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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2007 18:20:46 GMT -5
Montana is full of those guys, MM. Not all of them are the Unibomber-types, either. At least, I know Missoula to be a magnet for guys with impressive academic credentials that have decided to go a different way.
I don't know how they'd work as employees, or anything. Otherwise, I'd reserve judgment, guys. I see nothing at all unusual about pursuing a career, and abruptly changing course when it gets on your nerves. A lot of us have done that, I suspect.
Heck, there's some fine schools graduating thousands of very intellegent students every year. Some of them may chase the buck for a few years, then figure they'd rather be subsistance farming and fly-fishing in Montana. Most of us know a few phd's that are driving a truc k or operating a hunting lodge somewhere. Or, waiting tables to support a ski habit in utah. That's what america is all about. Some of our western states were settled by white folks that just wanted to get the hell off the east coast, or out of the flat farmlands of the midwest. They never really did stop coming.
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Post by Jawbone on Feb 21, 2007 19:01:06 GMT -5
I was in need of a surveyors assistant several years ago (non-union) for about $20 an hour. This guy I interviewed had an engineering degree from MIT and an MS in mathmatics at UCB. I was over-joyed. Finally someone to sit at the computer and not mess stuff up. During the interview we got into an argument about field proceedures. Not that I'm a superman, but he pulled my cape. He didn't get the job. I hired a twenty year old just out of junior college. People are funny. It was like I could see a part of him that he couldn't see himself. A very important part.
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Post by Deleted on Feb 21, 2007 19:53:58 GMT -5
This reminds me of Howard Roark, the principle character in "The Fountainhead". He was a 'top-notched' architect who refused to compromise his personal standards and maintained his right to design the innovative styled buildings that seemed to be "unacceptable" to the established conventional world of designers and critics of his time. His determination to stick to his principles lead him to work as a day laborer in a stone quarry.
I've known many people who left the profession for which they were most qualified for work that they either found more satisfying or less complicated by rules, regulations, or "company politics". I once knew a man who had a law degree and was very successful in his practice in Nashville but for some reason chose to live in a shack in the country while trapping for furs. I never asked about his decision but it was obvious that he was much happier as a trapper than as an attorney. I've had jobs that were more financially rewarding and for which I'm more qualified but I wouldn't go back to those jobs if they tripled my salary. I could see where woodworking, farming, etc. would offer more job satisfaction than a high tech, high paying (probably high stress as well) job.
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Post by Cornflake on Feb 21, 2007 23:02:22 GMT -5
This thread was thought-provoking for me. At one time I would have said vehemently that I longed for the simple life. Now I realize I don't, except on recreational jaunts. I guess I learned to like the complicated life. I like solving problems and more complicated problems are more fun to solve than simple ones.
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Post by Jawbone on Feb 21, 2007 23:12:46 GMT -5
Is there really a simple life. Does anyone get outta here easy?
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Post by Jawbone on Feb 21, 2007 23:13:49 GMT -5
We all pay dues of life
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Post by Jawbone on Feb 21, 2007 23:16:29 GMT -5
Dang it, what button do I press for 'Song Writing'?
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Post by Cornflake on Feb 21, 2007 23:18:06 GMT -5
Go to the bottom and look for "Forum Jump." Songwriting is in there. It has missed you.
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Post by timfarney on Feb 22, 2007 6:33:30 GMT -5
Sure we do, and in that sense there's no such thing as a simple life. Tragedy and trouble can come to anyone. And there's nothing simple about being truly poor, about not having enough to get by. But Lord knows many of us who could easily have more than enough complicate our lives by insisting on having much more than we need. And I'm not just talking about material possessions. I don't think they're even at the top of the list. Control is way up there. So is love. These things that we grasp for, hunger for, can't get enough of...they make life too complicated, even when it could be simple. Long after the dues are paid. Tim
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Post by guitone on Feb 22, 2007 7:10:32 GMT -5
I changed careers as well but not as drastic as this guy. I wish him luck, maybe you are the opportunity (I mean in a good way) that he needs.
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