So How’s Your Job?

I’ve gotten this question quite a bit lately, so I thought I’d answer it here tonight.  🙂

Well, I have to say it’s going pretty well.  Don’t get me wrong, some days I wish I could push the snooze button and sit at home watching soap operas and Rachel Ray all day, but that’s just not reality anymore (not that I really did that when I wasn’t working).  Physically speaking, going back to work was quite an adjustment.  I was used to sleeping in until 8am and most of my days were spent doing things at a leisurely pace.  Now, I’m up at 6 or 6:30am and going strong until 4:30 or 5pm.  You may not think that would be that big of a deal, but man it is.  Especially when you’re body hasn’t been used to working full time for almost a year! 

The job itself is similar to what I did at Circuit City, but it’s definitely a different atmosphere and in a totally different context.  My most recent position at Circuit City was as an Inventory Analyst.  Basically, I was in charge of purchasing a category of merchandise – I worked with printing supplies and eventually purchased small LCD TVs.  I had to forecast sales at the store level and then purchase the merchandise to keep the stores in stock with inventory.  I really enjoyed the analytical aspects of the position, as well as the interaction I had with numerous segments of the company that were impacted by inventory.  I learned a ton and would probably still be doing the same job if the company hadn’t been liquidated.

My position with Dometic is somewhat similar, but definitely a totally different atmosphere.  I am a Buyer/Planner for a company that manufacturers all sorts of equipment for leisure and work vehicles – boats, RV’s, and 18 wheeler trucks.  I’m probably forgetting some things, so please forgive me.  I’m still the new girl!  The plant where I work predominantly manufactures RV air conditioners.  I thought I was out of my element at Circuit City since I just recently purchased an LCD television.  Well, I’m definitely out of my element at Dometic.  I have never even stepped foot in an RV, much less even thought about what goes into manufacturing an RV air conditioner.  I’m responsible for purchasing the parts that are used to build the RV air conditioners and I don’t want to be the reason why production stops suddenly because we ran out of a part!  Scary!

I’m really enjoying learning a totally new “business.”  It still amazes me that the folks in the plant actually put together an RV air conditioner at the end of the day.  Before this position, I had never given much thought to manufacturing and all that goes into it.  I’m much more used to seeing the finished product on a beautiful retail shelf, so seeing things behind the scenes is totally different, which I’m really enjoying. 

So, there you have it.  Work is going well.  It’s been good to be back at work, in so many ways, but I still hope I’ll be going into early retirement again soon!  We shall see….