# Meet the new job, same as the old job (plus perks!)
**URL:** https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016
**Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share
**Created:** [January 18, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016 "2022-01-18T19:31:59Z")
**Posts on this page:** 9
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2022, 7:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/1 "2022-01-18T19:31:59Z")
So I have been working as a contract employee for a major Japanese automaker for the last three years and today they formally offered to hire me as a direct employee. Same position in the audio department but with the real perks like great insurance, company vehicle, 401K match and real vacation time. I had all but given up hope of having a “real” job between now and retirement (I am 60), especially since the friend who brought me in had himself recently retired (and I am older than him).
When I took an early retirement from my former job as a product manager at the Bose Corporation four years ago my goal was to work directly for an automotive OEM, so today that goal has been realized. I will be able to continue work at a job I love doing, designing and managing automotive infotainment systems. At my advanced age they pay me to drive around and listen to music. Life is but a dream.
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### Author:  [@pjd](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pjd)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2022, 7:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/2 "2022-01-18T19:43:48Z")
Rub it in, why don’t you !
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2022, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/3 "2022-01-18T19:45:49Z")
I get a lot of that at work. I went down to the IT department to get my new laptop and the guys there hissed and booed (in jest) at me. They have been contract for 16 years.
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### Author:  [@abcdefghij](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/abcdefghij)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2022, 8:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/4 "2022-01-18T20:07:32Z")
> [@Si\_Amigo](#):
>
> At my advanced age they pay me to drive around and listen to music.
How good an audio system do you need to listen to Lawrence Welk?
I kid, I kid (and I’m 57).
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### Author:  [@DavidNRockies](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DavidNRockies)
#### Post date: [January 18, 2022, 8:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/5 "2022-01-18T20:11:14Z")
Congrats ! May this take you into retirement in high style and financial comfort.
And may the ear wax never build up 😉
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [January 23, 2022, 6:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/6 "2022-01-23T18:55:28Z")
So great to hear good news on the job front!
I’ve heard so many “job fell through” stories, this balances them all out.
I retired, and was supposed to teach a class and have a part-time job, but a pandemic happened and both of those fell through. SO tough to have to sit around and read (mostly the Dope, to be honest).
And listen to my old LPs, but they do tend to skip in the car. Can you get your company working on that, **Amigo**?
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### Author:  [@Lare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lare)
#### Post date: [January 24, 2022, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/7 "2022-01-24T17:01:50Z")
Already been done, **digs**
[Article from Consumer Reports](https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/news/2014/04/record-players-were-the-infotainment-systems-of-the-1950s-and-60s/index.htm)
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### Author:  [@digs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/digs)
#### Post date: [January 28, 2022, 4:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/8 "2022-01-28T16:19:36Z")
Thanks! That article is fascinating… and wild (a “Highway Hi-Fi” that you pull out from under the dash, playing vinyl at 16 2/3 rpm…skipping as you drove over potholes, I’d assume).
> The Highway Hi-Fi was short-lived as Chrysler only offered it for two years ['56 and '57]. Consumer Reports did not test it, but we did report its demise, suggesting that the price tag of nearly $200 (over $1,700 today) and the constraint of buying proprietary records from Columbia were probably reasons for the player’s short run.
[ ](https://www.automoblog.net/wp-content/uploads/2009/01/highway-hi-fi-phonograph.jpg)
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### Author:  [@Si\_Amigo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Si_Amigo)
#### Post date: [January 29, 2022, 4:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/meet-the-new-job-same-as-the-old-job-plus-perks/958016/9 "2022-01-29T16:05:22Z")
Its basically a glorified Close and Play portable record player.
> **[1960s Kenners Close and Play Phonograph Record Player Metal Sign 9x12" 60636 ...](https://www.ebay.com/itm/1960s-Kenners-Close-and-Play-Phonograph-Record-Player-Metal-Sign-9x12-60636-/283272104716?mkcid=16&mkevt=1&_trksid=p2349624.m46890.l49286&mkrid=711-127632-2357-0)**
>
> HIGH QUALITY FLAT ALUMINUM SIGN. (includes simulated rusted edges, scratched and faded paint for an aged look). BAKED IMAGE WITH GLOSS FINISH. WEATHER RESISTANT AND DURABLE. 4 HOLES FOR EASY HANGING.
And yes I had one. Lisented to Beatles 45’s on it. I’ve always been cutting edge! 😄