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I'm an engineer and the my sig-other is in Insurance...at least one of us should be employed at anytime. But even as an engineer, I've tried to keep my bag of tricks as broad as possible. I've worked with guys who have been in the same job for the last 20+ years, and when that hammer of mergers and acquisition hits..guess who got fired and who stayed? I started my professional career when the fat companies where just starting to trim the perks and benefits and degrading loyalties, so I learned quickly that I couldn't count on the company. I changed jobs every 2-3 years and picked up a variety of skills while keeping sharp on some of the key ones. I'm on my third (could be fourth really) job since graduating from college, and I'm making more money than if I had stayed at my first company for 20+ years. So keep mobile and be prepared to move. Every move should come with a 10-20% pay raise, not likely to come with your annual merit raise at the company you are at!
If all else fails, I'm not opposed to manual labor, but maintaining your "stock" in any company should help prevent that. Instead of working at the multiply stream...I like to think I'm doing it on the job. Is that confusing? Companies will pay to train you, but who said you have to choose training that is specific to your job....think about applying it to a different job?
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