The 8 Year Itch
I announced to Buckman this week that I would be leaving for another job in the paper business. I currently work in the specialty chemicals field of tissue manufacturing and I will be taking on a new position in the equipment end of the business. Kadant hired me to champion a new product line of ceramic tipped doctor blades they will be developing. I will be basically calling on the same tissue manufacturers, but in a different role with a different logo on my shirt.
In my career, I have worked in various roles in the paper business for 8, 4, 12, and 8 years. Average it up and 8 years is the magic number for my career changes. I am 58 now and another 8 years puts me at retirement age and at that point it will be a wrap. I like the math. I have worked in manufacturing of paper, selling of chemicals to paper mills and I will close the circle with this new role as a supplier of hardware and wear parts to the tissue business. I am a gear head at heart and I am excited to get into the hardware biz.
Some people will ask, "What are you doing giving up a perfectly good job at your age?" They may have a great point, but I think it is a great move for me. A college class mate from Miami University called me late last year and laid out a situation with Kadant that really fit my strengths as a paper professional. So, I followed up with an interview in mid December and liked the situation and the people and here we are. So if you do good work and have connections in the right places, good things can happen. My new role will be called Tissue Applications Manager, and it will be based in the US and I will continue to work from my home in the Nashville area. I will continue to travel extensively in the US and some International work as needed. I think this is a situation where I get cake and get to eat it too. I like cake a lot, by the way.
The last few weeks have been tough to keep my mouth shut about what I was doing with the job change. Waiting for drug screens and background check results, and taking the physical add some level of anxiety to the wait. All that is now over and I can relax and enjoy the transition. My last day with Buckman is a week from today. As I was finalizing my letter of resignation and hovering over the send button, a lot happy and sad moments flash through your head. I will miss some great people that I have been working with the last 8 years and in the next instant you have the exhilaration for a new job and all the new possibilities. All this made for a pretty "scattered" couple of weeks for me emotionally.
I have been busy in the gym this week doing some treadmill work. I have been doing the fitness work that I typically do each winter and feel pretty good. I have been able to run 2000 meters without taking a break--which is hard for a sprinter to be that patient--and not max out my heart rate. I have also been getting in some good stretching and I am ready for outdoors as soon as mother nature cooperates. Nothing is hurt--yippee!! I was looking seriously at some indoor meets, but being in job limbo and the possibility that I may not have health insurance for a month has kept any race dates up in the air. Sooner or later, I will pull on the spikes and have a go...
In my career, I have worked in various roles in the paper business for 8, 4, 12, and 8 years. Average it up and 8 years is the magic number for my career changes. I am 58 now and another 8 years puts me at retirement age and at that point it will be a wrap. I like the math. I have worked in manufacturing of paper, selling of chemicals to paper mills and I will close the circle with this new role as a supplier of hardware and wear parts to the tissue business. I am a gear head at heart and I am excited to get into the hardware biz.
Some people will ask, "What are you doing giving up a perfectly good job at your age?" They may have a great point, but I think it is a great move for me. A college class mate from Miami University called me late last year and laid out a situation with Kadant that really fit my strengths as a paper professional. So, I followed up with an interview in mid December and liked the situation and the people and here we are. So if you do good work and have connections in the right places, good things can happen. My new role will be called Tissue Applications Manager, and it will be based in the US and I will continue to work from my home in the Nashville area. I will continue to travel extensively in the US and some International work as needed. I think this is a situation where I get cake and get to eat it too. I like cake a lot, by the way.
The last few weeks have been tough to keep my mouth shut about what I was doing with the job change. Waiting for drug screens and background check results, and taking the physical add some level of anxiety to the wait. All that is now over and I can relax and enjoy the transition. My last day with Buckman is a week from today. As I was finalizing my letter of resignation and hovering over the send button, a lot happy and sad moments flash through your head. I will miss some great people that I have been working with the last 8 years and in the next instant you have the exhilaration for a new job and all the new possibilities. All this made for a pretty "scattered" couple of weeks for me emotionally.
I have been busy in the gym this week doing some treadmill work. I have been doing the fitness work that I typically do each winter and feel pretty good. I have been able to run 2000 meters without taking a break--which is hard for a sprinter to be that patient--and not max out my heart rate. I have also been getting in some good stretching and I am ready for outdoors as soon as mother nature cooperates. Nothing is hurt--yippee!! I was looking seriously at some indoor meets, but being in job limbo and the possibility that I may not have health insurance for a month has kept any race dates up in the air. Sooner or later, I will pull on the spikes and have a go...
jack. You are super man!!
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