[speaker001:] see when when when you're with a big company or a big organization a lot of times uh you know the benefits are good and and you know the pay's regular but uh well you know sometimes you don't get tuned in to what's going on and I I I think the biggest benefit or the biggest benefit other than wages that that uh that uh anybody could get in uh in dealing in a with a large company is to be in a situation where you you get to know what's going on and maybe that's that's probably the toughest thing in the whole world to to do what's what's your feeling about benefits what sort of benefits would you like to get from a big company
[speaker002:] well since I'm kind of on the the older side you know I I I just feel like uh when I start talking about benefits I talk about I'm concerned about medical benefits um my um my husband works for McDonald Douglas and so my his benefits his medical benefits are so excellent you know that's really great
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] you know I work for um Western a bank Western Financial
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and uh they don't let me know really about anything that's going on even some of the immediate things that I need to know I don't know it until the next hour and then all of a sudden we know we've gotten changes made we're changing departments we're changing policies we're changing doing other kinds of things which to me is is disturbing I mean I feel like if I I don't necessarily need to uh be involved since I'm pretty much on a low level you are you are right there you know I'm pretty much on a low level as far as uh uh the company is concerned but I I do kind of like to know what's going on and what's happening and I think I can be a better and more effective employee if if I had a little bit more information along that line
[speaker001:] well that I I well I I work for the government and uh actually I work for the FBI
[speaker002:] oh my gosh
[speaker001:] and uh and so well you know we we don't there's lots of things that we don't get told for good reason but uh but basically uh there's lots of things that that we should know about projects I'm an engineer
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] you know I'm I'm a COTR and sometimes and I worked in the same lab with a guy and we didn't really know that much about each other's projects for two years and we should've you know we're we're now collaborating
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] and it didn't for two years we didn't and which which was uh kind of stupid
[speaker002:] and it it
[speaker001:] but uh but uh our organization is doing something else tomorrow on Monday uh we're having a for all unclassified programs we're we're having little tables put out in front of you know lab in the hallways and everybody all the other employees are going to come around and see what sort of things we do which I thought was kind of interesting and but
[speaker002:] yeah that is interesting
[speaker001:] but uh but that sort sort of thing but but if but just I think you can tolerate a lot of problems if you understand what's going on
[speaker002:] exactly
[speaker001:] and and but of course most time most the time management has a hard time distributing or getting the word out to the people who must know and you know if you don't really count if you're not part of the program you might not get told for months or you might you know if it doesn't impact you directly or if your management doesn't think that but but regard to benefits you know most companies have most big organizations have decent you know benefits like retirement and that sort of thing in the private sector I would think that one of the major uh situations especially when you reach you know the the mid fifties was is keeping a job until you retire
[speaker002:] hm ah right
[speaker001:] uh and engineers are uh are baggage to most uh uh as they get older to to most companies and uh it's very much like the military it windows out you know you you think well boy I'm getting more money and I'm getting more responsibility I'm doing this but as you climb up that tree pretty soon you're the the the branches get smaller on the top of the tree
[speaker002:] um-hum
[speaker001:] and pretty soon somebody falls off I've I've fallen off twice in my private sector
[speaker002:] oh
[speaker001:] and uh and and you know I can get up
[speaker002:] I know it it seem to be kind of kind of scary you know because you think of um see my son's eighteen right now and he he's uh he wants to go into engineering and the the the branches of engineering that he wants to go into is now is kind of open and he's interested in basically three different areas but uh it's difficult for me to to try to give him any kind of advice or to advise him or anything like that he needs to do his own course investigation and and see what he can do because who knows what's going to happen in another thirty years
[speaker001:] um-hum yeah
[speaker002:] and in thirty years it becomes pretty critical I mean my um brother-in-law is like um I mean he's sixty he's not ready to retire but his company is is closing is um is uh closing up
[speaker001:] um-hum
[speaker002:] and because of the defense cutbacks and all that kind of stuff and all the nuclear and stuff which is what he what he was working on he's getting cut back and he's not ready to retire
[speaker001:] yeah he may be retired