Excellent question. I searched around and also asked a bunch of people this very question. When I was 19 I joined a "High-Tech" firm (SEH-America) at an entry level position. We're the worlds largest supplier of silicon wafers. I have always worked 2 on 2 off, 12 hr shifts. Now they call me a Supervisor of our Crystal Growing dept and with 16 yrs in, I get 10 weeks paid vacation every year until I hit the 20 yr mark and then I'll get 12 weeks off a year. This all adds up to working <154 days/year. Great benes', 401K match up to 5% and pay from 50K-100K. Some of the guys with all this time off either hold down small businesses of their own or sit around and have heart attacks. Some, like me, fish until the wife reminds them that they're married too.
Other options I considered were being a Firefighter. After volunteering for 5 years and having many friends that are career FFs I realized that the pay sucks, especially for what they do and their expected life expectancy. If I were Pres I would increase the pay for FFs, Teachers and Police. Vote YES when levys come up in your areas. I'm rambling. Just my $.02.
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[This message has been edited by Extreme (edited 07-31-2000).]