Pete Gossett (Forum Supporter) said:
In reply to bobzilla :
You liked the oil analysis gig, you have the certs, and you're willing to move. Have you thought about sending your resume to anyone else does oil analysis?
These were going to be my exact words.
Some history... My wife's oldest brother past away last year. When I met him in 2001 he had been living in Pittsburgh for 20 years. Officially, he was a former employee of US Steel but he always did the same job.
You see. US Steel was so into their own oil analysis that they did oil analysis for others. Move this forward and US Steel's lab (which my brother in law managed) was the certification lab for the American Petroleum Institute (API). If you brought fresh oil that was API standard approved, his lab was the one who did the independent test. Eventually, that API testing went to some other API contractor and my brother in law did not go to the new company.
The moral here, what else can you do with your oil knowledge?
SVreX (Forum Supporter) said:
maschinenbau said:
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
Second ATL metro area. There is something here for everyone. Actually no, stay away we full! 
To expand: Atlanta is an island of blue in a sea of red. You want purple? Live in the ring of suburbs. You want Karens and NIMBY's? Northern arc of suburbs. Space and cheap? South-west arc of suburbs, or just beyond the northern ones. Red trailer park suburbs out west, blue elder hippy suburbs out east. If you dare venture ITP (inside the perimeter I-285), I can expand on that even further.
Every job you described in your background is here. Also Summit Racing is 30 minutes south. One of my neighbors works there and likes it.
That's a great description!
I was quite impressed as well.
In reply to Driven5 :
I can't speak for him completely, but there may be a translation difference in the 45 mile commute. I have about a 40 min. commute now. But I might see 2 or 3 cars during most of it. When I've worked in various suburbs of Atl., a 45 min commute meant you were about 5 to 10 miles away... Huge difference!
I love most things about atl. area; but I'd never consider moving near that many people.
Easy to find whatever political tone ya want in that area as well. But I understand completely why B. Z. ain't looking there.
bobzilla said:
In reply to SVreX (Forum Supporter) :
I've been in the burbs on the NE, The SW. Just too sprawling and too much suburbs. If I had a choice, it would be 200 acres in NE AZ with a self-sufficient home (solar/wind for power, well/catch tubs for water). 4wd to get back there. once a week into town for supplies and entertainment.
Don't know about cost, now, but a while back, the easiest bang for a buck way to do that was areas a hr or 3 around Elco NV. Only worked there about 6 weeks, but met several different people doing exactly that.
I did not like the landscape, or the weather out there, or the average person in Elco proper (more casinos than perm. population count) but it's off grid heaven. Could get you a maintenance tech gig at a geo thermal plant, but, prolly not quite what ya want. Pm if ya do want some details.
Surprisingly, my favorite city, if someone held a big enough caliber to my head to force me to live in any city, (if only a .38, I might take my chances) was when I worked a refinery just N. of down town Salt Lake City. Nicest people over all, I've ever seen. Including the couple we rented the downstairs apartment from. No one (and the couple were very morman) gave us any grief about not being morman at all. I know there are some issues, but none came up for us, during that short contract.
In reply to John Welsh :
I've been considering a side gig of interpretation for people, sorta what Amsoil's Oil Analyzers program does. Provide Blackstone level of explaining with professional level testing. Not sure how I get that started.
Lucas Oil has a presence in your market???
In reply to John Welsh :
oil analysis is not ..... "kind" to Lucas products. They do not show up on chemical analysis and they are typically just a thickening agent. I won't lie so I'm not going to help them push their miracle in a bottle.
I dont know jack about oil (and I respect you knowledge.) All I know about Lucas is that their name is on your football stadium.
eastsideTim said:
Don't know about employment opportunities right now, but in or near Rolla, MO might work for you. Property in rural Missouri used to be pretty cheap, and I assume it's still not too bad. You've got St Louis 100 miles east, Springfield (and Bass Pro HQ) 100 miles west, Jefferson City 60 miles north, and Columbia 90 miles north.
The problem with Rolla is most if not all of the employment is Missouri School of Science and Technology related. Great if you are in academics but not so good for much else. It's been that way since I went to school there. It's also just got a weird vibe. Those that live there or went to school there know what I mean. I would look more east in Cuba or more west towards springfield personally. Just know pay will be loooooooow there for most jobs.
In reply to bmw88rider :
Sorry to hijack the thread, but I'm curious when you went, what program you were in? I was class of 97 BSME. It definitely has a vibe to it. Last time I was in town a few years ago, I saw someone I went to school with. He owns the local comic book shop.
How about checking with a local municipality about being a service writer for their fleet vehicles. Seriously it's a thing and there's no selling involved of course. Your ability to do oil analysis would differentiate yourself and potentially save them thousands on future repairs and increased recoup on sale of vehicles at auction at the end of their service life.
"speaking of all this... current employer came down today and handed me a raise, a bump in bonus , an apology for the current conditions and a promise that they are going to put in extra effort to get the help we need and take care of the core problems plaguing us. I swear they read my mind. "
and ......you're where with all this?
In reply to 759NRNG :
First let me fully acknowledge that it is not my place to respond or answer, that being said I will suggest where it should put anyone's mindset who is in the same working condition.
Actions and responses to areas where your employer is falling short is important. And bonus and raise for dealing with the shortcomings is an acknowledgment of them, however it's not a corrective measure. In all honesty knowing that these issues are not new and I don't believe, Though I could be wrong it would not be the third time, that they're related to issues that everywhere has faced over the past 18 months, they should have been able to present an action plan to how they're going to move forward to take corrective measures. Even if that action plan is developing methods to create the fixes that they don't even know yet. Simply tossing money in the air and saying it sucks here, but hey you like money right? Doesn't make it suck less. Employee and employer relationships are real and you can't buy love or forgiveness. It takes time, effort and thoughtfulness. Otherwise people entertain the thought of stepping out from the relationship. So while the bonus and raise is a first step, it is a baby step. I would hold the course in looking for more beneficial opportunities.
In reply to 759NRNG :
I'm in a "let's see where this goes" position. I'm still looking around but not frantically. I change jobs again I'm taking sone time off. I realized I haven't had more than 4 weeks off work since 2001 and before that it was before I started working full time (1994). I've been working at least 40 hours a week for 37 years straight.
plain and simple: I'm tired. Life, society and work have done their best to beat me down. Every time I think I have found a great fit with a caring company it comes crumbling down due to outside influences. I don't want to live at work. I work so I can live my life.... and the last few years I really don't feel like I've been able to do it. Wasting an entire year on a pandemic and being an "essential worker" the entire time didn't help. All the work, none of the fun is enough to take someone on the edge over it.
but enough rambling... the extra money is nice and their sincerity was appreciated. At this point I will just have to see how they back it up.
I wish Kalamazoo/Battle Creek had enough to attract you Bob. The Honda dealer I am at is owned by a pair of brothers that are the reason I went back into dealer life. I loved machine maintenance but loathed being on second shift and not being a Journeyman severelylimited my options, the service drive is something that was always a fall back job for me so I struck the deal I needed for my sanity and here I am again.
Short story long, my people could use people like you.
Ideally, I'm looking for a 12-4 position that pays 8 hours @$21/ with a 2 hour lunch, 4 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of pto and every holiday off.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
I thought that was a given. I'd even stretch that to 11-4 for 4 day work weeks
bobzilla said:
QuasiMofo (John Brown) said:
bobzilla said:
Ideally, I'm looking for a 12:00-1:00pm position that pays 8 hours @$58/ with a paid 1 hour lunch, 52 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of pto and every holiday off.
Thats just being greedy
Glad to know you'll draw the line somewhere.
In reply to barefootskater (Shaun) :
I mean a man has to have some principles. I'll gladly work 10 hours a week for my pay.
bobzilla said:
Ideally, I'm looking for a 12-4 position that pays 8 hours @$21/ with a 2 hour lunch, 4 weeks of vacation, 2 weeks of pto and every holiday off.
You basically described my job. Some days. Other days I'm making up for that time(though I still think I got the better end of the deal).
Question.
Do you have the ability to do oil analysis away from the workplace?
I.E. if you started B.O.A (okay BG may try to shut that down) Bob's Oil Analysis and I were to get a kit at Napa To you, instead of sending off to the provided address in the kit, would you be able to do that on your own?
Because if you have the ability and we're open to doing so, I would rather support you and your endeavors, then Blackstone or other outlets, not that I have an issue with any previous oil analysis provider that I've utilized.
It's definitely a niche market with regards to the populations that opt to get oil analysis done, but between the active population on the forums and readers of the magazine, I suspect that if the capability is there to do it (literally) in house (or garage) that it'd be viable on the side and would keep you busy for a few hours a week come retirement time. As a bonus, if you put a livery on your challenge build that promotes the business, your build is tax deductible as all challenge cars get in the magazine, so it's an a advertising and promotional expenditure.
In reply to captdownshift (Forum Supporter) :
The physical testing, no. There's literally millions of dollars in equipment required to do it correctly. Now, with that said if I had enough capital I could start my own private label using known labs and offer analysis that way. They run dozens of programs through my former employer. Big names like Shell, Chevron, Amsoil etc. I could set the account to provide flagging and no comments then provide my own analysis on that. The problem is I think the minimum is 1000 samples to do this. At $12/ sample cost that's a lot od cash.
The other option is to do what I've done here and offer a more indepth personal look at peoples current reports. Start free and work towards a pay side.
