What is your line of work?

[ebacon]

I'm still deciding what to be when I grow up.

After high school I worked two summers on tree nurseries. During the off seasons I was a dish washer then cook at a Big Boys.

When I was about twenty I decided to attend a community college and learn more about electronics which was a hobby. During those years I worked as a co-op student at a research laboratory. I spent one year in their product development lab, one year in their welding lab, and one year on an electric vehicle project.

After I graduated from the community college I decided to get my electrical engineering degree. During that period I worked at a different research lab and was focused on electric motors and associated power electronics. I also worked weekends as a shoe cobbler with an old Italian friend (RIP) of the family. That was interesting work and good times.

After graduation I took a job with a family-owned instrumentation company for three months. That was where I learned how to run a company into the ground. All you have to do is hire top management from a pool of friends at church and boom, you are finished.

My real professional career started with Chrysler. I spent eleven years working on engine controls and associated hardware. During that period I needed to get an advanced degree to get promoted into management. I started on an MBA but got sick of it after only one semester. In the meantime one of my coworkers was attending law school. He had me read flash cards to him and I got hooked on law. I ended up attending law school at night and have been practicing patent law since graduating.

Out of all that I think the most fun was the hands-on stuff as a technician and engineer. Shoe cobbling and nursery work runs a close second but the pay isn't there as an employee. You have to be the owner in those businesses to make money.

One of the funniest career changes I ever heard of happened after my wife and I had been practicing law for about ten years. Our financial planner quit his job to become a ... shoe cobbler.

That's when I knew something was askew in Wall Street land.

[Boreas]

Originally Posted by barbara

When I was young, I did the ususal service type jobs.....waitress, store clerk, etc. After I got married, my job was mom and I picked up side work doing more waitressing, store clerk type jobs.
When our boys were school age, I fell into a sweetheart deal and bought a deli/catering business. Did so well, my husband quit teaching and came to work for me. We had several shops when he became disabled and, at that point, I knew owning a buisness would no longer work for our family, and, in fact, we lost everything we had due to the catostrophic nature of his illness. Husband convinced me to go to college, an opportunity I didn't have when younger. I was dead set against it, feeling the need to be bringing money in, not spending more. But, when he told me I could earn a stipend I figured, along with (gasp!) welfare aid, I could keep a roof over our heads and (for the most part) a meal in our bellies, I started school the same day I got the invitation to my ten year high school reunion.
I really got into it and, in order to keep scholarships, I had to keep a good grade point average. While working three part time jobs (one of them scrubbing toilets at our local camp ground), and raising my boys, and taking care of husband, I graduated with a 4.0, an accomplishment I'll always be proud of.
During school I worked as an intern at the department of aging and, when my internship was done, I needed the work so badly, I just kept showing up every day. Evenually, I was at the right place at the right time, and I got hired there.
Since that time, fifteen/sixteen years ago, I've bounced around in different positions. Currently, I secure funding for, oversee and monitor about twenty programs that assist the elderly.
Having said all of that........after a day like today, I'm counting the days until retirement!

Wow!

John

[ebacon]

Y'all are obviously in the 47%.


Grrrrr.

[ebacon]

Originally Posted by d-ray657

Let’s see. Other than running errands and mowing lawns, the first job I got paid hourly for was hauling rocks to clear off some land. After that I worked for Payless Shoes, but I quit because they do –bada bing bada boom.

On to Kinney’s Shoes, where I learned to deal with the public. Kinney’s was good to me, because they always found hours for me when I came home from college for a weekend or over the holidays. If my main store did not have hours, they would send me to any store that needed help. First summer back from college, I worked as a trash hauler during the day and at Kinney’s in the evening.

Second summer back, I got a shop in a plant that made oil field equipment. I worked three summers and one fall there (stayed home while family was ill). I had the honor of joining the IBEW during my time there.

In Norman, I washed dishes, delivered pizza, and ran a small restaurant. I went into retail after graduation, and left that after a year. Got on with a pipeline company dispatching gas to the electric company. I worked shift work, which gave me some time to read at night. Thought, what the hell, I’ll take the LSAT and see if I should go to law school.

The LSAT said, I might have a chance, so I took the leap. During law school, I helped teach the first year writing class and worked on a research fellowship. Got a couple of judicial clerkships out of law school, one for a state appellate judge and one for a federal trial court judge. Looking back, that might have been the most enjoyable work I had. The two judges I worked with were men of high integrity and intellect.

I’ve been in private practice for over 20 years, mostly representing unions. The amount of union business is shrinking. I can’t see myself doing insurance defense or representing corporations or chasing ambulances, so I am thinking of making a transition. I would love to teach, and have to determine whether I want to go back to school at age 55. I can’t ever really see myself retiring.

Regards,

D-Ray

D-Ray,

What was your undergrad degree in? Did you plan on going on to law school?

My passion for law happened totally by accident. But for that experience I would probably be here siding with mezz. Law, and philosophy/theology for that matter, are interesting topics. What wears on me is polishing my chair with my ass. Patent work is a lot of sitting and writing. My wife is a litigator and she has an easier time with law as she gets to get out and argue in court.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by barbara

When I was young, I did the ususal service type jobs.....waitress, store clerk, etc. After I got married, my job was mom and I picked up side work doing more waitressing, store clerk type jobs.
When our boys were school age, I fell into a sweetheart deal and bought a deli/catering business. Did so well, my husband quit teaching and came to work for me. We had several shops when he became disabled and, at that point, I knew owning a buisness would no longer work for our family, and, in fact, we lost everything we had due to the catostrophic nature of his illness. Husband convinced me to go to college, an opportunity I didn't have when younger. I was dead set against it, feeling the need to be bringing money in, not spending more. But, when he told me I could earn a stipend I figured, along with (gasp!) welfare aid, I could keep a roof over our heads and (for the most part) a meal in our bellies, I started school the same day I got the invitation to my ten year high school reunion.
I really got into it and, in order to keep scholarships, I had to keep a good grade point average. While working three part time jobs (one of them scrubbing toilets at our local camp ground), and raising my boys, and taking care of husband, I graduated with a 4.0, an accomplishment I'll always be proud of.
During school I worked as an intern at the department of aging and, when my internship was done, I needed the work so badly, I just kept showing up every day. Evenually, I was at the right place at the right time, and I got hired there.
Since that time, fifteen/sixteen years ago, I've bounced around in different positions. Currently, I secure funding for, oversee and monitor about twenty programs that assist the elderly.
Having said all of that........after a day like today, I'm counting the days until retirement!

DID YOU SAY WELFARE???????????

I see you're part of the problem. You need to get off your butt and take care of your own problems. Stop expecting Supermen like Mitt and Mezz to do it for you.......

Regards,
Dave

[Combwork]

Compared to you people I've had a dull life but by a strange and circuitous route I've ended up living in a house with a leaky roof making a living out of repairing antique musical boxes. 19th century Hi-Fi. Been doing it since 1974. It has its good points, best was delivering a musical box that I'd restored back to its owner, a lady in her eighties who lived with her companion.
I wound it up, turned it on and as it began to play, just for a fraction of a second we could see the face of the girl who had last heard it play over 70 years ago. Good moment.

[BlueStreak]

Originally Posted by Combwork

Compared to you people I've had a dull life but by a strange and circuitous route I've ended up living in a house with a leaky roof making a living out of repairing antique musical boxes. 19th century Hi-Fi. Been doing it since 1974. It has its good points, best was delivering a musical box that I'd restored back to its owner, a lady in her eighties who lived with her companion.
I wound it up, turned it on and as it began to play, just for a fraction of a second we could see the face of the girl who had last heard it play over 70 years ago. Good moment.

And here I was thinking you work for the railroad. But, that's okay. there is nothing wrong with being a music box repairman. Actually, I'd say the experience you described makes it a noble profession.

Dave

[bobabode]

Originally Posted by Combwork

Compared to you people I've had a dull life but by a strange and circuitous route I've ended up living in a house with a leaky roof making a living out of repairing antique musical boxes. 19th century Hi-Fi. Been doing it since 1974. It has its good points, best was delivering a musical box that I'd restored back to its owner, a lady in her eighties who lived with her companion.
I wound it up, turned it on and as it began to play, just for a fraction of a second we could see the face of the girl who had last heard it play over 70 years ago. Good moment.

That a cool line of work. I get the nom de plume now. I think.. The chime in a music box is called a comb, right?