What do you do for a living?
 

I'm almost graduated from University and I'm not getting any full-time, permanent jobs at the moment in my field, and I can't live off the temp./part-time jobs.

What kind of jobs/careers do you guys have?
(If you went to college/univeristy), did you get a job in your field? Or did you go a completely different route?

I’m a certified nursing assistant in a nursing home. Been one for over 20 years. Also do some cleaning on the side and occasionally work at a dog boarding kennel.:hangloose:

I hold several State Board certifications and licensures, in an variety of fields of interest; but currently, since about two years ago, my primary job is taking care of me.

ETA: both higher-Education degrees I have earned have not necessarily played an role in obtaining employment. Most of my prior work experience has been in some form or role in working with the public. I would say that in most cases, it's not what you know or what degree you have earned, but more like who you know (social capital, for example). :rrose:

"Who you know"...exactly.
I've had many careers that always spun off from some other job I had before. Networking is the art of connecting good employees with good companies.
I was blessed to retire early, and now I work more than I did when I was employed full time, but I only choose fun clients, with whom I like spending time.
Right now, my business card says I'm a PR and marketing consultant. I work with restaurants and bakeries to help them maximize their profits without breaking their always meager advertising budgets.

If people are having trouble finding work in their specific field, sometimes it helps to get their foot in the door--any door--and keep moving forward. Even volunteer work in a field close to your chosen occupation will get your face known and help you make valuable connections.

I was a director for many areas like IT, Performance Improvement, Licensure, and Accreditation among other things for 12 years at a Nonprofit. I resigned back in April. Best decision ever. Very toxic environment. I’m currently in graduate school so I can finally do what I’ve always wanted to do. I plan to be back working no later than November. I’m just looking for something now that is a straight 9-5 Monday thru Friday rather than being on call 24/7, even on vacation. I cannot wait to be doing something that I love and not just something I am good at.

Currently I am owner and operator of my own green cleaning business. I have worked previously as a CNA/PCA with emphasis on dementia/Alzheimer’s patients.

I also have a small “from home” organic dog biscuit making business.

I have considered both nursing and social work as careers. I have an associate’s degree in Liberal Arts and at least 20 credits towards my bachelor’s. With my mother’s recent illness and passing, I’m leaning towards returning to health care. I would love to be like the comforting hospice nurses who were SO good to mom...and to us.

I will spend the next nine months trying to convince 22 children that reading and science are as fun as video games. Wish me luck! :-)

I'm a scenic artist/sculptor. That means that I create scenery for the movies, tv and theatre that you watch. My specialty is in sculpture, so I can be called upon to make anything from an excellent copy of a classical sculpture, or an amalgam of several, to a convincing rock cliff for a stunt which involves pizza loving turtles and their careening vehicle. Faithful reproduction of the historic Copacabana palm trees? I'm your gal. Soft surfaces for stunt people to land on which look exactly like asphalt? Yup. I can do that. The work is hard and our days are long, but usually interesting.

I'm a professional sculptor. I still make my own art sometimes, but I need to set aside chunks of time off to do it. After ten intense hours of producing scenery my creative moment is usually over for the day. I really like what I do, and I'm good at it, but I'm much happier now that I've come to realize something really important about myself and my profession. I have an art career in order to finance my motorcycle adventures. Artists usually finance their art career with some other form of employ, but I'm doing it the other way around. It's weird, but I'm a lot happier now that I understand this important thing about myself.

I am a paper pusher for the State of California. Years ago, before knowing what I wanted to do with my life and having tried a number of office jobs, I was working temp at a mortgage company and found I loved the part numbers have to work and the part detective work of processing mortgages.

After 20 plus years in the private world of mortgages, I went to work for the state underwriting mortgages for lower income borrowers. I have since moved agencies and now work with grant funds to provide housing for lower income borrowers.

In a few months, I will retire from the state and just might sign up to do some temp work at mortgage companies again. Or not!

I'm disabled so I don't have a "regular" job, but I'm an artist and currently working on a project funded by a grant I recently got! I feel this is a turning point in my career as an artist.

I have been in human services for 39 years (did I just say that, omg) and social work for 30 years. I have worked in many settings in social work. I am currently full time faculty and one of the founders of an accredited Masters in Social Work program in the NYC university system. I love what I do, would like to retire but, alas, not this year. If I have to stay working this is as good as it gets: three days teaching and other days home or other work and summers off. Good retirement job for the time being. I am fortunate.

What an interesting job! Have you experimented with polymer clays for smaller jobs? You can use dryer lint mixed with Fimo to create craggy little rocks or cliffs.
I'd love to see pics of some of your creations.

Ive mainly had manufacturing jobs with a few office/admin jobs in between.

Right now I'm awaiting to see if i get hired to fix computers.

My undergraduate degree is in Microbiology and I am certified as a Public Health Microbiologist, but I am not a Microbiologist.

I have a K-12 teaching credential, but I am not a teacher

My graduate degree is in Forensic Science, but I do not work in a crime lab.

I am a Quality Assurance Director for a medical device company. I ensure that our company manufactures devices that meet regulatory requirements for the US and other countries that we do business in. It's a lot of paperwork, but I enjoy what I'm doing. My education post High School is not directly relevant to the work I do today, but it showed employers that I am teachable. In my experience, it's useful to take what you learned and apply it to whatever job you have. I've worked in Research, Academia, Government, and so on. If someone were to follow my career path, they might have exited at various stops along the way.

As I pondered this questions I got a little... whoa, I've worn quite a few hats. http://www.butchfemmeplanet.com/foru...%20smiliey.gif

My education is Criminal Justice and Psychology so... I started in enforcement then …. Counselor, Traffic/Shipping, Inventory Control, Logistics, Retail Distribution and the last 15 plus has been in Customer Service / Sales / Call Center Management.

I don't think I'm done yet... there are a few more hats I'd like to try.

Yes, I've used Fimo and Sculpey for some of our projects. I haven't tried the dryer lint trick. Thanks for the tip. Are you making cliffs for model trains?

If you use Fimo and its ilk I hope you have a dedicated toaster oven for baking your projects. That stuff is super toxic and it's terrible to cook it in the oven you use for your food. I sometimes cook my projects with a heat gun and work outside when I'm using those polymer clays. One of the drawbacks to my job is that so many of the materials we use regularly are shockingly toxic.

Cheryl, has that affected you at all or no (since I know you are careful)? Just curious.

I can't forget my time on a pig farm.

Well, I'm ummm... not always that careful. I've had a dangerous exposure to urethane casting resin once many years ago, and then a near miss with a similar product since then. I'm fine now, but I'm not allowed to use that product, or anything like it again. I don't think I've had any ill effects from the massive amount of styrofoam I carve, but I've been kind of forgetful lately, and... what was the question?

A Living?
 

I sell high end wines to high end buyers...most of the time. I also host wine tastings, tend bar at the odd wedding/event, and occasionally put on a cocktail dress to populate various industry events like conventions and car shows.

It's a living and every now and again I get to travel to interesting places.

I'm kind of a Jane of all trades. When I was younger, I managed a bead store, then moved on to apprentice with a jeweler.
After that, I managed an office supply store for several years.
Next I worked as a seamstress for a long time. I worked as a personal chef during that time, too, making meals for clients in their homes. (I'm totally a self-taught cook, so no formal training for that.)
After that, I taught art classes in an after school program in the public schools, and then moved into teaching pre-school. At that point, I got really sick and had to stop teaching. I went to school, and also worked from home as a personal assistant in a company that planned wedding proposals. Basically, whatever crazy thing the client wanted, I found. I booked showgirls, mariachi bands, and elephants, all for people's strange vision of their perfect proposal. During that time, I also worked as a personal assistant to the director of a math camp for girls.
After that, I stopped working to go to law school. Now I'm done with school, and trying to find a job in my field. I would like to do family law, elder law, landlord-tenant law, or trusts and estates (wills). Keep your fingers crossed I find something soon! I'm a bit nervous about being so much older than most of the people I'm competing with for jobs, so I hope that my age and experience count in my favor, rather than counting against me.

I was a land pilot for over 25 years and now I am lovingly called the ELD guru, or azz hat when drivers are mad i wont do what they want me to do

My official title is Safety Administrator for the parent company I worked for over 4 years. I get to work for home so some call me a slacker for my commute:pirate-steer:

++
No, I don't make little cliffs, but I did laugh at the idea, so thanks!
I collect gem stones, and I'd love to put some giant specimens in the long planters in front of my house, but I fear someone might make off with them. So I use Fimo, Sculpy, Kato, Primo and Pardo to replicate mostly opaque rocks, like turquoise, malachite, amethyst, rose quartz, citrine, tiger eye, fool's gold, hematite, copper, and snowflake obsidian.
Pardo makes nice translucent, mica and other clays that help with replicating quartz or filling veins with shiny stuff.
The rocks I use are either smooth, oval pond rocks, around 2-3 pounds each, or I use large, craggy rocks. First I base paint the craggy rock gold, silver or copper, then cover with clay, letting the metallics peak out. Then I seal them with clear acrylic so the garden soil and water don't mess them up.
On really hot days, I just bake my clay on the dashboard of my car, and park it in the sun. I swear, I could bake a turkey on that dashboard in the summer. Maybe a chicken in early fall.
Thank you for the tips on toxicity; I'll keep them in mind.
I don't use my oven much, but it's self cleaning and I blast it several times a year. So far so good.

People have done some interesting things. I am not working now. I am waiting to have my second knee replacement in two years. Oh well. I really can't work if I can't walk. Not in my opinion.

I am a high school Special Ed teacher. I usually teach Math as well. In California, I am credentialed in special ed and in autism. I am highly qualified in English and a few other things, but in CA, you can't teach General Ed unless you have a Gen Ed credential. That's weird because our Special Ed programs contain all the coursework gen ed programs do plus about a year more.

In Florida, I am credentialed in ESE (special Ed), autism, English, and Middle School math. So I could teach general ed English or math here as well as Special Ed. Different states, different laws.

The new federal law makes being highly qualified obsolete everywhere, I gather. I love how they force you to take classes and exams and then later, they don't matter. No refunds either.

I miss teaching, but I don't miss the bullshit from administration. I am so happy to see teachers walking out in the states where they have been treated the worst.

Anyway, I'll go back next year, in California. I need a few more years contributing to my pension before I retire. I am going to try to find an interesting job in an alternative setting located someplace sorta rural that is not the Central Valley. Those are my criteria. Should be doable.

Please send me a free sample case of Chassagne Montrachet, or Puligny Montrachet is fine, too. Let me know if you need money for shipping--cases are heavy. Thanks!

That sounds like a interesting job. Do you have any favies? Or is it like working at an ice cream shop and after a while it's all a lil … meh! :p

I had to give up wine years ago... sulfates/nitrates … led to some wicked headaches. Recently I tried a few "organic" wines … those were a lil … meh.

Software developer here ... love coding but the past couple years this boys club at work has become extremely toxic for me ... it is the people, their lies and getting away with unreasonable lies that has me bummed out.

I am certain I would not be able to tolerate the taste of ass in my mouth but watching others suck-up, lie to look good can be entertaining.

I tell the truth. I am mouthy. You can imagine where this places me. I accept my consequences and will not change.

Once I took off all the blinders and dismissed my denial, all the joy left but I can stand it four more years until retirement.

All good here.
:)

As I posted previously, my perfectionism for positive outcomes of our patients was rewarded with becoming the Quality and Assurance Coordinator for Patient Care.

Mental health care is at the forefront for many of us who serve this population. Some of us as I am: are in need of the services I provide. I can relate to and attempt to provide services to all seeking quality with compassion and positive outcomes.

Sometimes we are the bug...sometimes we are the windshield.

Ks-

I am finishing up my last class currently to get my Associates in Administrative Assistance, and am looking at a certificate in Human Resources.

I am a Front Desk Coordinator at a public accounting firm in SF. General tasks are handling phone calls, greeting guests, ordering and stocking kitchen and office supplies, distributing mail. We're a small firm - 80 employees - so I also assist with a lot of other tasks... Mostly being right-hand to our HR Manager and collaborating on office tasks with our Office Coordinator.

Always learning new skills, expanding current ones and helping anyone who asks - I love my job :) I am well compensated and often joke I am a glorified envelope stuffer come end-of-month billing.

I manage a women's housing program for my city primarily serving to house women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness due to domestic violence, addiction, mental health, or prison release. I'm also my agency go-to for walk-in emergencies and conduct all intakes for our housing programs. The hopeful expansion I'm working on right now includes a massive grant for rapid rehousing for individuals homeless due to domestic violence and acquiring a unit to house at least 8 individuals with children who are homeless due to domestic violence. Right now I only have one case manager in the program and we divide and conquer. I will need at least two more if I get the expansions.

I work in the Training and Development industry. I build courses on the internet and manage roughly a million electronic files created in Adobe Creative Suite by Product Developers.

My core skills are as a Production Artist and my forte is designing covers and inside pages of books. Though, it’s been years since I’ve been PA. Those are the skill that brought me into this company. Currently, I’m editing XML files to adjust hundreds of fields on the courses I build.

Some of my days are spent building courses, or I may have to change hundreds of trademarks (TM) to registration marks (®), or I may need to convert PMS colors to CMYK or RGB colors, or I may need to do a press check, or set up a document listing the specs for a die cut job, or recreate the live files when I only have a PDF.

One of the best things about my job is that it’s varied and I usually have short deadlines. Most of my teammates have deadlines that last 6 months to 2 years. My deadlines are usually from 2 hours to 3 months.

I have a lot of freedom and am given a lot of rope to either hang myself or to use it to get ahead. Seldom do I hang myself unless I allow my emotions to get the best of me. I see my manager once a week, if that, but often hear from her in email. We have a good working relationship.

I’m going to retire within the next 6 years. Sometimes I’m ready to retire tomorrow and other times I can see myself here for another 6 years. I’ve been here for almost 20 years, so what’s another 6?

:bow:

I could see myself going back to contract software (I am government now) after I retire but not full-time, say four hours a day ... and it would have to be a working from home arrangement. That could be a sweet deal plus calling my own shots (as opposed to answering to selfish self-seeking dicks who find many ways to goof off while pretending busy) would bring the joy back to the discipline.

I am a freelance writer - I mostly write articles and business pages for websites.

I sell used books and other items on Amazon, eBay, Etsy, etc.

My latest venture is Shy (and one of her sons and daughter-in-law) and I are opening a thrift store - should be open in about a week. We are looking forward to running our business and helping out the local community at the same time. I can't wait!

That's exciting! I hope your opening is a grand success and that the long term success of your store is strong!

Thanks so much Easygoingfemme & Clay! We are very excited. Shy and I had been talking about opening up a thrift store for a while but it seemed more like a dream. Then she found the perfect spot that was for rent and I said let's go for it!

If anyone is ever in the area we would love for you to visit. We are in New Hampshire about an hour from Boston.