Woo... patience getting rewarded? =O.o=

[wolfwings]

I... well, I just got called by the TSA. =o.O= Not in a bad way, either. It's been just over a year since I applied, pass the screening tests, and was put in the queue for a background test and all that. They just got back to me finally, asking if I was still interested.

I said yes.

If I get the job, I'll have to move down to Tulsa, but that's okay with me, means I'll be far enough south to not worry about any road-salt at all. I just... wow, didn't actually expect to hear back at this point anymore. Glad I answered my phone when I didn't recognize the number. =^.^=

If I get the job, it's GSD pay scale to start... so, $23.6k to $35.4k... I really need to think about this now. =-.-=

Thoughts, folks? I get the feeling it'll be 'now or never' soon for picking what career I'll be doing for the immediate future, should I really look into trucking at this point, should I stick to security work, or should I take the TSA job if I get the chance?

Comments

[lionman.livejournal.com]

If you decided it wasn't for you after a few months, then you could always bale out and go back to what you were up to, couldn't you?

[animecat.livejournal.com]

The TSA pays well and has decent benefits, but it has its drawbacks too. craz_e_coyote, one of our local furs, works for the TSA, and he has put his back and shoulders out several times from lifting baggage. He does screening as well. He gets paid well for what he does, though his hours are sometimes crazy and he rarely gets holidays off, and its hard for him to get time off for cons. All things you need to consider.

Hrm...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

Holidays are a non-issue for me generally, but (relatively) stable hours and being able to get time off without a lot of trouble are semi-requirements for jobs I'll keep for any length of time. Good to know about those obstacles, sounds like TSA wouldn't be for me.

Narrows it down to getting my trucking license, or sticking to security work. Upside of trucking: What rent? Downside of trucking: Mildly unstable income/schedule, or difficulty getting time off sometimes, pick one. But it'd pay more (since I'll make under $20k/year before taxes doing security), and make it could make it relatively easy to stop and visit folks, admitedly on short notice.

Not easilly...

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

...since right now I'm kinda relaxing in a no-man's land where I'm keeping my California residence while working out in KC, since my pay as a security-guard is low enough it comes in under the poverty line in California, so I'll owe no taxes. =^.^=

This job, I'd have to actually move my residence to Oklahoma within 90 days from what I've read, which would mean suddenly I'd have to pay for my own insurance, shift my vehicle over most likely, and numerous other things that right now I don't need to do, and wouldn't need to do if I went Trucking either since I could just pack most of it back to California anyways.

Between that, and the problems animecat mentioned, I don't know of the upsides (better benefits/health coverage, and a few more grand a year) are worth the downsides (more costs, harder to use the financial redundancy-nets my family has developed over the years, harder to get time off to visit folks, etc) at this point.

Re: Not easilly...

[lionman.livejournal.com]

Well, the problems are noted.

It's a different way of life, having a job and some stable way of doing things, regular paychecks, insurance, healthcare, rent, etc. But, it's generally how life goes as you grow up and get older. For better, or for worse, alas!

[lironess.livejournal.com]

You are young enough to try all three as long as you try TSA last, as I hear many stories of people getting hurt while lugging suitcases.

Does the travel and see the country, but not your friends much appeal to you? I hear it gets awfully lonely.

How secure is security? Never did it don't know.

I would try them all if I was you. And stick with the one that you love the most.

[prismo.livejournal.com]

Well, I think Tulsa is pretty close to me, here, so I say yes! :D

[shabm.livejournal.com]

Trucking isn't exactly the most stable of careers, especially if (when) the cost of gas rises enough to make it impractical (between 2 and 5 6 years) and automated driving systems become commonplace enough to replace truckers (anywhere between 5 and 20 years).

Security work is alright... but government benefits! Plus, the fact that the TSA is essentially a nationwide employer; if you ever feel like moving somewhere else, you could just poke your beak into whatever you felt would be a nicer place to live.

[shabm.livejournal.com]

I meant to replace '5' with '6', not turn it into '56'... -_-;)

I actually doubt the cost of gas will get that high anytime soon.

[wolfwings.livejournal.com]

And it's for a physically simple reason: Once they get to and stay above about $80-$85/barrel, the United States will suddenly become the new oil barons for the world thanks to shale oil. We already have most of the refinery equiment in place thanks to the oil crisis of the 70's, but it's all shut down because it's too expensive to run until the price of crude stays above $80-$85, perhaps as high as $95/barrel for some sections of the known reserves from some estimates Wikipedia cites.

Between that, and cellulosic ethanol we'll be good for quite a while yet.

As for automated driving systems... that I actually do see possibly being an issue, but to be honest by that point we'll have a LOT more things automated in a lot of other fields, IMHO, and I still see them paying people to 'sit in the cab' just in case something goes wrong.

And from experience talking to folks that do trucking, I just don't see most cargo companies moving to any form of automated driver when they have (literally) hundreds of millions of dollars of rigs that aren't likely to be able to be retrofit, and that have an expected service life measured in decades. There's big-rigs on the road that have been in service for over 40 years, and still have the original engine and tranny in them. I wouldn't be surprised if 'automated' vehicles end up disallowed except on special roads/lanes just for them, so the majority of the roads will still need manual drivers for quite some time yet. Automated truck in downtown San Francisco, for example? Not bloody likely. =^.^=

[avenginglioness.livejournal.com]

The TSA offers good pay + benefits. I know several people who work TSA and they really love their jobs. :)

[morganhillchris.livejournal.com]

IMHO, based on a lifetime of hard knocks & missed opportunities... TAKE IT! Yeah the pay's low to start, but consider the following:
1) It's cheap to like in Tulsa
2) You'll be getting your foot in the door. You can move within the system once you're there.
3) You'll be working your way up the pay scale.
4) From what I understand,it's Civil Service with Federal Employee benefits & retirement benefits.
It's the last that's the best. You'll be hard pressed to find a 20+ year job today, with great benefits & vacation time. Besides, you can always keep doing what you like on the side.
Trucking's fine - in the short term - however, do you want to be doing it for the rest of your life? You can always go to it if you decide to do something other than TSA, after you've tried it.