Attended NJIT, Did Not Graduate
Didn't know about the cancer, sounds like you've rebounded.
Happy Holidays!
Ralph
Ralph ?
Nine years cancer free, cannot complain.
When I started on the Surveying degree track I calculated that because of my age, I would never recoup the investment of time and money. I decided to do it because I wanted to. Engineering was really a rat race and I prefer to survey and earn less money. I had my PA PLS for a year before deciding to give self employed surveying a go over engineering. Two months into my first big surveying/engineering project, I was in the hospital for surgery. The day I got out I had my first planning board meeting on that project. I finished up field work in a month and was called back for a couple of months of radiation therapy. After several more meetings we had waivers for certain design requirements, but the client was behind in paying the township for septic soil logs and my work was stymied. I was at 90% of the preliminry submission. The client had a friend? who was an engineer lobbying for the job, telling him he could do it faster than me. The client wanted out but did not want to pay up. He finally got everything I had when I got my check. Did not bother me because after the radiation it took me a year to get to 100%. Meanwhile his partner was running him into debt and his engineer friend was rolling up quite a bill. In the end they ran out of money and the land is just gathering weeds. I did two major subdivisions in NJ as engineer with another surveyor and stayed with mostly small surveys, septic designs and soil erosion plans.
When my wife wanted out as a regular survey helper, I bought a robot. I paid cash, big mistake, it never worked 5 days in a row. Into the factory for recalibration, worked 2 days and something inside self destructed. Had it been on credit or lease, it would have been much less pain because it would have gone back instantly. That pretty much shut the door on getting back to school. Pretty much work alone with bipods or run the gun for another surveyor who has let all his crews go. The last few years economy has been no help. Too old and ornery to get back in as a full time employee, so you just do what makes you happy and able to survive.
Paul in PA
Ralph ?
Thanks for sharing that with me Paul, I'm glad to hear you're happy doing what you're doing. Sometimes things happen as they're supposed to happen and not as we want them to happen. So maybe there is an upside to all that's occurred with you. I guess you're aware that Dr. Greenfeld is now teaching in Israel and Laramie Potts is the Chair.
Ralph
Dr. Joshua Greenfeld
That is one of the minor discouragements, I really enjoyed his classes. NJIT also has done some course rearranging, so I may actually need another non surveying course or two to finish up.
I had been considering an online course, and then submitting to Thomas Edison State College in New Jersey for their BS in Surveying but they have dropped their AS and BS programs.
Paul in PA
For Fans of Dr. Joshua Greenfeld
He will be presenting at the New Jersey Conference (Feb 1 thru 3 at Bally's in Atlantic City).
He is offering two GIS courses on Thursday morning and Friday morning.
