Back To Basics: Budget Rebuild

[TurboSinceBirth]

I would definitely encourage you to go for the engineering career. I almost double majored in physics and engineering but decided I would only be using the engineering. I also took a few years off when my sister passed from cancer causing my grades to plummet but I was able to make some money, refocus, and finish out what was left strong even though I had to go part-time due to paying on student loans. There's more job opportunities than I can shake a stick at but I've been holding off until I finish up a work trip in NY and a tour of Europe. You're still young and have plenty of time to make your life's plans fall in place. Enjoy some of the freedom you have while you can. Don't worry too much about your car either. I put mine on the back burner for awhile and it wasn't so bad.

[sergechronos]

You may need to take a different approach to what you're doing.

Speaking from experience:
- Worked as a manager at a Domino's for ~5.5 years. Good managerial experience... crappy job
- Got co-op's (not always the easiest thing) not in the area I wanted to go. But a co-op is a co-op. Experience is experience. It's all good.
- Worked as a gymnastics teacher (made really good money)

I took 3 different approaches to help me pay college as I went:
I did the manger thing because it looks good on a resume. I only made $9/hr. Helped me land the co-op's.
I did the co-op's for something more 'real world' oriented. Just because a co-op isn't in your exact field of interest doesn't mean it's no good. The 3 I did I knew would help me land a job. They did.
I worked in gymnastics strictly for the money and enjoyment. I don't even put it on my resume unless they ask what I did in that gap of life.

My point is, just play your cards strategically, and if all else fails, think outside the box on jobs to make good money. Work somewhere that needs you to dress as a clown or super hero, gymnastics, setting up those big baloon slides, working concerts, doing landscaping, valet'ing, etc. I've done all of those (except the clown one haha) and they ALL make great money. Why? Tips. All of them have a base salary and good tips. Waiting tables doesn't have a "base salary". $2.xx an hour isn't anything. And if worse goes to worst, do construction! Take a year off and SAVE some money! AKA DON'T spend it on the car!

BTW - taking a year off when I did my co-op's was the best thing as far as schooling went. I came back super energized and refocused.

You have access to pick my brain all the time on engineering stuff, but you never ask. Co-op's are easy to get if you know where to look. But don't constrain yourself early on. Take what you can get. You have your whole life to work to your dream job.

And if you are seriously prioritizing a car over your career in any way shape or form, then you will be hard pressed to have the success you crave. The car can come later. It only takes a matter of a few years to turn your life around. A car can be built in short order once you have the financial backing. Worry about the career.

Everything I've said is from experience.

Thus far, there just hasn't been much posted for physics majors in terms of internships or co-ops. I've applied to the handful of positions I could qualify for through the university's career center (most of which center around lab technician or data acquisition in a lab) type of thing. Hoping some of that pans out, but even if not, I've applied to standard jobs as well so that something else may work out locally as a regular job.

I very much agree with taking a year off for co-ops to re-energize, at this point I'm basically looking at 5 straight years of school and work without a degree to show for it thus far (although 2 years were originally for a nuclear operator training program for TVA that they chose not to hire anyone from.) So I'm sure part of my quandary is just feeling burnt out and like it's not headed anywhere coupled with the relatively meager offerings for the physics major vs how many engineering opportunities there are. And of course, these new price increases with school are questionable on how to pay for.

While I've certainly not given up on finishing a degree (or the car,) I am reaching out to resources and contacts I have across the country to try to network and find what options and potential careers are out there, as well as possible places looking to hire that are willing to help cover the cost of schooling.


I can safely say, that the car does not consume any of my school money as everything I spend on it comes from selling parts and doing work for others. However, it may be that I have to switch it up and spend that money on school stuff or even start liquidating parts I had planned on using to cover it. Hard to do though since those sales can be rather inconsistent. At this point, I've got pretty much everything I need for actual reassembly of the car which is what I may do for now and worry about all the remaining upgrades and replacements later.

I would definitely encourage you to go for the engineering career. I almost double majored in physics and engineering but decided I would only be using the engineering. I also took a few years off when my sister passed from cancer causing my grades to plummet but I was able to make some money, refocus, and finish out what was left strong even though I had to go part-time due to paying on student loans. There's more job opportunities than I can shake a stick at but I've been holding off until I finish up a work trip in NY and a tour of Europe. You're still young and have plenty of time to make your life's plans fall in place. Enjoy some of the freedom you have while you can. Don't worry too much about your car either. I put mine on the back burner for awhile and it wasn't so bad.

I took a few years off after my grandfather passed in 06, so I'm already a bit older than I'd care to be to still be in school at this point. At this point, I wish I had just gone ahead with engineering since it looks like it'll take me even longer to finish out.

On the whole, just feeling a bit screwed by the university in multiple ways at the moment. Hopefully within the next couple of weeks I'll hear back from some of these applications I put out and go from there.

[futurevr4man]

My cousin is an EXTREMELY successful physics major. She makes more than almost anyone else I know and she is only 28. I will see what kind of advice she has got.

She does some sort of radiation to treat cancer? Works on the machines that do the radiation I guess? I have no idea. She makes beaucoup bank though.

[Jimvr4]

I highly recommend an engineering career. I've been in for over 30 years now and financially independent due to some earlier career successes. My only problem now is there isn't enough time in the day to do everything I want to do since I joined a startup last summer. So pretty much no effort on the car for the last 6-12 months.

Your delay and expense to get your engineering degree will be worth it in the long run

[Street_Chally73]

I too took some time away from school after rather shitty circumstances, so I know where you're coming from. I began as an engineering student, switched to a business admin major a year & a half in (international marketing as I enjoyed more of the business side of product development & sales), studied abroad, spent a shit ton abroad for schooling & was on track to have my degree, but came back to find out that my university wasn't going to consider three of my credits.

After being pissed for two years, I reapplied as a distance learning student & just finalized everything last December as a general business admin major...It's not my international business degree like I wanted, but now I'm continuing through my internship as a business analyst & that'll look great on my résumé once I begin my search for my ideal position.

If you can afford to take on the additional debt (read: Ramon for meals), I would stick it out with engineering; all of the people I knew from college have all landed great career paths by utilizing their civil, computer & mechanical eng. degrees. The initial costs will pay dividends on the back end.

[Chris@Rvengeperformance]

In the world we live it, its pretty much get a degree now, or be disposable in the future. Then you'll go back and get a degree anyway. You may as well do it now, its a lot easier now, then after you have started a family.

[sergechronos]

I'm going to see what some of these places that I've put into say over the next couple weeks. Also sending some emails out to various schools near some of the places that I've gotten in touch with to see what their transfer policy would be if I move for work related reasons. A couple so far have said that they would give in state tuition, I just wouldn't be eligible for in-state scholarships. So pending how this search for better work/internships/co-op/whatever turns out will have a lot to do with whatever decision I make. Lot up in the air, and I will update in here as I hear back with responses and such to get input from all you knowledge people...and futurevr4

Seems like for the most part, the general consensus would be go ahead and make the jump over to engineering even if it takes a couple more years to follow that track, which is something I had been considering. Would be nice if I had an employer or coop or similar that would work with me on that as several of those semesters are likely to be under full time credit hours as is (or maybe go ahead and turn my minor in business into a double major.)



Back to car stuff, courtesy of some sells here the last few weeks I've slightly shortened the list of parts I need to wrap this up. I have 4 days off next week when I was hoping to go visit family to discuss this with them, however the monster-in-law is coming to visit for a couple weeks, so I plan on trying to seclude myself in the garage as much as possible and get work done for the car. In particular, given the circumstances, I am putting a lot of the custom projects and stuff on hold, so I will be trying to get the underside of the car coated, get the suspension back on and throw the missing body parts back on so that I can have it in the driveway instead of the garage (which will free up space for various other projects and also give me the room to bring my engine hoist and rest of my tools out of storage and to the house, saving me a bit of money each month.)

At this point, I am mostly down to the last bits necessary to throw it together (which will is important to me to do as much of the projects I have plans for were laying groundwork for future mods.)

Offhand list of things that *MUST* be done to get the car mobile:
I need a few AEM specific sensors for the V2
Steering rack needs new boots installed (which I have) or to be replaced (which I may)
Need a cheap clutch and flywheel to get it rolling (eBay XTD is probably the ticket there)
Shortblock needs to be turned into a longblock, however I need to go through the heads first as I'm finding some disconcerting stuff that bears double checking. After that, needs cams degreed (as heads have been decked several times,) timing done, and some wiring redone (no more brittle CAS connector that gets undone at every bump.)
It will quite obviously need a tune
May still have to trace down some parasitic drain issues and what not. I am replacing chassis grounds and the engine grounds through out the car, and acquired a known working ETACS to rule that out. Hopefully this stops some of my electrical problems (but I doubt it.) With the AEM and various deletes, it's about due for a major wiring reexamination anyhow, but I'd rather avoid that until at least after I've figured out if I will be renewing my lease at this location or moving (whether within Knoxville, or elsewhere.)
Get the AWS delete done, and install the rear camber arms I have.


Things I'd like to get done:
Inspect and replace the pillowballs in the coilovers as the DS one was making noise when pushing the car onto the trailer during the move. Will reinstall stock ECS stuff if I can't get this done before hand.
Convert fuel sender to AN8 feed and set the tank up to do the AN6 return off of the stock feed line. Would be nice to use the Oohnoo's fuel set up thing I have laying here, but can always run the stock arrangement for now.
New tires for the car (ones I have are nearly on their last legs.)
Lots of powdercoating
Bushing replacements
Morgan motorsports splitter
Vent the hood and duct the FMIC and rad straight out the hood.

[futurevr4man]

get input from all you knowledge people...and futurevr4

dick of the forum

[sergechronos]

dick of the forum

With a last name of Woody, what did you expect?

[futurevr4man]

With a last name of Woody, what did you expect?

Actually expected a lot more. BAZINGA