Absent and Tardy list

Thanks for the offer Hot4, I may get back to you on some of your ideas, especially the reference calls.

During the past 3 years I ran my own small PC and Game Shop for 2 years (unsuccessfully). The past year I’ve been up to my elbows in ink repairing desktop printers or fixing PCs as a self employed service tech. Those are not my core competencies! They are the German language, Inter-cultural (German-American) Business relationships, and technical savvy, along with the management skills I picked up while very successfully running the German branch office of a major U.K global player in the electronics branch over here for 3 years about 10 years ago.

For the last 10-15 years, few (no) American (or UK) companies have invested in Germany (most are already long established) so there is no market for my inter-cultural skills. I was able to successfully compete with nationals for 2 good jobs during the 10 years after my management position as long as there was a 4 in front of my age. Now, with the economy as it is, competing for a half way qualified “just like anybody else� job with nationals is out of the question because that puts me, as a foreigner, at the Ass End of the line where my situation is compounded by the severe age discrimination over here. (My options are more like competing with Turks as an assistant garbage man.)

I applied for a recent job offer as Operations Manager with a German company in SC. Last week I made it through the first level interviews (48 applicants), with the final interview (me and 2 other applicants remaining) scheduled for next week.

I explained about my job application to my daughter and the possibility of me moving to the USA: she interrupted me before I was even halfway through formulating the question and said she understands the situation fully and said she would very much like to spend her summer vacations with me in the States and also do her last year of high school there in 3 years. I was very surprised, as she, of her own accord added: “I you had left me 3 years ago when I was 11, I would have been very resentful, but not now!� (she was 11 when I first became unemployed). Apparently, she is more mature than I expected. Obviously, the question remains: if I could have waited 2 more years until she was 16 and posed the same question what would she say then? Kids do overestimate themselves.

Working for a German company in an inter-culturally orientated position would offer me frequent opportunities to travel over here, in addition to vacation time, so I can/could see her more than once, twice a year, in the mean time. Under the circumstances, I wouldn’t take any other job, except as an interim solution with a good chance of promotion to my targeted position.

I don’t seem to have any other realistic options. I’ve already been out of the loop for 3 years now, which is critical, and due to my age I cannot by any means wait another 2 or 3 years. I’m stuck! It is either; live in real poverty, be a Turkish garbage man (and poor), or take advantage of my core competencies as long as I still have at least a remote chance.
I shouldn’t have a 14 year old daughter at my age but that is a reality we both have to face. The situation requires an extraordinarily creative solution, but I can’t think of anything else.


Iwar2 Multiplayer Fan Site

Hi MajTom,

I hope the appliement was successful!

Btw @your daughter: Though she is young she wouldn't have said this if she wasn't sure. Well, she'll can have a boyfriend in two years who is very important for her but I think ... due to the fact that she said it to you from herself ... that she'll would come to you to the USA. Hey, it's cool for her when she can tell here schoolfriends that she goes to the USA .

Btw, here in the Netherlands many people from other countries are employed, it's a pity that this is that problem in germany.

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~Buda5 Designer & Scripter
buda5.firstones.com

Not sucessfull yet, but not unsucessfull either.
During a brief meeting yesterday the potential employer told me they have some issues in the USA they need to deal with first and have postponed the final decision until mid November. I'm one of the 2 remaining candidates and my chances are 50/50 provided they decide install the position at all.

Meanwhile, I've applied for a simular position with another company too. The headhunter/recruiter has confirmed the validity of my application and is currently checking with his client if an interview is in order.

Roi, your comments about the Netherlands are very interesting. They have a significantly lower unemployment rate there too.
I dunno, but something is wrong with Germany nowadays and it seems to be getting very ragged around the edges.

If I can get a good job in the US and provide my daughter with an opportunity to go to school there, it might be a very good move in respect to her career opportunities too.



Iwar2 Multiplayer Fan Site

Originally posted by MajorTom

If I can get a good job in the US and provide my daughter with an opportunity to go to school there, it might be a very good move in respect to her career opportunities too.

Doubtless thats good for her career and for her personal growth, too.

Btw, my grandfather has started a completely new job in the age of 54 (as a director of an engineering company) b/c the former company he worked at was located in Japan and he wanted to come back to europe. And he's still working as an advisor for the last company (though he's retiree).
So, it isn't impossible to begin at a new location and to beware the connections to the family the often it is possible.

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~Buda5 Designer & Scripter
buda5.firstones.com

Maj Tom, just let me know how, and if you want references.

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Hot4Darmat

Hello mates of the SW dev team,


the following post will explain why I still don’t work on the SW project like I should and what my current & future plans are (don’t be frightened, the explanation doesn't include my private plans ).

Due to the experiences I made with Buda5 I came to the conclusion that I can’t afford working on a mod anymore. Even in a smaller mod you have to put much time into it.
Well, it is fun to working on a mod together with people who are thinking the same like you. Furthermore the delight other people have b/c of your work and words like “Well done!� or “Great work!� makes you glad.

But in the end you can’t buy a single bread from it. On the other hand the work was great and you’ve got to know nice and hard working people. So, with a few number of these people I’m still working together on a game design idea, but not for a mod. We’re working on a stand-alone game (intensively with regular meetings for 1 month now), are still in a planning phase (story, game world and rules of the game are written down, but not in every detail) and looking for an engine respective testing an engine we've got from another friend whom we know from our “copious modding time�.
The game will be a “realistic� space combat simulator. Not 100% “realistic� in controlling the ships like Milod’s StarShatter* but rather realistic in the background story, main story, the existing personal and social conflicts and the techniques based on available cognitions where it is senseful.
Currently we do it for nothing of course until we have a working demo which we can present to a publisher (provided that a publisher is willing to finance the project then ). To this demo it’s still a hard way but I’m optimistic that we’ll reach the goal. Presently we haven’t involved all people in the team who are needed to create such a demo (modellers, further programmers) b/c we still have to decide which engine to choose.

Now, the reasons why I tell you this are – like I mentioned – to justify why I’m still just giving spare comments and not contributing working pog files to the mod and the other reason is that you just know of this project: If I had the money I already would have asked some of you if you’ll want to work with us but I’m just a student. Nevertheless, maybe we could have a cooperation in the future before or after the “demo-phase�.

Thanks for your attention.


* Quoting the Ensemble studios (AoE): “An individual’s dream game is the death of the entire project�. That’s no offence against Milod or his work. Far from it, I respect his work. It’s just an existent fact that most people haven’t time or don’t want to familiarise themselves with a complex simulation without getting “awards� during this learning time.

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~Buda5 Designer & Scripter
buda5.firstones.com