2 Years - Thank you for your congratulations.

2 years.?

I have only been at this position for two years.?

It has been just over two years since I firmly decided to stop what I knew I was doing well, what I knew I was good at, and do something else.?After over 15 years of facilities and maintenance in a hospitality-based industry, I took a risk, jumped, and dove into industrial facilities and maintenance.?Towards the end of those 15 years, I was struggling.?I felt I was doing my job well, but I also felt I lacked a challenge and upward mobility.?I felt stuck.?I was working a lot and gaining nothing that offered mental fulfillment.?I spent so much time not doing anything for me.?Everything I did was for my job.?Time with my family was limited or interrupted due to travel and long days.?Everywhere I went, I was tied to the phone, responsible for coordinating emergency repairs through a very wide swath of the Chicagoland region and many times at locations as far away as New York.?It was not a bad job and for many years, I loved it and it is what made facilities and maintenance my passion.?It is where I cut my teeth and I learned countless lessons from those that mentored me and those that I mentored, from my failures, as well as my successes, and they stick with me today, along with the appreciation of being able to have those experiences.?I have a lot of people to thank for that.?But, at the end, I was determined to get as far away from hospitality/customer service as possible.?Reading and responding to yelp and google reviews was draining.?Mentally incapacitating.?

That is ultimately why I jumped, and I was lucky enough to be hired by a NADCAP and ISO certified chemical processing company that does work for commercial and military aerospace and outer space.?I have traded one great working family for another great working family but moved from a job that was stifling with limitations to one of freedom.?Freedom to make improvements to processes, systems, and equipment with financial and moral support vs restrictions.?A job with real holidays, a softball team, and unending learning of new things like chemistry, physics, engineering, and mechanics.?An extremely challenging job with high expectations of quality and consistency.?So, when I read the messages from my connections congratulating me on two years, I say, "Thank you!"?Because I did not know if I could do it.?I figured I could, because anyone can do anything if they really try and do not give up.?

And I had well justified concerns of moving from a place where I was an expert on the equipment and an environment that was air conditioned to one where the equipment is larger, faster, more critical, and significantly more dangerous.?To a hot and humid factory where I must wear steel toed boots, Tyvek, ear plugs, and safety glasses.?From a team I was very close and comfortable with and where I, and my abilities, were well known, to a place where I knew no one and no one knew me.?

Now, I have traded treadmills, ellipticals, and strength equipment for scrubbers, rectifiers, cranes, and ovens.?I’ve taken my customer service background from health clubs and promoted and employed it within my maintenance team, to treat my fellow employees as though they were our customers.?The personal growth I have experienced in the last two years outweighs the growth from the 10 years before combined.?I have a renewed sense of initiative, motivation, happiness, and fulfillment that follows me home.?Instead of having to take my work home with me in the form of emergency calls and incomplete work, I want to use my time away from the office to research what we do here and learn new things to improve our current systems, such as PLCs, SCADA communication, and data logging.?Because I cannot get enough.?I spend less time traveling and commuting and, therefore, more uninterrupted quality time with my family.?I have been accepted and have become part of the team here and I have added to that team by sharing what this company and job have done for me.?I have been very fortunate to be able to bring on quality personnel who now share my experience.?I am proud to be part of the Magnetic Inspection Laboratory team and it felt important to share that with so many because you should not have to feel like you are stuck in a job because of your background, experience, or comfort level, and you will never know what is out there if you do not…jump.?

I realize how lucky I was to be able to switch industries six months before COVID.?How lucky I was to have a company take a chance on me, someone that had no experience with the equipment they employed, the industry they were in, or industrial manufacturing and that gratefulness is a huge motivating factor every day.

I can't wait to see what years 3, 4, 5, and beyond bring.