Newport news, va

[slang]

3 months in and I’m getting a clearer picture of how things work.

Working 7 days now but on the weekend there no one there to ask questions so it’s often not full days. Work myself into a dead end then leave for the day.

1000 people work in my building but no more than 10-15 work OT.

The greater the challenges we face, the funnier people are at work. Not a great buildup of stress and pressure. No a-holes or bullies anywhere*

Observed lessons , not my firsthand experience...

Corp armed security, polite but firm. Guide newbies into compliance softly, there are a lot of non mil newbies. Do not get cute funny or fresh with security even if they make you very nervous and you try to lighten up the interaction with a joke.

USMC security - as you might expect are a bit more “direct action”. If they bark at you stop immediately. Not one more single step. They are authorized to lay hands on you at their discretion. If they freak you out just close you eyes and stand still. STFU until they ask you something. You are not free to leave until they tell you so.

Do not believe that young female marine won’t kick your balls in if given justification.

The pay is pretty dam good with all the OT. Bruce, I have something for you.

The housing development area is a night time free fire zone. Koreans are the most dangerous from what I hear about the area. I don’t have time now days for a thrill seeker stroll around that area yet but it’s on my bucket list. Let’s see if they recognize a vest worn under a shirt. And what that may mean.

If you are working at the shipyard you are making money, if not, you aren’t. It’s the best game in town. Maybe the state.

I’ve not experienced an oz of Ill will here. It’s pleasant out where I’m at. This area used to be the jungle. Now it’s working low wage. Good folks. I like them. They like me.



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[slang]

I finished up my contract at Newport news shipbuilding Friday, February 14.

As it turned out the job was not a very good fit with my skill set. My expertise is using the UGNX software to create designs. Most of the contracts that I work 80 or 90% of my energy is spent creating mechanical designs.

Design work at the shipyard entails about 10% of your effort creating designs and about 90% of your effort preparing, planning and scheduling your particular parts. The great majority of one’s time is spent on manufacturing, installation and compliance concerns in a an end product with millions of parts and specific instructions.

The work as experienced from outsiders like me is tedious and requires endless research on softwares that are old and proprietary. There are often no key word search options so that raw data must be sifted through one’s own inexperienced eyes. 100 page long reference documents are not uncommon.

The module of UGNX is a specific version, the shipbuilding module. The very basics of this module and it’s functioning are completely different from the standard design, assembly, drafting and manufacturing modules.

We all know what the standard positions and controls are for all cars. The steering wheel, pedals, doors, engine etc. Most people are very good at driving a car in a standard configuration.

Now let’s imagine a “shipyard” configured car. One can’t even start it because thing are configured differently. Imagine a start process that begins with inserting the ignition key not in the standard ignition but your left ear. And then flipping open the glove box and pushing that little light as if it’s a button. ONLY THEN does the car start.

If you are acclimated to the shipyard system and that’s all you have ever known, it’s fine. It’s normal. Here at the shipyard anyway.

If you are an outsider you need to ask how to do those things you have been doing on the outside for decades. The workflow has so many steps and variables that one could “guess” how to do something for weeks before discovering “how it’s done at the shipyard”.

The documentation and instructions are long and detailed but updates in software and policies have changed very specific explanation steps and menus into a maze of more confusion. The docs say click “this” but there is now a menu where “this” is not shown but there is a drop down with 15 options that you are completely unfamiliar with.

There are approximately 60 steps that you are responsible for in the process from start to finish. Policy could easily change every few weeks making your last project that was successfully released then, completely irrelevant now.

The slightest error requires intervention from someone guiding you over your shoulder and another someone in another building taking over your computer remotely. And a phone call to some other group, all at the same time.

Getting all these people together at one time to assist you is difficult. No one will participate unless the others are at the ready now too.

On top of ALL that, I’m a contractor so I only get the really tough work because I’m so much more expensive than the other “designers”.

My exit there was graceful and I did what I could to set the new people taking over my work, the best chance for success. Flowcharts, explanations, where everything could be found and such.

My boss gave me a big hug on the way out and told me I did a great job with the chaos but the direct hires were so much better for the company long term.

They gave me regular opportunities to go direct but that’s just not for me.

So now? Just waiting for my next assignment.

Oh, I did want to say also that the people there at NNS were always patient and helpful. They all are committed to a great working environment of teamwork and optimism. In the offices and the yard, all great and helpful to me and I’m grateful.

The work, on the other hand, is the worst I’ve ever dealt with. Shitty and unabating.

[BigV]

Jeebus, you look up "bad fit" in the dictionary of job descriptions, that one has to be right near the top.

I wonder what sequence of events would have to happen to precipitate a baby+bathwater+bathtub+window=solution to happen?

You clearly made the best of a bad situation, that's a valuable skill right there, and broadly transferable irrespective of the "module" in question. Well done!

[slang]

Thank you BigV.

They were truly desperate to find good economical workers, so they hired 6 contractors believing those people would prefer a direct hire jobs....mostly because THEY would not like distance contracting.

As it turned out most of the contractors had come in from a direct hire job. We came to NNS to work a lot, make more money and leave. That’s the general template.

As persistant as they were at explaining direct hire benefits and knowing the numbers regarding pay, I knew it wasn’t going to meet the company’s needs and budget keeping contractors on.

I’ll push a rope uphill in snow for the right money. Give me some type of statusey thing instead? I’m not your guy.

They money IS the statusey thing. Buying things normally bank financed with cash, investing thousands of dollars a month instead of much less over a longer period of time, taking months off at a time without selling all you have, these are things are what a contractor is normally looking for. Being much less dependent on all these systems that are completely out of one’s control.

They’re wanting the things promised by direct hire but when you get close, those goodies disappear.

Contractors thrive on uncertainty and taking chances in the market. Direct hires DO NOT.

Both very viable paths. Or can be if you don’t want to follow one path while being in the other.

So as far as NNS goes, I told them, if you have a UGNX position that’s short term, CALL ME. I can keep your schedule current while you are finding a long term candidate. When that person materializes, off I go with a solid handoff on what I’m doing to that person.

You pay much more for me but don’t miss your time targets. Win win.

Timing is a very big reason Indians have not taken much more of the market. Timing is everything. Sometimes.

[BigV]

You're welcome slang.

Your description of the "shipyard system" reminds me of the joke:

Do you know why God was able to create the entire universe in only seven days?

















































No installed user base.

[God]

Originally Posted by BigV

You're welcome slang.

Your description of the "shipyard system" reminds me of the joke:

Do you know why God was able to create the entire universe in only seven days?

No installed user base.

Not to be picky but it was 6 with a day of rest = 7.

It’s still a chuckler though, I’ll give you that.

[BigV]

It's not finished until it's turned in.