bluesky, are familiar with ax84.com? There are numerous experienced amp builders on there that can answer any question you might have about amp building. It's an amazing resource.

The thought of building amps continually tickles my brain. My dream is to get into volume production and figure out a way to make affordable, quality, US made amps. But at this time I don't even have a shop.

hope you find a full time job soon. my mom just lost her job and there is a good possability my dad will soon.

At this rate, some off-shore socioeconomic rising star will complete the first manned Mars landing while we are re-training all our scientists and engineers to wrap hamburgers and french fries.

Bluesky are you an electrical engineer or mechanical by trade?

Clearances may help you find work because they go with you not the job, TS even with Sensitive Compartmental as high as you can go is good in five year increments. Have knowledge.

I'm very sorry for you, Super Kid and his parents, the others who lost jobs--and all of us.

Here is why it's happening: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Z9WVZddH9w.

The real US unemployment rate right now is about 40%, counting those who have given up looking or who are "underemployed" like you (and me). Will be 65% by 2020.

It's a new era. The 50 year post WWII party based on a house of cards financial system and seemingly limitless oil is ending.

Google a world population graph and note how it goes vertical in just the last 100 years, the age of oil. From 1 billion to 7 billion people in only 100 years.

http://www.fromthewilderness.com

U.N.L.E.A.R.N.

This is not politics. It's human reality. Sorry.

Electrical engineer by degree, systems engineer by trade. I have worked with a lot of MEs and know enough to get myself in trouble.

Well, maybe not good news but neat news.

The bad news: I'm being laid off from my job. My last day is Monday 8/13. I've spent the last 35 years working as a systems engineer as a contractor in the Intelligence community. I have some very high level clearances (some that I can't acknowledge I even hold) and have worked on very black programs for goverment customers that don't exist publicly. I have been looking for a new job for the last 6 weeks and though I have had some promising interviews, no real offers yet. Guess I am just too old and cost too much money. Everybody wants young kids right out of college who don't have a clue as to what a full scope poly really means. Oh, well.

The neat news? I am working part time, while I hunt for a permanent job, for a well known luthier (yeah, this guy is an honest to goodness luthier, not just a "guitar tech) who custom builds some absolutely fantastic guitars, both acoustic and electric. I don't want to name him and risk upsetting the mods, but if you want to check him out, shoot me a PM and I will give you his website URL.

By the way, is the information still classified if you are getting laid off. Surely the information you have in your brain can no longer be controlled by the company who is disposing of you. Your brain is not a piece of document that you can leave behind. I do understand that you can't go posting it all on Forums and newspapers but do your close friends not get an insight to your line of work?