MrGiggles

That's kind of what my thoughts are on getting with in a state job. MDC and USACE both offer tuition reimbursement, probably after a certain period of time, and the degree you're after likely needs to be something relevant to moving up in that company. I wouldn't mind spinning wrenches for a few more years if it was means to an end. Frankly it doesn't bother me that much, I just don't want to do it for the rest of my life. If there was a job that is a little more appealing, even better. I was hoping if there was someone currently working at either of those places, they could give the ins and outs of the hiring process, ways to network with the people that do the hiring, the amount of competition, etc.

It's not just 3 years of time, but 3 years of tuition (~30k at least), and 3 years of living expenses. It would be a mortgage sized loan. 30 years of loan payments pretty much negate the extra salary. I have no question that it is a good choice. I just don't see how it would be feasible in my situation.

Thanks for the input. Of the small dent I made in that engineering degree, none were actually engineering related. The first two years are pretty much the basics to get you started, thermodynamics, physics, fluid power, all of the stuff that actually pertain to the discipline are in the last two years. If I remember correctly, I was only a handful of classes away from getting the AS in engineering, but that is an essentially useless degree that really only gets you acceptance into an engineering program, and the classes that I need are all prerequisite to each other, so it would take several semesters since they could only be taken one before the other.

I know a couple neighbors that drove for TDC. Both of them hated it, only did it for the money. There's an older retired guy that helps us part time, drove for years, spent the last few for Walmart, said he was pulling six figures, but with the tracking and monitoring on the trucks now, he would never go back, and he only stayed for as long as he did to pad his retirement. The way I understand OTR trucking, you've gotta put a few years in and jump around between companies before you really start making some money. I am too nervous and high strung to ever do it, just driving my car through the city stresses me out.

The crappie fishing on Pomme has been fantastic this year. Might be worth a try. I have hardly fished Stockton for crappie this year, hardly worth the time.

Don't be, all input is appreciated. I'd prefer to stay where I'm living now, especially if going for a temporary position which may not pan out. I have connections here that would allow an easy fall back if needed. I am not necessarily stuck here, but am not ready to throw caution into the wind and pack up for a temporary position. I have my own place at the farm, if I quit, would need to pay rent, but staying shouldn't be a big deal for a while anyway. I don't mind a commute up to an hour an hour or so, that would put locations like Clinton, Bolivar, Nevada, Camdenton, Hermitage area, Stockton, Warsaw, all on the table.

Yep. Have alerts set up too. Eminence is a long ways from me. The fisheries tech position in Branson is appealing, but again, too far to commute.

I have been checking. There are some openings, but only temporary ones with no benefits. There would be no point in taking one of those.

Thanks. Ag seems to be a losing proposition in all fronts. Your profits are dictated by things out of your control, mainly the weather and the corporations that buy your product. Similar corporations supply your inputs, the game is rigged is against you. Better be extremely passionate about it, that will be the only thing driving you.

I seem to recall that there a couple on here that did. I've been feeling increasingly burnt out lately. 8 months without a day off will do that you I guess. This job is not worth it anymore, wouldn't be worth it for twice the pay. I'm an operator, and the lead mechanic at a large cattle operation. Been doing it since summer of 2010 when I was in high school. Was supposed to just be a temporary job while in college, but didn't end up staying that way. I do okay, there are good parts of the job and bad parts, my commute is about 5 steps, housing is provided, I'm home every night, there is never a shortage of work, but there are no benefits, it's hard on the body, and there is nowhere else to go from here, I am as high as I will get. I have an associate's in Automotive from OTC. I knew I didn't want to be a mechanic quite a while before graduation, but decided to finish what I started anyway and have something to show for it. I went back to school briefly and have maybe 1/4 of a bachelors in mechanical engineering. Gave up on it when tuition and scheduling became an issue, there aren't any night classes for that program, and tuition is close to $500 a credit hour. About the only way to accomplish it would be to take 3 years off of work and only go to school, which is not in the cards. I have split tractors, done engine rebuilds, HVAC work, electric diag and repair, hydraulics, a lot of things. Very seldom do I send something away for outside repair, only when my work load is too large and we need it. Some experience with heavy equipment, undercarriage work, hydraulic repairs, cooling systems, etc. I have 1000s of hours in the skid steer, more than that in tractors. Minimal experience with a dozer and excavator, but some. A lot of experience driving a single axle dump truck, but I do not have a CDL, although it would not be an issue to get. I can stick and wire weld, have a lot of experience fabbing and building cattle working facilities. I do not have any welding certifications to back that up. I don't enjoy that type of work and wouldn't want a position where that is the primary focus. Wrench even said he would hire me once, he may have revoked it, but still. I have a clean driving record, just turned 28, healthy, not married, no kids, will pass a drug test with flying colors. I have been looking at different positions, I know a young lady that is a fisheries tech at Lost Valley in Warsaw. It sounds like a dream job, but I don't know that a hayseed like me would ever stand a chance at getting in. I figured that there is probably a long line of people with relevant degrees and internship experience waiting for that one to open up. Government jobs appeal to me the most because of the benefits, I am not getting any younger and don't want to neglect my body any more. Plus the tuition assistance that many offer might open the door to college again. I suspect that a lot of these jobs are filled internally and are never posted, knowing someone on the inside is probably best, is that correct? The time to look was probably a couple months ago before unemployment ran out, now everybody is looking.

Scotty is a little bit of a knucklehead too. He used to have a video about using compression fittings for brake lines, which has since been removed, but is a big no-no. A lot of his content is generalized, dumbed down, and not as black and white as he makes it seem. He is right about the Coyote though. A V8 that spends most of it's time loafing is under much less stress and wear than a turbo 4/6 cylinder that is doing the same amount of work with smaller components.

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Front on Stockton Lake, taken last July.

It is not bad. I ran from Masters down to Price Branch yesterday and it was fairly clear the whole way. Had two keeper eyes and a 15" smallie to show for the hour and a half I got before it started raining.

Easy out's work, but you will need to drill it out quite a bit, and if you break it off in there, you're really in a pickle. Do what Wrench says, get a cheap set of Torx sockets, (Oreilly has a set for ~$15 that goes to T55), hammer one in and try that. I have never had any luck cutting slots in anything other than small machine screws. I'm sure you'll need to order the new plug from OMC, drain plugs are usually very short and have a larger head to seal against the washer, not something you'll find at the hardware store.

Grew up not far from Ottertail. Good luck Ed.

I think I read somewhere that flouro was originally invented as leader line. Very abrasion resistant, invisible, low stretch. Those same qualities make it not so great for spinning outfits because of line twist and memory. Modern hybrid lines probably solve a lot of those problems, however, I haven't used them and can't really comment. All of my outfits use braid of some sort with a leader. I don't like respooling every couple months because of sun-rotted line, braid lasts for years, only takes a minute to tie on a new leader and be back to fishing. My light setups have hi-vis 10lb braid and 4-6lb mono leaders, mediums have 10-20lb braid and an 8 or 10lb flouro/mono leader. I tried Nanofil, the casting distance and sensitivity was impressive, but it's abrasion resistance was not good, and it would fatigue after a couple months just from running through the guides. I had to strip a couple hundred feet off to get fresh line that would hold a knot. It's like tying with a spider webs too, not very easy on a windy day.

I'm like Wrench, Trilene with a couple extra turns for flouro, with a quick pass through the lips before cinching for a little lube, flouro will friction burn if you don't. Trilene is my go-to since it'll hold nearly 100% of rated strength with any line type, I'm not much of a boy scout, the Trilene and Albright are pretty much the only fishing knots I can tie off of memory. Only knot trouble I've ever had with flouro was with some 4lb Spiderwire, couldn't get a knot to hold with that stuff. That spool went in the trash. Flouro is not really a good choice for light spinning outfits anyway.

Crappie will be suspended over open water post-spawn. Just need to find them, river channels are a good place to start. It's not uncommon to find them 12-20ft down over 50+. I haven't done it much this year, but it seems like you can drag a crank just about anywhere and pick up a crappie or two.

Hardly worth it when you can got to Wally world and get an Everstart 29DC for $100. Some of the best marine batteries made.

After the rain today I wouldn't get your hopes up.

I've had pretty good luck with Everstart 29DCs from Walmart. $100 and you can get them anywhere. Batteries aren't what they used to be, seems like you're lucky to get a couple seasons out of them, regardless of the price. I've got two 29DCs and a Terrova 80 and can pull cranks all day at 2MPH on speed 5-7. For heavy trolling you really want some stout batteries, no smaller than 27s. 29s or 31s are ideal IMO.

That seems to be the consensus among most boat building forums. It just works, and if you take the time to seal it, can last for a really long time.

Step one, just take the aggravating things and throw em in the trash, save yourself the trouble. Only thing I've ever caught on them is drum, a million bluegill, channel cat, and immovable submerged objects. In truth I haven't spent the time to really get proficient with them. If I am going to troll, I will pull crankbaits and really cover some water. I much prefer using a jig and crawler, or more recently using soft plastics with Livescope. The ned has also grown on me and put a few walleye in the boat. I had some success with jigging raps last winter too. I am a little bit of a minimalist and prefer not to use live bait when possible. Crawlers are as far as I'll go. I've left them cooking in the boat more than once.

The thing with plastic is that it's not very rigid or temperature stable. You may find that it needs much less span between supports, and may buckle in the summer from heat expansion. Although if that stuff is truly designed to be a plywood equivalent, perhaps they have engineered them to not have those problems. Marine plywood is no different than exterior ACX or whatever, but it has no voids and may have more plies. ACX will work just fine if you coat it. Carpet is easy to apply, forgiving, cheap, and easy to find. Marine vinyl is a much better looking product that's easy to clean, but has none of those qualities.