Started out in police work with an Applied Associate's Degree in Administration of Justice. Worked as a Village Police Officer, Deputy Sheriff, and US Border Patrol Agent. Went back to school to study Electrical Engineering and started in the aerospace industry at Hughes Aircraft Company in 1979. While there taught an Aerospace Education course at Cal State LA. In the 1980s, moved to the east coast and worked at Anaren Microwave, General Electric, Bell Aerospace, Calspan/Space Industries. Taught the same aerospace education course at Syracuse University until the Challenger disaster. Moved back to the west coast and worked for Veridian/General Dynamics/Wyle Aerospace, Computer Sciences Corporation, and retired from Northrop Grumman in 2018. Served in the reserve forces for all four branches of service, and did overseas deployments during the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, and Iraq.