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shayde

Can't Leave
Oct 4, 2013
387
10
I’m an 11C Indirect Fire Infantryman (Mortarman). I use this really cool thing to shoot fireworks that ruin people’s days. It’s also not any cooler than it sounds.

 

mso489

Lifer
Feb 21, 2013
41,210
60,433
jttnk, about the usefulness, or not, of non-career-specific degrees, it's true more advice and counseling, formal but mostly informal, should be offered students. My first contact at my grad school was a wise old writer and prof who said, whatever you do don't plan on teaching (the job market at the time had tanked). I followed his advice. Also, he said the first thing he wanted to impress on his grad students was to learn to cook. I'd always HAD to cook some, even as a child, but the practical insight impressed me profoundly. So any young members out there, take the lesson, learn to cook.

 

lightxmyfire

Can't Leave
Jun 17, 2019
364
989
DMV Area
I’m the co-owner, manager, head chocolate maker of a Bean to Bar chocolate company based in DC. We’re working on opening our first Chocolate Factory Cafe.
In the past I’ve done beer sales for a craft brewery, production management for a coffee company, assistant bread baker, private caterer, confectioner, pastry sous chef, shipping and fulfillment at performance sailing shop in Annapolis, zamboni driver. I’m a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America in NY.

 

jojoc

Starting to Get Obsessed
May 10, 2019
200
121
Husband of 16 years, father of 4 great teens/pre-teens, walker of 2 dogs, and an attorney specializing in estate planning for a quarter of a century. I worked for a couple small firms before striking out on my own over 20 years ago. I now manage a small firm of 2 attorney's with 2 additional full-time staff.
During college, did my fair share of odd jobs -- fast food, worked in a steak house doing every thing from dish washer, buser, waiter, prep and line cook, transitioned to residential construction work with again the opportunity to do a lot, ranging from ditch digging to finish work, and just about everything in between.

 

aquadoc

Lifer
Feb 15, 2017
2,044
1,522
New Hampshire, USA
Currently, Freshwater Conservation program manager, adjunct professor, and Dad to 7.
Jobs held:

Environmental consultant and manager

Research Scientist (aka enemy of the people)

Professor

Teacher

Line cook

Mechanic

Programmer (Assembly, C/C++, Fortran)

Laborer

Pipefitter (Journeyman)

Electricians assistant

Trail guide

Resident Naturalist

Farm Hand and Vet assistant

Lawnmower pusher....

And on and on

 

cigrmaster

Lifer
May 26, 2012
20,249
57,280
66
Sarasota Florida
First job after I dropped out of college was a mfgs rep in the jewelry industry. I repped 6 different mfgs all out of Nyc. My territory was all of New England. After that I got into the car business and after being a salesman for a coup;e of years I became a truck manager, then sales manager and finance and insurance manager.
In 1990 I opened an upscale pool hall. In 1994 I bought the plaza that housed the pool hall. I closed the pool hall after 20 years and then sold the plaza in August of 2017. I have been officially retired since then.

 

bazungu

Starting to Get Obsessed
Feb 28, 2018
110
7
I am a molecular/synthetic plant biologist, not really working.... just goofing around and making expensive molecular toys which hopefully one day, that is what I keep telling myself, might be of some use.

 

jeff540

Part of the Furniture Now
Jan 25, 2016
514
788
Southwest Virginia
Project Manager at a ~40 person Environmental Engineering firm. I've been in the environmental field for 23-years after graduating with a BA in Natural Science in 1996.
Other pre-professional and simultaneous work experience includes:

- Roofing

- Guitar Instructor

- Lead guitar in various weekend cover bands

- Sound and lighting technician

- Rental tech (setup big tents mostly)

- Sales support at local television station

- QA/QC at large bottling facility

 

pappymac

Lifer
Feb 26, 2015
3,273
4,269
In December 1971 I decided my life was going nowhere fast and I didn't have the money to pay for college. I decided to enlist in the military and chose the Coast Guard with the plan to learn all I could about shipboard diesel engines, get out, go to college and then take a job with the towboat company my father worked for. In fact, they offered me a position as assistant to the general manager effective as soon I as got out. It didn't work out.
In 1975, I was at a small station on the Washington coast after serving on an icebreaker for 28 months. I was board and starting writing stories to fill my watch time. I forgot and left one story on the desk in the rec room and the Chief's wife saw it and gave it to a friend to read. The friend was the editor of a weekly newspaper and she printed the story and asked for more. District headquarters found out. Instead of me being in trouble, they asked if I was interested in switching to the photojournalist rating. They were more interested in people who could write and said they could teach me the photography end. I thrived. Advanced from E-3 to E-8 in 15 years. Worked on cases involving search and rescue cases, major and minor oil spills, shipboard fires and collisions, 14 different hurricanes, the Cuban Exodus in 1980, Haitian Interdiction Operations from 1982-85, served on the Vice-President's Drug Task Force from 1982-85, two cruise ship fires, the re-dedication of the Statue of Liberty in 1986, several joint service military operations, and several other things I'm still probably shouldn't talk about.
I retired rather than take a promotion to E-9 and a transfer to Washington D.C.. I then spent 18 months as the executive assistant to marine insurance adjuster before decided it was time to go back to my journalism roots and took a job as editor of a monthly hunting and fishing magazine. Yep. I got paid to go hunting and fishing and then write lies about it.
The magazine was owned by a printing company and once they found out I was able to fix the computers and set up the web and email server, they started paying me more money and asking me to do other things. I also filled in for the editor of the weekly newspaper the company owned when he was out. I also learned how to deal with printing clients and design print advertising for grocery stores. Eventually the made me the Art & Production Department Manager. Hurricane Katrina wiped out the advertising base for the magazine, so we shut it down. We had the printing company itself back in operation after 6 weeks. Problem was I kept telling the boss the electronics were going to fail because they had sat in a humid building for a month. (When the area flooded, our building only got 2 inches of water and all the computers and electronics were three feet up.)

Finally, I had the last straw when we couldn't keep one of the machines running for more than three hours a day. I told the boss it was crap, the insurance adjuster said it wasn't worth fixing. He yelled at me for not keeping it running. I told him fine. I quit. Find someone else.
He later asked me to stay another 4 months until he could find a replacement for me and get him trained. In the meantime, I was tasked with taking the printing company to a complete digital pre-press operation.
When I did leave, I left with his five major grocery accounts. I did the work and send it to the printing company and they would pay me on a weekly basis. When two of the clients left the printing company, they called me up and paid me directly to do the work for them. About two years ago, I decided to start cutting back and now I have one client and work maybe 5 hours a week.
Other than that I write the occasional pipe blog and draw my military retired pay and social security.
Starting last year, I became a professional Santa Claus.

 

odobenus

Part of the Furniture Now
Dec 15, 2018
728
2,567
Vermont
I farm beef cattle and pigs. Also write novels.

Before that I've worked as a ranch hand, journalist, editor, meat clerk, liquor store clerk, record store clerk, waiter, writing teacher, literature teacher, empanada-maker, bartender, line cook, flack for the bison industry, plant-potter, beer-bottler, dirt-mover, house-builder and more.

 

derhammer

Part of the Furniture Now
Sep 7, 2018
666
569
New Zealand
I just started my PhD in Product Design. Previously I was occupied as an automotive interaction designer and has some experience in ceramics as well. Now in the doctorate program I am required to take a course in qualitative research method and most of the time I just cannot understand what all the postmodernists are talking about :crazy:

It's true, the academic world is deteriorating.

 

weezell

Lifer
Oct 12, 2011
13,653
49,163
Sales/management all my life. General manager of a Coca Cola bottling operation for 15 years. Consulted for them on the east coast. Sold cars,managed bars/restaurants, the list goes on. Now manage a large furniture warehouse sale operation.Another year or so and I'm out,health reasons. Docs haven't wanted me working for a while. Time to relax...

 

trubka2

Lifer
Feb 27, 2019
2,470
21,640
I publish, publish, and publish, but seem to be slowly perishing nonetheless. Got tenure at a research U in 2012 and hope to make it out with my pension before the last of us humanists are hunted down and slaughtered for meat. Before academia, I worked as a garbage man, gas station attendant, framing-crew laborer/whipping boy, backcountry ranger (USFS), translator, hotel maid, dishwasher, grounds crew, mover, etc. I've also always played music (mainly guitar and drums), sometimes for money, but usually for love. I plan a second career as a locksmith.

 

jaytex1969

Lifer
Jun 6, 2017
9,517
50,591
Here
I am a professional malcontent.
After 7 years in the army, I've not gone more than 3 years at any job since.
I still don't know what to be when I grow up...
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