[P]I read on this board and laugh at the individuals declaring with pride they have worked hard for 25 and 30 plus years and they are now taking a stand and voting no, enough is enough. Fine I agree, enough is enough. Here is what is going to happen if you don’t retire and plan on taking your skills out into the real world without that scared degree. After deciding what you will do with the rest of your working life, minus that degree and even if you have a skill or two, after some time searching you will find yourself yet again declaring, enough is enough. This time around it will be because you will find nothing out there that is any better than what you walked away from. How do I know this? I don’t have a degree, but I do have two different trades. The A&P which crosses over into all kinds of other mechanical fields and another unrelated field that took even longer training to obtain. Even with these skills and years of experience, two things I have found happened. I hear: Well you worked at U, we work hard here and we can’t pay anywhere near what you were used to earning, and sir I don’t believe you would be happy here after all those years you worked at U. Yes sir, you do have many years of experience, but I am sorry we require at least a 4 year degree and we get more than enough people with degrees that we also turn away. This is what I am finding, and by the way, what they are offering is not even close to what U offers even with all the cuts. Most of these offers would require a relocation without relocation allowance. The economy is dead out there. I just wanted the older U employees who never looked into the realities of today’s world to see what I am seeing out there. If you have a masters degree in just about any field, then and only then could you feel comfortable leaving. I don’t have 25 years at U like the ones saying enough is enough. Making a stand at this time in history is not a wise move. Take it for what it’s worth from a guy who has been actively looking to leave U for some time now. Take it from all the guys choosing to bump into different stations rather than taking a furlough after as they too discovered these realities. Enough is enough, but enough of what?[/P]