Going Out On My Own!

Off Topic
1

So I’ve decided to finally leave the state of NY, AND my wife and daughter!

(temporarily from my wife and daughter of course, but permanently from NY)

I’m tired of my job, and we are both tired of the upstate NY weather (and we have been for the 2 1/2 years we’ve been here).

I can’t seem to get an interview out-of-state, so I have decided to leave, get a cheap hotel for a while, and then a decent apartment soon after.

I can’t rush the apartment because I have to find a decent place for when my wife and daughter come to live there once I get a job.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to get any last minute advice, and to see if anyone else has tried something as stupid…err, um, unpredictable as this, and had it work out.

So, am I a complete moron for trying this?

I have enough money saved up to stay out there for about 6 months, worst case scenario.

I don’t have a degree yet, but have 7 years of electronic troubleshooting experience, 4 of which were in the Navy, and I have an active Secret clearance.

I have 3 years of college, but no degree because I was going for a BS in Information Technology, and they didn’t stop and give us an Associates after 2 years (I don’t know why though).

Wish me luck. I will have to cut my training short as well, and will only have bands, and limited, cheap, Walmart freeweights (and my bodyweight) to use since I need to be saving as much money as I can while doing this.

This is going to be a little scary, but you can’t gain much if you don’t risk much, right?

2

Don’t do it. At least give me time to talk to you something.

3

Where are you going?

4

I don’t have any advice for you, but I admire you doing it. Too many people are afraid to try anything. If you’re not happy in your job, or where you live, etc. do something about it. Too many people spend their entire life in jobs they hate because they’re afraid. I quit my job, started a company, struggled for a while, and now I’m reaping the benefits. I would never go back to working for someone else. Good luck!

5

Sounds like trouble. Finish school if you can. Bring the family with you when you make the move.

6

[quote]Zap Branigan wrote:
Sounds like trouble. Finish school if you can. Bring the family with you when you make the move.[/quote]

Without a doubt I absolutely agree. I think you’re leaving out details here…Why leave the wife and kid? Why not wait to complete your eduacation?

7

[quote]SWR-1240 wrote:
So I’ve decided to finally leave the state of NY, AND my wife and daughter!

(temporarily from my wife and daughter of course, but permanently from NY)

I’m tired of my job, and we are both tired of the upstate NY weather (and we have been for the 2 1/2 years we’ve been here).

I can’t seem to get an interview out-of-state, so I have decided to leave, get a cheap hotel for a while, and then a decent apartment soon after.

I can’t rush the apartment because I have to find a decent place for when my wife and daughter come to live there once I get a job.

Anyway, the reason for this post is to get any last minute advice, and to see if anyone else has tried something as stupid…err, um, unpredictable as this, and had it work out.

So, am I a complete moron for trying this?

I have enough money saved up to stay out there for about 6 months, worst case scenario.

I don’t have a degree yet, but have 7 years of electronic troubleshooting experience, 4 of which were in the Navy, and I have an active Secret clearance.

I have 3 years of college, but no degree because I was going for a BS in Information Technology, and they didn’t stop and give us an Associates after 2 years (I don’t know why though).

Wish me luck. I will have to cut my training short as well, and will only have bands, and limited, cheap, Walmart freeweights (and my bodyweight) to use since I need to be saving as much money as I can while doing this.

This is going to be a little scary, but you can’t gain much if you don’t risk much, right?[/quote]

Don’t be stupid. Finish your degree. I promise you you won’t find a great job without a degree. Is it REALLY worth leaving your family for an extended period, just to job-hunt? Honestly, it sounds like you just want to get away from the family. Man-up, complete your college, then to a real job search. Your family is the most important thing, period. I can’t stress how important a degree is. Unless you have a desirable technical skill (arc-welding, x-ray technician, jet engine mechanic…) why would an employeer look outside his state to hire unskilled workers. No offense, but if you don’t have a degree, you are a worker-bee.

You have to make yourself marketable.

8

I once lived in Johnstown, NY. A nice place with nice people, but too cold for my southern blood. Fortunately I was only 23 and single when I left to return to Northern Virginia. There has always been a place for reliable people who have a specialty and experience. Unfortunately it is extremely expensive to live here and the traffic is unbearable. However, the Richmond area is becoming nearly as prosperous as No. VA. All of my four children have moved there and own their own homes, the youngest is 23. It may be worth considering.

As for the family, I would bring them along. A hard choice but I believe the best. Make some calls using the online yellow pages to find out what’s available. Cold calling does work, it is how my youngest daughter got her most recent position. Then come and spent a week or two doing interviews. Defiantly wait to make the permanent move until you can bring the whole family.

I knew many people in NY who’s potential was limited by their unwillingness to leave familiar surroundings. Not guts no glory, but try to stack the deck before you invest too much.

9

SWR-1240,

I admire you for doing this. You only live once, and you have to do what’s best for you, and for the betterment of your life and career. I wish you best of luck.

Where are you wanting to move? Have you talked to your family about this? Are they supportive of your decision?

Seems to me like you have enough work experience, especially with the Navy and your security clearance. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten any bites. Just keep being persistent and patient and keep applying, and good things will come.

I think you are brave for doing this, and you are making the right choice. It will pay off for you greatly.

Once again, good luck, and keep us updated.

10

[quote]Jillybop wrote:
Where are you going?[/quote]

Good question! (j/k, sorta)

We would like to live in Arizona, but are also thinking of SC, NC, CA, and possibly VA again, but that’s the furthest North we want to be.

11

As for finishing the degree, well, I would have a lot more than the year that I have left on the degree (if that makes sense) because I was getting the degree online through the University of Phoenix.

I wasn’t learning anything, but was still passing my classes with A’s.

I would need an actual classroom environment first off, and second, when I do go back to school, I will be going for a business degree, so that will mean I will be giving up even more credits.

I tried the IT thing, and can do it for the time being, but it’s not what I want to do as a career.

I plan on opening a business eventually. Right now we’re working on improving our credit, and taking advantage of my wife being a female, and a minority by getting a grant, but that’s a ways down the road.

12

[quote]lostinthought wrote:
Zap Branigan wrote:
Sounds like trouble. Finish school if you can. Bring the family with you when you make the move.

Without a doubt I absolutely agree. I think you’re leaving out details here…Why leave the wife and kid? Why not wait to complete your eduacation? [/quote]

Good questions. Yea, I guess I left some things out.

My wife is finishing her degree, and has 2 months left. After that, she will either start going for her Masters, or get a decent paying job with her BA (she’s collecting money from the state, and from the GI Bill for going to school full-time).

We are living upstairs from my parent’s house right now, and have been for 2.5 years. That’s about 1.5 years too long.

The wife and daughter can stay here for $50/month while my wife gets her degree, and I’m not going to drag my daughter into a hotel for as long as it takes to get a job.

If I rush and get an apartment, we will most likely be stuck in a 1 year lease, so it would be better to check the area out a bit first, and find a good place to rent for a year before buying a house.

The longest I will be gone, worst case scenario, is 6 months. That’s how much money I have to live off of (safely), and if I don’t find a job by then, plan B would be coming back to NY and getting an apartment around Albany, and would set us back probably about 2 years from our moving out goals.

I’m banking on finding a job within 6 months.

13

[quote]PGJ wrote:

Don’t be stupid. Finish your degree. I promise you you won’t find a great job without a degree. Is it REALLY worth leaving your family for an extended period, just to job-hunt? Honestly, it sounds like you just want to get away from the family. Man-up, complete your college, then to a real job search. Your family is the most important thing, period. I can’t stress how important a degree is. Unless you have a desirable technical skill (arc-welding, x-ray technician, jet engine mechanic…) why would an employeer look outside his state to hire unskilled workers. No offense, but if you don’t have a degree, you are a worker-bee.

You have to make yourself marketable.

[/quote]

Well, the family I’m getting away from is my parents, which is a non-issue. If I choose a place like NC, or even SC, I would see my daughter on weekends.

Many people have to leave their newborns (even women!) to go on a 6-9 month cruise in the Navy, because it’s their job/duty.

It would be for the better, and like I said before, I am years away from a worth while degree. I have various certifications, a clearance and 7 years of experience, which is sometimes enough, and sometimes employers only want that degree.

I’ve seen jobs that I qualify for for around $38,000-$52,000. The lowest pay I’d take right now is $42,000.

The goal is to own a business. I can’t justify finishing my IT degree, just to get a job for a few years, while getting another degree in business, just to have a better job for a few years.

I will get an “okay” job, and start/finish a business degree, and begin my business within a few years from getting the degree (maybe sooner depending on a grant).

14

[quote]Lysimacus wrote:
I once lived in Johnstown, NY. A nice place with nice people, but too cold for my southern blood. Fortunately I was only 23 and single when I left to return to Northern Virginia. There has always been a place for reliable people who have a specialty and experience. Unfortunately it is extremely expensive to live here and the traffic is unbearable. However, the Richmond area is becoming nearly as prosperous as No. VA. All of my four children have moved there and own their own homes, the youngest is 23. It may be worth considering.

As for the family, I would bring them along. A hard choice but I believe the best. Make some calls using the online yellow pages to find out what’s available. Cold calling does work, it is how my youngest daughter got her most recent position. Then come and spent a week or two doing interviews. Defiantly wait to make the permanent move until you can bring the whole family.

I knew many people in NY who’s potential was limited by their unwillingness to leave familiar surroundings. Not guts no glory, but try to stack the deck before you invest too much.[/quote]

Thanks for the advice. Taking the family would be quite a bit more expensive since my wife and daughter are living for $50/month, and free babysitting ($90/month preschool).

It wouldn’t be a problem waiting the 2 months for her to get her degree, but it adds more uncertainty with our income if she comes too. It would mean we would have less time for both of us to get a job, AND we wouldn’t be getting the $1300+/month from her GI Bill anymore, so we’d have no income to fall back on.

I know of too many people who are miserable here, and just won’t leave for some reason or another. I don’t want to be that guy. Many even come back (like I did) and regret it (like I do).

15

[quote]tmoney1 wrote:
SWR-1240,

I admire you for doing this. You only live once, and you have to do what’s best for you, and for the betterment of your life and career. I wish you best of luck.

Where are you wanting to move? Have you talked to your family about this? Are they supportive of your decision?

Seems to me like you have enough work experience, especially with the Navy and your security clearance. I’m surprised you haven’t gotten any bites. Just keep being persistent and patient and keep applying, and good things will come.

I think you are brave for doing this, and you are making the right choice. It will pay off for you greatly.

Once again, good luck, and keep us updated.[/quote]

Thanks for the support.
Yes, my wife is behind me 100%.

We still have some ironing out to do, and I will be giving my current job at least 2-3 weeks notice.

We will be laying out the whole plan, and back up plans in more detail tonight, and for the next few weeks.

The sad thing is that when I finally moved back to NY, I was getting job offers in DC, and Northern VA for jobs in the mid $40,000s, but I just moved and wasn’t looking for a job then.

I moved back to NY only because my wife just had our daughter, and we wanted her to see her grandparents, uncles and aunts.

I just got a PM about the Border Patrol in AZ, and before he reminded me, I completely forgot about them.

I was scheduled to take the test for them last year, just before getting my current job. I didn’t go through with it because this was a decent job, and a great offer from what I was doing ($7/hr factory worker).

16

[quote]Nothingface wrote:
I don’t have any advice for you, but I admire you doing it. Too many people are afraid to try anything. If you’re not happy in your job, or where you live, etc. do something about it. Too many people spend their entire life in jobs they hate because they’re afraid. I quit my job, started a company, struggled for a while, and now I’m reaping the benefits. I would never go back to working for someone else. Good luck![/quote]

Thanks! Owning my own business is ultimately what I would like to do too (maybe more than one, but I’m getting ahead of myself).

Congrats on your success!

17

You said you are a Navy man and have electronics experience. Do you have experience with PLCs (Siemens or AB) and drives?

18

Man, I read too many maybes. Maybe you’ll get a job, maybe it will be better, maybe you’ll get an apt… I say get a good job offer first, then fly over and see if you can make it work. That way you won’t have to piss away 6 months worth of savings for a something that’s not even a sure thing.

19

[quote]themonthofjun wrote:
You said you are a Navy man and have electronics experience. Do you have experience with PLCs (Siemens or AB) and drives?[/quote]

They touched on logic controllers slightly while I was in CTM “A” school, but I don’t have any experience with them.

20

Hard to say, details are a bit vague. Does your wife work? How’s the schooling in the spot to which you may move? How are your rainy day funds? How much change are you ready to undergo (i.e cutting back on food spending – a difficult change for us weight-lifter types)? \

You say you can’t land an interview – is this because you are being turned away by the firms with which you consult or…what? From the sound of it, to leave would be to fly by the seat of your pants into a risky adventure with a lot of white-knuckling and crossed fingers along the way. Unless you can secure a job and transfer to another school to obtain a degree, I’d say stay, stay STAY.

Employers have a nasty habit of tsk-tsking those who don’t fight to the end in the undergraduate world. Also, just to gain a bit of perspective, check out TC’s Let go of the rock article.