What do you do for a living?

Started my career with Burlington Industries for 15 years (4 different plants), textiles were headed south and landed a position in pharma, worked there for about 3.5 years and now work for tobacco company in Mebane as Engineering/Maintenance Director.
 
fieldgrade said:
I wonder how many members have worked for the same employer more than once?

I worked for Sylvania for four years, got mad and left for a year and did something similar, came back a year later and worked there another five.

Then in my next career, I left that company to start a totally unrelated business after being there four years. That was clearly going to be a bust after four months, went back and stayed another nine years.
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Hahahahaha! My dad started this metal fab business when I was 15. I was his only help for awhile, weekends and summers, got paid room and board.
Dad and I are too much alike, and over the years I have quit and gone back more times than I can count.
Formed a new company when my older brother got out of college....Me/dad/brother leased all of dad's stuff. We went three different ways after the first year and I
started my own fab shop.
Did my own thing on a smaller scale for three years and then dad called wanting me to come back. Had no intention of ever going back, but he said he was going to sell if I didn't.
I agreed to come back with the requirement that he was to retire and stay home....LOL!
He agreed, and retired at age 55.
 
Snal~ said:
I agreed to come back with the requirement that he was to retire and stay home....LOL!
He agreed, and retired at age 55.
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When grand dad came back from WWI, he got in the timber and lumber business in eastern NC, which is what his dad had done (and lost everything in the early part of the last century.)

Grand dad and his uncle (his dad’s brother) were partners. He said the first year was the hardest he ever worked in his life. Wore out his bring-back officer’s wool overcoat to shreds the first winter.

He told his uncle that one of them was going to have to sell to the other, that they couldn’t tolerate working together, so grand-dad bought his uncle out.
 
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fieldgrade said:
I wonder how many members have worked for the same employer more than once?

I worked for Sylvania for four years, got mad and left for a year and did something similar, came back a year later and worked there another five.

Then in my next career, I left that company to start a totally unrelated business after being there four years. That was clearly going to be a bust after four months, went back and stayed another nine years.
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When people ask how long I’ve been at my current employer I ask, “which time?” I worked there (Pinehurst Resorts) from 2001-2006, took a job in Beaufort SC til 2011 and have been back here ever since. Again, grateful I didn’t burn any bridges. I’ll never be rich in the golf industry, but I’m glad I (mostly) love what I do and I couldn’t imagine working indoors after so many years doing this.
 
BrettB said:
I work for Oregon Tool - I have worked in the Outdoor Power Equipment industry for the last 25 years- a few different brands / companies- but I have spent a lot of time chainsaws / trimmers/ zero turn mowers / tractors / implements / log splitters.
My current role includes selling lawnmower blades and chainsaw chain & bars to OEMs that produce new equipment.
In addition to OEM sales for North America- I also am lucky enough to lead our disaster response team. We have provided support to all majors storms since Hurricane Sandy. We started with one, but now have 3 mobile saw shop trailers. I spent 8 days with the team in Fort Myers- we sharpened over 1000 chainsaw chains and repaired over 500 chainsaws during that time- this service is provided free of charge. We received recognition from the FT Meyers Fire dept and we were “coined” by the Police Dept
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Why did y’all stop making the JD blade copy TCU15881? Oregon# 71611, AgriSupply high lift 92-113
 
Get Off My Lawn said:
Why did y’all stop making the JD blade copy TCU15881? Oregon# 71611, AgriSupply high lift 92-113
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The 92-113 is our Part Number and has been replaced by 792-113. Both options have the 1.25” lift. These are current blades & Agri Supply may just be in between shipments
Some other very popular options - 596-730 and 396-730 - these are Gator blades with 1” lift. The toothed style mulchers work very well with that JD deck
 
Geezer said:
Pioneer Plant, weaving. Around 1983-1985.
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10-4, I worked at Pioneer, BH Finishing, Williamsburg and Reidsville. Last big project I had was shuttering the Hurt Plant and moving it to BHF and Raeford. That's why I asked.
 
fieldgrade said:
I wonder how many members have worked for the same employer more than once?
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When I was a paramedic, I started in Orange County, then went to FirstHealth Chatham, then back to Orange, then to Carolina AirCare, then back to Orange. But when I left Orange for fulltime work elsewhere, I still worked there part time. EMS is incestuous like that. So is nursing, people follow the money like a seasonal migration.
 
I started mowing lawns when I was 8. I had a very healthy business by the time I was 16. I also had a small company that washed Telephone Company trucks on weekends. I had an unofficial unlicensed pharmaceutical sales business ;) while in High School. I was later a Plumber, carpenter, plumber some more, research chemist (molecular biophysics), counsellor, pastor, real estate (developer, sales, manager etc etc), remodeling, roofer, siding installer, environmental remediation sales, environmental engineer, health and safety manager, market maker in commodity options (floor trader), corporate director for environmental compliance and environmental sales specialist (corporate), insurance sales, owner of insurance brokerage, small fund manager, organic farmer, remodeling company (owner and hammer swinger), material sales (windows and siding), internet, phone and cable sales, medicare sales...., probably a few I forgot.... definitely some I WANT to forget.

I can't even sing with Johnny Cash "I never picked cotton" as I did that once for a small part of a day as a kid.
 
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Snal~ said:
Hahahahaha! My dad started this metal fab business when I was 15. I was his only help for awhile, weekends and summers, got paid room and board.
Dad and I are too much alike, and over the years I have quit and gone back more times than I can count.
Formed a new company when my older brother got out of college....Me/dad/brother leased all of dad's stuff. We went three different ways after the first year and I
started my own fab shop.
Did my own thing on a smaller scale for three years and then dad called wanting me to come back. Had no intention of ever going back, but he said he was going to sell if I didn't.
I agreed to come back with the requirement that he was to retire and stay home....LOL!
He agreed, and retired at age 55.
Click to expand...
I was in a printing business with my Dad for about 10 years. He kept saying how some day it would be mine and I saw the struggles he went through and decided I didn't want it. I started reading while running a printing press or three and ended up with an IT gig, he sold off the equipment, retired and moved to FL. I came back in the evenings and moonlighted to help him out until he sold out.
 
tanstaafl72555 said:
I started mowing lawns when I was 8. I had a very healthy business by the time I was 16. I also had a small company that washed Telephone Company trucks on weekends. I had an unofficial unlicensed pharmaceutical sales business ;) while in High School. I was later a Plumber, carpenter, plumber some more, research chemist (molecular biophysics), counsellor, pastor, real estate (developer, sales, manager etc etc), remodeling, roofer, siding installer, environmental remediation sales, environmental engineer, health and safety manager, market maker in commodity options (floor trader), corporate director for environmental compliance and environmental sales specialist (corporate), insurance sales, owner of insurance brokerage, small fund manager, organic farmer, remodeling company (owner and hammer swinger), material sales (windows and siding), internet, phone and cable sales, medicare sales...., probably a few I forgot.... definitely some I WANT to forget.

I can't even sing with Johnny Cash "I never picked cotton" as I did that once for a small part of a day as a kid.
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Did more than my share of roofing, shingles, slate, shakes, tile and "built-up" tar and gravel.
ONE of the times that I quit my dad was when we were doing a tar and gravel roof. He had me on the backside of a parapet, on a roof that already had the gravel on it, while he and the rest were laying tar
and paper on the other side of the wall.
He was one of those that when he said jump you asked how high. He called me over to help him set a roll of paper and with all of the tar on my boots I brought a lot of gravel with me.
He jumped my chit and said "if you can't do any better than that....then go sit it the truck!". I was 15, and replied with "I'll do better than that....I'll go to the D^*n house!.
He picked me up about 2 miles down the road....gave me an attitude speech, and I quit. :)
 
Snal~ said:
Did more than my share of roofing, shingles, slate, shakes, tile and "built-up" tar and gravel.
ONE of the times that I quit my dad was when we were doing a tar and gravel roof. He had me on the backside of a parapet, on a roof that already had the gravel on it, while he and the rest were laying tar
and paper on the other side of the wall.
He was one of those that when he said jump you asked how high. He called me over to help him set a roll of paper and with all of the tar on my boots I brought a lot of gravel with me.
He jumped my chit and said "if you can't do any better than that....then go sit it the truck!". I was 15, and replied with "I'll do better than that....I'll go to the D^*n house!.
He picked me up about 2 miles down the road....gave me an attitude speech, and I quit. :)
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My dad and I could never work together either. I regret that now. Not because he is gone (though there is that), but because he took an amazing broad knowledge of MANY things and how to do them to the grave with him, and I never learned them.
 
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BrettB said:
I work for Oregon Tool - I have worked in the Outdoor Power Equipment industry for the last 25 years- a few different brands / companies- but I have spent a lot of time chainsaws / trimmers/ zero turn mowers / tractors / implements / log splitters.
My current role includes selling lawnmower blades and chainsaw chain & bars to OEMs that produce new equipment.
In addition to OEM sales for North America- I also am lucky enough to lead our disaster response team. We have provided support to all majors storms since Hurricane Sandy. We started with one, but now have 3 mobile saw shop trailers. I spent 8 days with the team in Fort Myers- we sharpened over 1000 chainsaw chains and repaired over 500 chainsaws during that time- this service is provided free of charge. We received recognition from the FT Meyers Fire dept and we were “coined” by the Police Dept
Click to expand...
Oregon EXL chains are my favorite.

Sounds like you have a super cool job.
 
tanstaafl72555 said:
My dad and I could never work together either. I regret that now. Not because he is gone (though there is that), but because he took an amazing broad knowledge of MANY things and how to do them to the grave with him, and I never learned them.
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My dad was great to work for (not with, but for). He taught me some invaluable lessons that were far more broadly applicable than just to the things we worked on:
- taking time on the front end to evaluate what needs to be done saves time later on a job;
- something that once worked can work again ... with enough replacement parts;
- having the right tools makes any job far easier, and;
- you may not remember what you are told, but you will remember something painful.
 
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NCLivingBrit said:
Mall cop at the courthouse.

Apparently I do nothing because despite asking people if they have the forbidden things and them saying no, when we wand/xray them and their stuff they have the forbidden things.

This job is not improving my opinion of large groups of people lol
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Assuming this is in wentworth since you have Reidsville in your bio. Came through a couple of weeks ago. Had a smart watch on and you sent me back to my truck to leave it. Lol.
 
tanstaafl72555 said:
My dad and I could never work together either. I regret that now. Not because he is gone (though there is that), but because he took an amazing broad knowledge of MANY things and how to do them to the grave with him, and I never learned them.
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My dad and I have a lot of trouble working together if we don't agree on methods. If we agree on HOW it's to be done, we can accomplish tons. If we can't, it's a struggle the whole way. He's still around and I try to absorb what I can.
 
Started out as a commercial electrician, then moved into residential electrical with low voltage controls, smart home, home audio and full rewires of old homes (historical boston area). Then came to my senses and got the hell out of massachusetts and moved here where I'm a certified briggs and stratton generator installer and service electrician for a local company. 14 years experience in the field and loving it.
 
Manager of a wide format department in a big commercial print shop. I have ran offset presses, mainly Heidelberg's, but also some Komori's. Owned a photography business for awhile, doing onsite drag racing photography and videography. I had a 28ft enclosed trailer with computers and printers, and would shoot and print same day. Could do 8x10-24x36 inch prints on site. Miss that business.
 
fieldgrade said:
I wonder how many members have worked for the same employer more than once?

I worked for Sylvania for four years, got mad and left for a year and did something similar, came back a year later and worked there another five.

Then in my next career, I left that company to start a totally unrelated business after being there four years. That was clearly going to be a bust after four months, went back and stayed another nine years.
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Just once. Quit, moved 2000mi away, got a job, didn't meet my needs, quit, couldn't find anything. Called the old boss, asked if he was hiring, "No, why?" told him, he said he'd fire 2 of these sobs to have me back for a couple years, when could I start? Told him three days, he said no rush, I rushed, met old friends, landed in jail, lost some qualifications, still got the job.
 
Beef15 said:
Just once. Quit, moved 2000mi away, got a job, didn't meet my needs, quit, couldn't find anything. Called the old boss, asked if he was hiring, "No, why?" told him, he said he'd fire 2 of these sobs to have me back for a couple years, when could I start? Told him three days, he said no rush, I rushed, met old friends, landed in jail, lost some qualifications, still got the job.
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I wanted to use more than one emoji for this post, but apparently experiencing mixed emotions with Xenforo is outside of it’s AI capabilities.
 
fieldgrade said:
I wonder how many members have worked for the same employer more than once?

I worked for Sylvania for four years, got mad and left for a year and did something similar, came back a year later and worked there another five.

Then in my next career, I left that company to start a totally unrelated business after being there four years. That was clearly going to be a bust after four months, went back and stayed another nine years.
Click to expand...
I quit @ Gregory Poole twice...also Linder...both times over promises not kept. The first time I left GPEC for about 4 hours...had been offered a service manager position. Stopped into the new place and started asking to "old hands" why they didn't want it...company is looking for a fall guy they all said...went back to GPEC got a raise and field Service position. Guy that took the service manager position went to jail for embezzlement.

Linder manager I worked for hired two outside guys to put in trucks over me on two separate occasions. Left for 90 days and came back...found out service manager was getting replaced the next Monday so that week I loaded my tools into the "spare" road truck...took it home Friday and Monday morning when the new manager showed up I B lined it and introduced myself as a field service tech....left after a nice management position was given to an outside hire and the branch manager let it slip to me he didn't like my tattoo's and beared. I went to a close competitor and made sure they lost everything @ a large mine location on the river. I was working on equipment they were a dealer for but the mine owned.
 
fieldgrade said:
I wanted to use more than one emoji for this post, but apparently experiencing mixed emotions with Xenforo is outside of it’s AI capabilities.
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🤨
It's complicated. I lucked into a lot of amazing mentors when he gave me the first chance that set me into this career that I now hate. Only really started being discontent when I slammed a bunch of doors, and then left AK and private sector which were at least interesting.
It doesn't have to be satisfying as long as it pays the bills.
 
I read a survey many years ago, I mean a LONG time ago that said that the average American worker hated their job. I think the stat was 60%, or something. Maybe higher. Can’t recall.

That said, I expect the number these days, in this climate, and with the folks just entering the workforce, might look much worse than that.

Every job I ever had was not one I was “called to", or longed after. They were jobs I could get an interview for, usually because I knew someone, had the basic qualifications for, was willing to do, and that paid the most.
 
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AK-Ben said:
What do you do??

I tear apart private jets because Im a masochist apparently…

For a little over 9 years now, I’ve been performing general maintenance and major overhauls/refurbs on private aircraft. Some days are really satisfying, and other days are Einstein’s definition of insanity incarnate.

Here’s my latest project… Currently tearing out an instrument panel to facilitate new wiring installation and old wiring removal. This is a Garmin G600 installation on a Cessna 525. This will replace both six packs with two digital LCD displays, add a new autopilot, and add a new standalone standby ADI/ADC. Right now, it’s a spaghetti bomb!

View attachment 538182
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Huh. Looks like a pretty straight forward job.
 
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