What's your work...

[Nico]

I have a french engineer (5 years) degree in material sciences, it's been one year and a half I search and quit searching for a conventional job because of emotional blockages : the 9/5 horror and the psychopatic system. But now I listen to myself and am searching any way to earn some money and trying to find what I really want to do.

 

[charlotte_light]

I am a mattress sales person at one of Macy's fine department stores, and am very proud of my tenure there. In fact I have been a mattress sales person for over fifteen years now. It is a passion of mine to assist folks in finding the best mattress possible for them within their measly middle class income budgets.

 

[MusicMan]

Hello all, I am a retiree and have been for eight years, but I do a couple of half days every week helping a farmer friend of mine on his cattle farm. He's the same age as me, and runs cattle by himself on a couple of thousand acres, so there is always something to do, repairing pumps and fences, pulling out trees, rounding up cattle etc.

I started my working life when I was at University - during the holidays my mother fixed me up with a job on 'The Ghan', it's a train that ran from Port Pirie in South Australia to Alice Springs - my first big adventure!

My University studies didn't pan out so well, so I joined the RAN. At that time there was a war on in Vietnam and I ended up going there to Vung Tau a couple of times. I left the Navy after twelve years, as a Petty Officer specializing in Radio Communications. I also travelled extensively around Papua New Guinea surveying the coast, South-East Asia - Singapore, HongKong, Manila, Jakarta, Fiji and even Hawaii.

Then there was a short stint in Telecom, as a telephone tradesman, followed by eleven years with Siemens, as a technician in their Quality Control Assurance section, basically repairing equipment which the customers had returned as faulty, and repairing the company's production line equipment whenever it failed. The range of equipment repairs was quite large, and also involved calibrations of test equipment. I left there when the company decided to relocate.

My next job was with the Australian Government. I joined them in Melbourne as a Technical Officer doing IT work, mainly networking and repair work, then relocated to Canberra after three years, doing similar work there, all very 'cutting edge'. After nineteen years with them I retired, and here I am.

It has been an interesting life, and I have learned a lot of life's lessons along the way, especially with people from different cultures and ways of thinking. And I have learned to appreciate the lifestyle I have here, currently I am learning to live as a pensioner.

Yet the main lessons I have learned have been from the people I associate with, my family, acquaintances, church, and work colleagues. More about that in another thread, perhaps.

 

[Divide by Zero]

I used to be in the computer networking/support/data field many years ago after High school.
Seeing the discrimination against older workers and huge nepotism, I decided to go where I can be stable.

I got into an electrical utility as an apprentice/helper.

Then I became an electrician doing maintenance and repairs, learning a lot by making mistakes :) I got to learn a lot from the 1960s and 1970s relays and controls. The older stuff is much more hands on and teaches more about the theory than the newer electronic "black boxes".

Recently I became an electric high voltage plant operator where there are huge pumps/motors. I didn't like sitting at a desk most of the day doing paperwork and calling/taking calls. So, my boss allowed me to go into electrician at this plant. Pay is a bit less, but it's much more fulfilling to see what I fix- than to have to deal with it as an operator!

Some of my hobbies are related to the skills I can use at the job: I love to work on cars, computers, and fixing anything else. One of my childhood heros on TV was MacGyver, who made science cool and hands on. Plus he was anti war, anti lies, and so on.

 

[Laurelayn]

I am a cabinetmaker of 35 years. Now I work at a small custom sign shop as an artisan/fabricator. I have always been very hands on and am pretty good at a lot of things. I also sculpt, paint, bead, sew, and do leather work.
My husband of 20 years also shares many of these interests with me.
We are both inventors as well and come up with many interesting ideas.
We are known to friends and family for our ability to fix many things in unconventional ways.
It is actually pretty fun to be me a lot of the time ;) My life would probably be wonderful if it weren't for the inner predator.
Or maybe not. seeking the truth is very important to me and I wouldn't trade it out for an easier life.

 

[4d candidate]

From 2012 to until now I' am a shift-worker in Poland plant. We produce shock absorbers for few European top leading car's manufacturers.
If somebody driving by Mini Morris, BMW, Opel, PSA, Honda from Mexico, and one model of Ferrari, and Lamborghini probably i made a one of part of this shock absorber.
But form 1997-2012 I worked as a clark (payroll, and tax specialist, Real Estate buyer, specialist in Social Insurance Institution) because I graduated M.Sc in economics( Academy of Economics in Cracow).

 

[herondancer]

Another update to my (increasingly weird) CV. I left the hardware store job at the end of last year because the hours promised never materialized. That and though the front-line people were great, the management was so disfunctional I don't know how the place keeps running, other than the momentum of being a big, recognizable name.

There is a casino in the area offering training for dealers. They pay you to attend, and if you pass the audition, you have a job. School was fun and I passed the audition in mid-February. Whoohoo!

The hours are a little funky for the newbies (middle of the night to midday) but the pay for blackjack dealers is excellent. They have a tip-sharing arrangement which smooths out the differences between shifts. The people you meet are fascinating, and when you think about it, it's really just another form of theatre, with your audience four feet away. I'm enjoying it. :)

 

[lainey]

This is an interesting thread, I've quite enjoyed the diversity.
I worked in footwear retail for 14 years, now I work in a stockroom and study complementary therapies which I adore.

 

[Musashi]

I've worked for a world wide Entertainment Production Company for the past 22 years.... I used to be a Gaffer (chief lighting tech.) but now I have a family so I moved into the office doing rental sales...

We do Lighting, Video, Audio and Scenic. Some of the thing we've done:

Olympic Games
Super Bowl Half-time shows
Built the Prate Shows at the Treasure Island in Las Vegas
Tons of Broadway Shows
Movies
Commercials
Political Events
Corporate Shows
Etc....

Before that I worked for the Chemical Giant BASF for a decade making Automotive Top Coats

"Ava People of Cassiopaea"

 

[Martina]

10 more years until I return my college debt with my paycheck. There has to be another way. I know I can learn anything I want or is needed of me. I'm a good worker, my bosses love me but I work in a competitive job (manual) where other women are mostly angry or jealous at you if you do better, and the work we do is nothing a machine couldn't do itself. That makes me sad. After I pay everything, I don't have money left to buy a book or to donate to needy. And I'm so tired that I can't play with my kid, or to translate Sott articles as I promised or to do anything.
That's a slavery my friends. That's why Aesop wrote such a short stories- because he was tired:)

 

[yayan]

Hi All,


I didn't know there's this thread... Its always interesting to know the various background of people who are interested in The Work.. :D


As for myself, I have been working in the IT consulting / system integration industry since 2006. My jobs is mainly about implementing software integration for corporations.


Now, I'm running my own small consulting because I want to be more in control of my working hours and workload..


Yet, it has its own challenges.. Like trying to get projects and how to handle clients, partners and employees.. Been a great learning experiences..

 

[duyunne]

vending machine repair technician, second class (ie. lowest rank on board) on Jupiter Mining Corp starship 'Red Dwarf'. last human being alive ;)

hahaha classic...


I'm a technical support specialist/computer repair technician for the last 10 or so years. People think what I go through is severely stressful but it's a sleepy job. A lot of progress bars and getting coffee... Being a vending machine repair tech would step up TBQH.

 

[hally]

Well, I'm a builder/ carpenter for the last twenty years, I love the challenge of fixing or computing out solutions in my head. Love the physical challenge too.
I'm from a family of pharmacists (two generations) and physicians ( chiropractor, nurses ) so about 13 years ago had this urge to look into herbal medicine, the original pharmacy practice!!! Love it.
Want to join the two and build Geodesic domes to grow herbs and spices that can't be grown in cold climates. Worth a look anyway.....

 

[Artex]

Hey All

I was just wondering what kind of work cross section we have on the forum, what do you guys do for a living?

All work can be The Work, so let's hear what you do in everyday life on the paper trail, who knows you might be surprised how many others share you current profession.

I work in IT as a Windows Systems Administrator for a major FinTech. It's the wrong thing for me and I know it. I am figuring out how to get out of the field and back on the right path.