What's your job and do you enjoy it?

[Gibson486]

:thumbsup:

I worked in the automotive tubing industry for the first 17.5 years (in their tooling plant). Now working for a smaller system integrator, I get to see far more other industries out there, but many in the area are still automotive (supporting Toyota and other automotive mfg. in the area).

did you work at any poop plants yet? Your car will never be the same after...

 

[Engineer]

did you work at any poop plants yet? Your car will never be the same after...

LOL, no. I don't think my boss would take any of those "shitty" jobs, lol!

I've noticed since working for a smaller integrator, I've had to become more of a jack of all trades (i.e. wiring, installing devices, mounting sensors, etc. instead of just programming/designing). Whatever it takes to get the job done and keep cash (and paycheck) flowing.

 

[Gibson486]

LOL, no. I don't think my boss would take any of those "shitty" jobs, lol!

I've noticed since working for a smaller integrator, I've had to become more of a jack of all trades (i.e. wiring, installing devices, mounting sensors, etc. instead of just programming/designing). Whatever it takes to get the job done and keep cash (and paycheck) flowing.

I see....so you guys do not do public bid jobs?

 

[Krynj]

1) NOC technician for an ISP/telco. I take calls from residential and business customers, and figure out why their email won't work, or why they pick up their phone and hear conversations from a business 3 blocks away. Takes quite a bit of knowledge of switches, DSLAMs, PBX, HPBX, T1s, PRIs, etc, etc. Have to be good at troubleshooting and problem solving. And neffing.

2) I have a BS, but my degree has nothing to do with my line of work. There's a ton to learn in my line of work, and it takes years for anybody to get a firm grasp on all of it. Meanwhile, I get paid to learn it all and gain experience. Part of me kind of likes that it's different from what I went to school for, because on one hand I have my BS in web media, with an ever expanding portfolio. And on the other hand I have ISP/telco technician experience, which is also pretty valuable.

3) Like I said, I didn't go to school for it. I'm stuck in this area until my girlfriend finishes up her degree, so it's good enough for now. I do like it though. My boss and coworkers are great. It is a phone support job, but it's not the usual call center type stuff. It's about 10% "call center" work, and about 90% troubleshooting/networking/figuring out wtf broke.

 

[Engineer]

I see....so you guys do not do public bid jobs?

No, we're just a small company (9 employees). My boss has never had to solicit work and always has a full plate. Got a call yesterday morning from a previous customer wanting a few changes done on "time and material". After arriving and working 6 hours, told me that he had another job that needed wired and programmed. Probably another 2 to 3 days (min) at time and material ($100 per hour).

Mainly smaller work type jobs and a few automated cells/small presses/spot welders/etc.

 

[Brainonska511]

1) What is your job? Graduate student in chemistry/biophysics
2) How much education/training was involved? BS + undergrad research + grad classes + lots of research till I get my degree
3) Do you enjoy it and why? Absolutely. Learning new things, working with a young professor, so I have a chance to greatly shape the lab, I enjoy doing research in the intersection between biology and chemistry (and physics)

 

[gar3555]

did you work at any poop plants yet? Your car will never be the same after...

Ha, I know the feeling. Between some waste water plants, and some feed lots I've been to, I have made some company/rental cars smell pretty rank. Luckily never had to drive my own car.

 

[Daedalus685]

1) Thin film coating/optics on defense industry camera systems (yup, us Canadians make the targeting/imaging turrets for your US helicopters and UAVs )

2) HBSc in physics, on job training for various tasks. The degree is pretty heavily related to most of the theoretical aspects of it, but not so much on days when I'm just cleaning substrates and depositing the same anti reflection film I've done dozens of times before.

3) I enjoy it to a point, optics is very cool though the entry level pay sucks. The final product is beyond cool though, not that I see them often. I got paid more and did a few more fun R&D things when I did inspections for atomic energy but that's the bane of contract work for a company that was sold.

 

[gar3555]

LOL, no. I don't think my boss would take any of those "shitty" jobs, lol!

I've noticed since working for a smaller integrator, I've had to become more of a jack of all trades (i.e. wiring, installing devices, mounting sensors, etc. instead of just programming/designing). Whatever it takes to get the job done and keep cash (and paycheck) flowing.

I hear ya. We have around 30 engineers and techs on staff here. I have done everything as well. From overall system drawings, elect. drawings, programming, field install/wiring. I've worked contract for some places that the engineers never go on start up and see what really happens..man are those guys disillusioned. Lots of things look good on paper or in a program then fail once you turn it on.

 

[gar3555]

Sorry to keep posting, but here is what I am currently working on.

Actually just testing changes for another customer on a demo conveyor we have in our shop.

 

[Cstefan]

1) What is your job?
I am a storage engineer who works in the field providing multi petabyte solutions to major companies.
2) How much education/training was involved?
My entire career has been training. Started off as tech support and have been in every high level sysadmin position in unix, linux, windows, novell, EMC, netapp... etc.
3) Do you enjoy it and why?
I love it, I travel 4-6 days a week, make great money, and FFS the work is usually just plain awesome fun. But I am an enthusiast of cutting edge tech




PS, if you are netapp certified, have gov clearance, and willing to relocate and travel, drop me a resume. US only.

 

[Muse]

1) What is your job?
I recruit software developers.

2) How much education/training was involved?
Just a B.A., but I'm unique at my company in my lack of experience.

3) Do you enjoy it and why
Yes. Jobs aren't a tough thing to sell, and when I close a deal not only am I making a real difference in a project I'm making a difference in someone's life. Plus I get to make a BOATLOAD OF MONEY, more than any of these folks I place who worked so hard getting PhDs or going to Carnegie Mellon or whatever. Day-in-day-out job consists mostly of cold calling, talking a lot on the phone, so while some burn out because of "high pressure" I think it is the easiest thing in the world.

You're a head hunter! I had no idea it can be so lucrative!

 

[Bignate603]

You're a head hunter! I had no idea it can be so lucrative!

It can be, but only if you're good at it. From my understanding, it's kind of like being a real estate agent. There's a ton of money to be made, but only if you can close deals.

 

[masterxfob]

1) tennis coach

2) started playing at an early age. probably have close to 15 years invested in playing and studying the game.

3) familiar with the saying, do what you love and you'll never work a day in your life? yeah, that's me. it's also very rewarding to seeing people improve, to have people approach you later on and tell you that you made a difference in their game, and to also know that i am giving back to the game i love.

 

[Circlenaut]

1) Plant Tissue Culturist/Research Associate
2) B.S. in Biology but I had to teach myself a shit load of botany and plant physiology
3) Intellectually rewarding, I get to figure out how to grow plant callus from species never before worked on. It's really cool to see a few grams of cells turn into 10s of kilograms in 100+L fermentors. People are awesome to work with but the boss is an old dick with what seams bipolar disorder. Kinda sucks that there's hardly any downtime. Pay is shit but then again I'm only 1 year out of school, I'll get paid much more later with experience.

 

[Kyanzes]

1) What is your job?
Software developer and acting network admin (our workforce also got trimmed a bit lately)

2) How much education/training was involved?

Three years of univ study (the letters won't mean anything to you, say it's a BSc). Other than that: constant learning of new stuff and I'm also reading for an MSc.

3) Do you enjoy it and why?
When I started out working in the mid 90s I did some programming first (industrial grade printing machines, huge@ss room sized stuff) but after three years I got fired (personal issues) so I went to work at the computer workshop of a wholesale company. I also tried some CAD related activities but truth to be told I found all these incredibly dull, repetative and uninteresting. So I went back to do programming, this time in applications development.

I find app development sufficiently challenging to keep me interested. I don't have to do the same thing over and over again. At least it doesn't feel that way.

When I worked at my first company, sometimes we would puff a cigar next to the corporate hangar bay that was attached to the printing room and see all the people working at long arse assembly lines, doing the same thing all day long. We couldn't imagine how one could be able to find the strength, both mental and physical, to do this to no end.

Sometimes they would stop for 5 to 10 minutes and then go back to work. The dullest thing really.

My worst nightmare, aside from vivisected by alien creatures from outer space or getting cancer, is to work on an assembly line.

 

[Red Squirrel]

Sorry to keep posting, but here is what I am currently working on.

(snip)

Actually just testing changes for another customer on a demo conveyor we have in our shop.

What's the red button do? Can I press it? Pleeeaase?

I'm guessing it's an emergency stop. There's this black button at work in the server room, nobody knows what it doe and I keep wanting to press it. It's a hospital, and they do have blue buttons in some places to call a code blue, so maybe it's to call a code black (bomb threat) so I kinda am scared to find out what it does, but I still want to press it.

 

[zerocool84]

Nope I hate my new job. I work in a warehouse lifting heavy bags of concrete all day. Entirely different than my previous job doing QA for websites. They were laying off my division so I needed any job I could get until I can find a real job again. I just started this warehouse job this past week. Unlike some people *cough* trident *cough* I don't feel like I'm too good for a job. I just hope I can find another QA job soon because I'm burned out every day after work. It's damn hard work for crappy pay but it's a job and I'm thankful for that.

 

[rudeguy]

I somehow still have my job. I love the people I work with, can't say I love the company.

I'm in sales.

 

[josh0099]

1. Distribution Planning Engineer - Power
I plan the Distribution System for multiple parts of our service territory, building new substations, new circuits, and other day to day operational issues with the distribution power system.

2. BSEE

3. I really enjoy my job, I get to shape the power system for years to come and get plenty of field/office time whenever I want.

 

[Muse]

1. Home automation
2. OJT... always... never ending... for 20 years... Dear God...
3. I love it. I get to play with crazy toys in houses that 99.999% of society can't even afford to look at.

On Maui, I presume? There must be a lot of very very rich people on Maui in expensive homes, then. I visited one once. I was told the owner was one of the 5 richest men in America.

Yesterday in the mail came a $17 Hydrofarm 7 day timer (8 on/ 8 off events). That and some computers are the extent of my "home automation," oh, and a bread machine whose name is Hal!

1) Asshole Supervisor, Boat repair joint
2) 32 years of on the job training
3) 95% of the time I love it.

I used to work on the docks at a Marina for 2-3 years. No kind of supervisor, I was the guy who refinished the teak wood, washed the boats and made some repairs. I still have the cool home made leather tool satchel I used to carry in my backpack. The pay really sucked, but it was a job (actually I worked for a few different boat brokerages there before I put that chapter behind me) that I kind of liked in spite of the tedious nature of most of the work. I wasn't in an office, was outdoors a lot, it's a nice environment, not stressful, no bosses or even coworkers looking over your shoulder as you work most of the time. It wasn't going anywhere so it was best l moved on.

Nope I hate my new job. I work in a warehouse lifting heavy bags of concrete all day. Entirely different than my previous job doing QA for websites. They were laying off my division so I needed any job I could get until I can find a real job again. I just started this warehouse job this past week. Unlike some people *cough* trident *cough* I don't feel like I'm too good for a job. I just hope I can find another QA job soon because I'm burned out every day after work. It's damn hard work for crappy pay but it's a job and I'm thankful for that.

Well, "if it don't kill you it will make you strong." Don't get hurt, get stronger and best of luck in your quest for your next job.

I've had a lot of temporary jobs. In fact I worked the temps exclusively for around 10 years, and some of them were that bad, some not bad at all, or at least I could see potential. The whole time I wanted a permanent job, but nothing worked out. I was good, dependable, competent. I think it's just my karma, I wasn't particularly meant to stay anywhere long.

 

[mattpegher]

1. Emergency Medicine Physician
2. 4 yr undergrad, 4 yr med school, 4 years post-grad, Dual boarded internal med and emergency med. 50+ hours/year continuing medical education.
3. Love the job, hate the politics, Love knowing how to stabilize anything that rolls in the door. Love proceedures- intubations, chest tubes, central venous catheters, Incisions and drainage, reducing dislocations. Not paid as much as an anethesiologist. Hours suck. The worst job you'll ever love. - lately could do with less babysitting of drunks.

 

[Koing]

1)
Algorithmic trader

2)
Two undergrad degrees, one master's (econ/cs/finance) ... plus some CFA tests

3)
Love it - very challenging analyzing enormous amounts of noisy market data and I'm never too far away from coding stuff here and there. Some of the stats analysis stuff maxes out multi-way xeon boxes with 12gb ram, so instead of the usual computational complexity (option pricing etc.) you deal with data complexity. Plus the comp is outstanding.

I use to do algorithmic trading and trading support at my last place

1) Fix connectivity
2) BSc in CS, but learnt most of my skills at a software vendor then at a stock broker. Most of my job is specialist niche knowledge
3) It's okay, it has it's challenges, I work with good people and I get paid well

Koing

 

[Muse]

1. Emergency Medicine Physician
2. 4 yr undergrad, 4 yr med school, 4 years post-grad, Dual boarded internal med and emergency med. 50+ hours/year continuing medical education.
3. Love the job, hate the politics, Love knowing how to stabilize anything that rolls in the door. Love proceedures- intubations, chest tubes, central venous catheters, Incisions and drainage, reducing dislocations. Not paid as much as an anethesiologist. Hours suck. The worst job you'll ever love. - lately could do with less babysitting of drunks.

At last an MD. I was going to post, hardly ever see indications of MD's here. :thumbsup: My dad was an anesthesiologist, from back in the days when ether was the thing in the OR. By the time he retired it had changed immensely. His brother had same specialty and they were partners, one or the other on call all the time. Many's the time my dad was out the door and to the hospital at any old hour of the day or night. 6 days a week he was out of the house by 6:00AM or so to do his rounds, etc.

 

[ModerateRepZero]

1) Government claims representative
2) How much education/training was involved? prerequisite was a graduate degree, and I had more than 4 months of technical training.
3) Do you enjoy it and why? Somewhat; I love helping people if I can, but it's alot of information to process, and also sometimes a challenge explaining concepts to people. It can sometimes be a challenge inputting information into the system as well. It does help that I work in a small office which isn't (usually) busy and I have some very knowledgeable and friendly if not always available co-workers.