Damned if you do, damned if you don't.

[nun]

I've been FIRE'd for almost 2 years, but I still keep an eye out for interesting jobs with the proviso that the commute will be short. In the last couple of weeks I've had two phone interviews and the feedback has been interesting.

The first interview was with a recruiter retained by a company that makes medical equipment who needed an optical engineer/physicist....that's what I am. The feed back was that although my qualifications and experience looked impressive they were worried that I had a lot of publications and so thought I was probably more academically minded rather than commercially.

The second interview was for a more academic position and during the interview one of the "issues" was that I hadn't published since 2011 and that I had spent long periods of time in industry and not in pure research.

I can't really win, can I!

 

[wanaberetiree]

Sure you can, you don't care your FIRE'd !

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

I can't really win, can I!

Uh...you're FIRE'd, right? Then, well, you already WON. I think. I'm confused.

 

[mickeyd]

I can't really win, can I!

Here's how you win~ when they offer you the j*b, advise them that you are insulted by the measly (or choose your own word) offer and hang up.

Lets face it, you weren't going to take it anyway!

 

[nun]

Here's how you win~ when they offer you the j*b, advise them that you are insulted by the measly (or choose your own word) offer and hang up.

Lets face it, you weren't going to take it anyway!

I don't need either job, but I'd take the academic job.

 

[stepford]

What flavor of optical engineer/physicist are you? Sounds a lot like my soon to be former profession.

 

[nun]

What flavor of optical engineer/physicist are you? Sounds a lot like my soon to be former profession.

Started as an astronomer and built adaptive optics systems and echelle spectrographs, big optics, free space. Then did commercial and US military stuff, lots in the UV, and fluorescence microscopy.

 

[stepford]

Started as an astronomer and built adaptive optics systems and echelle spectrographs, big optics, free space. Then did commercial and US military stuff, lots in the UV, and fluorescence microscopy.

Opposite end of the spectrum for me - I'm mostly an IR guy. Maybe we'll meet in the visible sometime.

Getting this back on topic (sort of). I've been offered some post-retirement consulting work and am still trying to figure how much I'd like to pursue it. A particular question is whether I want to maintain my various clearances and continue to do classified work. This would require finding some entity to "hold my clearances". Not sure if this is worth the PITA it will present, but having all those special clearances would certainly keep a lot of doors open - if that's what I really want...

 

[Texas Proud]

Yea, I would love an academic job that I could work part time...

Or, as you said, with a short commute... well, also part time

 

[razztazz]

You're too old. This is just their littel d1ck dance. Now, if you had a green card....

 

[nun]

Opposite end of the spectrum for me - I'm mostly an IR guy. Maybe we'll meet in the visible sometime.

Getting this back on topic (sort of). I've been offered some post-retirement consulting work and am still trying to figure how much I'd like to pursue it. A particular question is whether I want to maintain my various clearances and continue to do classified work. This would require finding some entity to "hold my clearances". Not sure if this is worth the PITA it will present, but having all those special clearances would certainly keep a lot of doors open - if that's what I really want...

Yeah I could get classified work doing directed energy or line of sight communications if I wasn't a dual citizen who wants to keep two passports and as you say keeping/getting the clearances is a PITA. I've done some consulting earlier in the year on a Fabry-Perot instrument and I'm fortunate that I can be very picky and only do things that I want to. Still it's interesting to see how various communities see publication record.

 

[Rosie]

Then did commercial and US military stuff, lots in the UV, and fluorescence microscopy.

Opposite end of the spectrum for me - I'm mostly an IR guy. Maybe we'll meet in the visible sometime.

Good one!

 

[RAE]

It's hard for me to relate to this, I must admit. I've been retired for nearly 6 years now, and the thought of taking another job (any job) makes me shudder. I wouldn't have time for it, for one thing. And having to be somewhere on a certain day, and produce a certain amount of work for someone else is not something I have any desire to do anymore, after having total freedom for the last 6 years. I keep plenty busy, but it is stuff I want to do, when I want to do it.......there is a huge difference.

Best of luck to you if you really want to find a new job, though.

 

[Options]

It's hard for me to relate to this, I must admit. I've been retired for nearly 6 years now, and the thought of taking another job (any job) makes me shudder. I wouldn't have time for it, for one thing. And having to be somewhere on a certain day, and produce a certain amount of work for someone else is not something I have any desire to do anymore, after having total freedom for the last 6 years. I keep plenty busy, but it is stuff I want to do, when I want to do it.......there is a huge difference.

Best of luck to you if you really want to find a new job, though.

+1000
I couldn't have said it better. And I have only been retired 5 months. How did I ever find time to work?

 

[nun]

It's hard for me to relate to this, I must admit. I've been retired for nearly 6 years now, and the thought of taking another job (any job) makes me shudder. I wouldn't have time for it, for one thing. And having to be somewhere on a certain day, and produce a certain amount of work for someone else is not something I have any desire to do anymore, after having total freedom for the last 6 years. I keep plenty busy, but it is stuff I want to do, when I want to do it.......there is a huge difference.

Best of luck to you if you really want to find a new job, though.

I definitely relate to this....the first interview came out of someone seeing my Linkedin profile and I wasn't remotely interested. The second academic job was interesting and I actually applied, a plus was that I could have walked to work. But I did find myself thinking that I'd miss my long bike rides, afternoons at the coffee shop reading and what I actually did this morning.......paint the PVC exterior vent and exhaust piping of my new furnace and scrub oil stains off the basement floor. I like being able to take my time doing that stuff rather than cramming it into a weekend.

 

[Turn_the_Page]

The reality for many jobs is that the decision maker(s) already have their minds made up before they get very far along in the process. Often they've already picked an internal candidate and are just going through the motions to keep HR happy.

I'm a scientist geek also. We always have a knowledge base and skill set that usually can't be easily replicated. So, when you get 'flaky' answers during the interview, walk away, You don't need the hassle. Someone out there needs your skills.

 

[nun]

The reality for many jobs is that the decision maker(s) already have their minds made up before they get very far along in the process. Often they've already picked an internal candidate and are just going through the motions to keep HR happy.

I'm a scientist geek also. We always have a knowledge base and skill set that usually can't be easily replicated. So, when you get 'flaky' answers during the interview, walk away, You don't need the hassle. Someone out there needs your skills.

Yeah, I've been on the other side of the hiring process and know that it's often very hit and miss. I know of places I could work, but they'd involve moving or clearances and as I'm just looking for something fun to do in my field I don't want to go to that much bother.

 

[bclover]

LOL,
this is an old experience but pretty much the same sentiment.

I'm a brown skinned black gal from NYC and the summer of my freshman year in college (early 80's) there was a "casting" call for extras for a movie that was being shot in NYC. Of course I had illusions of grandeur and knew I was going to be the next Lana Turner, greatness discovered while working behind a counter!!

I went to the open audition to be told that I wasn't "Black" enough for that particular scene, but to come back tomorrow.
I dutifully returned the next day only to be told I was "too Black".

I told my best friend the same thing as your last line. I really can't win can I.

I never found out what movie they were shooting.

 

[ExFlyBoy5]

It's hard for me to relate to this, I must admit. I've been retired for nearly 6 years now, and the thought of taking another job (any job) makes me shudder. I wouldn't have time for it, for one thing. And having to be somewhere on a certain day, and produce a certain amount of work for someone else is not something I have any desire to do anymore, after having total freedom for the last 6 years. I keep plenty busy, but it is stuff I want to do, when I want to do it.......there is a huge difference.

Best of luck to you if you really want to find a new job, though.

I too agree with this. It's been a year since I retired and anything that resembles a schedule just irritates me no end. That is one of the biggest issues I have with law school. The information is interesting (mostly) and I enjoy making the synapses fire. But *having* to be in class at a certain time? Yeah, that sucks.