Retraining and Teaching Others

HIS CHALLENGE: Lynch, a retired Army officer, spent 11 years in a second career at North American Aircraft in Seal Beach. He helped reorganize the company as military contracts began to dry up. In October 1994, Lynch was laid off with a month’s severance pay. Despite his Army pension and his wife’s paycheck, there was not enough money for mortgage payments and other commitments.

HOW HE COPED: After sending out 1,050 resumes to Southern California companies and getting only two interviews, Lynch realized he needed a new game plan. He retrained in a new area, found he liked teaching it and is now an instructor at the Computer and Electronic Training Center at Signal Hill.

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Through the Redondo Beach Private Industry Council, Bob Lynch discovered that laid-off aerospace workers such as he could get free retraining. An eight-month, eight-hour daily program enabled him to become a Microsoft-certified systems engineer who can analyze, install and maintain computer systems for businesses.

“It was intensive, difficult and challenging,” he said of his classes at the Professional Development Institute in Buena Park. And he found he enjoyed teaching the material to others.

He began his teaching job last Monday, having completed the course the previous Friday. After nine months, he said, he expects to exceed what he was earning in the aerospace industry.

Lynch said being laid off did not frighten him, because he had set goals for himself and worked hard. Before the computer-teaching job appeared, he said, he had already decided he would not return to aerospace even if he was offered a job in the industry.

“I’m teaching. I enjoy working in a high-technology industry on high-technology subjects, and I enjoy the challenge,” he said.