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Oh, I am glad that you know a bit more about that than I do.

I am surprised that you used the term "fee-simple!" I remember that from my Canadian test. Well, one of the few things that I can remember from it. ;)


Don't tell me this! I don't need Tim @ NCEES all up in our business.
LOL. Or MIG. Or is that the same person? I forget.

 
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Also make sure you get a hard copy of all your kids school stuff (grades, tests, etc) before you leave...

Sounds fun!
Do not forget hard copies of kids immunization records. Make triplicate copies and store those in the vault.

Funny story: BarFlyGirl never went to college, but at my urging applied to go ahead and move towards getting a degree at the local. They required her immunization records to attend on-campus classes. Try finding those from a distant state when you're in your forties!

(Yet it seems illegals can get full rights and scholarships. Go figger. Damned gubment.)

 
So I had my big review, got a whopping 3%. Could always be zero I guess...no extra money for managing half the staff here in our group :(

Here is my issue,, I keep thinking about applying for the City Engineer position that is close(er) to my house (30 minute commute versus an hour plus)

I keep "running into" the PW Director who keeps asking me to apply, they have increased the salary for the position and I think I could swing around an $11K increase over what I make here as a F'n consultant!

I think my main problem here is they are trying to keep the overall office salary equal amongst years of experience and titles, and most of the other PM's here are only 10-12 year people where I am closer to 20. I make about $2K more than the average "PM" here..

Sure there is potential in 5 years to maybe make probably $30K more / year than what I make today, but I don't know if I have enough used car sale skills to get to that route??

arghhhhh..........

any harm in hitting the apply button and see what happens?

 
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Job hopper.

Just kidding. I switch jobs every three years or so, so I say go for it.

Sheryl, help me out here:

STL-MUS-20150123-SHERYLCROW-FIDLARVIDSCREENSHOT.jpg


IF IT MAKES YOU HAAPPPYYYYY

 
I am torn between giving consulting another year and then job hopping into a higher paying gig in consulting or just getting back into a public sector leadership position. Which has its own headaches, but sometimes I think I will take politics over working for a big company owned by a foreigner who takes my phone away?

I sort of feel like if I go back to the public sector I am going to have to be there a while before I could go back to consulting. at that point all I will be good for is "networking"

cant think..

 
I just had my promotion panel last week, so now I'm waiting to hear. They only have panels for my level every 3 years, so at that time everyone who is eligible puts in a package. This time there are 11 people trying for a promotion (theoretically though there's no limit to the number they could give). I had to put together that huge package and then make a presentation to the board. It would mean about a 7% pay raise.

A few months ago I thought I didn't have a chance. I fully expected to be at my current level for a while. But after putting all that together I feel pretty qualified, and I'll be disappointed if I don't get it! A senior engineer I work with just told me that several members of the panel came to talk to him about me. I don't know if that's good or bad. I guess that must mean they're considering it? But I must be right on the edge. Just make a decision already!!

 
The issue with working in the consulting world is that each position has a salary window when it comes to projects. It all comes back to billable rates. Its why my previous employer couldn't even think of matching the salary here at my new job. It's not that I wasn't worth it, but rather I was in a specific billable rate position and any raises I got would make it so they were losing money if I was on the job.

 
That’s semi true for the production guys (Senior Engineers to entry Level Engineers).. about billable rates.. but I am in a PM role, I haven’t talked to any Transportation PM’s around the region that make less than $115K, I only have to be 80% billable so I can do proposals and chase some other work. Haven’t had the time to do much of that lately.. But believe me there are tons of fat cats (SR PM’s and such) at the top that are only 30% billable that feed off the production line....

We have lots of individuals that make either way above or way below the standard rate tables (with both CDOT and the Fed Land Contracts) they just sort of average them out. For example no one told me one of our cad guys makes around $80K (he must have pics of someone) I didn’t know that until I looked at the budget sheet the following week…

And the *one* problem with applying- is my boss is currently the “acting city engineer” there now 3 days a week (through a task order) so it kind of makes it a little stickier situation. The company is hoping to go after some big projects they have coming out in the Fall and I don’t want to muddle the waters, say I apply, and then get offered the job, turn it down for some reason, and then they hold that against us? Shouldn’t happen but we all know that it does..

What really pays in this industry is winning work, no one really cares about doing the work.. I just don’t know if I want to go all in to be “rainmaker” *****

 
Well, starting June 15th there will be a second Pacific Islander basement member! I just officially accepted the job offer and my start date is June 15. They increased the relo package a few thousand dollars and it should cover getting everything and everyone out there fine, which is what I really wanted. Now we've just got to get our house fixed. We met with realtors yesterday to go through it and get an idea for an asking price, so once the contractors are done they take pictures and list it right away. It's been a wild month and it's not going to get any calmer over the next 6 weeks, but we're excited, scared, anxious, and ready. Now I've got to figure out how I'm going to turn in my resignation...

 
Best of luck!

Too bad your moving before I can finish my book I am writing "So you want to uproot your family and move half way across the Country"....

And don't forget the guest room...

 
Congrats Ble. Now starts the wild ride. I hope things go well for all the Ble's!!

 
Ble, this is huge! It's got to be a bit mind boggling. My girlfriend and I have been talking about her moving here for a couple years and that seems like an upheaval, but it's only 900 miles and I'm already established here. A 4500 mile move to a new place with kids, kind of reminds me of immigrants making the journey from Europe (which is actually closer to the US than you are from Hawaii).

 
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