What do you do for a living?

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every time i see the thread i think of ray stevens, the hair cut song.
 
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work in a MDF plant in Quesnel B.C. Canada [that,s the stuff all your cheap furniture is made from nowadays] been there 17 years, before that at a lumber planer for 23 years, have 16 months til retirement:)

I am very envious. I'm ready to retire - mentally. Financially, not quite yet :(
 
The Golden YEARS ?

grew up insalvage business thought i was Bullet Proof. if a little is good a whole lot was better, did military,owned atrucking co.25 years retired, i travel a lot now going back and forth to doctors all kinds lots of problems lots of doctors 40 by 60 shop 16 tall full of motors old cars and parts and tools the golden years, some day i will finish one of them far side of 70 [cl[P[;)[S[ddd
 
grew up insalvage business thought i was Bullet Proof. if a little is good a whole lot was better, did military,owned atrucking co.25 years retired, i travel a lot now going back and forth to doctors all kinds lots of problems lots of doctors 40 by 60 shop 16 tall full of motors old cars and parts and tools the golden years, some day i will finish one of them far side of 70 [cl[P[;)[S[ddd

seen too many old guys with yards or shops full of parts and projects but get too broke down in their older years to do anything with them:( fiend of mine just had a lung removed, still has the desire to work on his cars but health holding him back:( seen a quote on Facebook...The Problem Is,..you think you have time... how true:(
 
I'm a Cop.....

Sergeant with a smaller municipal agency....second career....
Started out learning auto repair at 13 in a cab company cleaning up and washing parts.....went on to service stations, graduated HS went to a auto trade school....graduated and joined the Army....3 years later got out and opened my own service station, after 6 years of 18 / 20 hr days :eek:....got out and into dealers turning wrenches...then onto Service director....then was asked to join a a Sheriff's Dept as special deputy....then joined this agency I'm at, as a Reserve Officer...they sent me to the Police Academy and I was offered a full time job, made Sgt. in 4 years and was interim Chief for 6 months...I didn't and don't want that job...I'm not a political arena type guy.....the rest is history....still on the job and still working on cars...best of both worlds.....and loving em both...
 
This is a cool thread! Very interesting reading what everyone does. Here’s my occupational bio.

Went to vocational school to be a carpenter in my teens. Dropped out of High School in 76 and did a little bit of most things construction but never really liked it, always felt like work. That’s when I started learning about cars in various auto and tire centers. Next I got a job as an apprentice at an Import Car Dealer. I loved and excelled at it. Over the next 8 or 9 years I specialized on Subaru, Toyota and Volvo at one time or another and even I owned my own Auto Repair Shop. Then in the mid to late 80’s I burnt out and sold it all, moved to the left coast invented a thingamawidget and started the company I’m still running today. So for the past 25 years I’ve done everything that needs to be done: product development, production, packaging, sales and distribution etc. For the past couple years I’ve been in charge of supply chain management and bookkeeping as well as overseeing a great crew of guy’s that do all the stuff I’m burnt out on. My favorite part of the company is our in-house machine / job shop. That’s where the Off Road Rolls got started along with just about anything that needs fixed, cut, turned, milled or welded. We always have some kind of project going on the side.
 
I already posted what I do now, but here is what I did before. I went to work at a gas station at 16, then went to work pulling lumber at 18. The mill shut down and from 21 to 26 I was a logger (lumberjack), I ran a chainsaw limbing and bucking logs. I then went to college for office machine repair and have been doing that for 17 years, lots of driving but work without supervision mostly which I like. I will probably do this job till I retire or my back finally gives out completely. It is nice to see what a varied group we are.
 
Work history

I've been working at least one job since I was 12 years old. The car craze (some call it a disease) influenced or confounded my whole life.

The short version is that I worked through High School and College at a local transmission shop in Maryland. The two owner/operators of that shop took me under their wing at a good point in my life, just after my parents divorced. Alas, after finishing a B.S. in Math and Spanish in Northern NY State, then not completing a Master's Degree in Math, I immediately applied and got hired by a local Chrysler Dealer as a mechanic.
The dealership job didn't last long, and after short stints at other jobs, we relocated to NC where I was hired at a transmission shop there. After three years and two more job changes, my home transmission shop in Maryland called me back. Nine years of pseudo-self-employment later, my skills were finely honed and my debt load had reached a maximum. I had to leave the transmission shop in 2007 because I no longer could afford to work there. A short term at another transmission shop did not work out, and working for a friend at his shop didn't have a future. A career change was in order. At least the wife had a great manager position to carry us through.
So, in December 2007 I applied for an electronic repairman position at the Maryland MTA's Light Rail Division. Three long months later I was hired, and have been there ever since.
Now I am able to repay the debt created by the so-called "self-employment" at the transmission shop and maintain my own little hobby shop. Also, the benefits have really helped. After 15 years of neglect, all our teeth were in sad shape. Also, our daughter has had a series of medical issues that would have gone untreated had I still been wrenching on cars.

As for the degree, well, I doubt I will ever finish the Master's in Math. However, the critical thinking and communications skills I learned in college have stood by me ever since.

By the way, electronics and model railroading were among my first hobbies. Ironically, I have worked in fields related to my hobbies my whole life.

440shorty
 
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