I don't think I would change a thing .... I have liked every job I have done so far ....
but, I sometimes think about if I had gone into the Armed Forces when I had left school ..... you used to be able to retire when you turned 40 or something on a pension for the rest of your life .... as well as get another job if you wanted to ..... (this takes on more meaning when you are more than 40 years old ....)
I also now see the benefits of being in a Government paid job or Big Company Jobs where you don't have worry about getting paid all your superannuation, & job entitlements etc ....
I also think about if I had followed mining company work (anything from a Dump Truck driver, to a Welder, Fitter, Engineer etc ..... to a floor sweeper .... it all paid huge money) & would mean a very good lifestyle with big houses & cars & boats & any toys you wanted ..... as well as a huge superannuation fund at the end
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I'm glad I didn't end up with the jobs I applied for after finishing school. Telecom exchange tech (2nd in line for the state) - exchanges are now basically unmanned tombs; tech at TV station - station has become essentially a sales office with all tech roles gone / moved thousands of km away.
Manwhore (03-12-15)
I started out as an apprentice panel beater and spray painter, got my ticket then quit, the fumes were killing me, from there a lot of truck driving around the state for Ipec, then I went onto mechanics for 5 years, then bought a cafe which near sent me broke, then back on the tools as a marine mechanic but couldnt stand the other prick in the workshop so quit, 3 years now back at mechanics working from my shed at home and its the happiest ive been in a long time I dont think i'll stop doing mechanical work as I really enjoy working with my hands and seeing happy customers when they get their cars back all fixed
Like I think I have said to you GZ, I joined at 48, fitness was a worry for me and I actually did the whole test with a torn calf muscle. i was that determined NOT to fail I just pushed through the pain.
I focused on the whole task at hand from decision to join and walking through the academy gates. absolutely the best thing I have ever done in my entire life.
Dont let age or ability stop you, age is just a number and ability can be learnt, taught and achieved if you put your mind to it.
Even fitness can be improved. I started small interval runs, built upto more and more, although I get extremely bored running a 5 - 6 K run for a nearly 53 yo bugger is no problem
Actually, in VicPol, a yearly fitness test is a condition of employment in this new age and I totally agree with it. It will force me to maintain a level of fitness into my older life.
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Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!
Yes, VicPol is having a huge changing of the guard in recent years.
A lot of older long serving members (from the old mentality) are all retiring.
And young (too young) members are climbing the ranks to senior positions.
I think VicPol like this, as they want the "New School" training to take hold.
A lot of older and possibly heavier members nearing retirement they just let slide now, no point getting them to conform when they will be soon leaving.
I guess as mentioned by others... its not just you that change jobs, sometimes jobs change too.
Like others, I'd also considered work in the mines.
But its really not that attractive.
Did a stint in the Wind Turbines.
Ok money, but its noisy industrial type work, with a big company mentality.
Not much fun being locked up in a metal box on a 35degree day with hot motors all around you.
And when you need a poo, you have to do it in a plastic bag and lower it down.
Last edited by ol' boy; 29-11-15 at 07:15 AM.
If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!
Manwhore (03-12-15)
Well on the subject.
Does anyone know if you can apply and be accepted to VicPol if you have been inside before?
A friend was in Goulburn Jail 20+ ago for a drunken burg on a car radio shop.
He started the process, and all the info you need to provide is pretty intense.
Plus the back checks etc.
He went off the idea, and i think he was told on the quite, he wouldn't stand much chance of getting in.
Last edited by ol' boy; 29-11-15 at 09:15 AM.
If u want to go on an expedition get a Land Rover, if u want to come home from an expedition get a Landcruiser!
That is true .... (I went for the jobs that made me happy too)
Ten years ago I heard the coal mines in the hunter valley had to employ a quota of 30% women in some areas (as well as other quotas like for Aboriginal people etc) ...
& I have met a few women who tried it & didn't like it too ....
but I think if the women are there long enough they will demand better conditions for themselves anyway ....
The money is the compensation to get people to go there .... (obviously)
my brother in law worked on offshore Oil platforms etc .... & he was making $1800 a day a few years ago .... & he also demanded Australian dollars when it was higher than the U.S dollar & demanded to be paid in U.S. dollars when the U.S. dollar was worth more than ours
Lots of my relations have worked in the mines all their lives, & one of them took it a step further & became a contractor to the mines doing shut down work (on Drag lines etc...) & he then took it another step further & became his own business supplying services to the mines employing over 100 people .... he then sold his Company (but kept his buildings & land & continued to rent it) for a reported 20 million dollars about 10 years ago when he was in his 40's
My relations who work in the mines have mostly got huge houses, new cars, collector cars, Harley Davidson Motorcycles, Motor homes or Caravans, & everything else that opens & shuts, & the wife regularly changes all the furniture in the house
The mines usually want young physically fit people who may be willing to put up with smelly coal dust all day & get dirty & work long hours & work shift work .....
& it is true this may not suit all people .....
Last edited by OSIRUS; 29-11-15 at 09:59 AM.
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mhhhh. its a touchy subject.
I had been a bad teenager, not too bad but had been before the magistrate for a minor matter......... move forward 30 yrs........they bought it up at every stage of the process. Asked about it and what it taught me. I was employed none the less. I had not been in trouble, except for traffic matters, since.
So its on individual merits and your record since that has weight.
It is also a matter of full disclosure, they want to know EVERYTHING about you, because they already know EVERYTHING about you and are testing YOU and YOUR honesty and integrity!!!
Last edited by porkop; 29-11-15 at 10:06 AM.
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Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!
continuing with the threat theme,
I also tried for the Army when 17. Wanted to do electronics. When right through the process including final interview.
Had been a naughty boy and they wouldn't take me while on a good behavior bond.
Like all 17 yo know it all's, I thumbed my nose and say your loss.
Several months later I received a call from recruiting saying they had reconsidered my application and they would take me and I could do electronics but I said NO.
Probably one of those fork in the road moments in life where I should have gone left but I went right.
Moral, it was actually my loss, but i most probably wouldn't be where I am now with what I have from the right turn.
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Statistically, if you wait long enough, everything will happen!
Godzilla (29-11-15),LeroyPatrol (29-11-15),ol' boy (29-11-15),OSIRUS (29-11-15)
It does not say they wont take you but you need to disclose everything, even while being in the force....
@ Rick, yep ciggies is the number 1 factor effecting me too.
A good excuse to give them up and start getting healthy again, im sure some slow bike riding progressing to longer rides wont hurt to open the lungs again, even if you dont get in, you can try, it will only help your health.
LeroyPatrol (29-11-15),Manwhore (03-12-15),OSIRUS (29-11-15)
Godzilla, It seems having a Trade and working in it will get you accepted in most jobs even though your trade has nothing to do with the new job.
2 Bro-in-Laws (one a Butcher the other a Baker ((NO candlemaker!!!) never seemed to have problems getting work in anything but their Trades over the years.
I think many employers view the certificate as a sign of stability and ability to learn.
Although I have never been underground, I have been around 20,000 tonne mounds of freshly mined Coal and never smelt a thing and I have never heard several relatives who were or are still in the Coal Mines say anything about any smells but rather the dust which they strictly control because of it being a Fire Hazard and dangerous to your lungs.
None of the Mines here have much Methane like the Wollongong area do so maybe it has an odor or smell.
I stand unequivicably behind everything I say , I just dont ever remember saying it !!
My 2nd youngest son, has always wanted to be a copper ever since I remember but never followed it through till recently, he has acquired all the paperwork to join up, and is waiting on a response, he should do well, he was a volunteer firefighter for 6 years and won junior firefighter of the year 2 years running, ive got my fingers crossed and hope he gets in
I wanted to be a cop when young, that changed when was beaten up by various cops for running away constantly. Since have seen cops as egocentric bullies and they reinforce that each time I talk to them or see them socialise, which sadly has been often in some of my roles in life.
One thing I have learnt in my working life. "If it ain't fun, I ain't gonna do it any more". That does not mean I shy away from difficult tasks because they are hard, but it does mean that I've never stayed in a job that has no potential to improve. Speaking of fork in the road, I took a voluntary redundancy from Telecom back in the 90s, had I stayed, I may well have gone a lot further with my computer expertise than I subsequently did, but, I have also learned; "NO REGRETS". Regardless of the things you have done, or not done, it has brought you to the here and now. Learn from your past and resolve to ensure that your future is going to be better. If Sh*t happens, and it will, make fertilizer!!!!!!!
I'm out of my mind, but feel free to leave a message...
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