What do you do for a living?

Hey

   I work for the Navy as a civilian engineer.  I manage the technical content of the flight manuals for Naval helicopters.

Phil

My dad owned an automotive repair shop in Memphis, TN, so I got my start working on cars there after school. Did that for a few years after graduating high school, even working at a couple of Ford dealerships in Memphis, and managed an Expert Tune for a bit. Got my NIASE (remember that? It's called ASE now) certification in brakes, front ends, engine performance, and engine rebuilds. Got tired of coming home smelling like grease every night (just got married, too), so I decided to join the Air Force, just like my mom and dad. For some reason, the Air Force recruiter didn't want to talk to me, so I went next door and joined the Marines. Best move I ever made. Went to Parris Island on 22 February 1984. Became a Deceptive Electronics Countermeasures Technician (6482) on AV-8As & Bs, OA-4Ms, A-6Es, A-4Ms, & CH-46Ds. Spent 9 years at Cherry Point, NC, with two years recruiting duty in Albertville, AL. Served in the 1st Gulf War (Operation Desert Storm), spent six months on a det in Iwakuni, Japan, and got out of the Corps on 06 July 1995. Started working for a company called Nucletron installing and maintaining radiation therapy simulators and brachytherapy systems (all are different types of cancer treatment machines) for 10 years. Quit them in August 2005 and went to work for a company called Elekta, servicing radiation therapy linear accelerators, CT equipment, X-Ray, and brachytherapy (all cancer treatment machines, too). Three years ago, Elekta bought Nucletron, so I get to work on all the equipment that I never thought I'd ever see again. Go figure...... During that time, got divorced, and remarried on 07 June 2007. We now live in Indian Trail, NC, which is just east of Charlotte. LOVE IT here! All the kids are grown and gone, so it's just the wife and me!! Woo Hoo!!!

Software developer when I am not building

While in HS, worked at a county engineer's office in northern CA running closures and plotting survey maps.  4 years in the USAF as an ECM tech on B52G's, F4D,E, and RF4C's

40 years doing auto body and paint with 6 years in floor covering sales and measuring with a smidge of installation in there. Also did a little over 2 years painting Safari motorcoaches in that 40.  Almost completely retired/disabled due to heart condition and only running about 20% function on the old ticker.

goldhammer

While in HS, worked at a county engineer's office in northern CA running closures and plotting survey maps.  4 years in the USAF as an ECM tech on B52G's, F4D,E, and RF4C's

40 years doing auto body and paint with 6 years in floor covering sales and measuring with a smidge of installation in there. Also did a little over 2 years painting Safari motorcoaches in that 40.  Almost completely retired/disabled due to heart condition and only running about 20% function on the old ticker.

 

I hear ya, goldhammer. Got three stents in mine, keeping everything open so the blood can flow.

WOW!! F-4s, huh? That is COOL!!! I would LOVE to get a ride in one of them!

After high school i did four years in the military as an avionics mechanic. After the military I went and got my airframe and powerplant license. Did some work fixing and doing inspection on civilian aircraft. Worked at a plant that did composite structures for the airlines until I got laid off after 9/11. For the past 12 years I have been testing combat vehicles. I love this job.

I've been running 6, 8, and 10 color printing presses for 25 years.

I do this so none of my kids have to. I've told them repeatedy, " I didn't pay attention in school, and you see where I ended up. Your job is getting your grades so you can do whatever you want for a living."

Happy to report my 2 youngest (twins) are about to start their senior year at university.

Joined the Army in '89 as a medic, re-enlisted in '92 for the nuclear medicine program. When the Army had no further need of my services in '96, came to central Texas with the family and have been working at the same hospital as a nuclear medicine technologist ever since.

Wow this is an awesome thread that's going! Thanks for everyone for sharing and special thank you to the guys who are serving or have served in the military (U.S. or otherwise) and police officers. I really respect you guys. As for me...if not for a medical problem I would have loved to go into the airforce but it would never have worked. So I'm currently a Process Engineer/CNC Programmer for a company that makes parts for the aerospace industry. We make a lot of very small, very improtant parts that go into the fuel system of engines. We have parts on most civil and many military planes, F-18, F-15 etc. Very cool work I thing! And you want to know what the most ironic thing is....I've never even flown in a plane

I build models for a living.

I'm a route sales rep for Schwan's Home Service. Been doing it for three years. 

Happily retired now living in a small mountain community west of Boulder, Colorado.  Served 10 years US Navy;  2.5 years school, 7.5 years as a combat aircrew member.  40 years as a Defense Contractor in Military/Government Space Programs.  13 years overseas on Remote Tracking Stations from the Arctic to the Indian Ocean to the Western Pacific followed by 17 years at what was known as "Oz."  It was the Air force Satellite Test Center aka Onizuka Air Force Station in the SF Bay Area.  There, I was a resource system controller as well as a Mission Controller for 7 families of Air Force and NATO satellites and the Space Shuttle when carrying DoD payloads.  Also a member of a Titan IV launch and early orbit crew and Boeing's "Inertial Upper Stage."  Military base closures took Onizuka in '04 and I moved to Boulder, Colorado and joined the Space Based Infra-Red System as a Satellite Systems Engineer and Combat Crewmember.  Retired in 2013 as a Staff level Engineer.  Been building models of all types since around age 7.

Ray

I forgot to mention that In my younger days I flew F-100's,F-105's,and F-4E's.also retired chemist.

I joined the US Air Force in 1989 at age 17. I spent 20 years as an Aircraft Structural Maintenance / Corrosion Control Specialist. I retired in 2009 at age 37 and now I work Civil Service DoD teaching my job to Tech School Students right out of Basic Training. As my wife put it, I don't get paid for what I DO, I get paid for what I KNOW.

Building, painting and applying markings to model airplanes from age 6 to 17, I think the Air Force picked the perfect job for me. I was in AWE the first time I was standing under a REAL A-10 Warthog in S. Korea at age 18 about to paint 3-color European Camo on a REAL bird. Perfect! Maybe it's why I like teaching it so much now; it's such a cool job!

i worked in a rstaurant my family owned till 2008 when the economy tanked i then started detailing cars at a hyundai delearship then went to maaco and now i am currently unemployed

Silver

F-100's,F-105's,and F-4E's

Which did you like best?

Hey everyone, it's been a couple of years since I was on this forum.  (been busy elsewhere)

I am a watchmaker  and what that means is that I repair watches for a living.  Before that I was an electronics draftsman where I designed circuit boards and sheet metal for a small electronics company.  The fun part of that was that I also got to make all the prototypes by hand.     Before that there were several plain (BO-RING) drafting jobs that went back to high school.

Along the way there was some time spent going to school where I initially took a number of technology courses and then finally spent 2 years in watchmaker school.

The neat thing about all that is that the skills for building models and for watchmaking compliment each other and then there is knowledge and skills unique to each that help the other.

well, I'm a teenage student currently in the 10th grade and living at home with my dad and my adorable black pug, Harry.

Various hourly jobs until I landed in an iron foundry.  9 years was enough of that.  Currently service copier, printer and other electronic office equipment.

 Hi I'm Rob and I am a Quality Control Manager / Welding Inspector for an industrial construction company.

Well, I'm Sergeant Major of an extremely busy Signals Squadron. Army background, but, this Squadron is a Forces wide unit, thus, it doesn't belong to any specific service. Love it, been at it 27 years!

I'm a Project Manager.  I develop Walmart retail stores with my primary scope of responsibility being Supercenters and Neighborhood Markets.  Mostly though, I get yelled at by angry neighbors.  Oh well...

Retired form the airforce Crewing B-1B's, now working as a hazmat inspector for the FAA.

Well, 20 years Navy as a Gas turbine controls guy, second half of that career was as an LCAC Craftmaster (Limacharlie48 was my last call-sign). Built out a plastic bottle plant, ran a small city water utility and now run maintenance operations for a major grocery retailers logistics operation........would take that hovercraft job back in a flash...

8 Years USAF here I think that's why I like modelling planes so much ( especially ones that I have put gas on).  After that I went back to get my degree in Networking.  After that I have been working in the IT industry ever sense than.  

My longest job was Pizza Hut. Mostly I was delivery, but I did everything there was to do there except being a waiter. I went to truck driving school but then I hurt my back so that wasn't happening. So, now I'm on Social Security Disibility.

I ran a performing arts center with apartments, commercial property and movie theatres.  Now I run two public housing authorities and an affordable housing non-profit.

I fly for a charter company in the right seat of a Learjet, mostly air ambulance ops. Out of high school, I did six years as an infantryman in the Marine Corps, including OIF in 2003, then went and spent my GI Bill at the airport. Got an AS in aeronautics at my local community college, and became an instructor for them for awhile. They eventually decided that maintainig an aviation program was too expensive and cut the whole thing, which sent me 1000 miles across the country to work as a civilian contractor flight instructing for the Navy's IFS program. Did that for three years before starting my current job a year ago. I still don't know what I want to do when I grow up, but flying is pretty darned fun for now!

I've had several jobs since graduating from Central Connecticut State College (now University!) mostly dealing with the construction industry.  Currently I'm a Purchasing Agent/Contract Administrator for a general contractor here in Connecticut.  Retirement (dare I think about it?) is 3 to 7 years away.  I also have a couple of people I do yardwork for that helps expand the modeling related procurement budget.