Mr. Brinkworth's post yesterday about a job offer brought a flurry of advice. Some pro, some con, all good sound advice.
I looked at the post this morning and read Kris Morgan's post. It basically asked:
"What/Where/Who do you want to be?"
And I dwelt on that. Good direction, I have to say.
And then the screen began to swirl with the music in the background (that lets you know it's a flashback).......Suddenly I was back in time.
It goes without saying that things were different thirty some odd years ago; but not all things. I was young and recently licensed back then, and I'm pretty sure it matters not the time of ages. A young person has young people's dreams.
I had not yet experienced bad business dealings and greedy partners. In fact there was a great deal I hadn't yet experienced. All I wanted was to survey, and be paid for it.
For ten years I experienced the profession. And I made some money. Not much, just scale wages, but I was being paid to survey...AND I was being paid to experience surveying.
It's easy for an older person to want to bestow wisdom to the young. A little probably helps. But all we can really provide is a chronicle of our triumphs and tragedies. Nothing more.
Working for others actually allowed me to make some mistakes without being financially wounded. I learned from those mistakes, at the expense of my employers.
I guess I 'paid' for my experience with all the years of lousy pay, cheap help and wore out trucks and equipment. I've realized that I the experience I now possess had a cost. I would probably be a completely different surveyor had I not taken that path.
And I'm not by any means saying that a surveyor can't make it on his own nowadays. You surely can. In my early days it was difficult for a surveyor to make it "on his own". There were a few that tried, and fewer succeeded. But today is a different world.
And all of that makes Kris Morgan's question: "What/Where/Who do you want to be?"
probably THE most important question a young surveyor needs to ask themselves.
I had originally suggested that Mr. Brinkworth avoid the employment opportunity. I would now like to retract that suggestion. Not because the job he described is an opportunity in itself, but because of where that job might take him.
It might just be on the road to something he wants.
:good:
Many people claim they cannot achieve their goals in life. As for the ones that I've spoke with, most didn't have a clear "goal" or path to achieve it, and even less had that and a time and expectation on when they may achieve the goal. Without that, it's hard to find one's particular blend of Nirvana.
For me, I was 25, no college degree, and I got my license. I had an offer of 55k in Houston, one of 57k in Dallas, and one of 60k with a moving bonus in San Antonio, sight unseen. They wanted my number almost as bad as I did. What I did have was a quaint 3/2 brick home on a dead end street 3 blocks from my office where my son, who was 5, could learn to ride a bike on (and my daughter later) and not worry about traffic. What I did have was a home town that I'd grown up in, that I knew everyone and everyone knew me, and my kids got to grow up here (my daughter is 13 and my son is a senior). What I did have was a $10/hour job that had expansion to it and a support staff to help me. What I didn't have was a goal. It was February 14, 2003 when I figured out what I wanted and my goals.
Every moment since then has been spent in either preparation, execution, or basking in the glow of getting to those goals. I went back to college and ended up with 3 degrees, my son was accepted into the Texas A&M Engineering program as a senior in high school, my kids are straight A students, we have a lovely church home, and because of the lack of O&G work lately, I've been the boundary surveyor that I really enjoy. We have a farm and a blossoming business model at the farm as well as a stable business. Neither are barn burners, but we just built a home on our farm that my wife and I worked to pay for (and off at this point).
But it wasn't until I realized that WHAT I wanted to be was a boundary surveyor WHO got to raise his kids in a small town that offered more intrinsic value than any city on a farm WHERE the world turned slower, and the beer was colder, and set up retirement opportunities that would be well flourishing when I hit that age (I'm 37 now).
Whether I would have had it or not had I jumped ship and gone to the city remains to be seen, but I wouldn't have what I have now, any other way. It ain't been easy, but I smile a lot. 🙂
Thanks for the nod Paden! 🙂
I'd say you've done well Kris
Picturing specific goals early in a career is probably one of the best "tools" a surveyor could have. You seem to have fared well. Congrats.
My professional goals were not that specific. I merely wanted to be the best at what I was doing. I wanted to be THE best surveyor around. My quest for experience took me all over the country and surveying spectrum.
I probably should have took a business class or two along the way...
While being an all-experienced surveyor was a noble challenge, I wasn't foresighted enough to tend to my career. I've always done good survey work, but I'm a lousy businessman. I wish I had grounded my goals to a more practical level. Surveying everything that could be surveyed all over the country was wonderful experience, but not a wise career or business asset.
But I'm happy with the way things turned out. And that's worth it all.
I'd say you've done well Kris
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> But I'm happy with the way things turned out. And that's worth it all.
Roger that! 🙂 Merry Christmas!
I'd say you've done well Kris
> But I'm happy with the way things turned out. And that's worth it all.
And that's all that really matters anyhow!!!