Tell us a bit about ur job/occupation/business

[z0mb13]

I'm currently a government employee working in social services. My actual title is a Family Services Rep. Basically means a less paid social worker. In a nutshell, I process applications & determine if people are eligible for welfare.

In CA, everything's gotta be CAL something, as in Calfresh (food stamps), CalWorks (TANF) and Medi-Cal (Medicaid). This isn't what I went to school for. Prior to getting laid off, I established a career path in urban planning as a land use planner & GIS. GIS kinda fell by the wayside ad more land use applications needed to be processed and the boom hit, but once the bust came, the work stopped really fast here & I was the 1st to be let go.

I'm very fortunate & count my blessings that we can still live somewhat comfortably after taking a $30k pay cut and was able to be hired on within the county I worked in. Its just extremely difficult to get back into the field.

As far as what I like about where I'm at, I'd have to say it feels good helping the people who REALLY need it. But these are few & far between considering how busy we are in this economy.

What I dislike: Everyone's an emergency in this line of work, and every client doesn't realize we've heard just about everything in the book. And when Im done with an application they complain that that's all they're getting. Its an extremely stress full job & there isn't much to enjoy about it.

Wow I am sure you have tons of interesting stories on how people try to lie/hide their wealth to be on welfare. Can you share with us? Do you actually visit each client at their residence? How do you determine (other than from tax returns) that a candidate should/shouldnt get welfare?

 

[z0mb13]

I work for a defense contractor doing testing on aviation software...can't really go into too much detail but it's not bad. I technically work for an Avionics company who subcontracts to a defense contractor who is subcontracted 2 more times but just saying "Defense Contractor" is much easier.

is that the normal nature of the defense contractor industry (so many subcontractor)?

Is it by necessity or just as a result of the bureaucracy?

 

[hans007]

I write java and JavaScript for one of the 3 remaining yellow pages companies in america. "Local internet search" I guess is what we call it.

I work on things like web services for mobile apps and mobile HTML sites. Logging ad clicks to charge our clients , how page information gets brought to the view for you.

Have been at it for about a year and a half. Learned a lot ( used to write enterprise security and IT apps so it was an adjustment). Pretty interesting job.. work with cool people tho I think we are all a little underpaid by industry standards at this point. They gave us the opportunity tho

 

[jersiq]

I work as a data engineer for one of the two largest cellular companies in the US. My focus is to specifically work on the performance of the LTE solution. I do a lot of different things. Data analysis, third tier technical support for technicians, test script creation. I touch several different technologies like MPLS, Ethernet, LTE, GRE, GTPv2 etc. My goal is to make sure all packets go from the User Endpoint to our ISP peer as quickly as possible on the magnitude of several hundreds of thousands of simultaneous users.

I like the fact the job is varied. I am the type of person who doesn't like to "stagnate" with tech for so long. I like to get in on the ground floor, learn everything, train the people after me then move onto the next thing. I get to push boundaries that even most telecom engineers don't get to touch.

I've been with the company for 12 years, benefits are good, intellectual stimulation is good and pay is excellent. Unfortunately, I am starting to see some more bureaucracy creep in over the past two years, which I think will eventually kill my job.

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

EDA engineer, should be easy to guess where I work given my location (hint : not TI).
I help designers go from RTL (Verilog/VHDL) to GDS (final tapeout layout) and do a lot of R&D stuff on the side (flow development/enhancement, tool evaluations, etc.)

 

[rudeguy]

I freaking hate my job right now.

My title is "Retention Advisor" for a large cable company. Basically I take calls from people that want to disconnect their service. It sucks because its not what I signed on for, they just changed me over to this.

I was working towards getting my degree in networking and security so I could move up the ladder but now work won't pay for my schooling. I'm sure I'll have a new title/company very soon.

 

[hans007]

I see you are based in Seattle. Do you recruit for silicon valley startups?

haha i was going to ask the same thing! silicon valley isn't too bad, i dont know i just dont like rain that much even with the tax benefits

 

[highland145]

Sharks, I lend them.

 

[ch33zw1z]

IS/IT, Field Support. Break/fix, installs/deinstalls, upgrade services. Can be challenging, exciting, frustrating, rewarding....sometimes all at once. Hardest part is the scheduling. I like being mobile, but I'm not a big fan of the non-9-5 grind. Very difficult to commit to family stuff sometimes.

 

[Ausm]

I'm a CNC machinist, in a plastic injection mold making shop. For being 21 withouta college degree, (I could have but I love this job), I'm making more money than I need and I love the shit out of what I do. I go to work happy every morning, looking forward to what ill be doing.

What programming software do you use?

 

[silverpig]

I used to do semiconductor physics research.

Now I'm a management consultant - think "House of Lies" or "the Bobs" from Office Space.

The work is varied, which is pretty cool, but the hours can be long, sometimes the work isn't enjoyable, and it's a service job so you are at the client's beck and call.

I did get to go to Hong Kong twice in the past year for a week each time for work. The other perks are pretty nice and the pay is good, but I'd take a bit of a haircut on both of those for some more time off I think.

 

[rh71]

work on web/database stuff - love it. Kind of fell into it really - I only knew that I wanted to do IT stuff during college and back in 2000 web was at its peak. I have a COM degree of all things, but minored in MIS (which basically means I got a taste for the applicable subject matter) - got a 1st job that dealt with relational databases and 3 months after that got an interview for a major IT company so I jumped ship - been here for 12 years so far doing nearly the same thing but for different accounts. Still love it, lots of room to grow, from a learning perspective. The pay blows (yes even for mgmt), but I've worked from home everyday for the last 7 years - can't have it all. Other downside is I really need to push myself to get things done.

 

[xanis]

User Experience/User Interface Designer for a small software firm. I also do a fair amount of front-end development (primarily HTML/CSS/JS). Basically, a client comes to us with an idea for an app, and I do things like usability testing of their existing application (if one exists), development of personas, analysis for user interactions and experiences, etc. I'll generally work with a PM from design the design phase through the front-end development.

What I like about my job is that every project is different in some way. Our primary business is GIS and Geospatial Analysis, but each client has different needs, expectations and user bases. It's a big challenge creating easy-to-use and innovate interfaces for what's often a big and bloated application. I love the problem solving that goes along with each project.

What I don't like is the front-end development. I'm passionate about design, I went to school for design, and that's what I'd like to primarily do. I'm certainly not terrible at front-end development, but I really don't enjoy it.

 

[SearchMaster]

The pay blows (yes even for mgmt), but I've worked from home everyday for the last 7 years - can't have it all. Other downside is I really need to push myself to get things done.

In my previous job I managed ~10 employees and found that managing/mentoring people was very difficult when WFH. It's one of the main reasons I left - now I manage no one but WFH every day which I really do enjoy. Assuming this company does as well as we expect, I'll have to hire some resources in the next 6 months or so but I don't anticipate it will get big enough that I'll need too many.

 

[bigrash]

I work in Human Resources. My job is more than hiring and firing people.

 

[DaWhim]

I am a tax reporting specialist. I work on contract at a large bank. The tax forms I do is mainly 1042-s, the tax statement issues for foreign investors who invests in the US market. this field is getting interesting with the introduction of FATCA. well, I only work about 4 months a year from dec to march. I work long hours during tax season starting the 2nd week of jan to 1st week of march, talking about at least 60 hours a week.

on the side, I also help out with the other team that makes 1099s.

I used to hate my job when I was doing taxes full time. during the non-tax season time, life got so boring.

 

[rh71]

In my previous job I managed ~10 employees and found that managing/mentoring people was very difficult when WFH. It's one of the main reasons I left - now I manage no one but WFH every day which I really do enjoy. Assuming this company does as well as we expect, I'll have to hire some resources in the next 6 months or so but I don't anticipate it will get big enough that I'll need too many.

well I didn't mean I'm mgmt (I'm gonna stay away from that regardless)... our mgmt also makes very little, but yes they all work from home too. I've never met my last 4 managers in person. For IT though I'm not really sure it's harder for them to do their job without face-to-face.

 

[RKS]

I present facts in a light most favorable to my client in expectation of a very generous fee.

Like: I have great workplace stories and work for myself.
Dislike: It's a rough world.

 

[Tweak155]

I worked from home the previous 3 years to this one. It got boring with no interaction after a while. I got to drive out to places for certain tasks, but other than that I was just at home all day. I don't know, I think I'd prefer 3 days at the office and 2 days at home a week or something like that.

That said right now I'm an application developer at one of the big 3. Working on a system that is designed to estimate the cost and weight of a vehicle while still in concept stages. I'm a contractor now and it has been good pay increases and benefits (27 days off / yr - wut!).

 

[thestrangebrew1]

Wow I am sure you have tons of interesting stories on how people try to lie/hide their wealth to be on welfare. Can you share with us? Do you actually visit each client at their residence? How do you determine (other than from tax returns) that a candidate should/shouldnt get welfare?

Not really tons of stories, more like the same stories people tell because they think we haven't heard it before. The ones like my bf left us and now I have no $ for food or rent, but then we get an application from the bf by himself reporting the same address as his gf. Or else when they say they're not working but we have their employer info right in front of us.

Drug users. now those are a funny group of ppl. Food stamps are relatively easy to get. We just care about income & whether you're a drug felon. if so, we just care if its for personal possession. if it is, then u qualify, if its anything else you don't. If it is possession, were supposed to take a sworn statement saying they aren't using anymore. 1 guy wrote: I certify that I have a felony for personal possession and that I'm not using drugs anymore. Except marijuana. I smoke that shit daily. No joke. I denied him right there on the spot for being retarded.

 

[Imported]

I'm a patent attorney that specializes in patent prosecution, client counseling, IP monetization, and licensing.

Things I like: I learn something new everyday. Literally. The only thing I have ever done that has not ultimately lead to boredom. Pays the bills quite well too.

Things I don't like: Being in the service industry is a pain. You work when your clients need you to work, which is all the time. No ability to plan anything, much less take a vacation. Things are better when you go in-house, but there are still numerous challenges.

I do mostly the same, expect patent prosecution only.. and I don't get paid nearly as well since I'm just a paralegal. Do agree about the likes/dislikes though. Thought about law school, but just can't make the financial and time commitment to it.

 

[rcpratt]

I work in the commercial power industry. I believe my title is "Engineer - Nuclear," but I generally refer to myself as a licensing engineer. Long story short, we manage the company's application and license for a new commercial nuclear power plant. The majority of the hard engineering work is contracted out, and a significant amount of time is spent interfacing with those vendors and translating technical details to less-than-technical management. Because of the regulated nature of the nuclear industry, I also spend a decent amount of time with lawyers.

I like it. Pay is good, hours are very reasonable, job is challenging and stimulating yet not excessively stressful.

Cons: I have to interact with people that are employed by the federal government (NRC) on a regular basis. They are idiots.

 

[RedArmy]

is that the normal nature of the defense contractor industry (so many subcontractor)?

Is it by necessity or just as a result of the bureaucracy?

I guess you can look at it this way:

You have a company that does testing for avionics software
You have the military that puts out contracts for new/existing support of hardware/software/etc
You have a defense contractor that bids for these contracts

Therefore it might go Avionics Company > Defense Contractor > Military > Any specific divisions within the military

There's a bunch of layers depending on the nature of the work and there is so much bureaucracy, if you wish to call it that, which goes on. We deal with other huge companies as well that can be just as frustrating to deal with since it seems to take 8 people and 3 weeks to approve anything.

 

[SaurusX]

I work in Human Resources. My job is more than hiring and firing people.

I'm sure you're also busy shredding all of those resumes coming in.

 

[dmoney1980]

I'm a regional sales rep for a major IT vendor. I currently sell data protection solutions for VMware and Windows servers. I've been at my current position for about 5 years now. I really like my job and I enjoy working with people on their DR projects and helping them plan and implement a disaster recovery strategy. It can be challenging at times (high quotas!) but it's very rewarding and I love the people I work with!