Old salt, wannabe metrologist..............

[CalLabSolutions]

Well Yea... (Electrical) Technicians make less than and an Electrical Engineers.  That is true an any field.

Mike..
MetVet.. I 100% agree.

[USMC kalibrater]

I heard Brain Surgeons make more than engineers..... 

[USMCPMEL]

Very true but since this fella has not mentioned going to school to be a Brain Surgeon I did not think it was worth mentioning.

[Hawaii596]

Lest the elder of us forget Jethro Bodine and his aspirations to be a brain surgeon.  I used to love when Uncle Jed pulled a huge roll of bills from his pocket - his "walkin' around money" - to pay for whatever required it.

[USMCPMEL]

I would like to have that kind of walking around money...

[guy48065]

@OP:  Don't rule out industry.  There are many more opportunities in an internal support role than in commercial cal labs.  I'm a one-man calibration department doing about 1000 calibrations per year on a long list of IMTE and production instrumentation.  No degree, no certifications, and only OJT.  I may be fortunate having this position without the plaques--but companies like I work for are pretty common and way more practical than theoretical in their staffing prerequisites.

Opportunities are out there...

[briansalomon]

I am 56 and do understand that age is a factor. If I were in your position I would search out a small family owned lab like the one I currently work in.

The only other two guys in the electrical lab essentially had zero experience when they started.

There is a huge downside to this situation if you DO have 20+ years of actual metrology under your belt, and I think as someone who has had authority before it is REALLY difficult to walk into a lab and accept that I am not in charge of it when it is painfully obvious that I actually have the experience and knowledge to run it.

You will almost surely have the same experience. If you want to work in a small lab I can see that as a possibility and personally I'd love to see you here in Oxnard. The reality as I see it is this: you are surely much better than the rest of the raw recruits but just as surely there will be a perception that you may have difficulty accepting a lesser role than what you have had.

I'd post my resume on monsterboard stressing the repairs you've done and putting technician in as a keyword. If you are in the Ventura CA area I can get you in audience with the owner of the company I work for.