Seriously, it was bad. Nepotism, straight up bribery and collusion. I was closer to the money than someone in the field would be but that whole outfit was the worst place I ever worked. Sorry for that, don't mean to be a downer because it would lighten your hours and give you some good bennies, but I gotta be honest.

[bentstrider]

Well thanks for the input on that one.
I'm still deciding between transferring to a different post with my company in a different area, or staying in state and finding something with shorter hours.
I typically bring this up with other truck drivers, dairy haulers or not.
And they all highly speak against it due to the drop in pay.

At this point, the $50-60,000/year potential of this work racked up against the 12-14 hour work nights is becoming not very much worth it.
That and I don't really have much of a drive to move back to CA.

[TKO]

Is the pay with the state that much lower than private?

I know when I went to work for government that I could have made a lot more money if I would have stayed in the private sector, and I had a lot of people telling me that. They were right but now that I'm collecting my pension while they still work my righter wing friends complain about how they're paying for my retirement. Heck with 'em I say - I lived up to my end of the bargain.

So I'm not bashing state government as a place to work just the DOT back in the early 90's, it is likely very different now, and it worked out good for me anyway. Government work in general was not huge money, but steady and it increased over my career to where my pension combined with SS is pretty good. I have friends in the private sector that make a lot more than I ever did but they're still working those 10+ hour days all stressed out and I'm not.

Good luck to you.

[bentstrider]

Originally Posted by TKO

Is the pay with the state that much lower than private?

I know when I went to work for government that I could have made a lot more money if I would have stayed in the private sector, and I had a lot of people telling me that. They were right but now that I'm collecting my pension while they still work my righter wing friends complain about how they're paying for my retirement. Heck with 'em I say - I lived up to my end of the bargain.

So I'm not bashing state government as a place to work just the DOT back in the early 90's, it is likely very different now, and it worked out good for me anyway. Government work in general was not huge money, but steady and it increased over my career to where my pension combined with SS is pretty good. I have friends in the private sector that make a lot more than I ever did but they're still working those 10+ hour days all stressed out and I'm not.

Good luck to you.

The starting pay for a basic maintenance worker is posted as $24,000/year and topping out at $36,000/year.
If you decide to stay at that level and never move up I'm guessing.

But if the work hours entail 8-10 hours /day. regardless of shift, then that's alright with me for the educational requirements of the position.

I mean, with a schedule like that again, I could easily see myself getting more things done throughout the week apart from catching up on sleep/warding off fatigue.

[jakabedy]

Make sure you look into the pension rules. Go to the PERA website and look around. If you start with the state now, you're looking at a "Rule of 85" (age plus years of service) before you're at full retirement age for a pension. But what you need to know is that unless and until you reach Full Retirement Age, there is no benefit. There is no early retirement with a reduced pension.

This means that you're putting roughly 10% of your pay toward the pension , but if you don't make it to FRA, you'll just get your contributions back in a lump sum, plus some nominal interest. In the private sector you'll likely have a. 401K with a match of some kind -- more control and more portability.

[bentstrider]

Originally Posted by jakabedy

Make sure you look into the pension rules. Go to the PERA website and look around. If you start with the state now, you're looking at a "Rule of 85" (age plus years of service) before you're at full retirement age for a pension. But what you need to know is that unless and until you reach Full Retirement Age, there is no benefit. There is no early retirement with a reduced pension.

This means that you're putting roughly 10% of your pay toward the pension , but if you don't make it to FRA, you'll just get your contributions back in a lump sum, plus some nominal interest. In the private sector you'll likely have a. 401K with a match of some kind -- more control and more portability.

Retirement is something I don't really think about much due to my own perspective on myself never making it to any where near that age.
I've got a 401k going with company I've been with for the past, three years that seems pretty good as it sits right now.
But overall, I'm just merely trying to find something else to do that doesn't have me feeling tired most of the time.
Whether it's a road maintenance guy in a more wooded part of the state, or even switching over to delivering sodas in a more urban part of the state, I'm just trying to make it to where I don't have to "move completely out" in order to get into a slightly more relaxed, job position.