I have 3 jobs. First is an Aircraft Welder/Machinist. I work civil service as an Air Reserve Technician for the Air Force (8 years). Second is the same job but as an Air Force Reservist (10 years). Same job, different rank structure, different paychecks. Probably 70 percent of the work we do is related to the ground equipment repair/manufacture and tool manufacturing for the back shops. Only about 30 percent of the work we do here is on the Aircraft, parts for the Aircraft or came off the Aircraft to work in the shop. Occasionally we get dispached to the flightline where we precision measure dents, scratches, cracks etc. We also are the last resort in removing stuck/broken fasteners and related hardware. I am AF certified to weld steel, stainless steel, aluminum, magnesium, cobalt and inconel. I have the job all maintainers want. It's a cool job. I get to work with alot of cool machinery and get creative from time to time but I do get a little bored at times. Family life is good. I work M-F and one weekend a month. I've only been deployed 3 months out of the 10 years I've been in. I like my job and the pay/benefits are good but I'm always looking for something better/different. Problem is anything I'm interested needs tons of schooling and/or starts at far less than I make now. I'm often less than thrilled about working for a government that has a proven track record of not knowing how to handle money with the latest example having to be furloughed 1 day a week till October and possibly into the next fiscal year.
My third job is my small side business building/designing offroad truck parts and cnc plasma cutting.
My wifes uncle is retired Murrieta PD. Her dad is a Captian in the Sherrifs Dept and brother is a Deputy. My brother in law likes the job but is tired of the politics. He's been in 5 or 6 years. All three have recommended I join. I've seriously thought about it several times but I feel I can have a better family life where I'm at.
