jobs,what do you do and do

[Ginge]

I served my time as a fitter/turner did that from the age of 16 to 24 untill 2004 when I had quite bad accident and nearly lost my right arm on a big lathe so that put me out of action for a couple of years and an end to me working on the tools .

Went back to college in 2006 and got my 16th edition electrical and a couple of other bits but after working as a sparks mate for a while the domestic side of the job just isnt what I want to do so ive seen a course im thinking of signing up for to do with renewable energy working on windfarms etc, with having an engineering and a bit of electrical background I think it would really suit me. So at the age of 30 im thinking of becoming a student, again

[Rippers]

Good luck on the practical tomorrow and mind you dont sniff too much flux !

Thanks, the practical is more a case identifying unsafe situations, flu/spillage testing, leak detection and pipe soundness. Its quite a bit more involved then I thought as it seems 90% of what they teach you is about old and out dated appliances that you may come across. For instance the teacher has been in the gas industry for 30 years and has never seen in operation a vertex flu yet he tells you that after teaching you for hour about them

[mboon]

I just quit my job due to my boss wanting me to "put on a mask and take down that 80% asbestos" and then telling me a electric cable was D/C and it wasnt, I go through it with the stonesaw and lucky to be hear! As you can imagine that conversation didnt go too well!

Back on the job market, cant wait! Not

[warrenpenalver]

you think you have made the best of life?
...................,but sometimes i feel i have wasted my life

i'd love a job with animals ie in a zoo,or as a drug dog handler maybe. and sometimes i think i shouldve gone into the police force(although some of my more "colourful" friends may not have liked that)

Your hardly wasting your life. And your not too old to change career either. You could retrain in something like working with animals.

I guess you have to weigh up if your happy with your lot in life, could it be improved realistically?? and if so, whats holding you back??

alot of people are doing good for the world and its people and every now and then i think i have just been a lazy bastid just floating through life.
although i wouldnt be without trace or the dogs and if i hadnt taken my route in life i wouldnt be with them imo.every choice has its fate and there is a reason for it.

what do you guys think? do you wish you had done something else at all?

Your not a CHAV dole scrounging cunt so of course your not lazy!!

Maybe you have let life just float but as you say youve met the love of your life etc.

Not everybody has to do jobs doing "good for the world" but i do see where your coming from. Im not really a "sales" or "profit" type person so doing something public service or helping someone appeals far more than typical retail type jobs where its all about making as much money as possible. Working to keep the country safe, risking your life, saving others, helping others etc can be far more fulfilling and it makes retail look pathetic, i mean ive seen retail managers throwing stress hissyfits over missed targets and im like "WTF hes stressed over that?? its not like people are dying or hes going to get blown up".

But then thats just me. Maybe im not cut out to be in sales/retail.

But then you dont have to do high risk work to be doing good for people or helping people. Most of us would be screwed with a mechanic, or an AA man or the gas repair man etc.

It might not be on such a close personal level or have such a high risk (and hence sense of reward when it goes right) but then such jobs are costly on your own health, wellbeing etc. As Jim says, something like the forces is really a single mans job as the committment is too high with a lot of relationships.

what do you guys think? do you wish you had done something else at all?

I used to reflect a lot on what could have been although i try not to do so as much these days as its unhelpful.

I sometimes think how much ive pissed away! I had a place a cambridge uni in sep 1998 to do mechanical engineering, and i turned it down to join the Navy instead as they wouldnt defer entry to allow me to do a years navy training. Obviously had i gone to cambridge things could have been very different, and i do sometimes regret it But then i had a deferred entry place at Imperial College doing Aeronautical Engineering instead and that suited my Navy career as i joined as an Air engineering officer doing a years training then i was supposed to do a years short engineering course at Imperial (ie first year of a degree in Aero Eng) with the option of returning to the navy at end of year one or doing years 2,3,4 for the full degree. Once id been in the Navy a few months id learnt that the careers office had lied about the chances of becoming and engineering test pilot, which was my dream, so just being an engineering manager didnt appeal. They even gave me the option of finishing the degree but foolishly i choose to go ahead with my transfer to warfare branch at the end of year 1 when looking back i should have stayed and done a full degree then changed branch. But you live and learn. Then of course my career would have followed a different route and its quite possible i wouldnt have gotten ill and discharged or even if i still had, id have a degree from a top uni to fall back on.

Oh well I could beat myself up over it for ages but it wont help me doing so!!


But what im trying to say is its easy to look back at what you could have done but it doesnt change the past and mostly looking back at regrets is just a negative thing and doesnt help you now or where you want to be in the future.

[Tore_TJ]

Working offshore as a roughneck atm. Used to work as an electrician but that sucked Might do some more schooling to get a better job offshore in time..

[TREVCOS]

you think you have made the best of life?

im an assistant manager in a car accessory shop and have been for 16 years.due to my love of cars i have stayed,but sometimes i feel i have wasted my life

i'd love a job with animals ie in a zoo,or as a drug dog handler maybe. and sometimes i think i shouldve gone into the police force(although some of my more "colourful" friends may not have liked that)

alot of people are doing good for the world and its people and every now and then i think i have just been a lazy bastid just floating through life.
although i wouldnt be without trace or the dogs and if i hadnt taken my route in life i wouldnt be with them imo.every choice has its fate and there is a reason for it.

what do you guys think? do you wish you had done something else at all?

I'm a bit half and half, I've worked in IT for all my working life (which I really seriously hate) but I haved worked for a really worthwhile charity for the last ten years, who work with blind and partially sighted people. Because of being on the IT side I don't come into contact with our real 'customers' as often as I would like. The other thing I'd like to do is work with guidedogs, but those jobs are very highly prized and hardly ever come up. I love animals. My dog is an ex guide-dog by the way.
But I feel very much like I'm going through the motions these days, in fact I was literally just saying that to my other arf. , and it doesn't help my office is 60 miles away from home!
Got a lot of bills coming in at the moment but when that subsides (couple of years max) I'll be looking for a more mentally rewarding lifestyle, because it's definitely aged me over the last couple of years.

[Bergcup435]

worked for Visionhire/Granada for almost 20 yrs.

did a BA with Open university in Mathematics. (not quite completed)

then went back to University and completed an Honours degree in electronic engineering.

Worked for 6 years with a Japanese company, NEC.

Then moved to Germany to work for a subsidiary of Siemens for 7 years.

Learned German. (still learning)
Worked part time for a small rally team building/servicing Gr A and wrc Escos.

Now after almost a year searching, I should hopefully be starting work with a Swiss company in 2 weeks.

[Ray]

Im a civil engineer, building motorways. Been doing that for 4 years now since i left school and its quite a nice job. But ive been getting a bit bored of it for the last year or so, and so i applied for the Army. Last week i passed selection and cant wait to get started

[jimcallear]

like i said jase ill have your job and money and you can have my pension and boredom but ill stick with our lass as she can cook some shit hot meals and ive grown fond of her over the years

[jimcallear]

also warren did you used to be a grunter

[99 JON]

I just typed a huge essay on my work history and i pressed "submit reply" and was told i wasnt logged in so i am not an IT professional ,anyway i left school and spent 16 years as mechanic at SAAB dealer and am now a class 2 HGV driver .....and do NOT enjoy it 99% of the time

[sixaxles]

Thanks, the practical is more a case identifying unsafe situations, flu/spillage testing, leak detection and pipe soundness. Its quite a bit more involved then I thought as it seems 90% of what they teach you is about old and out dated appliances that you may come across. For instance the teacher has been in the gas industry for 30 years and has never seen in operation a vertex flu yet he tells you that after teaching you for hour about them

a good friend of mine, who helped me get started out with my own lorry made the decision last year to hang his keys up and to something different with his life, that choice was plumbing, so he put a driver on his truck for ten weeks and did a college course, passed that, sold his truck and trailer, now works, still self employed with another guy fitting out new and old supermarkets and mini markets, got his gas cert at the back end of last year to. take my hat off to him - i'm fooking jealous to really, he's in his early 40's aswell, now he works around 8 hours a day and spends every night with his family, not like silly bollocks here whose run out of tacho time 15 mins from home!! look forward to the future thats what i say old lad!!

[Paul Cos]

I left school and did a 4 year apprenticeship in Devonport Dockyard. I then became a fitter & Turner at the end. I then stayed as this for 10 years. I then got promoted to First Line manager which I have now done for the last 11 years. I was enjoying the job until they decided to save money and give me 2 gangs to run. I ended up with over 27 Fitters/Painters and labourers.

I would love to go into doing cars. Everyone says that is what I should of done.

[Mr.Ford]

After I left the Secondary school, I did a 4yrs education for Computer Interface developer (programming and design for chips, printboards, computers etc). I was bored with that since I've started the education so after that I've done a higher education school for Automotive Engineer, and as a bonus an education for Automotive teacher.

Since 3yrs I'm working as a teacher on a Secondary School for Automotive (cars, bikes, trucks etc).

I've got 50+ annoying, evil-minded, and desperate children who want to listen to the crap I'll tell them every day about cars


But I like it....

[Dave H]

I served my time as a maintenance fitter and worked for BAE Systems for 9 1/2 years at the Royal Ordnance factory, maintaining the machines that produce bullets, caps, hand grenades, mortars and rockets amongst other arms. I took voluntary redundancy in 2002 and travelled round Asia, Australia, New Zealand and Canada for 4 years before starting back as a pipefitter on construction sites. Got layed off at christmas but back in work now although the pay is less and the hours are crap. Would love to change careers but haven't a clue what i would like to do.