What's Your Job IRL?

Discussion in 'Random Thoughts' started by MoatsArt, Oct 23, 2016.

  1. will_f

    will_f Friend

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    Commander in the U.S. Public Health Service (never heard of the USPHS you say? You’re not alone). Anyway, I manage a decent size herd of engineers, surveyors, drafters, permitting specialists etc to provide sanitation infrastructure for Alaska natives in some of the most desolate, remote, and beautiful places in the world. Beats working at Walmart.

    https://usphs.gov/
     
    Last edited: Jan 4, 2020
  2. iFi audio

    iFi audio MOT iFi Audio

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    Wow. Yup, knowing how Alaska looks like, your job beats Walmart, that's for sure!
     
  3. Mithrandir41

    Mithrandir41 Friend

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    I work for the military-industrial complex, namely as an F-18 powerplants/fuel systems mechanic for a contracting company. I'm working on getting a gig with Northrop-Grumman.
     
  4. IUONA

    IUONA Thief that stole Bloom Audio gear

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    Someone recently told me I’m complicated when it comes to this question. Ironically, most people I‘ve met assume I’m a university graduate before they get to know me better. I’m intelligent, relatively learned as a result of my voracious reading & an enthusiasm for learning about anything that intrigues me. I was selected for a couple ‘gifted’ students programs, took the ACT when I was in 4th grade and got a score in the mid 20s, and I thought I’d either become a doctor of some kind, an engineer, or a marine biologist.

    However, I was an active addict from the age of 12-20. I’ll try to keep this brief... I had an injury when I was 11, so doctors gave me copious amounts of opiates. Because I had a great deal of issues lying in wait (as a result of childhood traumas & things that don’t normally get discussed), I found mind & mood altering substances gave me a sense of peace & confidence, or at least numbness, that I couldn’t find elsewhere. Even if that peace only lasted a few minutes, it became my focus. It progressed, as it always does. I was a junior in high school when I dropped out & got a GED. The spiral of self-loathing, isolation & pain nearly resulted in my death multiple times. I was somehow able to get clean in January 2011, and was able to stay clean. So, I’ve got 9 years clean, now.

    I spent the first 5 years clean just trying to figure out how to live, be an adult & determine who I am (and who I want to be.) I always had the intention of going to a college or university, but my family is poor and I obviously hadn’t been in any position to rise above poverty. When I was 25, I decided I needed money to be more self supporting, so I became a dialysis technician, thinking I’d save money and only do it for a short period of time. I was great at it, and well suited to it. (I’m good at dealing with people who are suffering or dying, probably because I treat them like human beings. And, ironically, I was excellent at cannulating (putting needles into) patients. (Though, I never told anyone there that particular skill was developed with plenty of practice on myself.) lol Turns out, making $12-$14 an hour is very difficult to live on. I became miserable working there as a result of incompetent, very poor management. So, I quit around 2017. Some of the patients found me & begged me to return, which was heartbreaking. The mother of a paraplegic 16 year old told me that I was the reason her daughter hadn’t given up & chosen death. I did what I could to help them transition, but if I’d have returned to work there, I’d have been miserable.

    A couple months later, I began working at one of those $40,000 a month cash rehabs that was being built near me by the owner of a similar place in Canada. The lead psychologist knew me from non-profit work I’d done & recommended me, so I accepted their offer to work there. It was wonderful, the physical environment gorgeous, and I had the freedom to manage my own time & efforts as I saw fit. I needed out & enjoyed writing all the policies & having an active role in building the programs & the place (including literally building parts of it, like 20 beds.) They struggled to find clients (they weren’t very good at marketing & didn’t adapt well to the US system), so they entered into joint ownership & operation with a large corporation. Of course, it went to shit & working there became more than I was willing to bear. And my depression & anxiety issues became worse during that time, so I decided to quit.

    Fast forward to today, I remain unemployed. The depression & anxiety issues have resulted in a great deal of isolation. One positive thing that’s come of it, I’ve been able to indulge some hobbies & learn new things. I play about a dozen instruments. I really enjoy building electronics & making things. I have a couple reef aquariums. I engage more in volunteer work (in the local prison & jails, rehabs, helping some non-profits that I believe in, etc.).

    I’ve been seeking help for the depression & anxiety. I see a psychiatrist & therapist, have a network of supportive friends & family, etc., but I haven’t been able to find a job that pays enough, won’t be miserable, and that I’ll actually enjoy. My limited formal education precludes me from many jobs I would like to do. Ideally, I could do most work from home or travel. If anyone has suggestions, I’m open to hearing them.

    That was way more than I intended to write. Oh well. I’ve enjoyed reading threads here & I enjoy the people here (and before it was SBAF), so might as well let you know me better. (I’m the guy who reads everything but rarely contributes, because I don’t feel like commenting or opining on gear or things I don’t have experience with.)

    So, what do I do in real life? Try my best every day to get better. Some days that means just not getting worse. As far as work goes... Nothing, now. And I just don’t know, yet, what I will do.

    ideally, I’d like to find a job that allows me to work remotely, which I can do at home or if I travel. We’ll see.
     
    Last edited: Mar 6, 2020
  5. RobS

    RobS RobS? More like RobDiarrhea.

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    Damn bro that's rough. I've been there with the clinical depression stuff and it's awful. Glad to hear you are getting help and have support.

    Hear you on the jobs. Who wants to be a cubicle slave where monotonous tasks grind out any humanity you have left to become a basic normie drone to conform to the most banal social mechanisms? At least you'll have those peppy performance quotes on little signs pegged on your cubicle walls to derive "inspiration" from.

    Our economy produces a dearth of meaningful and rewarding jobs.
     
  6. Case

    Case Anxious Head (Formerly Wilson)

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    @IUONA , sounds like you were born for a career in mental health/ social work.
     
  7. penguins

    penguins Friend, formerly known as fp627

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    Previously a product engineer. Currently helping with launch of a new business.

    Am debating potential major changes. Have refrained from posting anything about what I do here in past but I am having some thoughts and SBAF has a lot of smart people here... would like opinions (PM if easier):

    New business - It's getting to the point where it can 80% run itself. Looking to do something else soon... want to either go back to being an engineer or some level of management OR maybe switch career paths altogether. FWIW my last job was specifically from conceptualization and research stage all the way to quality and life-cycle management stages. Also managed a team of technicians as part of life cycle management (who in turn lead customer support staff + their own technician work). Luckily my team was mostly solid and didn't take too much daily management aside from me having to gather/analyze data and provide / design good processes, systems, and tools (not literal hand tools) to allow them to succeed. Was intellectually fulfilling in many ways, but I wanted to switch to something I'd find more personally fulfilling, hence trying to help start a business.

    Why I want to switch:
    EE degree for undergrad with some grad school in IE and engineering management... except
    1) Most EE stuff requires some degree of programming now days... which I really don't enjoy very much. I can live with 20-25%, but would ideally prefer as little as possible to be good/efficient.
    2) I lack some hardcore/guru level design experience needed to be very successful as top engineer or become a legendary level engineer (not that I'm a bad engineer). Had major medical issues pretty much right out of college (as in average prognosis for just surviving is roughly 40-50%). By the time I was better, I had kind of missed the guru train. Grad school also got kind of messed up by this too.
    3) However, in overcoming all my medical stuff, the biggest thing I learned is that life is very beautiful and precious and yet somehow pointless and worthless all at the same time and 2) death isn't all that scary when you're at peace... - So what is there to lose?
    4) Biggest downside I've noticed of being a product engineer or manager is most stuff I would sufficiently enjoy requires specific industry experience - it's somewhat hard to jump between industries simply due to companies wanting to hire people already familiar with everything (even if most products and processes can be learned). Bad for someone like me who likes to switch things up for the sake of intellectual curiosity. Having multiple career paths I can switch between may be a different way to scratch the intellectual curiosity vs personal fulfillment itch. If anything, it will (hopefully) at least show me things I didn't know and open new doors.

    Why I don't want to switch:
    1) Most things I'm interested in have a high-ish to high barrier to entry
    2) Time needed
    3) As with anything in life - no guarantees that any of the effort I put in will pay off. I'd rather stay on the train I'm still decently happy on now with some occasional moonlighting as a XYZ (for the same intellectual curiosity vs personal fulfillment blah blah) than hop off and potentially watch too many things pass by (which I already saw when I "took time off" in illness). This is not so much a "no risk and no action = stage 0 forever" thing as it is a "there's probably more to lose than there is to gain here" thing.
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2020
  8. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    Telephone banking, people calls with a "problem" (blocked debit card or account, complaints about the bank, etc), I try to solve it (50% of the times I can't because many of them only can be solved going in person to a bank office) and sell a loan or credit card in the same call. I'm like a boxer that trained to be the punching bag. The main focus is sales, even if the client calls for attention. No sales in one month=fired.

    People usually quits or gets fired after a month or two, me and 3 co-workers that entered the same day as me (the first day of service!) are the ones with most experience (not counting supervisors), in september I'll make 2 years there. I'm also the youngest at 28 years old. I've been offered to be promoted to supervisor 2 times, but I do not want that job because is twice the work and the salary difference is...100€ per month (I'm not kidding!).
    Currently, I work from home (and drink even more coffee!).

    My job is shit but lets me eat and live. I'll start university this year (electronics engineering), and leave the country once I finish. Telephone banking and waiter are 95% of the jobs that anyone can find in Spain unless you're the friend of the cousin of the daughter of the nephew of the boss, or have +5 years of experience and want to work for minimum wage with an apprentice contract (and be fired in 3 months without compensation).
     
    Last edited: May 8, 2020
  9. Velomane

    Velomane Acquaintance

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    @9suns How long is the engineering course? Do you know where you to go once you're done?
     
  10. 9suns

    9suns [insert unearned title here]

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    4 years. I will do a master too (2 years more) but with internship in another country. Which one? Personally, I would love to live in the US, but no one knows what future holds with this Covid emergency.
    One of the few good thing about Spain is that public university is stupidly cheap, 800€ per year plus books (200-300€), and with good grades, you get your money back. The private master is the expensive, optional thing (around 20-30k € for the "good ones" that introduce you to the "right places to work").
     
    Last edited: May 9, 2020
  11. Pharmaboy

    Pharmaboy Friend

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    "My job is shit..." (4 little words that say a lot)
     
  12. FallingObjects

    FallingObjects Pay It Forward

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    I worked telephone customer service for a bit; I only lasted like three months - if you can last over 2 years, you're going to do just fine in University!
     
  13. boredpanda

    boredpanda Almost "Made"

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    Proctologist?

    I work in presales and technical support for a large company producing gearboxes and motors. Anything from small worm gears to massive industrial gears.
     
  14. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    Ever heard of Vapiano? I used to work there. They went bust, the top-management liked expansion so much they could not pay their bills any more. As a line-cook there I learnt more about pasta there than expected. I had to leave though, pasta does not cook itself.

    I now work in food logistics. It sounds simple until you finally understand that you are always expected to get things done in a moment's notice while being at the end of the communication line. No matter how much is automated, if you do not want to use your hands and feet you will not make it. Every spare centimeter and/or inch, you will fight for it. Inventory space is your living space for at least 8 hours or longer a day, whoever does not understand that will get you in trouble.
     
  15. Pharmaboy

    Pharmaboy Friend

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    No--but thanks for asking.

    A proctologist would instead say, "My job is a shithole."
     
  16. dncnexus

    dncnexus Friend

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    I currently work as a Software Developer. I am contracted by the Navy and work in integration of Lidar with their existing physical intrusion detection systems. I was the System Administrator for these systems for the past 2 years and just transitioned to this development position. I am looking to try and get into contracting or a GS position overseas in Japan or Korea because I enjoy it there and wanna live there at least for awhile.
     
  17. saint.panda

    saint.panda Friend

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    I work at a travel startup. Battered industry, but we'll be back.
     
  18. Deep Funk

    Deep Funk Deep thoughts - Friend

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    So this?

     
  19. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophile™

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    Working as a data scientist in a med school. Mostly mess with python, sql, and some math, rather than do real science.
     
  20. Pharmaboy

    Pharmaboy Friend

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    Why, yes!
     

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