What do you do for a living?

[Strictly-Dragonball]

Hi guys,

As we are still kind of in recession here in the UK it's really made me appreciate my job as well partly due to the fact I love it

So I just wanted to create a topic focused on work, anyone who wants to maybe share what it is they do and why they enjoy it so much. Anything at all about it.

I'll go first. I work in Web Design and Search Engine Optimization (which is basically helping peoples websites rank higher in the search engines in their market so they get more visitors and ultimately more sales.)

SEO and Internet Marketing is my main area of expertise but I also do a bit of Web Design if it's needed.

I love the work primarily because of the variety it brings every day. For example if I was doing work on lets say, a site that sells wedding favors would require me to immerse myself in that market and develop at least a basic understanding of it in order to provide the client with the best results.

That is totally different to working on a site that sells anime cels for example

This makes each day interesting and ensures I am never bored so that is mainly why I love it. The work is also very flexible meaning as long as I have access to a computer I can work any time I need.

Anyone else want to share?

[sensei]

I teach an online course in business writing. It's a lot of work, as students have to turn in a written assignment every Sunday night, and the guidelines say I should return grades and comments to them within 48 hours, unless I give advance notice. This makes Monday and Tuesday pretty intensive days in front of the laptop, and then Wednesday goes for cleaning up late arrivals and dealing with the reactions and problems.

The best thing about it is that I'm paid in one lump sum about 2 months into the semester. That goes into a special fund that covers property taxes, health insurance, and other major-ticket expenses.

Although I'm formally retired from my academic job, I continue to keep up some professional work and am constantly being invited to participate in one project or another. That can be very enjoyable from time to time, though again hard work. Academic writing is more like laying masonry than painting a picture. On the low end, I wrote a book review this weekend of a new volume, Pandemonium and Parade: Japanese Monsters and the Culture of Yokai. (Excellent book on the roots of this tradition in the Edo period up to the start of manga/anime; I thought it could at least have mentioned Inuyasha and Mushishi in the afterword.)

On the high end, I helped a sociologist friend write a book on rumors/legends about foreigners, which will come out in June of this year. That will hopefully net some royalties and allow me to do less of the online teaching and more of the discretionary writing. (Not to mention continue my auction browsing and updating...)

[Keropi]

I work at Sears doing stock work and assisting customers. Just a few days ago I met a customer who gave me encouragement by saying:

"Don't give me that. I don't need to hear any of your bullshit."

Very nice guy.

[Angelic-Lair]

Just a few days ago I met a customer who gave me encouragement by saying:

"Don't give me that. I don't need to hear any of your bullshit."

Very nice guy.

Valerie is a medical doctor specializing in psychiatry (lots of money).

Joel is a photographer (not a lot of money).

Things balance out.

[graymouser]

I work at Sears doing stock work and assisting customers. Just a few days ago I met a customer who gave me encouragement by saying:

"Don't give me that. I don't need to hear any of your bullshit."

Very nice guy.

What is it with people who are so rude to store employees? I can't stand that kind of attitude. We get something similar in my line of work too. I am a veterinarian. I will never understand how some people will be as sweet as pie when they talk to me and then go out and be downright vicious to the rest of the hospital staff.

Anyways, as I said I am a veterinarian. I do locum/relief work, which means I travel from hospital to hospital as a substitute when another veterinarian needs to take time off work. The hours are rather irregular, and it involves a lot of night emergency medicine and surgery, which I love.

I find that each clinic and hospital has its own personality from the small country/rural clinics to the high tech emergency and specialty hospitals. It is a lot of fun to go in and see how someone else practices. I get to pick up a lot of little tricks and techniques that I would otherwise never see. I also enjoy the fact that I can come in, work, and then leave without getting too caught up in office politics since I am not there long enough to get involved. It is also great to work with animals all day.

I will also simultaneously do a lot of random stuff (paid and unpaid) on the side just for fun or to try my hand at something completely different. Among other things, I have thrown newspapers, typed medical reports, substitute taught in chemistry/physics/calculus (religious school as I am not accredited), tutored, been a poll worker/inspector, horse trainer, soccer coach, and church lector.

[Quacker]

Wow, we are shaping up to be a pretty diverse group of People!! A Retailer, Professor, Web Designer & Physician, all the first few posts!!

As for me, I am a Stockbroker, constantly buying & selling Aussie & International Shares for my clients, as well as helping those same clients continue to get richer by creating Blue-chip, dividend paying Portfolios What can I say, I am very much a numbers geek, for some reason I have always been able look at any chart and/or bunch of numbers & work out if/when to buy or sell.
It is a tough job, do not get me wrong - took me 10years to be awarded my full licence & some days you are pushing near the 19/20hr mark just trying to keep a step ahead of everything as well as all the research & study involved. Since I have International clients, also need to look at UK, Europe & US markets!!

And no, before everyone starts to think it, we did not cause the 'GFC' that would be your local Investment Banker (Wa*nkers), we just sold stock into a crumbling market!!

This job has also allowed me the opportunity to further indulge & pursue my other passion - namely Business. I have been able to start-up two seperate Investment Businesses, with a third being worked on now

[JWR]

In my case for the last 30 + years I have worked at different Mercedes Benz dealerships in the Parts Department.

My main job involves identifing the correct parts for the technicians to do repairs on customers cars. I also am involved in ordering and inventory control.

I actually started out as a technician but decided to go into parts where I can use my brain and not have the wear and tear on my body. I still enjoy working on my own cars.

[star-phoenix]

What an interesting topic!

In about 3 months, I graduate from medical school and begin work as a doctor. I first have to do 3 years of residency (first year is doing Pathology, then Internal Medicine), then doing a Fellowship in either Cardiology or Neurology, I have not yet decided that far in advanced. So, i am just starting out with a real job in a couple of months. the pay is going to be really bad for the first 2-3 years at least and some residency programs make you work 100 hours / week. the ones I applied to, I work about 80 hours a week in the program. So, it is not quite as bad as others.

[Blaster]

I work in the construction industry, in a office of a wallframe and roof truss manufacturer.

My official title is 'customer service' which includes answering phones, talking to the builders (very few of whom understand the concept of patience or manners ) invoicing, organising trucks to deliver to the job site, minor frame and truss detailing ready for the fabrication sheds, occasionally doing the weekly pays, plus other standard office duties.

However, I also do a lot of work out in the yard, which includes pulling out timber for orders ready to be delivered, pulling out timber for customers to collect, truck deliveries to site when needed, loading/unloading trucks that come into the yard, racking timber, stocktaking, plant maintenance (fixing computer saws, hydraulic presses, pneumatic truss/wallframe lifters) Not to mention organising the staff, and making sure they are working and not texting on their phones.

I don't really like working in the construction industry, yet every job I have had since I finished school has been in construction >_<

[Sky Rat]

I'm a graphic designer for a kite and decor company. My work ranges from making the artwork decorating kites and garden flags, to doing technical diagrams to send to factories so they can build products.

The pay isn't amazing, but I really enjoy what I do. And the atmosphere is pretty laid back.

[alyssium]

Wow everyone has such diverse careers!!!

Im a Mechanical Solutions Engineer or Software Applications Engineer (I know everyone always has the Wha? face when i say that)

Basically I specialise in CAD (Computer Aided Design or Drafting) Software packages. My company sells the software and Im a Tech for it. Software demonstrations, conventions, Technical Support, Consulting, Auditing, Teaching, programming... etc all in a days work for me

The two pieces of software that Im *expert certified* (dont laugh I had to take exams and they are on my business card) are AutoCAD and Autodesk Inventor. My company sells the who range though, Maya, 3D StudioMax, Alias, Revit, Electrical and so on.

The mechanical side is not that exciting, though the showreels from the Media and entertainment is, all the latest adverts and movies come out of these packages.

I got to see alot of the background and rendering out of Ghost in the Shell that was really cool!

[Caroline]

anyone else besides me work in animation?

i also take band photographs "on the side".

http://hihicaro.blogspot.com

@graymouser, i always loved that you are a vet!

i worked at a dolphin hospital through college. i really miss it!

[Captain Haddock]

My current job is working for a government agency that does type approval testing for the automotive industry. For those of you who don't know what that is it basically means the testing that has to be done to ensure a given vehicle conforms to all the standards specified in EU legislation. So we do crash, break and any sort of testing really which would all be really interesting if I were an engineer and I was involved in it. I'm not I just maintain a legislation database for the engineers, which we also sell to outside customers. So it involves a lot of document authoring, customer work and a bit of databse maintenance although our developers take care of most of it.

[toonybabe]

Right now I a student finishing up my BFA in illustration. Depending on whether or not I get a job at a company/studio, I plan on getting my teaching certificate when I graduate so I can teach K-12 art. I ultimately want to write and illustrate children's books, but I think I need to know something about how kids learn and how to teach them besides just being able to write and paint pretty pictures. I am also looking for a job that won't drain me creatively so that when I come home in the evening I can work on my art and writing - I think teaching art will be challenging but fun and make me a better writer/illustrator.

I have one more year until I graduate. I am trying to take as many graphics design classes so I can be a well rounded artist and so I can freelance - I'm learning as much as I can about the Adobe Creative Suite, Flash, etc. Up until the last two years I thought I wanted to get a job at a big company/studio like American Greetings, Hallmark or Disney. But now I am a little turned off by that idea. I am so dedicated to developing my own stories and characters that I will do anything so that I can work on them. The key is to find a job that will pay the bills/insurance but also give me the time and energy to dedicate to my art.

Besides college I delivered newspapers for 13 years beginning when I was in middle school and up until last year. Besides having to work 365 days a year in all weather and be up all night into the morning, I really loved it and now I really miss it.

Right now I work at the Delia*s/Alloy call center as a customer service representative. I take orders and help customers when there are problems with those orders or when they need to return/exchange. I like this job although it gets really boring and I hate sitting on my butt for so long.

[Belldandy16]

I work with 700 kids (not all at once though -thank God! LOL) as a library assistant at an elementary school.
I have to make sure every child gets a book he/she can actually read (which is kinda frustrating b/c some 5th graders can actually not even read at the 2nd grade level ) and that all the kids stay as quiet as possible when over on "my side" of the library where i check them out (and again is kinda frustrating since 25 5-10yo's can NEVER stay quiet for fifteen min at a time ). I have to put away upwards of 150 books everyday that the kids return to us. Since our district doesnt supply us with many supplies to run our library we have our own mini-store that we sell school supplies to the kids. You'd be amazed at how many mechanical pencils we sell a week! lol
I also work an after school tutoring program that helps kids learn to read. I love it but there are SO many kids that need help it can get overwhelming at times… but i always think of that parable where the boy is walking along the sea and he sees a thousand beached starfish. One by one he starts throwing each one back into the sea. Someone comes along and asks "why are you doing this? Its hopeless! youll never save them all!" and the kid replies by throwing one more back into the sea and says "well i made a difference for that one!"
I guess thats why i like to work at a school… i can make a difference in someone else's life.