Spent the better part of 12 years working in finance, made a decent living but honestly didn’t like the work. When my kids were born it became clear to me I needed to make a change as I didn’t want to spend the rest of my life showing my son that money was more important than quality of life. Always enjoyed the heavy equipment world since I was a kid. Had a uncle ask me to help him sell a couple older machines he fixed and flipped. Realized that was the next step for me so I contacted the local dealers until I got an offer as a territory manager about two years ago. Made some in roads with my clients over time and for the last year I’ve been working saturdays for a grading & pipeline client, trading seat time for labor at no pay. Loved every minute of it. Learned a lot and got lots of hours in a bunch of different machines. About a month ago the dealership I worked for had a few major changes politically and about half the staff left, including me. Within a week every one of my significant clients called me and offered me a job. Spent the last few weeks working for a couple of them getting a feel for what the best option would be. On Tuesday I’m starting a full time position with a pipeline contractor and I’m really thrilled about it. Probably a different path than most took to get here but I’m happier than I’ve been in a long time and just wanted to share. If any of you guys are working pipeline here in SoCal hit me up, I’m sure we’ll run into one another at some point.
I think that you are doing the right thing. Nothing worse than going to work at a job you hate and nothing better than having a job you love. I love terrorizing all kinds of vegetation and critters to slow to get out of my way. I get to be in the woods most of the time and just do my thing. My path into heavy equipment was also, sort of, a sideways approach. Since I was a kid with Tonka trucks and a big sandbox, I always wanted to "play" with heavy equipment. I started work at age 13 (father's business) pumping gas, changing oil and learning lots about being a mechanic. I was always a natural at being a mechanic and fabricator, and I could run anything with an engine. But, I absolutely hated (and got burned out on) working with the general public. That put me back into college - Mechanical Engineering degree. After spending all of that time to earn the degree, my first office job taught me how much I hated sitting behind a desk and pushing numbers. I wish I got into R&D but that was not going to happen where I wanted to live. I got into an opportunity that led me into dirt work for a few years and I started contracting. I had as many as 3 employees and eventually ditched the workers when I changed paths towards nothing but clearing work, something I figured that I could do alone and be more independent. Work was not about the money as much as it is about the freedom to schedule my own desires. Almost 22 years later, I still work alone, devastating any sort of vegetation in my path and loving every minute of it. Life is good when you enjoy work. I've worked my ass off to get where I am and I know I am living the very best years of my life, right now. Why retire when life's work can be so much fun and so fulfilling?