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.