Gobsmacked!

[Tradd]

MAJOR UPDATE:

I was just GOBSMACKED this morning. I was showing my new manager my procedure for paying duties, when I received a call from Customs locally.

My brokers license was ready to be picked up.

Holy crap! :0!

This SO much sooner than I thought it would be ready.

I went and picked it up this afternoon. Very low key - the CBP officer who handles the license stuff locally just pushed it through the window to me after I signed for it and showed ID.

I went back to the office and everyone gathered around oohing and ahhing. GM had me email him a copy. My raise is effective immediately, pending confirmation (seems just a formality) of HR and Ops VP. New manager (who seems to be a pretty nice guy, BTW - just started yesterday) surprised me by saying he wanted to do lunch with entire department on Friday to celebrate. I didn't expect that. I chose pizza, ordered in, since it's easier to handle and we're so busy right now that a long lunch would not work.

I have those three "lovely little letters" after my name now - LCB.

Yes! Yes! Yes! It's the culmination a year of VERY hard work and another six months or so of waiting.

I am GIDDY! Stopped by Target on the way home for a frame for my license.

:cool:

[catherine]

Congratulations, Tradd!!!!! Yes, celebrate!

[CeciliaW]

Well Done!

[iris lily]

That is SO GREAT, at last at last!!!!

[Zoe Girl]

some of the best news I have heard this week! That is awesome. I hope you got the fancy more than $5 frame

[rodeosweetheart]

Way to go, Tradd!

[JaneV2.0]

Now you can bask in the glow of that neatly-framed, hard-earned license.

[Tradd]

some of the best news I have heard this week! That is awesome. I hope you got the fancy more than $5 frame

$12.99 frame - it has a bit of matting around the opening for the license. :);)

[Mrs. Hermit]

Wonderful news!
Congrats!

[shadowmoss]

The license is worth the splurge! :) Congrats.

[Valley]

Great news Tradd...you worked hard and waited patiently...you rock!!:cool:

[AnneM]

That's wonderful news. Congratulations,

[early morning]

Oh that is WONDERFUL news - thanks for sharing, and congrats!!

[Lainey]

Fantastic news - nothing like having the actual certificate in hand. although you tickled me with the term "gobsmacked", Tradd :)

[Tradd]

Lainey, I love that term!

[Tiam]

Well, I'm pretty ignorant in this area. I'd love to hear about your license. What did you have to do to get it? Cost? And now that you have it, what does it allow you to do?

[Tradd]

Well, I'm pretty ignorant in this area. I'd love to hear about your license. What did you have to do to get it? Cost? And now that you have it, what does it allow you to do?

I work in int'l shipping/customs brokerage. We clear imported goods through US Customs on behalf of importers. Anything from containers full of consumer goods to personal effects for Americans returning after working abroad.

This is a tough certification to get. I had to take a 4 hour/80 question exam TWICE to pass. April 2012 only 12 people out of about 1400 in the entire country passed. I got a 66.67%. In October 2012, I passed with an 85% (75 % minimum needed). It was a year of studying. It's an open book exam, which requires 5000+ pages of reference material to be taken into the exam. 19CFR (Customs Regs) and the Harmonized Tariff. This is what I refer to as "the monstrosity" - it now sits on my desk at work. My prep course text book is in the middle between regs and tariff. I hauled this into the exam, as well as a binder full of references and another spiral bound volume. It weighs about 40 lbs. It's in one of those old-fashioned metal catalog racks, with 2" loose leaf sections that hook into the base.

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-L5r_YE_ciu8/UNdmXdyqOwI/AAAAAAAAFtk/h44tAdQlaos/s640/P8250227.JPG

I had to wait six weeks for results, then once I received my letter, I applied. I had to include a credit report, six references, etc. I got electronically fingerprinted, which were run against national law enforcement databases. I was interviewed/fingerprinted in early February, local CBP head honcho gave me thumbs up in early March, and then I had to wait on DC.

While I can do this work working for someone else (corporation) that is licensed, having the license makes me MUCH more marketable. There are folks in my department who would love to have the certification, but don't want to spend the time or have the discipline for the needed studying. You have no life for 6-12 months. The amount of effort you need to put in is staggering. Ton of blood, sweat, and tears.

You just don't have to know the regs and the tariff (classifying where something falls in the tariff determines duty rate), but other gov't agencies involved in imports, such as FDA, ATF, EPA, Fish & Wildlife, etc.

It's getting me a $10K raise right off the bat. Things haven't been the best at the current job, due to some management changes, so I'm keeping my eyes open for something else.

[lhamo]

WHOO HOO! Congratulations, Tradd. So happy for you.

lhamo

[Tiam]

When you show and explain it like that, it really illustrates how massive an achievement it is. Congratulations. You earned it.

[IshbelRobertson]

Congratulations. All your hard work paid off!

[rosarugosa]

Congratulations, Tradd! Thanks for sharing your good news with us!

[herbgeek]

Wow Tradd that is awesome, so happy for you!!!

[chrisgermany]

Congrats. It is so good to know that hard work pays off.
And now you can focus on some other things, like looking for a new job or relocate.

[mtnlaurel]

This is great news Tradd!!! What an accomplishment! Congrats!

[Blackdog Lin]

Ditto congratulations. How wonderful for you!

[Florence]

Well done, Tradd! And well deserved!

[Jilly]

That is amazing; what a relief.

[redfox]

Wow, congrats! So nice to see the payoff for you. Blessings & good wishes for an awesome next job opp!

[Selah]

Fantastic, Tradd LCB! :) Mazel tov! SO happy for you...you are dedicated, professional, tough as nails and a credit to your profession!

[KayLR]

Good for you---I know you've worked SO hard for this!

[SiouzQ.]

Congratulations Tradd! It must feel like a big weight has been lifted, just having to deal with all the runaround and just in time to enjoy the summer!

[Simpler at Fifty]

Sorry I missed this post until today. Congratulations Tradd. Enjoy tooting your own horn for a while. I see a move to MN soon....

[jennipurrr]

Congrats! So happy all your hard work has come to fruition.

[Tradd]

Sorry I missed this post until today. Congratulations Tradd. Enjoy tooting your own horn for a while. I see a move to MN soon....

I'm not sure about the move to MN. There's nothing out there right now that I would move for. There's not much in my area right now. GM is easier to deal with now, plus with my department having a new manager, there's another layer in between GM and me. That's a good thing. I'm going to stay put for a while, since my raise will show up in the 6/15 paycheck. I want to make good use of that extra $$$ for some car repairs, pay down my one credit card, and simply save up.

I'm keeping my eyes open, but I've got much more flexibility now. I need more experience on the brokerage side under my belt, so since GM's quit being a jerk for a while, I'm going to take advantage of the situation.

[citrine]

I am so happy to hear this Tradd :) Congratulations and get the experience while you can...that way when it is time to move on, you can do so with experience and a clear conscience :)

[rose]

Congratulations! What a great surprise.