Life besides engineering

Things don't often turn out the way we wish and prepare for. It is important therefore to make adjustments in our lives whenever necessary and if we find circumstances beyond our control.  

Having completed the Ph.D. degree in mechanical engineering in 1978 and acquired some professional experience in teaching at a university and working in the engineering industry afterwards briefly, I began to look for a fulltime and long-term (permanent) job as a teacher in a university or engineer in the industry during the early 1980s. To this end, I approached several professional contacts, recruiters and potential employers, while supplying them also with my personal and professional information (biodata etc.) as a part of job applications.  

The outcome from my employment inquiries, applications and interviews for a fulltime and long-term employment at a university or in industry was not encouraging though. Moreover, in several responses, involving generally verbal communications, the feedback was unusually negative and out of character.

I had one guy mention to me that as I had not been “cooperative” with the authorities previously, I stood a little chance in getting a job in future even if I applied to “five thousand”. There was yet another fellow advising me out of the blue and for my “own good” that I should look for other kind of work such as in non-engineering field, and then he added that he would deny saying it if I investigated it further or sued him.  In another case, the potential employer indicated after the interview that he might hire me for the engineering assignment, but it would have to be on a temporary basis rather than the permanent position I applied for and that the payment (remuneration) to me for the work would be under the table (in cash). 

Due to such negative responses and strange comments repeatedly following my job inquiries and applications, I felt by the mid-1980s that a fulltime and long-term engineering employment at a university / college or with an engineering company was out of the question in my case. I therefore had to prepare myself to continue working in future, as until then, on contract basis, while engaging in temporary, short-term and part-time engineering assignments with different companies and outfits.    

However, hopping from one temporary engineering job to the next with different companies, while also spending significant time between the jobs on seeking fresh assignments with new companies, did not only result in the monetary shortfall for me due to interrupted cash flow, but it also caused me the break / void mentally and intellectually as I was not able to pursue anything particular, especially of academic or technical nature, on a consistent and long term basis.

I thus needed to find a long lasting and uninterrupted hobby / activity quickly which I could use as academic and intellectual escape and stimulation on long term basis, both during the temporary (part-time) engineering assignments as well as when I was out of job. In addition, it had to be something which would not cost me much money and resources thus keeping in line with my limited cash flow.  

It was therefore by no accident then (1980s) that I tried a number of other things to keep myself busy and focused mentally / intellectually throughout (while working as engineer part-time / temporarily, or not), including learning additional computer programs, packages and languages (while even taking a number of college courses in computers e.g. ‘C’, Assembler and Unix) and also engaging in reading extensively (during 1980s and beyond) on religion and philosophy which fortunately had an unlimited supply of books and materials that were easily available and less expensive than books in other subjects (including books in computers, science and engineering).

Quite a shift in interests and plans for me over the years! As 'Forrest Gump' (the title character in the Award winning Hollywood movie of same name) would say citing his mother, “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get."

Another link (with comments):

http://creative.sulekha.com/life-besides-engineering_638714_blog

Incidentally, I had posted a blog 14 years ago on Sulekha with the title 'Driving Through Blizzard (experience of lifetime)', http://travel.sulekha.com/driving-through-a-blizzard_travelogue_352, which unfortunately is missing now.

I was working a few years earlier as a contract engineer for a company in Pennsylvania and was going home (Toronto) one night for the weekend during winter.

While driving through New York state on the way back, it was dark and snow started with a blizzard punch. It became almost impossible to see anything beyond the windshield. There was no way to stop the car engine and quit driving, because that could lead the car to get hit by the passing trucks etc. and also its getting buried under the enormous snowfall which could freeze me to death inside the car.

Luckily, I managed to drive safely on the highway at crawling speed for several hours before getting out of the blizzard and snowy area.

The car was in extremely bad shape after driving through the blizzard for several hours. When I returned to the car next day, after having parked it in my parking space in Toronto the previous night, I noticed that someone in the night had scribbled the following words on the windshield, "Back from hell."

Nothing is certain during difficult times; during 1980s, we (myself, wife, young son and daughter) lived for about two years in a bachelor apartment in Toronto.