What do you do (or did) for a living?

[KC3KNM]

Worked at a hobby shop/computer store in HS. After HS (and a short stint in college) I enlisted and worked B-2 Avionics in the AF. On the side I worked at a rapid prototyping company in KC while stationed at Whiteman. Got out and started with a company making guitar effects pedals. After that I left for a job doing field service on wire EDMs. When the opportunity came up I left to be a machinist at an electric aircraft startup, then transitioned to the flight test team after a couple years.

 

[NOLA_BAR]

It’s amazing all the different life journeys, backgrounds, education, skills, ups and downs etc. It’s very similar to going to a club launch and just talking to everyone there. Yes, there are differences and disagreement (you know what I’m talking about). The common thread is a hobby. Get to know someone. Good luck to everyone.

 

[NateB]

You would be surprised how much I use lessons that I learned in the first eight items in this list when doing the last few items of the list…

I've worked every job in restaurants, mostly FOH and the longest time was a bartender at Olive Garden for 3 years. You definitely learn people and multitasking skills which translate to other careers.

 

[jsdemar]

I've worked every job in restaurants, mostly FOH and the longest time was a bartender at Olive Garden for 3 years. You definitely learn people and multitasking skills which translate to other careers.

I never worked as a bartender, but I helped bartenders make a living.

 

[Bravo52]

Associate Laboratory Director
Los Alamos National Laboratory

and External Leadership Board for the
School of Engineering University of New Mexico

The guys from Lawrence Livermore say; "Hi!"...

 

[stealth6]

Let's see, off the top of my head I recall.....

-- All kinds of theatre/stage work.....sound, lights, production, operations, rigging, logistics, booking, "stage management", roadie, etc. From punk rock shows, to classical/orchestra productions, to bar gigs, to rock concerts, to musical theatre and plays, to political rallies, and on and on. Some studio work as well.
-- Also was a working musician playing on those stages now and then.
-- Lots of other logistics/production/operations type work for "events" and such.
-- Was "Operations Director" for a bunch of years for a non-profit organization involved in outdoor/experiential education for youth.
-- Worked for a lot of years in the bike industry, from being a mechanic to managing a shop, and also a bit of race support.
-- Worked as a river rafting guide, as a bike tour guide, and as a tour guide in Antarctica.
-- Ship's crew in various places around the world.
-- Couple of other "boat driver" jobs here and there...on oceans and rivers with different types of craft.
-- Worked as a graphic designer full time for a few years, and have done occasional freelance work every since.
-- I built guitars, other stringed instruments, along with some other woodworking.
-- I've sold some writing and photography now and then, and have co-authored a couple of guidebooks.
-- Managed an "events rental" company for a few years.
-- Done a bit of construction/carpentry type work.
-- Done biology field work in the Grand Canyon and thereabouts.
-- Worked on a boat inspections crew concerned with invasive species in waterways.
-- Done some community organizing / political outreach type work.
-- Had a few stints in retail, from grocery stores, to book shops, to plumbing supply, to hardware/ranching stores.
-- Did some groundskeeping (in a cemetery and a church!)
-- Lots of different types of one-off odd-jobs for a bit of cash over the years.
-- and yes, I had a paper route when I was a wee lad.

I'm sure I've missed or forgotten a few.
s6

Ok, I remembered a few more.............

-- Piano (and furniture) mover
-- Built up kits and other things for the photography studio of a catalog company
-- Made/sold maps (for mountain biking)
-- Some extra/modeling work for ad shoots and stuff, and did some location scouting.
-- Chase crew for hot air balloons

s6

 

[Joel Shepherd]

Newspaper delivery.
Library clerk.
Warehouse clerk.
Bicycle assembler.
Conference center desk clerk.
Teaching assistant (math).
Bicycle mechanic.
Shop manager.
Store manager.
DBA/network admin/programmer/production engineer.
Perl programmer.
Software engineer.
The last 3 cover 30 years. Amongst other things, I helped build the first generation of systems that enabled Amazon’s “super-saver shipping” and Prime programs, a software management system that deployed to over a million servers, and an engineering design data system. The abrupt change in career trajectory was thanks to being introduced to BASIC and 6502 assembly language in high school. It took a while for the seeds to take root but eventually they did.

 

[jsdemar]

The side jobs everyone has listed here are great stuff. I wonder if "kids these days" are as motivated. I expect not, in general. How about younger folks here post their experiences?

My professional work is listed in my LinkedIn page (see my signature).
Here are some odd jobs I had when I was young... (zzz... /tldr!)

Shoveled snow for not enough money (I grew up in a lake effect snow belt off of Lake Ontario in NY). 2 or 3 feet of snow was common.

Had a tiny fishing bait business at 11 to 13 years old. Gathered nightcrawlers and sold them for 3 to 5 cents a piece (seasonal). I lived on a popular road on the way to a small lake. A relative worked at a paper container factory. So, no overhead. It ended when my unpaid workers revolted (parents and siblings!).

My brother and I delivered newspapers. In those days, the kids were responsible for collecting money and making up for deadbeat customers. Gave it up when we started owing more than we collected.

Bought non-working minibikes with the capital earned from the above jobs. Repaired them and sold them at a small profit. In those days, the only source of information was the public library. And trial and error, parts left over, still works, good to go! Riding during that time gave me the lessons learned to NEVER get a motorcycle license and ride on the road when I got older.

Turning over the above capital again, at about 14 I built a darkroom in my parents basement. I started with an enlarger from the 1940's that we inherited from my uncle. Then I bought a slightly better one, and a Ricoh SLR camera which I still have. A short bike ride away there was a full photo & darkroom supply store. I took "8th grade graduation" photos when I was in high school and sold them to parents. Throughout high school, I was the sports and year book photographer. Also I took wedding photos, mail ordered the albums, and pretended I knew what I was doing. 50 years later, I sold my first photos at an art show here in New Mexico.

My dad had a part time business fixing radios and TV's from home (he worked full time at Nestle Foods as a machine operator for 43 years). He ended the home gig when "works in a drawer" and throwaway TVs/radios became the norm. A couple years later, I had learned enough to work at a local TV repair shop while in high school. Part of that job was delivering and installing TVs and appliances. I totaled one of the delivery trucks at 16. Drove into the back of school bus in snow storm.

Next I worked in the meat department at a small grocery store owned by 3 generations of Italian-Americans. (The head butcher and his son had excellent singing voices!) One can learn a little too much about where hamburger and sausage comes from. And cutting up a side of a cow and sawing ribs was also a learning experience. However, living in a small town of 10K, it wasn't very impressive with the chicks... my long blonde hair in a net and funky hat, white overalls covered in bovine blood. But, I did get to park my blue 69 Nova on the sidewalk of the main drag while working at the store.

After graduating high school, I worked at Nestle Foods (priority was given to those who's parents worked there... both of mine did, and several aunts and uncles). I filled in at whatever job somebody did when they went on vacation. Too much to describe. Shoveling waste chocolate in a 110 degree room; working on the strawberry Quik line (took a pink shower when I got home); working in rooms where two layers of ear protection was not enough. It motivated me to finish college!

Last non-professional job was installing cable TV between 1st and 2nd years of college. The system was new in our small town at the time. Running hardline coax. Climbing poles. Drilling holes in houses. Running coax in 100 year old basements (spider bites!). Extension ladders in the rain alone, trying not to put it through someone's window or into a power line. Good thing I was young and immortal.

If you made it this far, you have too much time on your hands! Go build a rocket. ;-)

 

[FredA]

Started at 13 as a caddy at the local golf club - $4 per bag for 18 holes (about 5 miles) schlepping two caddy-shack-sized golf bags around a hilly course in the sweaty Pittsburgh humid summers kissing butt so I could get tipped to pull in a whole $10 for 4-5 hours of slavery. With "luck" I could get in two loops in one day for the big coin.
Found a nice AC'ed computer room next school year and taught myself to program. Got a job that spring.
Still caddied on weekends to help pay for college.

Now passing 50 years in the industry (HW & SW) - soon time to retire.

 

[krislhull]

First job at 16 was as a Whopper Flopper at the local Burger King
Cashier at Target
Junior and Senior years of high school I was a tour guide at Kennedy Space Center, an awesome job for a high school av and space geek like me!
moved back to Washington state, work at a Verizon call center for a total of 5 weeks before the company lost the Verizon contract
became a Whopper Flopper again, this time as a manager while I was going to school for my A&P
spent a few months as a drug runner (was a courier for a pharmacy)
Worked at an FBO in Seattle as the overnight ramp agent, dispatcher, mechanics helper, and front desk
threw bags for Alaska Airlines for a few months until I finished A&P school
Got my FAA A&P, worked at a MRO doing heavy maintenance visits on Southwest Airlines 737s for a year in 2006
Worked for Horizon Air in Seattle as a line mechanic for just over 3 years from 2007-2010
worked as a GA mechanic on Cessnas, Pipers, and Beechcraft for a few months in summer 2010
Went to work for Boeing, the Lazy B Ranch, and spent 9 months on the 787 flight test program, two years on the 747-8 delivery line (delivered the first 747-8!), and a year on the 787 delivery line. 2010-2014
Transferred to the Boeing military division and became a quality inspector on the KC-46 program, and was a senior inspector on the program for 5 years, and also worked briefly on a couple of other programs such as AWACS. Highlight of that time was delivering the first two KC-46 in Jan 2019. I was the last Boeing employ to touch the second bird before delivery. 2014-2019
Went to work for Kalitta Air as a flight mechanic on 747s, and traveled the world. visited and saw places I never dreamed I would be! 2019-2023
I wanted to be home with the family, so I left the flying gig, and am now a tech rep for GE on the flight test program for the GE9X engine on the 777X aircraft flight test program.

 

[NTP2]

Junior and Senior years of high school I was a tour guide at Kennedy Space Center, an awesome job for a high school av and space geek like me!

When my family what’s visiting DC we of course saw the air and space museum, almost everyone else had paid for a tour guide, but not us we bought our own!

 

[flyingeagle]

Worked full time in a gas station after graduating high school and became assistant manager late 70’s. Station closed down a few years later.
Took NJ State Police exam to follow in my fathers foot steps. I passed but wasn’t American enough to get in. Catch my drift?
Worked at a small pharmaceutical manufacturing Co. early 80’s pay was horrible to start raising a family and left.
Worked at another factory that made photo film. A spin-off of Kodac. The factory closed its doors and went overseas.
Learned to drive lumber truck and a forklift at a lumber yard in the 80’s.
Moved to far from the job and commute was to expensive so went to work at a local plastic Co working night shift making bottles in 1990. Worst job ever. Tragedy struck in early 93 and became a single parent overnight. Couldn’t work nights anymore. Didn’t work for 5 months.
Landed a job at my brothers Co in 94 and learned to drive a concrete mixer truck at one of five plants. Then became the senior driver and union shop Stewart over time.
From concrete truck to Tri Axle dump truck. For another company making mad money. The owner became overwhelmed with the cost of maintaining the trucks and competitive prices and closed the business down in 2012.
Went to work for a company in building maintenance and took care of 35 homes. Became Assistant Property Manager until laid off in 2018
Moved on to an assistant maintenance manager for a large apartment complex but always on call during the night. Could never leave my home because of being on call.
Went back into trucking for a County Road Department and plans for retirement from the County when time comes till a bad injury put me on permanent disability in 2020.
The rest is boring. I mean literally boring not being able to work anymore.

 

[rkoenn]

I worked for NASA as a co-op from FTU/UCF in 1974/75. Then after graduation and a year as a civilian for the navy on jet engines in Jacksonville I got my dream job back at KSC with NASA starting i July 1979. I started in orbiter PVD, Purge, Vent, and Drain, engineering which was responsible for supplying the orbiter with super clean, conditioned air where ever it was located and GN2 during tanking to launch. Later I moved to project engineering and also IT for 3 years before my final 11+ years in mechanisms engineering. We were responsible for the moving parts on the orbiter such as PLB door, landing gear/brakes/tires, star tracker doors, ET doors, vent door mechanism, and other miscellaneous items. I got to support STS-1 from the firing room the shift before launch and then at Dryden in CA for the landing. I also spent two years in CA at Vandenberg preparing for shuttle until that was terminated. For STS-135 I was in the firing room for launch and on the SLF runway for landing. I retired at the end of 2011.

 

[bcook7135]

I have been in floor covering samples for 39 years. I managed a plant for almost 19 years. Now I am in customer service with another company. We make samples for Home Depot and Lowe’s and other large buying groups like Carpet One and Flooring America. If you go into a Lowe’s or Home Depot, we made the samples.

 

[kavy8]

Currently working on my Masters in mechanical engineering, researching a new ramjet engine concept. Hoping to end up in either rocket propulsion or jet engines after graduation.

Grew up on a farm, so I wasn’t exactly paid but,
- drove and maintained farm equipment
- cleaned the barns
- fixed fences and automatic waterers for horses.
Before university I was dead set on being a horse trainer, I know I’d have been happy if I dod but I’m glad I was pushed into engineering instead. I love aerospace now

- Lumber yard, forklift driver the summer after first year uni.
- Undergrad student researcher summer after second year on a rocket simulation software developed by the graduate lab I’m in now.
- intern for the space physics department for 16 months after third year. Travelled to the Arctic to install and maintain expensive science equipment used for imaging the Aurora borealis. Great experiences.

Got into the model rockets recently after graduating from my uni rocket team. Just spent about $500-$700 (stopped adding it up after the 4th visit to the hobby store this weekend) on Estes stuff!

 

[boatgeek]

The side jobs everyone has listed here are great stuff. I wonder if "kids these days" are as motivated. I expect not, in general. How about younger folks here post their experiences?

I was about to type a long-ish piece, and then I went out to get some actual facts. Damn those facts, ruining my preconceived notions!

Labor force participation by youth has been more or less steady since 2008:


I would guess that the decline through the 80's and 90's was part of the push to get kids to go to college instead of going direct to factories or apprenticeships. It is interesting that the decline stopped and stayed steady after the 2008 recession. And of course, the rise in women's participation in the labor force in the 60's and 70's likely just means that they were finally getting paid for their labor.

I'd hazard a guess that labor force participation at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder is basically steady, and that families with more money are encouraging Little Timmy to be in four activities to pump up his college resume, leaving no time for paid work. Also, I don't know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but newspaper delivery is nearly exclusively an adult job now. I'd be curious how many near-minimum-wage jobs are occupied more permanently by adults rather than a rotating cast of high schoolers.

 

[bcook7135]

Currently working on my Masters in mechanical engineering, researching a new ramjet engine concept. Hoping to end up in either rocket propulsion or jet engines after graduation.

Grew up on a farm, so I wasn’t exactly paid but,
- drove and maintained farm equipment
- cleaned the barns
- fixed fences and automatic waterers for horses.
Before university I was dead set on being a horse trainer, I know I’d have been happy if I dod but I’m glad I was pushed into engineering instead. I love aerospace now

- Lumber yard, forklift driver the summer after first year uni.
- Undergrad student researcher summer after second year on a rocket simulation software developed by the graduate lab I’m in now.
- intern for the space physics department for 16 months after third year. Travelled to the Arctic to install and maintain expensive science equipment used for imaging the Aurora borealis. Great experiences.

Got into the model rockets recently after graduating from my uni rocket team. Just spent about $500-$700 (stopped adding it up after the 4th visit to the hobby store this weekend) on Estes stuff!

Wow! I am not worthy to be on this forum. Many of you have hefty pedigrees.

 

[NTP2]

I was about to type a long-ish piece, and then I went out to get some actual facts. Damn those facts, ruining my preconceived notions!

Labor force participation by youth has been more or less steady since 2008:
View attachment 637096

I would guess that the decline through the 80's and 90's was part of the push to get kids to go to college instead of going direct to factories or apprenticeships. It is interesting that the decline stopped and stayed steady after the 2008 recession. And of course, the rise in women's participation in the labor force in the 60's and 70's likely just means that they were finally getting paid for their labor.

I'd hazard a guess that labor force participation at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder is basically steady, and that families with more money are encouraging Little Timmy to be in four activities to pump up his college resume, leaving no time for paid work. Also, I don't know which is the chicken and which is the egg, but newspaper delivery is nearly exclusively an adult job now. I'd be curious how many near-minimum-wage jobs are occupied more permanently by adults rather than a rotating cast of high schoolers.

That sounds about right, mostly work fast food and retail. I don’t have a job at the moment I’m waiting until I can drive so transportation is practical. The school even has a method for certain job giving class credits.

 

[NTP2]

Wow! I am not worthy to be on this forum. Many of you have hefty pedigrees.

true lots of diplomas but we also have plenty of truck drivers (literally).

 

[kavy8]

Wow! I am not worthy to be on this forum. Many of you have hefty pedigrees.

Rocketry is a hobby for anyone!! Everyone is welcome and I love seeing what everyone else does

 

[dr wogz]

I never worked as a bartender, but I helped bartenders make a living.

does that qualify you as a 'quality control tech' specializing in liquid homogenous-isity?

 

[chrisudy]

Went to work for Kalitta Air as a flight mechanic on 747s, and traveled the world. visited and saw places I never dreamed I would be! 2019-2023

My wife’s stepbrother is a Kalitta pilot. If you ever ran into Bill Wehrmeyer, originally from Niagara Falls, that would be him…

 

[krislhull]

My wife’s stepbrother is a Kalitta pilot. If you ever ran into Bill Wehrmeyer, originally from Niagara Falls, that would be him…

If he was on the 747 during the 4 years I was there, then the chances are very good I flew with him a time or two

 

[Sandy H.]

Machine design (paper machines and stretch forming machines) for the past 30 years. Last day at the day job was at the end of 2023 - decided to try to do something on my own for a while. Currently working with a niche hobby racing community doing shock absorber stuff, along with a few other fill-in roles from time to time.

Pretty sure I'm going to have to get a day job again at some point, but want to see if I really can do something on my own, as most people who I find to be the happiest work really hard for themselves vs. working really hard for someone else. We'll see. . .

It seems that the thread is also including early jobs, so I'll add to my list:

11-13 years old: Ran a lawn mowing business. Got an old riding mower in exchange for helping a guy clean out his barn. Got it running, built a trailer to tow behind the mower and found a friend to do all the push-mowing and weed-eating while I mowed the main lawn on the rider. On year 2, added a 2nd and 3rd old riding mower and brought on two other neighbor kids to run the second mower team. Didn't work out, as they weren't reliable. The final year, it was just the original 2 of us until I decided to join the marching band and that meant no time to mow the last part of the season. Sold all the stuff to the two guys who weren't reliable. Made around $8k over the 3 years, so not too bad. (There was an "Alice's Restaurant Massacre"-like event one day. Didn't end up in jail, but there was a police 'chase'. The mower didn't have a muffler and only went about 5-10 mph, so the 'chase' and 'evading' police was quite the tale. Buuuut we did have to go back and apologize to the neighbor and mom baked them some sort of cake as an apology. Aaaand then we were all laughing and carrying on. . . but that story is probably for a different thread. . . ).

Automotive machine shop helper from 12-16. Started sweeping floors (an mowing the lawn. . . ), but eventually was doing valve guide replacement, valve jobs and running the head surfacer. I had a knack for balancing rods, for some reason. Wasn't as good at pistons and I never ran the actual balancing machine, but the boss would tell me the head and cap end weights he wanted and I got them closer in one or two tries than any of the other guys in the shop. (Its very possible they just didn't like that work, so made me think i was good at it and would therefore jump at the opportunity. . . ).

Worked a month or so at a mini-golf place running their rental gokart stuff. It was fun and I was good at all of the associated stuff, but the owner never paid me, so I left. Not sure if that counts as a 'job' since I got cheated, but I did show up on a regular schedule for a month to make someone money, it just wasn't me.

Last one before college was at a local parts store, the kind that existed before Autozone and others were popular. I was the new/short time guy (I was leaving for college in a few months) so I always got to install windshield wipes when it was raining as one of my specialties. I did drive the parts truck to the local shops a couple of times a day to drop parts off. I got pretty good with the catalogs (no computers, so that 10 ft long row of telephone book+ sized catalogs to find parts) but while I'm looking up what belt an 83 Silverado needed (or similar) the boss would go grab it, set it on the counter and while he and the customer (everybody knew each other) watched, I'd get the number and the boss would say something like "Is that it there" and point to the belt on the counter. Yep. It always was, unless I screwed up. . .

Good formative jobs in general. I got my second machine design job because I worked on cars and rebuilt stuff as a kid. If I just had the standard education/college, I wouldn't have gotten the opportunity.

Sandy.

 

[jflis]

Hmmm. Have had a fun and storied life…. Started at DEC (Digital Equipment Corp) in 1977, was laid off as a Principle Hardware/Sr. software engineer after 25 years. Got into teaching and decided it was a good time to explore a dream of mine and opened FlisKits. Sold FlisKits and now teach microelectronic/microwave assembly at a local community college. Lots of other do-dads mix in there too…. Good times

 

[311stylie]

Controls/Safety System Engineer for the oil/gas/petrochemical industries. What got me back into the hobby is my desire to build a custom altimeter/control system for a rocket. Fast forward a couple of years and now I'm all into high power rocketry and have been completely enthralled with every aspect of it. Now more than building an altimeter/flight controller my goal is a space shot.

 

[lr64]

Hmmm. Have had a fun and storied life…. Started at DEC (Digital Equipment Corp) in 1977, was laid off as a Principle Hardware/Sr. software engineer after 25 years. Got into teaching and decided it was a good time to explore a dream of mine and opened FlisKits. Sold FlisKits and now teach microelectronic/microwave assembly at a local community college. Lots of other do-dads mix in there too…. Good times

I've met LOTS of guys who used to work at DEC. Many of them are quite interesting. I think my DEC phase was over after we threw out the non-functional PDP-1 in our house that we couldn't donate to anyone. I still have a piece of it that I use for a sanding block, and I used to charge my car's battery with one of the power supplies. Or maybe it was doing the night shift using a DEC word processing system at an architectural firm for a month or two. The only person in a 50 or 100 person office. I don't know why they trusted me alone there, but I didn't steal any paper clips.

 

[cwbullet]

Masonry assistant -> Pizza cook -> Computer sales -> Medic and Paramedic -> family physician -> Field Surgeon -> Chief Medical Officer -> Disability Physician

 

[NTP2]

Field Surgeon

What is a field surgeon? Some sort of super paramedic?

 

[TALON]

Grade & High School: shoveled snow in winter & mowed lawns in summer. Part time sporting goods store, full time Caravel Warehouse 2 summers, and full time Chrysler dealership parts dept last summer in NY. College in TX, Part time grocery store stocker, cashier and bagger. After I dropped out, Law Enforcement 2 years. Changed careers to Draftsman, Tech, then CAD Tech 4 years. Semi retired I was a Real Estate Photographer for a year. I am now retired but I still make pocket change with photography. I work for free shooting for a magazine! But I get to fly in Warbirds for free! PS: Oh forgot that I ran a bookie operation in HS, till the local Italian "family" sent a message that they do not like competition!