Thanks y'all, and for the extra comment on my writing. I was a very atypical engineering student & engineer. I was always able to make top grades in my English classes, but struggled with higher level pure math classes. My SAT college entrance exam scores were 690 verbal, 710 math - an almost even split. But when I got into my science and engineering courses, where I was taught practical uses of advanced math techniques, I got top grades eventually graduating Summa Cum Laude with 3.83/4.0 GPA. I always worked for manufacturing companies, not engineering companies. I stayed in the technical branch, I was too blunt & apolitical for supervision, and stayed at the refineries, as such traits are not well appreciated at corporate HQ facilities. I was a good design engineer, but my real forte was troubleshooting and correcting. The largest design project I worked on was $3.9 Billion, and was the largest construction project in North America at that time with a peak labor force of 10,000 workers. I was the lead design engineerof the section producing multiple grades of jet fels, and then was the comissioning engineer for a complex design safety and environmental control system.
https://www.fluor.com/projects/marathon-refinery-engineering-construction
My local firearms store owner joked that with my background, I could binge-watch Breaking Bad for a new career. I joked back that I'd have to hire him & his staff for muscle!
FWIW, I watched some of the same health issues in my father, who retired at 60 when continuing to work became too much of a struggle. My clock ran out about 10 years sooner on those issues, disappointingly.
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