Life Changing Event

I received an interview invite for Norfolk Southern train conductor for Fri 23rd.  If I am hired it will be on-call 40+ hrs a week $65k/yr plus O/T.  My brother inlaw is interviewing with them again on the same day.  If hired there is a one day orientation in Fort Wayne, IN and then 3 weeks training in a classroom in GA with 4 mos training with another conductor locally.  Training pay is $600 week which will be a $2+ an hr raise over what I make now when comparing it to 40 hrs  At the moment Wal-mart is cutting our hrs to 34-35 week so its an even better increase.  NS Corp forces conductors to promote to engineer which breaks six figures!

In everything there is the pro side of much more $, buy a house someday, better benefits, great retirement, etc.  Downside is on-call anytime with stayovers in other cities between shifts would make my involvement in RR difficult or impossible.  Being the point man for coordinating my outpost I feel it may fade away as well with the new coed Discovery Land ministry in the 7-8:30pm timeslot.  The only other cmdr I have has a rotating schedule where he  is out on Weds every third month.  

I need a lot of prayers for success in work and ministry.  I've been with my store 8 yrs  come July 5 its time for a Big Break.

Dan. You will enjoy the benefits of higher pay and that ot. IT does have it's draw backs. My 36 years of it I consider it a blessing.

As I mentioned to you earlier, if this is God's plan then it will ALL work out. It may not work out the way you think it should at first, but you'll see when it's all over that it did.

Maybe you'll still end up being able to stay very active in RR. Maybe you won't be as active and God is wanting to call someone else up to an active role in ministry that hasn't done so yet. Maybe you can't do it at all and the outpost dissolves... I know that last one sounds horrible to us commanders and we all want to yell out "Get thee behind me satan!", but you just never know what God's got. We only see such a small sliver of the plan, but He has the whole big picture.

Bottom line?

James 4:13-15
13 Come now, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go into such and such a town and spend a year there and trade and make a profit”— 14 yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes. 15 Instead you ought to say, “If the Lord wills, we will live and do this or that.”

Yes, and who knows if this job has come at the right time for me and the church has a combined coed program maybe signs God is moving me or the church or both other directions. One thing is for sure my church is done with M'ettes.

Mark, definitely will be a blessing. I hear the pension pays more retired than we are paid working plus max out 401k its not unheard of for guys to gross $7-8k per month. Sounds nuts but thats what I'm hearing.

I've been told in order to sell myself during the interview is focus on safety, enjoyment of the outdoors, and love of travel. I think my Royal Rangers experiences might be good for the enjoyment of the outdoors part.

The hardest part of these jobs is getting them. The first 10 years will be hard as you will be on the bottom of the list therefore getting little to no pick on your time off. After some years pass you will find it manageable and then in the later years...you really get appreciation for that first pick on vacation, schedule and overtime offerings. It's nice!

Even with me often working 6 days a week and some 10 hour days in there. I still manage to take Rangers places and with God's help be a blessing.
Mark Jones

If you put money in a 401K and I recommend that you do put as much in it as you can. It adds up. I dont' know anyone that is pulling 8K a month from pensions or 401ks but 4k a month is very do able.

I could retire right now but with out Social Security(I am too young) I would take a cut in pay and no more OT would really dampen my RR activities as it's all ran off of my OT.

I will most likely work till I can draw Social Security. Looking like 62 ..that's only 6 years.....yikes!

Mark Jones

The 8k figure was a combined pension + 401k but with my brother inlaw I take most of what he says with a grain of salt.

I guess I'm worried cause there is only two lifers in my outpost including myself. I don't have a handful of guys to fall back on. If its the Lord's Will it'll happen. If Royal Rangers fades away it maybe the Lord's Will too.

It's God's ministry we are in. Even though when we leave a position there is always a hole left there. Yet just as Phil said God's plan is above ours.

I have seen Pastors leave a rompin stompin church and a year later it's barely able to pay the bills. Yet in that process of rebuilding God can take the things we consider a tragedy and make it come out good.

As far as the money goes. There are folks I work with that have the first nickel they ever earned. GRIN! Yet in that stack of money sky high they have played the fools game because after they die...they can't take it with them. Yet when we invest in God's Plans we are promised a great reward.

There is nothing wrong with living comfy. Nothing wrong with a new car. Just don't let that money become a trap or a way of life. Percentage wise...there will be more rich folk in hell then there will be pour folk. The love of money will take one down a bad road for sure. So be careful!

Good advice Mark.

I just received a call from Norfolk Southern to schedule my interview Fri at 8:45am at the same hotel as last session. Need you guys prayers!

In regard to pensions the HR guy said you get a pension check and your spouse gets one too. He gave an example for instance you might receive $4k and your spouse will get a check equal to 50% of yours which would be $2k. Total $6k plus 401k would make for a comfortable retirement.

Today my inbox has an invite to a testing Interview session at Great Wolf Lodge in Sandusky, OH for the Bellevue terminal for next Wed. I just happen to have off. I'll go fri for the Cleveland interview and if they don't give me a conditional offer by Tues I will attend the Bellevue session on Wed. Which doesn't mean I won't be hired at the Cleveland terminal just gives me two shots at a conductor job at one of the terminals. Hoping for Cle terminal as its 30 mins instead of 45 mins away.

I got a rejection letter from the Cleveland terminal Sun.

I went to the Bellevue testing & interview session this morning. Out of 37 only 20 returned based on their test scores. It surprises me how some people dress for an interview with a Fortune 500 company. Cut-up jeans and a superman logo tee shirt is not what the invite asked for. Going ABC order I was the first interview. Its amazing how people have this perception that Walmart has highly paid management and moving up is thought to be easy. Asst Mgrs make $38k yr. Even Co-Store Mgrs are around $60k. Conductors and engineers make as much or more than my stor mgr. When you think of store mgrs there is only per store not too many to go around. Anyway management is not my calling. I haven't got a rejection email yet but hopefully get an offer instead.

Praying for you.

Mark Jones

Thank you.