Tell us a bit about ur job/occupation/business

[bigrash]

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

Well, what else would I do?

 

[WhoBeDaPlaya]

Well, what else would I do?

Not read my resume >:|

 

[drinkmorejava]

very interesting! thanks for the post!

I almost majored in statistics/applied math for my undergrad, but went the CS route instead.

Can you please give us more details about ur job? Like what statistical tools/analysis (regression analysis, etc) that you do? What kind of data that you get from the jet engines?

Also what makes you go into manufacturing instead of doing data mining for businesses?

A lot of the tools are pretty standard, Minitab, R, JMP, Reliasoft products, but we also have many proprietary programs that we have made in house. For instance, Weibulls and maximum likelihood estimators are great for life data if you have a lot of data, but for severe events like disks (the big spinny things that hold the blades) breaking apart, you generally don't have a lot data. Because of that, your confidence bands on life are so large that you might have to ground or inspect the majority of a fleet. This forces you to come up with a whole bunch of tools based on material characteristics, Monte Carlos, Bayesian approaches, etc. Sometimes all at the same time :\

I can't get into specific engine measurements, but your most common measurements are temperatures, pressures, speed, and fuel flow. Pretty much anything else can be derived from the thermodynamic engine models.

I do more manufacturing because making stuff is how we make money. If you can't reliably make parts, you're literally throwing money out the door. I could go through a whole list of single parts that cost over a hundred thousand dollars. I'd definitely be interested in more 'corporate' applications, but it's hard to find a charge code to bill to.

 

[VulgarDisplay]

I'm currently managing Environmental Services at a major hopsital. Basically in charge of patient satisfaction and infection control. It has it's moments where I enjoy it, but the overwhelming majority of it is dealing with irate people which is not something I enjoy.

Headed back to school in the spring to start taking some cisco networking classes, and hopefully some security stuff as well.

 

[zCypher]

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.

That sounds really cool. What kind of a path did you take to get where you are now?

 

[brianmanahan]

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.

poor lil rudeguy

 

[shortylickens]

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.

That must suck. I know I've wanted to argue with the guy and yell at him any time he tries to make me stay. Then it occurred to me he probably really doesnt wanna be doing that but its his job.

 

[ch33zw1z]

That must suck. I know I've wanted to argue with the guy and yell at him any time he tries to make me stay. Then it occurred to me he probably really doesnt wanna be doing that but its his job.

I was this way as a younger guy. Now into my 30's, I'm much more relaxed and cordial on the phone with people. Especially reps that must deal with irate customers. I try to be a glimmer of hope to their day

 

[IndyColtsFan]

I work as a Sharepoint Admin/Developer/Architect in the sports industry. Basically, I design Sharepoint-based solutions for our internal users and for our external users (potentially several hundred thousand users). It's OK, but I think I'm getting ready to move to something else in the next year or so. My previous jobs have all been server, network, and infrastructure engineering (which I love), and I did thinks like architecting an Active Directory domain solution for a large multi-national corporation with 40 global sites, a global remote VPN access solution, Exchange migrations, etc.

Pros: Awesome benefits and exceptionally awesome perks. The job is generally a 40 hr per week job, though you may need to put in more time during big projects (I pulled off a huge migration of a mission-critical system over this last weekend, and I put in significant OT in the last month prepping for it). Those large projects can often be very stressful but otherwise it is pretty laid back.

Cons: Nowhere to go in the organization and new management talks a big game but so far, hasn't delivered on their promises to me. I think the traditional laid-back atmosphere here won't last much longer, unfortunately.

 

[Wingznut]

I am an Engineering Technician for a very prominent semiconductor manufacturing company. More specifically, I work in the Etch department, meaning we use chemicals to clean/etch the wafers. I work in the cleanroom (in a "bunny suit") the majority of the time. Sometimes it gets old when I'm in PPE (Personal Protective Equipment, aka acid apron/gloves/face shield) for several hours to work on the equipment where the acids are, but it usually doesn't bother me much considering the ramifications of the alternative (possible chemical exposure.)

I work a compressed schedule, which is 3 days one week, 4 the next. (3 on, 3 off, 4 on, 4 off.) I hope I never have to work a "normal" work week ever again.

My job mostly consists of troubleshooting/maintaining equipment, organizing priorities, and running experiments to improve the process.
Expectations of flawless performance is high. Combine that with the notion that a mistake on my part can literally cost the company millions of dollars, and it can get stressful at times.

But I absolutely love it. I completely embrace the chaos when multiple issues are going on, and I'm depended upon to right the ship. Those are my most favorite shifts.

I get to do things not many people can say they have seen/done

That is a cool feeling, isn't it.

 

[purbeast0]

software dev here. can't get into too much detail but i work for a company that does a bunch of government contracting work for a specific community of the government.

 

[dquan97]

In the same field as thestrangebrew1 but at the state level. I manage the welfare fraud detection unit for the whole state, where we have numerous processes in checking for fraud by the people who are already receiving benefits. We process millions of people annually and refer potential fraud to the counties for investigation and verification.

With an IT background and BS in Economics, I'd like to eventually get into network administration or mobile app development. The current pay is decent, especially given the pension and the benefits. Downside is that there are emergencies that come up regularly and the whole beaucracy with the system.

 

[rudeguy]

That must suck. I know I've wanted to argue with the guy and yell at him any time he tries to make me stay. Then it occurred to me he probably really doesnt wanna be doing that but its his job.

You should do it. But if you are going to do it, do it well.

Heck if you are good enough, you could even make the "best of" reel.

 

[shopbruin]

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

Yeah people don't get that about HR.

 

[rudeguy]

Yeah people don't get that about HR.

do you do anything positive for employees?

 

[shopbruin]

do you do anything positive for employees?

I do. Most of my employees like me, I think. HR professionals vary so much, so it sucks when you get one that isn't ideal.

I had written a much longer soliloquy about this, but meh, not worth it. Someone will still fight me. Look, just build a good relationship with your HR professional. It's amazing the results you could get if you got along well with them.

 

[Ancalagon44]

I'm an indie game developer. Hoping to have a demo of my game out by next year February or so.

I spent 5 years working in corporate IT for various companies, mostly consulting work using C# and SQL Server. Probably about even between windows applications and web. Also did a bit of C++ working for a company that did real time graphics for TV broadcasting. Quite an interesting job actually.

Anyway, I started tinkering with making my own game last year April (2011). In around April this year, I started seriously considering quitting and trying to make my own game. I could carry on part time, but I thought, the problem is that when I work part time, I never have enough time to make serious traction. So I resigned effective from the end of May, and have been working on my game ever since.

A lot of my friends say they couldnt do what I do. I work from home all day every day, no colleagues. I do employ one or two contractors, but they dont even live in the same city as me, so its email communication only. Now and then it does get tough to motivate myself, but on the whole, I'd say I prefer it to corporate IT/consulting. I get to solve way more interesting problems than I would ever solve in corporate IT. I'm close to 6 months into development now I guess. I need to do another month or two of work before I would feel comfortable releasing a demo.

I've learned a lot in that time, some things I would probably do differently if I started over. I definitely didnt choose an easy path, in terms of game and technology, but I'm happy with my choices now. Its been a long but rewarding road. I probably didnt realize quite how difficult it would be though, when I started out. When I started out, I thought the biggest challenges I would have would be technical in nature. Not that the technical work hasnt been challenging, it has, it just hasnt been as much of a roadblock compared to keeping my motivation up and carrying on.

I can definitely see why people say most people just dont finish their first game - they think of something new, get bored and start over. Luckily I havent started over, and with 2 months to go before the demo is out, dont think I will. But I can see the appeal, to relax myself I played some games now and then, which started me thinking about new games I could create. Its easy to see the temptation. Especially the kind of game which takes 8 months to make a demo of!

Yeah had I known more I might have done it quicker. I'm sure there have been things that I spent time on, that I didnt need to spend time on, or could have spent less time on. And maybe a different language - ie not C++ - would have also resulted in a speed up. C++ has been quite a learning curve! I mean its worth it now, for the speed, cost and ability to integrate just about any third party code.

 

[D1gger]

I own and operate a construction company, and a property development and management company. I generate about $17m in revenue each year and employ ~100 people.

It can be quite challenging, but also rewarding. It has provided a very comfortable life and future for my family, but at times has left me wondering if I wasn't sacrificing my time with my kids for the sake of providing for the company.

 

[mztykal]

Retail management...

 

[Svnla]

I am one of the Compliance Officers in the Audit Department. Our jobs are to ensure people do what they are supposed to, i.e. follow the contract agreements/grants/etc. and watch out for frauds/scams/discrepancies.

It can be boring and tedious sometimes, especially the paperwork amount we have to do and follow up researching but it can be interesting and challenging. My background in Manufacturing/Quality Control plus my ability to listen to others help me a lot.

 

[Uppsala9496]

Licensed property and casualty broker in 13 states. Underwrite lawyers professional liability, employment practices liability, non-profit and private company directors’ and officers’ insurance as well as fiduciary insurance.

Right now I have relationships in London to write business with Lloyd’s syndicates (some on an in house bind authority and some on the open market) as well as some domestic insurance carriers (in house and open market relationships). My company is an MGA( managing general agency) which means we underwrite and don’t broker business. We could be called a managing general underwriter, however we write 20+ lines of professional liability with 10+ carriers, so an MGU moniker doesn’t apply as well as an MGA one does.

For the most part I am a middle man. I’ve been on both sides of the fence. I’ve underwritten for a carrier and I’ve dealt with clients directly to find coverage for them. I prefer the underwriting aspect of things because it is more technical. Right now I’m just biding my time until something better comes along.

 

[duragezic]

My title is Applications Engineer, supporting tools used to develop and test ECUs (electronic control units). Mostly automotive, some off-highway/heavy equipment, and aerospace.

 

[brianmanahan]

I'm an indie game developer.

awesome! have you managed to get close to the income you were making before?

 

[Ancalagon44]

awesome! have you managed to get close to the income you were making before?

At the moment my income is 0, so no!

 

[z0mb13]

I own and operate a construction company, and a property development and management company. I generate about $17m in revenue each year and employ ~100 people.

It can be quite challenging, but also rewarding. It has provided a very comfortable life and future for my family, but at times has left me wondering if I wasn't sacrificing my time with my kids for the sake of providing for the company.

What is the net margin on your business? Just want to compare with the construction companies in this region.