Just cause you ask andrew....
Got a Industrial maintenance technology degree for the CEGEP in Gaspe. It was a coop program, so through the 4 years of the program I worked as a maintenance tech, 3 months in a furniture factory, 3 months in a steel mill and 3 months in a GE aircraft engine machine shop near montreal. All this was paid !! So I finished my cegep with enough hour for decent unemployement check. I did spend 2 month at home, doing the beach bum drinking m un employement check, and beleive me it was an awesome summer !! I wish I could have an other 2 months off in the summertime before i retired. Then The GE shop called me back, I was basically a troubleshooter for all the digital multi axis cnc machine that were making jet engine blade, lot of hydraulic, pneumatic and electronic control. But as this was a contract job with no full time employement possibility I ended up quiting for a full time job in a paper mill near ottawa. I did enjoyed the job, even if it was a big contrast from high tech GE to 3 old paper machine, but it was more heavy mechanixs, crazy big beari gs and pumps and compressor. I was workin with a good team, money was good, but living in the city was killing me, traffic jam, living in an aprtement.... It sure was not for me and I was missing the friend and familly from home. So i eventually accepted a job as a quality control inspector for a 500 MW hydro electric project up northern quebec by James Bay. That was an awesome job with a lot of mechanical, pipe fitting and electrical challenge. The man camp was 't bad and the food on thise hydro quebec camp was like eating in a 4 star restaurant every day
I did gain 25 lbs in 6 months there. I really really enjoy this job, and it was a fly-in / fly out rotation shift of 20-8. So back then I moved back home in the peninsula, and that was psycologically really important. Even if i was not to be there at all for the following 5 years.....
And then a big wind mill company qas starting up there canadian division, and I guess i couldn't miss this oportunity, so i trade the north for the south ( my first assigement was california) . So I started as a construcion tech, then became a lead and still am.Been doing that for 8 years
! Dang, 8 yars already
Always on the road, on some job site through US & Canada. I have 3 kids now and teying to spend some qulity time at home.
I love my job, but that 4 days off every 6 week is killing me. I was lucky to have some project not to far from
Home in the past 2 years, but they are all donw now and there aint no project planner with our company within 1000 miles from home for the next 3 years. So i guess as soon as the snow melt will hitch the rv and being the familly down the road.
And I hope to reired before 65, but i don't have a pension plan. And a new house, 3 kids, a wife at home dosen't leave much for retirement fund, and with the 2008 krash....... Anyway.... That about it dor me