[DaMadman]

I am going to throw this out there and say my peace and Wolvie and anyone else can take it for what it is worth. Could be nothing or could be a lot.

I started straight out of high school/vo-tech with an electronics company, building and testing military electronics, worked there for 7 years and got layed off. Couple different reasons behind it, one the company was growing way too fast, went from a small family type atmosphere to a big huge too much to do an no time to do it corporation Quick, and I wasnt fitting in. I was still working under the Small family plan and I was young and dumb and came to work everyday and did my job but I showed up hung over a lot and partied every free minute... Out the door not a minute late. Anyway I got layed of from a very good paying job was making over $11 an hour back in late 80's early 90's.

Went from there into contruction and floated from doing Sprinkler work (fire protection) to framing houses for a few years, Quit one place (too far to drive) got laid off from one place (not enough work) and was working for another place when I got hurt and broke my back (went a year out of work on injury) couldn't return to work in construction so i went back to work in electronics..... Different company, no partying this time and never came in hung over and I can tell you that If someone (higher up) asked me to do something I did it and in the Few months I spent at that company I got left in charge of the whole production area many more than times than I can count. Other people that had been there for years were pissed about it, but I was told I got the important stuff to do because If someone asked me to do something it got done, others in the company would tell the production manager flat out, they didn't know how, or that wasn't what they were "supposed to do" or some other lame assed excuse. I also got paid premium wage at that company a lot more than people that had been there a lot longer (there were 2 pay scale, standard and premium) Well I got the premium work and the premium pay and others didn't because I was easy to get along with.

I left that company to go to work for the gov't and they begged me not to leave and eventually invited me to run the night shift for them and I did that too after I got off from the Gov't Job.

Well the gov't job is another story. I started out as a grade 3
pee-on in the copy center, making copies Alll Day long. But I applied for anything I thought I had a shot at doing. I've been here at the Gov't for 6 going on 7 years and for the past 3 years going on 4 I have been a IT specialist and am now a GS-7 getting ready to make my GS-9 and just a couple days ago got an award for $1700 because I do a good job and my boss and her boss and his boss notices
I have no formal IT training before getting in the Gov't and very little after I got here but I took an interest and MOST IMPORTANT KEPT A POSITIVE ATTITUDE and everyone noticed and someone Higher up got the word.
So Lemme sum it up for ya. You can't get mad and quit every time you don't like your supervisor, you can't carry a sour attitude, and you have to work your ass off to get anywhere if you don't have a college degree, and you are going to have to be at the bottom of the poop pile once in awhile until someone recognized that you are the person that keeps the poop pile from crumbling, and if you keep at it and keep a positive attitude Someone will notice.

That's about all I can say. Like I said up there. Started at the bottom and screwed myself once maybe even twice but I learned from it, and While NOBODY walks on me and I don't KISS any ass I remained pleasant and busted my butt to get to the to the level I am now (not at the top yet) but..., Work hard, and work smart, my friends. Don't make excuses and don't let obsticles STOP you figure out away to get around them and you can get higher and higher each day too