Lois & Clark Forums Forums General Discussion Fun with Polls What do we do at work?

My degree is in history, too (with a minor in political science). I worked my way through school first as a part-time secretary at the state prison and then as a medical transcriptionist. Once I graduated I quit my job doing transcription to go be a nanny (horrifying my father to no end - this is what I went to college for?). After a year as a nanny I went back to transcription, just to earn money while I was trying to decide what to do with my life. Three years later the IT guy for our department took another job and recommended me to replace him (I was always futzing around with the computer and had shown an aptitude for it). So I fell into IT through the back door, as it were. My company sent me to some training courses, but mostly I learned on my own.

Someday I'm going to figure out what I really want to do when I grow up. And then I'll do it.

I thought about choosing "scientist", but chose "other" instead as I am an engineer (BSME by degree, as well).

Yvonne: Yeah for Fortran! Can I date myself even further by saying I learned Pascal as well (and loved it as I recall). Loved learning computer languages...still do.

I should have been IT, but I was told not to get a degree in computers and there wasn't much future in it!!! But I still putter around in it and was the "computer expert"/go-to person (their term not mine) for our department at my last job, and within a few weeks was known for that at my new job. (Always good to feel like you know something even when the industry you're in is so completely foreign to you!)

I had to laugh though when I saw the title "What do we do at work?" So, I told you my title/job type... that doesn't really tell you what I do at work all day! (somehow a Fanfic Message Board Reader just doesn't get paid as well as an engineer! )

Jo

I'm a primary school teacher. Over here, many people (and the media) say we're lazy people with lots of free time on our hands, lots of vacation time and so on... True, we have a lot of vacation time, but then again I have to work every night after class, every weekend, and for part of my vacation. At the moment, I work 80+ hours a week and feel like a slave. :p

Kae (not always happy in her job)

Picked IT - I'm a programmer.

Same here. But I picked IT anyway.

I'm a science teacher! Since I currently spend my days teaching (college), I picked teacher. But I'm currently trying to move out of teaching and into industry. Two reasons: Money and a belief that teaching is NOT customer service! The latter has become more of a mindsent in higher ed, and as I can't change the system... best to move on.

And then there's that money thing again.
Two life sciences PhDs in the house and making less than many with just a B.S. in better paying jobs. I'm past doing what I love. Time to do what pays.
Jackie

I graduated with a B.A. in History and minors in Philosophy and Political Science. My friend's big joke was that I was qualified to "think deep thoughts about my unemployability." So I got my teaching credential and have taught 8th grade U.S. History for the past 9 years. I NEVER thought I'd be a teacher when I was growing up, but I actually love it and am good at it and have a real connection with the age group that I work with (13-15 years old). I'm two classes and about 1/4 of a thesis away from my Masters in Education, Instructional Technology.

Boy, I feel unimpressive

I started but didn't finish college, and have mostly worked in clerical positions. Well, apart from the last nine years, when I stayed home with my kids. I'm back in the workforce now, since just before my husband lost *his* job. I was a secretary before my son was born, and I thought I'd go back to that, but with one thing and another I remembered the courses I'd had in accounting, and now I'm in accounts receivable. It's kind of tedious, but I like tedious so it suits me just fine. Nice people to work with *and* I can wear jeans every day.

Pretty soon, though, my husband and I will be buying a franchise & running our own business. As soon as we get the financing lined up. Kelley's just gotten a new job last week, and for some reason, the bank was reluctant to lend huge sums of money to unemployed people. Go figure. Once we've got a paystub in hand, we'll be able to go forward with it.

I'm really looking forward to it -- and only a little bit terrified But with so many companies insisting on college degrees that we haven't got, owning our own seemed like the way to go.

PJ

Heh. When I read the topic title, my initial thought was "Goof off". but I guess that's not what you're looking for.

I'm firmly entrenched in IT. My whole company is IT. I work for an Internet Service Provider in the south, in the Technical Support Department. My official title (oooooh) is Senior Technician. My unofficial titles are Mac Goddess, Lead Tech (there's an actual lead tech position that a lot of people think I have. But I don't), Supervisor (again, exists but I don't have), Ms. Know-It-All, Ms. Do-It-All, and Silly Person. My official job description is "Anything the boss says to do." Which, while a nice description to have, can be a bit exhausting when I'm actually doing stuff the other two positions would normally do.

I don't have a degree. I'm fairly close to an Associates in Computer Science, but I need to contact a professor to get my credits in order. Something I should have done a year and a half ago.

Well, if you'd asked this a couple of weeks ago, Yvonne, I would have had to choose student - which, given I thought I'd finished being a student eighteen years ago, is still a surprise to me I'm still studying - completing a postgraduate qualification in career development - but as of Monday I will be employed as an employment counsellor, a type of job I've been trying to get for the last year or so. Wish me luck!

Up until summer 2004, if anyone's interested, I was a university professor, and my degrees are in business studies and industrial (labour) relations.

Interesting mix of occupations here!


Wendy

I'm retired hair stylist.

Anita, head for Hollywood. There's an actress on a hit television series that 'desperately' needs your help.

Tank (who thinks that just because Teri's no longer our Lois Lane doesn't mean she can't look her best )

Try and not go crazy.

I picked 'other' and because I wasn't really sure what to pick. Actually I was torn between 'finance' and 'administration'. I work in accounting services/accounts payable. EWWWW.

I've been looking for another position within the company I am in (non-accounting!!!!)

I've often thought about going back and going into a trade. I'm leaning towards carpentry. Mind you being an electrican sounds neat, but I can't get past the idea of accidentatly being zapped!

Trade - that's what it is called here or skilled tradesman/woman. 'Trade' doesn't mean an unskilled, non-technical in the circles I've been in. The differences in definition is interesting.

One such definition I have:
An occupation, especially one requiring skilled labor; craft: the building trades, including carpentry, masonry, plumbing, and electrical installation.

My step-dad refers to it as that as well. He didn't bother getting his papers (Canadian) done beyond being a journeyman carpenter. My dad-in-law is a machinest and has papers from England (level ??) and he calls it a trade.

Luckily the goverment here supports all trades, academia, manfacturing and service jobs. Maybe not very well, but nonetheless it is supported. I guess they are sick of people leaving the province! My husband loves manufacturing, but he left that industry due to all the jobs leaving Poor guy really liked it. He was sort of an auditor/time study technican to try and make things more efficeient, etc. I tease him it's all his fault the jobs left the city. I found his job neat!

I was looking into carpentry and starting out at the local community college (which I used to snub) and work my way up that way. However, my academic history shows that I waver all over the place and probably wouldn't finish or get nervous or something and not finish so I guess I'll stay put where I am. (phych, anthro, bio, physics, history, education, accounting, geography....I am now allergic to univeristy)

I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none.

My mum got mad at me and said quit wanting to collect degrees and just go all the way with something. My hubbie says don't go back to school for a while and just live and do some hobbies.

OOH I'm jealous. I wish I could dress like that. I could spend more of my paycheque on fun stuff.

I'm a full-time student.
But over the summer I'm a camp counselor. It's a fun job!

First time checking something other than "teacher" -- sort of bittersweet. Administration (educational admin, but even so) now.

No more working at home every night!

I'm a computer programmer, though the official term is software engineer.

I've been doing that for 14 years now, though I never expected to get into that field when I first entered college. I went in with a biology major, changed to economics in my fourth year, and hoped to be a securities analyst at one point. A friend of mine got me into programming, which I had only been doing as a hobby. That's how I ended up in the field, though I've taken perhaps two programming classes in my whole life, neither one of them at a time when I expected to be in software.

After 3 wearing days at work, here's what I seem to actually do:

1. Answer the phone and tell annoying, time-wasting salesmen to take a running jump;
2. Answer the phone and tell people how to do stuff they could look up themselves;
3. Tell the new guy how to do everything except tie his shoe laces;
4. Snap at my staff for never putting anything away and then wasting hours looking for stuff;
5. Deal with problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem after problem until I want to scream.

Yvonne

Well, after being a lifeguard many years ago in college , I got my RN and was a OB nurse for years. Then I switched to registry nurse and did a little of everything. Then I retired and stayed home with my teenagers. Five months ago I became a geriatric nurse and caretaker for my mother and am now (thankfully) retired again for good. Now I work on home renovation (my own) so we can sell the place (anybody want to know how to install a hardwood floor, or tile?), and write fanfic in my spare time.

Nan

I'm an employee from a notary public

Hey, Yvonne, after reading that I'm starting to think that you and I must do the same thing for a living

ML

Hi All,

I'm a teacher. I graduated from college with a partial teaching credential, which meant that I finished all my courses and my student teaching in four years. I fortunately was hired at the age of 22 by a principal who was a tennis buddy. I spent the next seven years teaching elementary school full time while taking classes in the evenings at the local university to finish my teaching credential, Masters in Elementary Ed., plus my Reading Specialist Credential.

I love teaching kids and have been teaching over 27 years. I've taught 1st-4th grades and now have been teaching 6th graders for the past five years in Math and Science. I want to be the teacher that does things during the year that the students will remember when they think back on their school career as adults.

I got into computers when we had the old Apple IIe in the classrooms. I was always so frustrated with the limits of those computers. I wrote several grants to upgrade our classrooms with the first Pentium computers. The kids wrote to penpals all over the country. We would do some fabulous PowerPoint Presentations that we would have looping whenever we had parents come to visit. It was pretty impressive to see what the third and fourth graders could do back then. Kids who had never done very well in academics were suddenly the stars of the class. They learned the tech skills quickly and were great teachers to the other students.

So, you could call me a teacher who is always looking for a better, more interesting, way to teach the students the skills they need to learn in whatever grade level I am instructing.

Write on!
Anne