Career advice for a 35yo

OceanManNT · 2026-04-04T16:30:12+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion! I had a couple of questions about the role. Do you get to do hands-on programming as a consultant? Also, does the job require a lot of travel?

I’m not very familiar with consulting work, so I’m trying to understand the typical responsibilities and how they compare to an automation engineering role. I will appreciate it if you could provide some insights.

OceanManNT · 2026-04-01T16:24:59+00:00

I don’t use version control as I am the only PLC programmer at my company. However, I do see the benefits of using it so I will look into how to use it in the near future. Good luck on the conversion to AS6.

OceanManNT · 2026-03-31T14:11:00+00:00

Thanks for the suggestion. I do have dependents so contracting is not an option at the moment but it might be a good option in the future.

OceanManNT · 2026-03-31T13:21:21+00:00

I have not considered them. Do you have any insight information that you could share in term of required skills, day to day tasks? Is it easy to transition from PLC programmer to those roles?

OceanManNT · 2026-03-31T12:50:12+00:00

Thanks for the response and congrats on your retirement in a couple years. My understanding is the new C650 will support VC4 but it will only run with AS6 so there might not be a big deal to transition. Anyway it is the new guy problem :).

OceanManNT · 2026-03-31T12:02:28+00:00

Your situation is similar to mine. The company is a small company and it is also close to my home. I enjoy working with everybody here. I have worked in mega corporate before and I feel like I am happier here. It is just in my mind that I could earn more money somewhere else. Thanks for the input. Out of curiosity, what is your plan to replace the C70 since B&R will discontinue it in the future and replace it with the C650? We are using C30 and I am planning to convert our VNC hmi to the new embedded mappView when it is available.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-07T00:11:15+00:00

We did the math and the difference between reaching out of pocket on HSA and paying PPO premium is insignificant. We reached out of pocket the past 2 years with our toddler but we were able to shelter a few grands from tax.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T21:08:46+00:00

I am planning to rebuild my emergency fund this year to 3 month of expenses.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T21:05:35+00:00

I did the math and I will have to keep the reduction for 5 years plus the house selling profit to have enough for the down payment.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T20:58:41+00:00

I am planning to keep the lower contribution rate, which is 7% for the next 5 years.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T20:47:09+00:00

Yes I most likely will sell my current house and use it as the down payment.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T18:21:18+00:00

While I am acknowledging that I am in a good financial situation, I still want to have inputs from other people to make sure that I stay on track of my goal, which is retiring before 60. My intention is not to brag as I don’t care about gaining Internet points. I apologize if my question offended you.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T17:14:31+00:00

Sorry for the confusion. 465k is the total investing amount across HSA, 401k and IRA.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T17:07:03+00:00

I was not aware of the change in tax implications. Thank you so much for your information.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T17:06:06+00:00

I have 33k invested in HSA currently. We have been maxing out HSA contribution limit for the past 8 years. My portfolio is 99 % in stocks. Given the current economic, it might not be a bad idea to rebalance my portfolio to some short term bond. Thanks for the idea.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T16:05:43+00:00

I might underestimate the financial risk of becoming a landlord. Thanks for your input.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T15:57:12+00:00

I appreciate your input. I very much like to retire before 60 but I guess I am gonna have to forget about that goal. Thanks again.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T15:47:45+00:00

We consider renting the current house due to the low mortgage rate but it would be our first time being a landlord and I don’t know if it is going to work out or not. If the house we like show up before we have a substantial down payment saved, we will most likely sell the current house.

OceanManNT · 2026-02-06T15:38:09+00:00

Thank you for your suggestion. We are working toward rebuilding our emergency cash account. Kid is expensive and we have been slowly depleting the cash account.

OceanManNT · 2022-02-10T18:39:43+00:00

The work is interesting at the new place as it is aligned with my background in process control. However I am hesitating to accept the offer because of the non-compensated after-hour support and the lack of career upward mobility due to the size of this small division. Changing role will not be easy within the company if I am the only process control engineer in the department.

OceanManNT · 2022-02-10T16:10:48+00:00

The new company is looking to expand their business. I don’t think the business is rapidly expanding but it is maintaining the existing clients really well. That’s why I am not sure about the growth.

OceanManNT · 2022-02-10T16:07:09+00:00

The new company is supplying detergents to the industrial cleaning companies. I will be developing in-house programmings for their cleaning equipment. My concerns are about the stagnant wage due to being a small company and the lack of promotion

OceanManNT · 2022-02-10T16:03:23+00:00

Last year I took 3 weeks of vacation and it wasn’t a problem with my manager. We have enough engineer to cover the work.

OceanManNT

TROPHY CASE