Got a new job! Very cool place!!

[IROC]

I just turned in my notice at a company where I have worked for almost 19 years (McDonnell Douglas/Boeing). Kinda scary. Luckily, I have been hired for what - for me, anyway - is just about the coolest job ever. It's at a facility that has been called "the world's largest science project". I'll be working at Oak Ridge National Laboratory in East Tennessee at a place called the Spallation Neutron Source.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Ridge_National_Laboratory

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spallation_Neutron_Source

Any Pelicans in the Knoxville area? I already plan to make regular trips to Air Cooled Classics and pester Don there. Hmmm...I'll be pretty close to the Tail of the Dragon also....

[Rusty Heap]

Not to fear, there IS life after Boeing...........just left there last fall after a 20 year stint.......

Good luck on your new job!

I just applied for being a scuba dive instructor on a Caribbean island......heh heh, so much for living life in a cubical clicking a mouse all day.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Rusty Heap

Not to fear, there IS life after Boeing...........just left there last fall after a 20 year stint.......

Good luck on your new job!

I just applied for being a scuba dive instructor on a Caribbean island......heh heh, so much for living life in a cubical clicking a mouse all day.

OK, scuba dive instructor beats making neutrons. 20 years, huh? Wow. Felt weird, didn't it?

[Tishabet]

Very cool!

My brother works at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore and loves it, hope you have a great time at the Spallation Neutron Source.

[MichiganMat]

Get a real job, hippie.

but seriously, it sounds damn cool.

[Hugh R]

I went to high school in Oak Ridge. Its changed, but still not that big a town. Haven't lived there in over 30 years. Look at property along the Clinch River.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Hugh R

I went to high school in Oak Ridge. Its changed, but still not that big a town. Haven't lived there in over 30 years. Look at property along the Clinch River.

How 'bout that! Funny, but we have looked at some property there - just on the outskirts of Oak Ridge on the west side.

And yeah, Oak Ridge hasn't changed much.

[masraum]

Very cool, I suspect you may want to start wearing a lead codpiece. Just in case...

[IROC]

Originally Posted by masraum

Very cool, I suspect you may want to start wearing a lead codpiece. Just in case...

Got fitted for it last week.

[nostatic]

just check the paint on the walls in the labs for cracking. And when you repaint, used lead-based paint.

[kstar]

Very cool, Mike! Congratulations!

Best,

Kurt

[livi]

Congrats Mike!!

I always figured you for a sharp kid. Best of luck, buddy!

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Tishabet

Very cool!

My brother works at the National Ignition Facility (NIF) at Lawrence Livermore and loves it, hope you have a great time at the Spallation Neutron Source.

This NIF facility looks very cool also. One thing that blew me away about the Spallation Neutron Source facility is how freakin' high tech all of this stuff is. I've worked in the aerospace industry for a long time and thought I had seen some neat stuff, but it is truly amazing what some of the brightest minds in the world today are capable of. These new facilities (like the NIF and SNS) are just unbelievable. It's a shame the general public isn't aware (or really even cares) about the incredible research and development that is going on all around them. Truly amazing things are happening.

Check out this picture from the NIF:

[Jeff Higgins]

Sounds like your prayers have been answered.

Congratulations, and good luck in your new job. I sometimes envy guys like you (I'm a 25 year McBoeing employee...)

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Sounds like your prayers have been answered.

Congratulations, and good luck in your new job. I sometimes envy guys like you (I'm a 25 year McBoeing employee...)

Prayers!

Yeah, it was a hard decision to leave Boeing as I essentially have it made here (pay, job security, get to work on fun stuff) but I needed to get back closer to my family and it was just time to go. It was very eerie going into TotalAccess and clicking some buttons...

[Seahawk]

My father just moved to Loudin, TN, south of Knoxville. Very pretty area...I stopped in for a visit after I ran the Dragon last November!

He consults quite a bit at Oak Ridge. He was the head of the Savannah River Nuke Facility in South Carolina for many years and with the renewed interest in nuke power his skills are in demand.

Congrats on the new job!

[Jeff Higgins]

Originally Posted by IROC

Prayers!

Yeah, it was a hard decision to leave Boeing as I essentially have it made here (pay, job security, get to work on fun stuff) but I needed to get back closer to my family and it was just time to go. It was very eerie going into TotalAccess and clicking some buttons...

Yup, that just has to be weird. As brave as I have ever gotten was to go into Jobs @ Boeing. I changed jobs (internally) a few years back, going from interiors to AOG. I'm having a lot of fun here; it's literally an on-going Chinese fire drill. Have you seen the BA 777 at Heathrow this morning? We're pulling together a survey team right now...

I don't know what I'll do if this ever gets old. Don't think I'm brave enough to start hitting those Total Access buttons... My hat is off to you.

[IROC]

Originally Posted by Jeff Higgins

Yup, that just has to be weird. As brave as I have ever gotten was to go into Jobs @ Boeing. I changed jobs (internally) a few years back, going from interiors to AOG. I'm having a lot of fun here; it's literally an on-going Chinese fire drill. Have you seen the BA 777 at Heathrow this morning? We're pulling together a survey team right now...

I don't know what I'll do if this ever gets old. Don't think I'm brave enough to start hitting those Total Access buttons... My hat is off to you.

AOG would be a blast. I know a guy who did that for awhile (Brad Henriksen) and he loved it. Put him in weird places on the spur of the moment, though.

[Jeff Higgins]

AOG is where I really learned to pray...