Fun with bureaucracy, looking for advice.

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Hi Tracker;

I hope you aren't suffering from "irrational exuberance" in light of the current economy, and the fact that aviation is usually the first and hardest hit in poor economic times. At any rate congratulations on your, thus far, apparent good fortune.

If you're interested, I have some friends who might be in need of a good engineer in the GA field on a freelance basis. It involves PA-18 mods. I wouldn't know what they would be able to do re payment, but I would suspect a possible partnership might be interesting to them. PM me if you'd like more info.

Good luck in your job search, and keep us posted.

I dont think I am quite suffering from irrational exuberance. I am happy that I no longer have to go sit at a desk and do pointless and endless paper work, but I didnt just make this decision to look elsewhere on a whim without first reviewing my situation to make sure it was a viable move.

With the current funds I have in the bank, I can live for 10 months before I am down to 3 grand. If I get unemployment approved, then I can last 15 months. And if the current unemployment extension policies being reviewed by congress passes, then my money will last for 20 months. And this is at my current standard of living. If I move someplace cheaper, or cut back in some areas then I can last longer.

After that, my grandmother who is now 80 and widowed has offered me an open invitation to move in with her while I look for a job. She is too old to do things like mow her lawn, clean her gutters, etc. So she has to pay somebody else to just maintain the house. She says that if I want, I can move in and just take of those things, and in return she will provide food and lodging. She owns the house, and the bills and taxes dont change much with an extra person living there, so its not as though she has to spend anything extra. And the small amount of extra food that I eat is cheaper then paying people to come take care of the house. So, it would be mutually beneficial for both of us. The only thing I would need to spend money on is things like car insurance, cell phone usage, entertainment, etc. And That will total be about 1500/year. If it comes down to it, I can always tutor at my local college a few hours per week for 1500 per year.

But overall, I dont think I will be on the job market for that long. I have a pretty good resume, and there are still plenty of job postings for engineers. I may get a job in an industry other then aerospace, but I would rather actually engineer a boat then sit shuffling papers in the aeronautics industry.

i'd go with option #2, and explain that it's just not a good fit if asked. you may have to eat the $5,000. it would be worth it, from what i hear you saying.

you could also seek legal advice here since you were not doing the job for which you were hired, so they had already breached the contract and, thus, you might not be liable for the $5k. longshot, but worth checking. i do hope you have either a signed job card or written contract delineating your job duties?

in court, they'd have to prove you were grossly incompetent at the job duties for which you were hired. so, if they fire you for "incompetence" you could sue since you were not performing the duties for which you were hired.

document everything. every conversation, every promise. date. time. who said what. you need a paper trail. it may not help much, but it could be essential. especially if you end up in court.

texas has a very strange culture, in general. it's hard to explain to people from other parts of the country/world. i spent over two decades there (i no longer live there.) it's a lot less tolerant of diversity of any kind than other places i've lived. it may not be just the department within the company. they call themselves a "right to work" state, which generally means "employers can kick your backside out the door whenever we feel like it without any justification at all." that sort of permeates most employment there, kind of like stachybotrys botros after a flood.

or it could be the way you are presenting your info (suggestions for improvement) clash seriously with the company's internal culture. in which case, it's a bad fit. i'd get the heck out of there, because from what you say in your posts, it certainly seems as if they are setting you up to be dismissed. if they do, and they threaten you with the $5k, i'd try court since they fired you for not doing well in a position for which you were not hired.

good luck!

ah, i see i'm too late.

congratulations on getting that millstone from around your neck. (warning to others - NEVER tell your current employer you're looking elsewhere if you do not have a very secure position with them in the first place. this case shows the result.)

now, on to better things. good luck!