The best laid plans of mice and men....

by Mike Ash
(MN)

I received local papers from home for over a year prior to retiring to check on available jobs - although I wasn't sure on what I wanted to do - there were literally hundreds of jobs that I thought I would fit right in to.

After retiring (Feb 28, 1993) and acclimating myself into civilian surroundings, I sent out 150 resumes and received TWO replies - one from an import/export outfit (as a clerK) and the other from a bug eradicating firm. I was totally depressed...

I was downtown Minneapolis for some reason or another, and just happened to walk into the local city center and saw a "job board" that included a "clerk typist II" - I read the responsibilities and it sounded like a Radar O'Reilly (from the program MASH) kind of job. I took the test for the position and scored 110 (perfect plus 10 points for vet's preference). My anxiety started to lift and after I got my first job, I know things were going to be fine. My depression evaporated.

I got my first choice to work for the Minneapolis Public Schools and worked in a school for 5 years and then the next 20 doing finance in various district offices (Purchasing, Special Ed, College and Career Readiness).

My biggest (and unfounded it turned out) worry was that working with civilians wouldn't be as bonding as my career in the Air Force.

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