What is/was your occupation?

oldhelps · Oct 3, 2023

I'm a middle school student

Kerro · Oct 3, 2023

Catnip said:
Some of the smartest people I know have never been to college. Life experience is more important IMHO. School only gives you the tools to work in your chosen profession as a starting point. Where you go from there depends on your work ethic and innate skill. They don't teach that at school.

I agree with you Catnip, being well educated is not the be all and end all. An example would be here in Western Australia, where a person studies and goes to Uni and gets all the qualifications they need, whereas a young 18 year old can go mining with no experience and earn the same money, as a qualified Uni student, at the get go. The 18 year old can be retired by the time they are 35 and own everything and live comfortably on their super whilst the Uni student is still paying off their Hex fees and a mortgage.

elbmek · Oct 3, 2023

Unsettled - brains but no opportunities, British Army, Security, retired. overall, best thing that ever happened to me in life was meeting my wife 48 years ago

partlow · Oct 7, 2023

I am a JOAT

Jack of all trades.

I do computer repair, networking, plumbing, electoral, preventive maintenance, and other stuff.

kelper · Oct 8, 2023

I spent my life at sea as a marine engineer. I worked my way up to Chief Engineer on a major cruise line. Retired at 61. Now listening to jazz old and new, brewing beer and messing about with computers. Computers do what they are told, are infinitely patient and don't argue. But I am married! Living on Scotland's north coast has added ten years to my life - no stress and some of the cleanest air in the world.

partlow · Oct 8, 2023

kelper said:
I spent my life at sea as a marine engineer. I worked my way up to Chief Engineer on a major cruise line. Retired at 61. Now listening to jazz old and new, brewing beer and messing about with computers. Computers do what they are told, are infinitely patient and don't argue. But I am married! Living on Scotland's north coast has added ten years to my life - no stress and some of the cleanest air in the world.

That last part make me want to move.

PenPusher · Oct 11, 2023

I did electrical/mechanical engineering at college. Then got a job in electronic industry making sensors/electronics for the Oil and Gas industries.
After 8 years of compiling Technical handbooks for operating computers for above, jacked it in and went to work in the printing industry!
Did that for 30 years. Then took early retirement during covid

.
I have been building my own PC's since 1990's

My side hobby since the 1995... Demonstrating equipment at Major Hi-Fi Shows in the UK and Europe, for a small boutique manufacturer of Valve Amp's.

Scannerman · Nov 5, 2023

It's complicated so I'll start with my worst shot and come back later after the dust settles.

Studied religion in Concordia College. Wrote a few books. Not going to name them.

Owned five businesses. Never went bankrupt.

Technically retired. Officially in rebellion.

Graulges · Nov 7, 2023

Retired Science teacher. Worked in factories for a bit after I left school then trained as a teacher and spent 34 years in a few different schools and became head of science and network manager because I knew more than anybody else in the last school (it was and is a hobby) anyway the two roles combined was too much, teaching through te week and working evenings and weekends on the network was too much and I took early retirement on a reduced pension (mental health wasn't considered valid grounds for ill health retirement at the time) I went to work as a warehouse man and delivery driver with an electrical company and worked with the best team of my career so I was sad to leave when I retired to France. Very happy now 16 years in a lovely French community and hoping for quite a few more. That's longer than I expected and I left a lot out.

Scannerman · Nov 7, 2023

Graulges said:
Retired Science teacher. Worked in factories for a bit after I left school then trained as a teacher and spent 34 years in a few different schools and became head of science and network manager because I knew more than anybody else in the last school (it was and is a hobby) anyway the two roles combined was too much, teaching through te week and working evenings and weekends on the network was too much and I took early retirement on a reduced pension (mental health wasn't considered valid grounds for ill health retirement at the time) I went to work as a warehouse man and delivery driver with an electrical company and worked with the best team of my career so I was sad to leave when I retired to France. Very happy now 16 years in a lovely French community and hoping for quite a few more. That's longer than I expected and I left a lot out.

I can relate to much of what you share here as I was a bit of a science junky in my younger days, but I never took it to the extent of teaching. I had a keen interest in microbiology, ichthyology, and entomology. That was a long, long time ago. I ran a small contracting company as a courier in the capital city of my Province until I encountered a near fatal accident and miraculously survived. This change in my life led to wanting to leave the city and move to the wilderness, which I nearly managed. Prior experience in a warehouse where we shipped electronics to jobbers gave me a bit of an in for acquiring work in electrical out in the oil industry. I'm about 15 minutes or less from wilderness in any direction I go now and I like it like that.

BunnyJ · Nov 10, 2023

I was a computer programmer for over 20 years with various companies from AT&T, The Travelers Ins and GE.

garioch7 · Nov 10, 2023

I was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 35 years, retiring with the rank of Staff Sergeant. I worked general duties, was trained as a Forensic Firearms and Toolmark Examiner and worked in an RCMP Forensic Laboratory for eight years after training. I then transferred to HQ in Ottawa, where I was for my last 21 years of service, working in a variety of postings, including ten years in charge of the RCMP's crime statistics program.

I never liked big cities, so I retired to rural Cape Breton, first in Port Hood and then on to Port Hastings, where I am now. In retirement, I applied and was admitted (2015) to the Bleeping Computer Malware Removal Study Hall, graduated to the BC Malware Response Team, and then was promoted to a Malware Response Instructor in the Study Hall. That really added fuel to the fire of my love of computers.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

kelper · Nov 10, 2023

garioch7 said:
I was a member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for 35 years, retiring with the rank of Staff Sergeant. I worked general duties, was trained as a Forensic Firearms and Toolmark Examiner and worked in an RCMP Forensic Laboratory for eight years after training. I then transferred to HQ in Ottawa, where I was for my last 21 years of service, working in a variety of postings, including ten years in charge of the RCMP's crime statistics program.

I never liked big cities, so I retired to rural Cape Breton, first in Port Hood and then on to Port Hastings, where I am now. In retirement, I applied and was admitted (2015) to the Bleeping Computer Malware Removal Study Hall, graduated to the BC Malware Response Team, and then was promoted to a Malware Response Instructor in the Study Hall. That really added fuel to the fire of my love of computers.

Have a great day.

Regards,
Phil

Have you ever been mounted?

garioch7 · Nov 10, 2023

@kelper

Personally, no. Equestrian training was discontinued the year before I was hired (1973) and sent to "Depot" Division, the training facility outside of Regina, Saskatchewan, for the required six months of basic training. I did not complain. We still have the "Musical Ride."

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

kelper · Nov 10, 2023

garioch7 said:
@kelper

Personally, no. Equestrian training was discontinued the year before I was hired (1973) and sent to "Depot" Division, the training facility outside of Regina, Saskatchewan, for the required six months of basic training. I did not complain. We still have the "Musical Ride."

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

There's a wonderful series on UK catch up TV called Dial 9-9-9 about a RCMP officer attached to Scotland Yard in England. He always gets his man. It is superb.

Dial 999 (TV series) - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

garioch7 · Nov 10, 2023

@kelper

It is always great, as a retired RCMP member, to hear positive stories about my colleagues in Red Serge. It is not an easy life for police officers of any police organization these days. So much negativity.

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

kelper · Nov 10, 2023

garioch7 said:
@kelper

It is always great, as a retired RCMP member, to hear positive stories about my colleagues in Red Serge. It is not an easy life for police officers of any police organization these days. So much negativity.

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

Monty Python lionised you guys!

garioch7 · Nov 10, 2023

@kelper

I have always been a Monty Python fan. Many years ago, I purchased their entire TV series on DVDs, plus three or four of their movies.

Always very original comedy.

Have a great weekend.

Regards,
Phil

RJARRRPCGP · Dec 14, 2023

A Guy said:
I was an in home TV Technician (TV repairman ) for almost 30 years before retiring at 59 (the TV repair business died mostly). I was never educated in electronics. I started out on mechanical stuff (turntables, cassette tape players, speakers, etc.), then was offered other stuff and just went from there. I worked on Walkman, Amplifiers, CD players, Fax machines, Massage Chairs, Microwaves, Nintendo, Gameboy, Music keyboards...everything but TVs, lol

When the company I worked for had a slowdown and I was laid off, the service manager at a TV Dealer/servicer asked me if I wanted to try TVs. Back then everything was component level (Diodes, transistors, resistors, etc.). Eventually it became board level/modules. The beginning of the end started during the dot com bust when 1st Vizio appeared with low price TVs. Eventually there was a glut of cheap Chinese TV brands and the TV business became untenable

I got to see the glory years with new technologies coming fast and furious. Went from CRT direct view TVs to CRT projection, LCD, Plasma, LCD projection, HDILA, LCOS, DLP, Laser...eventually LCD and Plasma (flat panel) TVs won out, with Plasma going by the wayside. Since then, the OLED has been the only newcomer (Samsung has QLED, Quantum Dot...but they are LCD based)

A Guy

OLED monitors are still too expensive. Even the OLED TVs are still to expensive for me at this time.

So I have a 1440p VA LCD with excellent luminance. (measured by my X-Rite i1Display Studio)
I also have an Samsung Odyssey G40B. (IPS, 1080p and 240 Hz)
I also have a plasma that was built in 2009.

Kerro · Dec 14, 2023

I was a Minesite worker for 33 years, of those the last 20 years was as a Grader Operater. The graders we used were M24's(24 foot blade), operated with 2 joysticks and fully automatic. Easy to drive. I have now been retired for 2 years and am pursuing my photography and Photoshop skills.