WORK - A man's gotta work

Worked in an independent camper shop building campers and camper shells. About 10 employees, really cool job. The owner taught me everything I know about wood-working Good job. At the time my Mom was working a Hughes Aircraft in El Segundo. She got me an interview...

Applied, Interviewed and landed the job. At $3.08/hr I was a proud newlywed and had a good path to my career. I was hired as a flow-solder machine operator. Flow solder machine was a big machine about 30 feet long that automatically soldered circuit boards on a conveyor belt. Pretty cool, good wage with benefits - so cool. After 6 months my Supervisor 'Ruthie McDonald' came to me and said with my school electronics education and training, I should apply for a special Technicians Training Program that Hughes was starting up. I applied, tested and got accepted!!  My wages would be frozen for the entire duration of the program (1 year) but they would pay me normal wages and benefits to attend school for 1 year 8 hrs/day. If completed, I would graduate with A.S. Degree and get placed in the company in an electronics technician position as a Elect. Tech 'C'.  I completed the program, did very well and earned my position as an Electronic Technician 'C'. Over the next 3 years, I continued to grow and promote up to 'A' Technician and was assigned to various technician positions in the facility. In 1976 I was approached by their Research Division, Missile Systems Group in Canoga Park and offered a job transfer. I accepted the job and was assigned to the Phoenix Missile lab as a Senior Electronics Technician. I would be paired up with a design engineer and he/she would be given a design task to design a sub-system in the upcoming missile upgrade. One one of the engineers that I was assigned to Was Phil. We became best friends and remain so even today 49 years later. Then the engineer would give me the schematic and I would build a 'brass-box' which was the actual physical electronic prototype. Both he and I would test it, make design changes, modify the brass-box and repeat until the design was proven and approved. Then the design would go to our manufacturing division in Tucson and be implemented into the new missile. Very gratifying and an amazing unique job and opportunity. The brass-box technique was actually an art-form if you ask me in it's technique which is no longer practiced unfortunately.

After 7 years at Canoga Park, Missile Systems - Sadly, I left Hughes as there were rumors floating around about the company being sold. There were 85,000 employees at Hughes, 3500 in the R&D facility where I worked. Concerned about the future, I took a job at General Telephone and began work at a 'stepper' exchange in Long Beach. Within 3 months I got the opportunity to work in the first computerized switching office in Torrance, CA. It was named EAX 1 -Electronic Automatic Exchange. My Dad was also working for GTE in another location as an Analyst. I grabbed it as it was the latest technology in the field of communications. They sent me to EAX school for 16 weeks and was assigned to the Torrance office upon completion. It was a great job, lots of new technology and responsibility galore. But  I was tired of the city, and was considering our home purchase which means we had to leave the city to afford a home. 

I spent 3 years at GTE when I was offered a position back at Hughes-Missile Systems, R&D.  I grabbed it since I was already familiar with the division, the work, and the people. I returned and worked in Power Systems  with my engineer buddy Phil. At this point I should mention that in my spare time, I attended our local JC and took an EMT class. On the week-ends I would work on an ambulance, then back to Hughes M-F. I worked for 3 years and then the division lost a government contract and there was going to be a lay-off. Well, I found a GREAT job in the division working at the SIMFAX facility in Canoga Park. It was flight simulation for the Phoenix and the Maverick missiles. It was an amazing job with Top-Secret clearance and very interesting work. I figured I would be there for-ever. It was great right up to the point that the aforementioned company sell-off rumors came true. General Motors bought the entire company for $ 6 Billion (a lot of money back then). GM rented Disneyland for a night and we all got to go on their ticket. Then GM said 'we hope you enjoyed the Disneyland trip because now we are moving your facility to Tucson Az, closer to the manufacturing. I didn't go. Instead, I decided to move to Sacramento and work for a Rocket Propulsion Company called Aerojet. I was hired as an Electronic Instrumentation Tech. Yes, a Rocket Scientist. 

Holy-cow... Yes, a Rocket Scientist. I was also missing my time as an EMT so I joined El-Dorado County Fire Department as a very active volunteer in my spare time. The Aerojet Facility was huge. 12,000 acres, 600 buildings. I worked in the test area. I did that for 5 years. during which time I met a guy named Wally that was a Mechanical Engineer and Chief at another Fire Department in Latrobe, CA. We became friends and shared jobs at Aerojet and activities in various Fire Department functions. Then I learned that the facility had their own on-site Fire Department. A full blown Fire Department.

  Long story short, Wally got a job at the Aerojet Fire Department as Deputy Chief. Shortly thereafter Wally offered me a position as a Duty Fire Chief. I accepted and happify performed the job for two years until layoffs struck the department again. My parents had just moved from California back to Illinois at this time also. The Fire Chief (McGill) assured me that I would not be affected by the lay-off as he was very happy with me and the departments future plans. Our house had been on the market for 2 years at this point and we received a cash offer with a 30 day escrow. We accepted, I spoke with the Chief and requested to be laid off because we were moving back to Illinois. He wasn't happy but wished me luck and away we went. 

We made the journey to Illinois and right away I wanted to start a business. We created Video Express, a video rental business like BlockBuster only smaller. After running the business for a year or so one of our customers Mary Pollard, a nurse at a hospital who knew of my skills as an EMT, told me that her hospital (Alton Memorial) had their own ambulance department and were hiring. Well, our family had no health insurance 

 So I took the job on the ambulance and Kept the video store which Debbie ran when I was at work at the hospital.  It was very hectic but with 4 kids we needed health insurance. We ended up selling the video store to my daughter Cathy and her then husband Danny. I loved being back in EMS, learned lots of new skills and made lots of friends.  

 I ended up leaving the hospital after 2 years and was hired by DataTronix in Alton as an Electronic Technician, bench and field working on radio systems for Police and Fire departments and Riverboats fixing radios, searchlights and radar. Great job and people but the Illinois economy sucked and I was only making $11/hr. Then I got a phone call from my old boss Wally at Aerojet. He said "I am offering you a job but you have to be here in 30 days, and we'll pay 1/2 your moving expenses". I said "I'm on my way..." 

Part of the deal in coming back was I had to work as a Fire-fighter for 1 year and then become a Duty Fire Chief. I put in my time as a Fire-fighter and slid right into the Duty Chief spot with 1 pending requirement. To land the Duty Chief position I had to  successfully complete a 270hr class being offered by Sacramento Metro FD - A Hazardous Materials Specialist class - This is the highest ranking Haz Mat Job in the Emergency Response Industry. If I did not complete the class, I would be looking for a job. This was a little stressful as I had no chemistry experience or education. This was in 1997. I passed the class, got my certification and the Duty Chief Position. I happily spent the next 19 years as a Duty Fire Chief and supervisor to the Fire-fighters. I retired on April fools day 2016. I was done working. D O N E

So basically my working life occupied 46 years +/-

My Dad was right. Once you start work, you don't quit. But I was glad it was behind me.