I Earned $1,000,000 In The Last 10 Years Of My Career. Why Am I Here? My 300th Post Will Tell!

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Since this is my 300th Post, I wanted to share a little more about myself. Let me answer the question of what I did to earn a six-figure income as an engineer.

I am going to give a lot of supporting information that is directly related to how I was able to earn those one million dollars in the first place. As well as why I am here at Wealthy Affiliate trying to be an entrepreneur.

1969 Was An Iconic Year For Me

I graduated from Liverpool University in Electronic Engineering and Electronics. Man landed on the moon. We, meaning 500 students drove overland to India and back within a span of three months.

This was part of a cultural expedition that I wrote about on my blog. On my return, I started my career.

My career was a path very few engineers took. I got my degree in Electrical Engineering and Electronics. I sucked at it and barely passed my exam.

In my final year, I remember clearly a meeting I had with my tutor to discuss what career path I could choose.

Since I was challenged by this course, he suggested I find a niche that very few engineers would seek. Like electronic packaging for example.

My Career Niche

See that word niche? That was when I learned what a niche was. Exactly the same as what I discovered again 50 years later.

I zoned in on the field of Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Back then, most electronic engineers pursued designing electronic circuits. I sucked at that.

But LEDs fascinated me. It was in the very early stages of development and not something brilliant designers were interested in. This worked in my favor.

As a development engineer, I worked on designing tiny LED matrices for embedding coded data on the edge of movie film in reconnaissance cameras used in Espionage Aircraft.

This was related more to packaging electronics and the measurement of light and color. It was a very narrow field, but I became an expert at it.

A World Of Opportunities

Guess what. A wide world of career opportunities opened up to me. When the management of the company I worked for didn't think I deserved more pay, I resigned. And immediately emigrated to Canada.

There was one problem. I had no job. But the Canadian immigrant official told me not to worry. He was certain I would have no problem finding a job.

He was right and wrong at the same time. I found it very difficult to find a job because there was no work available in LEDs. Companies wanted traditional electronic engineers, I got so disheartened I gave up and was prepared to return to England.

Friends who I was staying with told me to check out the newspaper ads one more time. So far I had found nothing, but failed interviews.

As I perused the employment pages in the Sunday edition of the Toronto Globe And Mail, I had to do a double-take.

A Double Take

Right in front of me, I saw a huge ad with my resume in it! In bold print no less! What? Was I imagining things?

Surely my eyes were playing tricks on me?

Who would want someone with my knowledge and experience?

I called the company first thing on Monday and got an interview. Guess who did the interviewing?

The department director kept quiet and let me do all the talking. And the asking of questions. This went on for so long that I began to wonder if they were going to hire me.

Eventually, I had to break this impasse and asked point-blank if I was going to be given an offer. The director nonchalantly told me he had made up his mind within the first 5 minutes to hire me. But he was enjoying this experience talking with me he let it drag on!

Internally I leaped for joy! I had to ask, what would I be paid. His response stunned me. I went into shock. Was he serious?

They were offering me almost triple what I was earning in England! But after I accepted, the other shoe dropped.

International Cooperation

The Program I would be working on was a joint venture between the Canadian Government, the US Air Force, the company I was going to work for, and their sister company in Los Angeles!

They were developing high-performance cockpit LED displays that were being manufactured by their LA division.

My job would involve moving to LA for three years. After the product development was complete, I would be returning to Canada to transfer the technology there.

Imagine this. I had emigrated to Canada and hated the idea of working in the US. Buffalo was on my mind. Sorry, Buffalo. I am sure the city has got much better today.

The Director was sneaky by not telling me about this arrangement before I accepted the job. I suspect he knew if he did I might have turned it down.

Reluctantly I agreed.

LA Here I Come

Everything changed after my first trip to LA. The San Fernando Valley where the company was located was nothing like Buffalo, a US city I had visited after driving to see the Niagra Falls. All I saw were run-down steel mills and old buildings.

I had expected to see decrepit industrial buildings in LA too. Instead, I saw, the sun, sea, and sand! The low-lying buildings didn't seem too bad looking. I was hooked!

Not to forget Hollywood!

Obviously, this job didn't pay me a six-figure income. Try five figures. This was pretty good for 1974, the year I went to Canada.

After the program was concluded, I returned to Canada to continue the project there. Now that I had money saved, I bought a house.

My Third Career Job

Fate struck again two years later!

Another company in LA that I had once visited for a business meeting gave me a surprise phone call. They wanted to hire me.

I was dating now and asked my girlfriend if she would like to move to LA. She said yes giving me the green light to proceed. I told this new company I was interested.

Following a phone interview, they gave me an offer. It was more than what I was earning at that time. Should I accept it?

It was time for me to act boldly. I refused this offer and countered! Guess what? They accepted!

LA here we come! For the second time! This time for good.

Do you see a pattern here? When I change jobs, I also change countries!

My Chosen Career Paid Off

Fast forward 20 years to the final phase of my career. Yes, I am still in LA.

By then, I had gotten involved in developing LCD cockpit displays for military aircraft. The knowledge and experience I had accumulated in this field of LEDs and LCDs opened up tremendous opportunities for me.

Firstly, I was very good at what I did. Along the way had got two patents of which I was the sole inventor.

Secondly, there were very few engineers around with the combination of experience I had. I not only did engineering but I was also involved with selecting vendors and marketing to customers.

This involved traveling all over the world. I loved this as we flew business class for International travel. And stayed at great hotels, Plus were winded and dined in nice restaurants. Technical negotiating became an integral part of my job.

The Milion Dollar Question Resolved

How did I end up earning one million dollars? I made myself valuable to the companies I worked for.

Instead of doing what engineers typically do, such as just design stuff in the lab, I looked for new opportunities for the companies I worked for.

My technical expertise in combination with the marketing department won our company lucrative contracts. Hence, I got good pay raises that eventually helped me earn those one million dollars in the final ten years of my career.

Wealthy Affiliate To The Rescue

So why am I here at Wealthy Affiliate? For three reasons in order of importance.

  1. I lost a fortune in the Great Recession of 2008-2009 and almost lost our home.
  2. I challenged myself to become a successful entrepreneur and break my earnings record working for other people
  3. Being retired, I have the time to devote to this new phase of my life.

Will I be able to earn one million dollars again? I recently turned 76, so I don't have decades to do it. Fortunately, I am not desperate. My pensions are able to fund a comfortable living. With no savings, there is not enough to do many of the nicer things in life.

I also have plans to help others with artistic talent get ahead with their plans.

No Excuses

Whether I succeed or fail, the buck stops here. I cannot make any excuses if I do not meet my objectives.

Which is to beat my annual earnings as an engineer. But this time in helping others solve problems or meet a need through affiliate marketing.

This is fun. But so was my career. I thank God that I was able to find a career that I loved followed by a new challenge that I expect to be even more enjoyable.

Closing Thoughts

Thank you so much for reading my story. If you care to comment with words of wisdom I'd love to hear from you.

I wish you much success in your affiliate marketing journey.

Cheers!

Edwin

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Recent Comments

69

A great story, Edwin...so glad I read it. It's amazing, isn't it, the twists and turns life can take? Where will we end up next?

Actually, I'm very glad you ended up with WA, because otherwise I would not have met you. You are a great help and inspiration. I do believe you can make your goal.

Hi Fran,

I stopped reading this thread and by chance returned to it today and found your comment. Thank you so much for the kind words. I am glad I met you too. I also have learned a lot from you.

My new website is on its way to being built as I went back to the start of Bootcamp to follow Ky;e's instructions focused on building an MMO site. I'm blogging about this as I'm making progress.

My recent post was about getting a Poll Workers job for the upcoming California Primary elections. A little extra money will be helpful.

Cheers.

Edwin

Ah, yes, that little extra money...When I was selling, I used to "look for little pockets of cash." I always seemed to find them somewhere.

Was going great with my MMO site until I received a very negative comment from someone higher-up...mainly because I gave unclear instructions and he reviewed the wrong website. Took me a while to figure that out, and by that time, I'd decided to quit working on the MMO and concentrate on cats. It was actually a good thing that it happened, because I was too scattered, trying to keep up both sites. Now I have jewelry subdomain, but it's a bit easier than the MMO.

Got one referral during that time. Just got another yesterday, from a friend I haven't contacted in a long time. She should do extremely well.

Hope your new site is a rousing success.

Good morning Edwin,

I hope you're doing well. Thank you for sharing your fantastic story, how amazing! I always find it interesting how people start out in life and what they do for a living! I mean this in a genuine way, not an interfering and nosy way!

It sounds like you have had a really interesting career, Edwin, good for you! I really think that there is a very fine line between getting things right and wrong. Especially when it comes to investments etc.!

I think it's great when retired people join Wealthy Affiliate, I believe it's a great thing to do. The Internet is a great way for retired people to generate an income and to keep active.

Most of my working life has been fairly physical due to the nature of the work, although it is easier than it was a few years ago. It's always a pleasure to sit in front of my computer and write a blog post and grow my online business. It's much better than working physically even though physical work is good!

I wish you a great weekend and thank you again for sharing your story.

Roy

Hello Roy,

Great to hear from you. Just before you responded I edited my post as I wasn’t happy with the transition to my last 10 years. It reads better now.

Unlike you, I did a lot of work on my computer in my career.

Designing. Writing specs. Creating project plans. Etc. Deadlines had to be met.

Of course, we had innumerable meetings. In the office. And elsewhere with suppliers and customers.

The work now is much simpler and not stressful.

Glad you’re enjoying retirement too.

Thanks for commenting. All the best to you.

Cheers!

Edwin

Good morning Edwin,

Thank you for taking the time to reply to my comment, it's appreciated. I understand, Edwin, sometimes posts like you are writing are not easy and we find a better way to write!

I have just been reading your post again and it looks like you had a great work ethic! Rather than just working for the company you went out and tried to find opportunities for the company! That's an excellent type of work ethic!

Interestingly enough I am reading a book called Business Made Simple or rather listening as it's an audible book. It mentions exactly what you are saying, we need to treat other people's business like our business!

I can imagine that the work is much less stressful than your previous job. I think it's great that you want to try and help others, a great thing to do!

Just for clarification, although for the last 21 years I have used a computer. It wasn't until 2004 when I had my first broadband connection that I really saw the power and potential of the Internet! Prior to 2001 I never actually even touched a computer mouse!

I'm not actually retired yet, I'm still running my off-line business and trying to make the most of the time to grow my online business! I would love to be retired, but I'm afraid that's not possible yet!

My sincere apologies, I have edited my previous comment as I was calling you Bernard for some reason! I have no idea why! I always try and call people by their first name.

Have a wonderful day, I really appreciate your input to Wealthy Affiliate.

Roy

No worries Roy about using my last name.

My commute to work was at least a 30-minute drive each way. When my car had a cassette player I bought loads of educational and inspirational tapes from the Nightingale Conant organization. I listened to individuals like Brian Tracy, Bob Proctor, Denis Waitley, and several others.

It was Brian Tracy who reinforced the idea of how to get ahead in your career by making yourself more valuable to the company than your colleagues. Strangely, that was my modus operandi before I had heard it from him. In a way, it is common sense.

Sadly, most people look at work as just a job and something to look forward to retiring from. Hence, they make themselves expendable.

Sounds like you are your own boss with your offline businesses. That must keep you quite busy. It must be a challenge to devote the amount of time you would like to on creating an affiliate marketing business. But that is half the fun.

I have noticed that most of the successful affiliate marketers worked full-time in their day jobs. Retired folks somehow have more difficulty in making this work. I asked Google if there are any successful affiliate marketers who are older than 75 and got zilch for an answer lol. It's time for me to change that stat ha!

My best to you Roy!

Edwin


I have enjoyed every second reading your breathtaking career story. Pretty comprehensive and fills out the gaps in my knowledge of you. Thanks for sharing
If you apply the same due diligence you showed in your former place of work, nothing can stop you from reaching the very top in Wealthy Affiliate and surpassing your 10-year earning!

Hello Dada,

I’m thrilled you were engrossed by my story. With the conviction you showed about me, I have to succeed now. And I will.

You’re on your way too being a member of WA.

Cheers!

Edwin

Thanks for sharing your story, Edwin! I really enjoyed that :)

I earn a very healthy 6 figures in my current job, but it isn't where my heart is at, and that's why I'm here! A whole new set of skills that I can apply in a field of my choosing. It's so exciting and fun, and the possibilities are endless.

I am cheering you on from the side to beat your annual earnings as an engineer. And I hope you continue to love doing it along the way.

I wish you every success, Edwin!

Hello Mia,

Congrats on your current career. I wish I had found Wealthy Affiliate while I was still in a job. Better late than never.

I’m sure you’re looking forward to the day when you can ditch your job. Being your own boss, and controlling what you earn is a very powerful motivation.

I wish you much success too.

Cheers!

Edwin

Wow, Edwin. Thanks for sharing your long engineer career with us. You sure don’t look like 76 just as much as I don’t look like I am 58 years old. I was wondering how a you as a British guy ended up in Los Angeles, CA.

I knew there is a story to be told one day. There it is, you shared that in this post. Ah that explains it.

As it is my Mom is from LA. She is almost 82 years old. My maternal grandparents lived in San Fernando Valley, Sylmar until their deaths in the 1990 era, they were way past 85 years old. My Mom outlived her two younger half brothers, both died young age, due to obesity disease.

My uncles worked for the film industry and my grandparents were successful business owners of dry cleaners inside Burbank studios where movie stars were on the set there. I grew up seeing lots of places and movie stars.

My Mom graduated from Hollywood High School in late 50’s. Natalie Wood was my Mom’s classmate, and so were many other celebrities. She grew up with them. She didn’t become an actress because she has hearing loss, back then they don’t hire Deaf people.

Today, we have Deaf actors and actresses professionally accepted by Hollywood. It’s amazing that CODA movie shown on Apple Plus won an Academy Awards ( Oscar) and the Deaf actor, Tony won an Oscar. Have you seen the movie? Some scenes are rated R and adult scenes that gross but that doesn’t truly represent Deaf Culture or kids growing up hearing with Deaf parents. I am Deaf myself and use ASL.

Just curious if you seen the movie or met any Deaf people in LA? LA has a strong big Deaf community there and Deaf West Theatre in LA.

Hi Brenda,

You won’t believe how small our world is. My wife and I have lived in Sylmar since 1983. Looks like our paths crossed virtually!

Wow your mom must have many stories to tell. She should write a book. Or you write it for her.

I’m a member of Toastmasters. The District Governor in the LA area at the turn of the century was deaf. She developed hearing loss as a little girl. Linnaea does speak with the typical accent those who are deaf use.

Linnaea Mallette mentored me and a few years later, I was elected District Governor. She is an excellent speaker and communicator. Linnaea uses her deafness to inspire people.

I watched the Oscars and was impressed with CODA. I’ve yet to see this movie. Now that you’ve told me more about it, I will see it.

The son of neighbors across the street was born deaf. These are the closest two people I know who’s deaf.

You must have a lot of stories to tell. Do write about them Brenda.

Thanks for your wonderful and newsy comments.

Cheers!

Edwin

Sylmar was small back then by now that town probably grown by now. The last time I was there was in ‘87 and ‘91, my grandpa died in 1997, I think. The house got sold after my uncles passed away. They did have part of the house destroyed from the earthquake I think it’s called the north ridge earthquake In 1994. Their pool got cracked and the wall fell into the pool. They got the house fixed up but I never flew back to LA to see the changes.

Thanks for encouraging me to write more. My Mom already wrote several manuscripts, one last one she’s working on it now. We are aiming for ebook publishing. My Mom is old fashioned, she prefers publishers. It’s hard to get accepted these days by book publishing companies. Rejection letters are a common thing and we’ve explained technology is better with ebook publishing. Ebook publishing like Kindle much easier to do it this way.

I remember the Northridge earthquake well. Our home sustained minimum damage while others in our street were effected more. Streets were closed because of damaged bridges.

Your mom is on the right track. Good for her.

Thanks for sharing your experiences Brenda.

All the best to you.

Cheers!

Edwin

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