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Author Topic:   Decisions, decisions......
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


Message 1 of 59 (790850)
09-06-2016 5:43 PM


I just got a job offer to return to the position I retired from 4 years ago. The young guy who replaced me is an incredibly talented artist and photographer and has decided he wants to strike out on his own.
Since I left they have added even more cutting edge optics and imaging technology that I would never be able to afford to buy for myself.
I have been enjoying my retirement immensely, but at the same time I have chafed at not having the capability to perform the level of high magnification photomicrography that I did on the job.
Tomorrow I am going to meet with my old boss and see what they offer. One thing that is not negotiable: I want to be able to take 10 weeks off per year.
There are all sorts of other things to consider also, a major one is: do I want to start commuting 60 miles to work every day? And do I really want to be tied to a position where I do not get to choose most of my imaging projects?
Decisions, decisions.......

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

Replies to this message:
 Message 2 by Phat, posted 09-06-2016 6:48 PM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 10 by Pressie, posted 09-08-2016 7:58 AM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 2 of 59 (790853)
09-06-2016 6:48 PM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tanypteryx
09-06-2016 5:43 PM


Decisions Decisions
The commute would get old. Is there any idea how long you want to work for them again before retiring for good?
Has this been discussed with them?
Do they expect you to be a permanent replacement or simply a fill-in until they again find a successor?

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 5:43 PM Tanypteryx has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 3 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 7:18 PM Phat has replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


Message 3 of 59 (790854)
09-06-2016 7:18 PM
Reply to: Message 2 by Phat
09-06-2016 6:48 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
Yep, the commute was really the only down side to the job for the 12 years I worked there.
Everything else is part of tomorrow's discussion.
I had not intended to retire before, but my cancer had just gone into remission and I had just survived a gangrenous gall bladder and septicemia. I also lost both my elderly parents that year after being their caregiver (along with my wife) for a number of years.
I started thinking that maybe I should spend some time doing more stuff I liked and don't get me wrong, I am still having a blast being retired, but I do miss the job. It really is my dream job and not many people get to have one.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 2 by Phat, posted 09-06-2016 6:48 PM Phat has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 4 by Phat, posted 09-06-2016 7:50 PM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 6 by New Cat's Eye, posted 09-07-2016 10:02 PM Tanypteryx has replied

  
Phat
Member
Posts: 18262
From: Denver,Colorado USA
Joined: 12-30-2003
Member Rating: 1.1


Message 4 of 59 (790856)
09-06-2016 7:50 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Tanypteryx
09-06-2016 7:18 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
im glad to hear that your health is better. I hope that your discussion goes well with them tomorrow. You DO seem to really enjoy your work.

Chance as a real force is a myth. It has no basis in reality and no place in scientific inquiry. For science and philosophy to continue to advance in knowledge, chance must be demythologized once and for all. —RC Sproul
"A lie can travel half way around the world while the truth is putting on its shoes." —Mark Twain "
~"If that's not sufficient for you go soak your head."~Faith

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 7:18 PM Tanypteryx has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 5 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 9:18 PM Phat has not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


Message 5 of 59 (790858)
09-06-2016 9:18 PM
Reply to: Message 4 by Phat
09-06-2016 7:50 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
Thanks.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 4 by Phat, posted 09-06-2016 7:50 PM Phat has not replied

  
New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


Message 6 of 59 (790915)
09-07-2016 10:02 PM
Reply to: Message 3 by Tanypteryx
09-06-2016 7:18 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
Everything else is part of tomorrow's discussion.
How'd it go?
the commute was really the only down side to the job
Was that 60 miles total and not each way? I drive half that total, and doubling it doesn't seem that bad. Quadrupling it, though, and I think I might be out... depending on the pay, and whether or not I could field test potential new equipment, with cutting edge technology, while my employer pays for my next trip to the lake to find dragonflies.
Or maybe you just need a friend whose company really wants to buy a bunch of pictures of dragonflies for whatever... Dude, if I find you that friend do I get to be your agent?

This message is a reply to:
 Message 3 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 7:18 PM Tanypteryx has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 7 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-07-2016 11:02 PM New Cat's Eye has replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


Message 7 of 59 (790917)
09-07-2016 11:02 PM
Reply to: Message 6 by New Cat's Eye
09-07-2016 10:02 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
How'd it go?
I ended up postponing until tomorrow. A urinary infection from a cistiscope bladder check last week.
60 miles round trip.
My wife pointed out that I can only take a limited appointment that limits me to working less than 90 days per year, otherwise I lose my pension and have to pay back all the pension I have already collected for the year. There would be some hassles with insurance also.
What I will probably do is work as a volunteer, that way no one will complain if I want to work on some of my own projects.
Or maybe you just need a friend whose company really wants to buy a bunch of pictures of dragonflies for whatever... Dude, if I find you that friend do I get to be your agent?
Well, that would be pretty cool...let me know if you find someone. I have a fairly nice collection of 16x24 prints.
I am flattered they asked me, but realistically I have a bunch of research projects I'm working on and jt would be silly to take a full time job.

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 6 by New Cat's Eye, posted 09-07-2016 10:02 PM New Cat's Eye has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 8 by Tangle, posted 09-08-2016 2:46 AM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied
 Message 12 by New Cat's Eye, posted 09-08-2016 3:53 PM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 13 by nwr, posted 09-08-2016 8:22 PM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied

  
Tangle
Member
Posts: 9489
From: UK
Joined: 10-07-2011
Member Rating: 4.9


(2)
Message 8 of 59 (790927)
09-08-2016 2:46 AM
Reply to: Message 7 by Tanypteryx
09-07-2016 11:02 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
How about working as a self-employed contractor on a project by project basis, picking those you like and restricting it to 90 days per year. Then work for free for some more if that floats your boat - and gets your hands on there tech.

Je suis Charlie. Je suis Ahmed. Je suis Juif. Je suis Parisien.
Life, don't talk to me about life - Marvin the Paranoid Android
"Science adjusts it's views based on what's observed.
Faith is the denial of observation so that Belief can be preserved."
- Tim Minchin, in his beat poem, Storm.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-07-2016 11:02 PM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied

Replies to this message:
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petrophysics1
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 9 of 59 (790928)
09-08-2016 4:16 AM
Reply to: Message 8 by Tangle
09-08-2016 2:46 AM


Re: Decisions Decisions
You need to be in business. Start a corporation, your old employer hires/contracts with the corporation and sends it a 1099 form of what your company was paid once a year. You make nothing so have no pension problems. Your company gets to write off car and travel expenses, part of the cost of the office at your house, part of the utility bills, and you get to buy neat shit for your business with pretax dollars.
Your old employer doesn't have to fill out any government forms, provide you with health insurance, unemployment insurance and all the other crap "employees" want. This means they will pay you 2-2.5 times what they paid you as an employee. You get this money and spend it as you like.
I have been doing this since 1985, I have a CPA do my taxes, and no problems. To be honest, I see no advantage to being an employee.

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Pressie
Member
Posts: 2103
From: Pretoria, SA
Joined: 06-18-2010


Message 10 of 59 (790934)
09-08-2016 7:58 AM
Reply to: Message 1 by Tanypteryx
09-06-2016 5:43 PM


Tany, it's a hard decision. In my own case, I live around 13 km from work. The money is fine, not spectacular, but the house is paid off and all that.
In my own case, I've been offered work a lot further away from home with much, much more money involved, but I turned it down. That was my decision (with my wonderful wife screaming in my ears!) It's a hard decision, but nobody else can do it for you. Only you.
Good luck to you!

This message is a reply to:
 Message 1 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-06-2016 5:43 PM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied

  
NoNukes
Inactive Member


(2)
Message 11 of 59 (790949)
09-08-2016 3:06 PM
Reply to: Message 9 by petrophysics1
09-08-2016 4:16 AM


Re: Decisions Decisions
You need to be in business. Start a corporation, your old employer hires/contracts with the corporation and sends it a 1099 form of what your company was paid once a year.
I am not making a recommendation for what Tan ought to do with respect to his former employer, but generally speaking, a single professional is probably better off forming an LLC rather than a corporation. The tax and liability treatment is very similar, but the management overhead is much, much less.

Under a government which imprisons any unjustly, the true place for a just man is also in prison. Thoreau: Civil Disobedience (1846)
History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people. Martin Luther King
I never considered a difference of opinion in politics, in religion, in philosophy, as cause for withdrawing from a friend. Thomas Jefferson

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New Cat's Eye
Inactive Member


(1)
Message 12 of 59 (790959)
09-08-2016 3:53 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by Tanypteryx
09-07-2016 11:02 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
I ended up postponing until tomorrow.
How'd it go?
I can only take a limited appointment that limits me to working less than 90 days per year,
Just curious, how's that measured? If you work 1 hour one day, is that you working "a day"? Or is it, like, 720 hours of work (8 hrs/day)?
I am flattered they asked me, but realistically I have a bunch of research projects I'm working on and jt would be silly to take a full time job.
Losing your pension would be even sillier...

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-07-2016 11:02 PM Tanypteryx has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 14 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-08-2016 11:38 PM New Cat's Eye has replied

  
nwr
Member
Posts: 6408
From: Geneva, Illinois
Joined: 08-08-2005
Member Rating: 5.1


(1)
Message 13 of 59 (790980)
09-08-2016 8:22 PM
Reply to: Message 7 by Tanypteryx
09-07-2016 11:02 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
My wife pointed out that I can only take a limited appointment that limits me to working less than 90 days per year, otherwise I lose my pension and have to pay back all the pension I have already collected for the year. There would be some hassles with insurance also.
I was in a similar situation. I could work part time (maybe around 40% time). So I did for several years. That gave me something to keep me busy.
But nobody can decide this for you. It's a matter of how you want to spend your time.
Anyway, best wishes as you make up your mind about this. At least you are in good enough health to be able to consider it.

Fundamentalism - the anti-American, anti-Christian branch of American Christianity

This message is a reply to:
 Message 7 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-07-2016 11:02 PM Tanypteryx has seen this message but not replied

  
Tanypteryx
Member
Posts: 4344
From: Oregon, USA
Joined: 08-27-2006
Member Rating: 5.9


(6)
Message 14 of 59 (790983)
09-08-2016 11:38 PM
Reply to: Message 12 by New Cat's Eye
09-08-2016 3:53 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
How'd it go?
It went well. I had talks with my old boss (would still be), his boss (a new guy) and the division director (promoted from the position the new guy has) and they all want me to come back. The division director is the best boss I ever worked for......he saved our division gobs of money which he then used to upgrade our lab and he bought me all sorts of high end, cutting edge equipment.
When I started working there in 2000 our part of the division was always in the red and the boss was an incompetent and an unqualified academic snob. It was amazing how things turned around when she was gone. The people I worked with were a great bunch of very dedicated scientists and I loved working there.
Just curious, how's that measured? If you work 1 hour one day, is that you working "a day"? Or is it, like, 720 hours of work (8 hrs/day)?
Yep, it is 720 hours, so basically I can work 720 hours between now and the end of the year and the another 720 in 2017, but my wife did some research and she thinks that I might actually be able to work more and it would just suspend my pension until I retired again. Plus, it would build my mention a bit higher. Right now, if I die my pension continues for my wife (and her's for me), but I'm not sure what happens if I die while my pension is suspended.
I am going to accept the job, spent 10 hours working already today. Right now the plan is to learn all I can of the neat stuff that the current guy has developed since I retired and then carry on while they try to find a replacement and then train that person.
When I got home my wife asked me if I would really like to go back to work full time and the truth is, I would. It was an incredibly rewarding job and every day brought new challenges and every day I learned new things.
When I started there the position of Insect Imaging Specialist did not exist. Now there are 2 full time people and 2 support staff and there are almost more imaging projects than they can handle. Lots of the images are used in computer based insect screening aids that are distributed to scientists and technicians at federal and state agencies to help them identify native species, but more importantly exotic invasive species. Global trade means that thousands of non-native species of insects are entering our country and threatening our forests and our agricultural crops. They run training workshops using our screening aids 3 to 4 times a year that fill up within the week they are announced.
Most people don't think about it much, but everything all of us eat is produced by agriculture and there is a continuous battle to keep all sorts of pests from eating it all.
It was a bit stunning to realize how much impact I had made when I worked there and what it has grown into.
Thanks to all who commented and made suggestions.....after I've spent a couple months back on the job I may decide I don't want to continue working full time, but I think I will continue to go in a day or 2 a week even so. I might even earn enough for a new camera body I have been thinking about and also enough for a couple high quality microscope objectives that I really, really need.....~$3000 each.
Anyway, Thanks! You guys are great!
Edited by Tanypteryx, : add important emoticon

What if Eleanor Roosevelt had wings? -- Monty Python
One important characteristic of a theory is that is has survived repeated attempts to falsify it. Contrary to your understanding, all available evidence confirms it. --Subbie
If evolution is shown to be false, it will be at the hands of things that are true, not made up. --percy

This message is a reply to:
 Message 12 by New Cat's Eye, posted 09-08-2016 3:53 PM New Cat's Eye has replied

Replies to this message:
 Message 15 by Coyote, posted 09-08-2016 11:42 PM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 19 by New Cat's Eye, posted 09-09-2016 10:49 AM Tanypteryx has replied
 Message 22 by NoNukes, posted 09-09-2016 12:35 PM Tanypteryx has replied

  
Coyote
Member (Idle past 2105 days)
Posts: 6117
Joined: 01-12-2008


Message 15 of 59 (790984)
09-08-2016 11:42 PM
Reply to: Message 14 by Tanypteryx
09-08-2016 11:38 PM


Re: Decisions Decisions
Good for you!
We're doing science now!

Religious belief does not constitute scientific evidence, nor does it convey scientific knowledge.
Belief gets in the way of learning--Robert A. Heinlein
In the name of diversity, college student demands to be kept in ignorance of the culture that made diversity a value--StultisTheFool
It's not what we don't know that hurts, it's what we know that ain't so--Will Rogers
If I am entitled to something, someone else is obliged to pay--Jerry Pournelle
If a religion's teachings are true, then it should have nothing to fear from science...--dwise1
"Multiculturalism" demands that the US be tolerant of everything except its own past, culture, traditions, and identity.

This message is a reply to:
 Message 14 by Tanypteryx, posted 09-08-2016 11:38 PM Tanypteryx has replied

Replies to this message:
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