That is a great outline of things. The struggling moment strikes again. In this case needing to find a good wrestling climate for his son. Was not money, was not job satisfaction, it was something else. Most people stay in their comfort zone. That said, I had a brother in law who discovered that he felt uncomfortable being comfortable! As soon as he got comfortable in his job, or location, or friends group, on in this case marriage, he popped to something else. Turns out he was programmed that way as he was one of those English school children who was sent from London and out to the country for safety in WWI when the air raids were taking place.

the 3 - 3 x multiplier is on target. Always know that "bad" clients know other "bad" clients. That is a fast way to go broke. You can make more money firing a bad client than your would by keeping them. They say they will pay in 30 days after invoice, and take 60 .. bad client - they are using your money for finance their business. Beware the client who says Ill make it up to you on the next job.. Example of a GOOD client - one who comes and asks if you did OK on that last job, and then says it looked more difficult that they though, and says they are going to push $600 more your way. Things like that are indications of a possible long term trust relationship. I worked with clients why paid on of before the agreed time. Now those are the ones that get priority. It tells you that they value what you bring to the table.

@Shekhynah Curtis reach out to those alums ( if you can get their contact info) and ask for what is called an informational interview. Hello my name is xyz, and i am about the graduate from yyy where you went . . I wanted to connect with you to get your thoughts on what it is like being an engineer for zzz, and also about any advice you could give me as I start my career. You are not asking for a job or even to be called in for an interview. You are asking for advice. Some will be happy to talk with you. It can be scary to do, but think about it, a person who has the initiative to do such a thing is a person who will have the initiative to do other things too.🙂

@Noah James Focus on getting the grunt experience as an entry engineer , then as a junior engineer, then work to get your PE as soon as you can so you become a Professional Engineer. The PE is THE ticket punch to get on the train that moves faster that just being an unregistered engineer.All while you are doing this, consider if you want to go the technical route of being a guru of design and calculation, etc, OR, if you want to move more into the business side of things. There is such a thing as the Business of Engineering (calcs/drawings/field work, and THEN there is such a thing as the Business of the Business of Engineering ( billing/profit and loss/HR/payroll/dispute resolution/ risk analysis/legal, etc.) To work at The Business of the Business of Engineering, you MUST have the experience at the Business of Engineering. Too many think that the higher level can be done without the lower - It can't. Keep in mind always that at The Business of the Business of Engineering you will no longer work calcs/design/field work, etc, but will be stuck behind a desk in an air conditioned office filling out expense reports and reviewing contracts and setting up insurance plans for employees, etc. Some people love that, while others go crazy with all the bureaucracy that comes with (and is necessary ) working at those levels, and become really bummed out when they see that the "path up" is mostly along that very bureaucratic train track and not running calculations related to designing things.