11-14-2015, 11:13 AM
I made a site visit to my new place of employment and it was very interesting.
First off, I noticed that the 5 other guys in my department are not busting their a$$ for a full 8 hour day. To put it kindly, the work pace was leisurely.
I'm sure there are times when they could be busting a leg for a full shift but nobody mentioned that the day I visited was out of the ordinary. When I asked if there was any reason I couldn't stay after hours for a bit to learn how the production process works, they stared at me like I had a third eye.
That's not to say the job won't be strenuous at times and it's a dirty and dangerous place to work. Dodging forklifts, cranes and high speed production machinery took up a good part of the time on my plant tour. I thought it was humorous that eye protection and hard hats were almost non-existent on the production floor and I didn't see any areas with 120 degree (F) temperatures with no air movement like I had in my job many years ago.
I think it's going to be a culture shock.
While I was away, the employment paperwork arrived in a 3/4" thick FedEx envelope. Of course, 1/2" of it was the obligatory employee manual, state and Federal required notifications and colorful brochures. Then I started looking through the benefit forms. Health insurance at much better coverage and cost than I could ever get on the consumer market - unbelievable! All the other stuff was included such vacation, disability, etc.
Then I got to the 401(K) paperwork. My selections included the smattering of Fidelity funds, a couple Invesco funds and some TROW target date funds. No mention of a self-directed brokerage account.
Of course I'm going to take advantage of it. That 100% match on the first 4% of contributions and 50% on the next 2 percent is nothing to sneeze at. I guess when I retire I can roll it over into my "real" retirement account but then I have to invest it. In the meantime, I now have to research a bunch of funds to find out which would fit my dividend growth philosophy and temperament.
First off, I noticed that the 5 other guys in my department are not busting their a$$ for a full 8 hour day. To put it kindly, the work pace was leisurely.
I'm sure there are times when they could be busting a leg for a full shift but nobody mentioned that the day I visited was out of the ordinary. When I asked if there was any reason I couldn't stay after hours for a bit to learn how the production process works, they stared at me like I had a third eye. That's not to say the job won't be strenuous at times and it's a dirty and dangerous place to work. Dodging forklifts, cranes and high speed production machinery took up a good part of the time on my plant tour. I thought it was humorous that eye protection and hard hats were almost non-existent on the production floor and I didn't see any areas with 120 degree (F) temperatures with no air movement like I had in my job many years ago.
I think it's going to be a culture shock.
While I was away, the employment paperwork arrived in a 3/4" thick FedEx envelope. Of course, 1/2" of it was the obligatory employee manual, state and Federal required notifications and colorful brochures. Then I started looking through the benefit forms. Health insurance at much better coverage and cost than I could ever get on the consumer market - unbelievable! All the other stuff was included such vacation, disability, etc.
Then I got to the 401(K) paperwork. My selections included the smattering of Fidelity funds, a couple Invesco funds and some TROW target date funds. No mention of a self-directed brokerage account.
Of course I'm going to take advantage of it. That 100% match on the first 4% of contributions and 50% on the next 2 percent is nothing to sneeze at. I guess when I retire I can roll it over into my "real" retirement account but then I have to invest it. In the meantime, I now have to research a bunch of funds to find out which would fit my dividend growth philosophy and temperament.
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“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan
“While the dividend itself is merely a rearrangement of equity, over time it's more like owning an apple tree. The tree grows the apples back again and again and again, and the theoretical value of the tree doesn't change just because of when the apples are about to fall.” - earthtodan