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

There seem to be a higher than average number of IT people on these boards, but just to prove me wrong, here's a poll. If you're a student, a full-time Mum, a retiree, or just currently unemployed for whatever reason, pick the category that fits you best anyway. Or pick 'other' and tell us more.

To an extent, the category list is based on what I already know of people's jobs. I'm sure I'll have missed out lots of professions, though, so apologies in advance if I've missed yours.

Yvonne

Cool poll!

I'm an artist and a student, but officially I checked artist. My Bachelor's is in Fine Arts, and I spent the first six months of '06 in the printing business and in some public relations, but it was...boring. I found the printing career to be a black hole, and I also wanted a more collaborative environment. So now I'm back in school working on my Masters in Graphic Design.

JD
who indirectly gave a short synopsis of 2006 lol

Officially, I'm IT, but I'd rather have a different job altogether--audio book narrator.

I'm a full-time student and part time waitress/hostess at a restaurant.

Sara

I think you forgot the most all-inclusive catagory of job. That of the wage-slave. I imagine you felt that you covered all the non-technical jobs with your 'tradesperson' category, but your examples belied that. A plumber, electrician, or builder is actually a skilled profession that takes a lot of training to become proficient at.

What you don't have are those of us who work the 'unskilled' blue-collar jobs. Even though the current administration has been trying to send all the manufacturing and basic production jobs overseas there are still some assembly line type jobs out there as well as service and manual labor jobs.

Myself, I spend long hours unloading furniture parts from trucks, checking them in, putting them away, then pulling them off racks and loading them on different trucks.

I was a mathematics major at the University of Minnesota's Insitute of Technology but due to financial pressures had to leave before I completed my senior year. I never made it back and have spent my life in 'jobs for a paycheck' rather than an acutal profession. Just a cautionary note to those who are currently in school. Do what you have to do... but finish.

Tank (who has made some money as a musician, but nowhere near enough to even pay for the equipment and expenses incurred by a gig)

It's not too late to go back to school, Tank! Although I have two degrees - one in nursing and one in liberal arts, I'm thinking of going back myself.

I picked "other". While I partially fit in a couple categories, neither of them really encompass the totality of what I do. I'm special like that.

I'm a grad student. So I'm a teacher, researcher, writer, and even an occasional public speaker, as necessity dictates. I'm a jack of many trades--and possibly master of none .

I picked other - but now I'm wondering just what you're including in IT... To me, IT is the guys that fix the computers and manage the servers, databases and websites. At least, if I look at the people in the IT group at work, *that* is what they do.

Cause if it's meant to include other computer oriented jobs, then I guess I would fit into that as well...?

Officially, I'm a "Software Test Engineer". Sounds nice, huh? But I'm actually at the very bottom of the food chain. LOL! I don't even really test the software myself - I mostly write test scripts for the automated test systems to run on the software. Meaning I sit there and program the test engine to do my work for me.

I sometimes wish I still had my little announcer's job for a radio station. I loved that. I miss it... Hell, these days I even miss the job I had recording messages for phone systems ("For service in English, please press One. To reach Customer Service, please press Two.").

My life is just a long list of bad career decisions.

I'm in my first year of studying Pharmacy, which, according to all of our professors, is the link that connects Science with Medicine. So I guess you could say I'm (going to be) a health-oriented scientist

I placed my vote on Medicine/Health, though. I think that's one's first thought when they hear 'Pharmacy', so I went with it.

See ya,
AnnaBtG.

I know this very well, Tank, and have nothing but respect for those who choose one of these professions. My only regret is that governments don't seem to value these professions as highly as I do - ie, in the UK, all the government's energies and funds are directed towards getting as many people as possible into university. I wish that as much money was invested in training skilled workers and wonder where the next generation of plumbers, electricians, etc, will come from. These are valuable and essential skills, and personally, I think we need more electricians than we need graduates of media studies.

Yvonne

Well, I checked other because I really didn't know what to check. A few months ago, I was student (history - to become a teacher, but I forgot the inscription to the competitive examination, and I don't want to do it again this year because I already did 7 years in university and I'm fed up with it!) and working at the same time as a waitress in a restaurant. Now, I still have my job as a waitress (10 hours per week), and the rest of the time, I'm looking for another job. The problem is nobody wants history diplomas (I am specialised in Aegyptology - there is really no job in this branch!), so I did a bilan (personality tests,etc...) and my counselor told me I made for working in the administration as a "secrétaire bureautique" or "assistante de direction" (sorry, I don't know how to say that in english - that's kind of a secretary personal assistant for directors). So, in a few months, I should begin a formation for that.

Well, I checked IT, though it's not an exact fit. I work in digital forensics. Basically I read all the stuff you thought you deleted :p

Well I retired (early, thank you! <g>) years ago, but I ticked law because before that I worked as a legal court clerk for a firm of solicitors in Glasgow.

It was a great job; basically I was left to work on my own. Even better when, as time went on, I became the only one who really understood what I was doing - even my bosses would just leave me to it, rather than try and figure it out. Which makes for terrific job security. Although, the downside is you don't get a decent vacation break in ten years.

I had a junior assistant to do the 'scut work' and the boring bits, like binding writs and typing out litigation forms, while I did the complicated stuff, drafting the legal documents and liasing with the courts.

The only downside was that it was mostly litigation cases. Chasing debts for large companies, utilities like BT and electric/gas companies, banks etc. And so, since our clients interests came first, I could never be as sympathic to the debtors as I was instinctively inclined to be. :p True there were a lot of chancers, who'd give you a sob story over the phone as to why they hadn't paid up, but there were genuine hardship cases, too. I spent a lot more of my time than I was supposed to surreptitiously working things to ease the pressure on the debtors as much as I could without damaging our clients' interests. Which was a bit of a juggling act!

Before that, I worked for ten years as an assistant librarian in local libraries. Now that would have been the perfect job (an endless supply of free books to read! <g>) - if it hadn't been for them being mean and letting the public in. Messing up my nice neat and tidy alphabetical rows of books. Tsk.

All of which is a far cry from what I actually planned my life to be. All through school I was adamant that I was never going to spend nine to five in a stuffy office, typing. I refused to take the secretarial courses that 99% of my female colleagues took, back then. (We were in the days when it seemed natural that most females leaving school would take secretarial positions).

Nope. Nothing boring like that for me. I was going to work outdoors. Preferably 'with animals'.

Ah, well. The best laid plans of rats and women, as they say... :rolleyes: I guess it didn't work out too badly, all the same. I was lucky with both positions to work with a great bunch of people and have some fond memories of the fun we had.

LabRat

I'm a student and when I'm finished some unknown day in the future I'll be a physician. But the way is still long. Two years of university and one year of at-least-eigth-hours-a-day slavery.

*sigh*

But this is so very interesting that I'm already addicted. No matter what. And writing or reading fanfics really helps in the dark hours.

I checked Finance. It's not exact, but close enough. I am a treasury analyst for a Fortune 500 company, managing company cash. My degree is in history, but I started work as a bank teller in high school and my career kind of just propelled itself from there. I have never actually held a job in the history field. And all my employers have cared more about my work experience and the fact that I have degree than what field the degree was in. I have been lucky.

Day job is educational lab technician - basically, I keep the technical services of a school science department running, build and repair equipment, order materials from various suppliers, prepare chemicals, etc.

I'm also a semi-pro role playing game designer and writer, but that's more of a hobby than a serious job - I get paid for what I do, but I couldn't earn a living that way.

Hey there

Interesting poll, I often wondered what you guys did all day long.

I'm a student of psychology and will be for at least the next 3.5 years (depending on whether I'll do my PhD and stuff).

Apart from that (well, not really apart) I work as a Research Assistant at a research institute.
We cover many fields of human evolution but I actually work in the ChildLab, doing studies on/with children from 6 months to 5 years.

I absolutely love my job cause it connects both the work with children and their development and my enthusiasm in IT work.

The other thing I gain a wee bit money is videographing, normally everything from filming up to burning the final disc but the hardest work is cutting as some of you might know by your own experience with the FoLC Productions

So, I chose scientist since that's what I am most of the day

Best,

Jana

I was an Ethics major in college but am currently working at an Insurance Adjusting company as the lead Biller and Reports I/C. Woo, really exciting stuff. It is mind numblingly boring and I hope to get out of it soon.

However, it does give me a lot of time to slack off at work and has given me the chance to read through the archive two times. >_<

I checked IT as I'm a computer science major, but I'm hoping not to work in computer science for the rest of my life At the very least, I'd like to get into the "softer" side of CS: graphics, gaming, etc vs. math and business applications.

Kaylle

Well, if we're going to start confessing degrees as well as what we do at work, I'm a music graduate that also did first-year maths, statistics and computing. Oh, and for computing, read Fortran, Basic and mainframes. In other words, I did my degree a long time ago.

Yvonne

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

I picked other 'cause my job really wasn't listed. I'm a Customer Service Rep for a labware manufacturer. It's not really Sales because I don't have to convince anyone to buy our stuff. I just answer their questions and take the orders.

Hm. Well, I'm a little late in answering this poll, but I only just registered after lurking for 6 months. I chose other because I work in the oil & gas industry - have a geology degree, got out of school, decided that I really couldn't take the crap dished out to women geologists, and became a geotech. Basically, I find, compile, organize and present the data so the geologists can map and make cross-sections and hopefully find hydrocarbons. It's actually a very interesting job, and I do love it. However, I'm so busy that I have no time at work to read, which is a bummer. I get an hour or so in the evening when my husband is reading to our children. I did manage to make it through the archive in the six months, though!
Mouse

Wow, I wanted a geology degree, but all the jobs where in a different province so I decided not too. I'm sorry to hear that you faced some troubles. I wish I could go back into that.

Interesting poll!!!

I picked IT.
I'm a full-time student (Computer Science) and I'm in the last part. I'll start my master thesis next month.

Hah! I heard the same thing when I was in college….


Cut that hair off!


I had to laugh at this. I have an associate degree in nursing, but when it came to my bachelor’s, I kept bouncing around so much that I ended up with a non-descript ‘everything’ degree (or in other words, I couldn’t make up my mind).


There’s a lot of teachers here! I’m getting ready to start work as a substitute teacher.

Just had to laugh at this one! In my lecture class from the fall there were about 5 people with IT degrees in my graduate program (which is graphic design). Seems like they heard the same thing! We didn't have IT at my college, so I have no idea if it's a useful degree or not.

JD
(who's fine arts degree isn't spectacularly useful without a Master's)

*snicker* My freshman year of college, my father said I was spending so much time on the computer, I should change my major to computers. "No," I cried, "I want to be a teacher!" And that was refrain for the next year and a half if he ever brought up changing my major to computer science.

And now I'm close to a degree in computer science, and the teacher track is nowhere to be found. I should have listened to my dad...

Hmmm... Anyone else military?

At the moment, my job is to learn how to shoot the snot out of things with a side of technician. In about a year and a half, I plan on being a Civilian and a full time student. After that, I will hopefully make Pwetty Pictures on computers for a living =D But for now... yeah, shooting things. Sadly, I haven't been able to do much of that lately... =(

...I like shooting. Shooting makes me feel better!

Erm... should I add that I've only ever shot at little green men, those green pop up targets, and that's why I name every M16 I every get 'Mulder'?

I chose finance, but I'm in collections. Mind you not one of those EVIL personal collections workers. I go after businesses who should have BUDGETED AHEAD OF TIME TO PAY THEIR BILLS!!!

ARRRRRRGGGHHH!!!!! PAY YOUR BILLS, PAY YOUR FREAKING BILLS!!!!!

<pant pant pant>

Whew, I needed to say that so bad.

Thanks for your indulgence.

I have my degree in Sacred Music, and so, of course, am doing something that has nothing to do with that.

I teach VPK (Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten) at a private Christian day school. VPK is a new, government funded, program in Florida that allows any child, regardless of family income, to attend preschool for free. There was such a big demand for it that it was opened up to private and religious centers as well as the public schools.

Hi!

I chose other, since I've been working at a Community College as a Library Assistant or Cataloger for over 25 years. I basically catalog the new materials into the library so everyone can check them out. Needless to say I enjoy reading very much, especially on these boards.

I chose 'Sales' because I work in retail - at Borders bookstore.

I guess 'Sales' encompasses retail...

~Anna.

I have a computer science degree but because I have never worked in the industry, I haven't been able to find work along those lines. *sigh* They all want at least five years industrial experience...

I work in the Wage Audit department of the Workers Compensation department of an Insurance company. I've spent my time making Access databases to analyse the data in the existing database (which uses LOTUSNOTES!!!)

LotusNotes is NOT the best place to put the database that covers the entire state.

But the people who work there are nice.

I chose other. I work at a public library as a reference librarian. Basically, I help people find things they need in person and on the phone. I also do online reference on Friday nights.

I do a lot of looking up phone numbers because, apparently, people no longer know how to use phone books.

Wow, this has been interesting. I chose other because I'm retired and sit at my PC (sorry Mac people, I used to be one of you) and read fanfic. Or I do a bunch of graphic stuff for a women's group I've been part of for 36 years.
Before that I was a scientist and was sorely tempted to bump up that humble 3% number in this poll. I have a Bachelors in Physics from the University of California Riverside (hi groobie) and a Masters in Public Administration from Cal State Bakersfield.
My IT efforts were limited to programming in FORTRAN
What did I do with that? For 36 years I worked for the Department of the Navy (/me waves at Catherine {different service but still part of DOD}).
If I told you what I did, I'd have to shoot you. Which is one of my very all time favorite lines. Let's just say I hope I made a difference in my time at work and made life a little easier for the guys/gals at the "pointy end of the stick." In the process I also did a lot of what Yvonne does .
I keep trying to write fanfic rather than just read it (Nan is my hero ), but I have a hard time with my life of fun and leisure getting myself to work at anything.
The best advice I was given was "get your degree first and then figure out what you're going to do."
But don't get discouraged. My daughter just graduated university at the age of 43 and has a job she loves.

Artemis

Wow. I didn't mean to kill this thread. Surely someone else has something to say. The other thing I do all day (since I don't really 'work') anymore is travel. I'm now in Flagstaff, Arizona after driving 8 hours from California. Tomorrow is Santa Fe, New Mexsico for a week. Travel is a lot of fun and also expensive, any way you do it. As you can see I have my laptop with me. Many hotels have wi-fi now.

Artemis

Don't worry, I'll chip in to the killing. Really, what I do all day is come up with idea after idea times at least 20 in my sketchbooks. I ignore at least 15 of them. Then I spend the next umpteen hours on the computer on layouts until I realize either a) I need to eat, b) it's dark (or possibly light) outside already? or c) I've gone crazy and I have to go out. Anywhere. But it's usually the coffee shop downtown so I can do research. Then I either go to bed or just can't fall asleep, and the exact same day starts all over again. In this respect, I'm so glad my schedule is 4 days a week of school next fall. Really, I do love what I do. I just happen to be a social person, and 5 free days a week glued to work in my quiet apartment is just an invitation to stir-crazy.

JD

Ha. I don't "work" per se. I like to think of myself as a professional student who teaches to pay the bills.

I teach one freshman intro to lit section a week (super light, I'm really lucky, but next year I have two). Then I go to three three hour seminars. The rest of my time is spent preparing for the classes and seminars, which just means globs and globs of reading.

Since I also work as an independent translator on the side, sometimes that takes up a large chunk of my time too.

My B.A. is in CompLit, so I haven't wandered too far from what I did in undergrad. I'm boring like that.

I picked law because I work in a law office. Pretty much like Carry from the series `King of Queens`

I've choosen "other" because I'm a pretty boring office-worker: telephone, invoices and everything else that has to be don

I did a lot of sitting in the office and trying to come up with ideas. I'm glad I don't have to do that anymore. Anyway, we're back from Santa Fe and had a wonderful time. Traveling is sure interesting!
Cheers to all
Artemis

Hmmm...CompLit? Compulsive Literature? Computer Literature? Comparative Literature? Or perhaps it's Compulsory Litigation? Just curious...

Yvonne

Comparative Literature. Americans love to shorten and nickname things.

Artemis

ROFL! I put 'Comparative Literature' in as a joke - never thought it would be the correct answer. I imagined the 'Comp' would be Composition.

Not that I'm laughing at the degree itself, you understand - just my own ignorance.

Yvonne

This sounds like a more accurate rendition of what its really about.


alcyone

Wow...it looks like we have lots of history folks and teachers here!

My undergraduate degree is in Psychology, but I decided halfway through my senior year that I wanted to teach instead. So, I went to grad school in history (I got an assistantship to pay the bills) and earned a Master's degree.

I spent the next three months living in fear that I would end up unemployed, only to have a fabulous teaching job fall into my lap. For the past 14 years, I've taught history to 8th graders. At first, I taught ancient history, but now I teach American.

I LOVE working with 8th graders--I just wish I could say the same for the administration. Sigh!

It's great to get a sense of what all of you do in the real world, and I look forward to getting to know you all better now that summer is almost here. Maybe I'll even have time to get back to that fanfic writing...sigh!

I'm a mechanical engineer, you're not alone Jo =]

Studying Civil Engineering. Freshman year.

I've got a BS in Animal Science, decided I didn't want to pursue vet school, took a few additional undergrad courses, and now I'm in limbo as an applicant for an elementary eduation Masters program. I'm working fulltime at a boarding kennel with an unpredictable schedule, and substitute teaching from time to time when it fits my schedule. I also house/pet-sit several times a year.

I'm a historian/admin by trade

Wow, this was interesting to see this resurrected. I sure am a talky one and I'm still doing what I said earlier.
But I'll add beta reader to my resume.

Artemis

This is an interesting thread. I have two degrees, history and computer science. I always wanted my degree in CS and just fell into my history degree. I already had half of it done by the time I graduated high school. I currently work as a software developer for a company that produces slot machines. I don't work on the slots nor do I understand the addiction and "fun" people have by playing them. It's a very interesting industry though.

I clicked on Teaching because that's the closest to what I do (I'm a high school librarian). There's a bit of teaching involved, mostly of how to use the computers. (Think kids are tech-savvy? You won't after you examine a broken in 3 pieces CD-ROM textbook and find out that the student who broke it jammed it into the floppy disk slot of a Commodore 64--I kid you not). Sometimes the hardest part of the job is keeping a straight face (especially when a kid does something along the lines of informing me that they were born in 1894, or when they try to give me a persuasive argument as to why the library needs a copy of the Kama Sutra ). The other hard part is obtaining books without funding (it keeps getting taken away to pay for other things, but I usually manage to get a little Title I money for magazines and a few of the latest popular books). I use a book swapping site to get other stuff and take the cost of postage off my taxes. And believe it or not, I absolutely love it (even when the kids are being obnoxious and the administrators are being clueless). I've been a librarian for 12 years, always in the same district but at three different schools.

The Kama Sutra??

I'm an internet security specialist for a cable company, and deal mostly with copyright infringement, spam (and yes, you need a thick skin when reading some of this garbage. geesh), and botnet/virus issues. Mostly self-taught geek, but have had some Microsoft certifications in the past.

My college training was meteorology, but Calc III and I didn't get along.

Currently, I'm a "Stay-at-Home Mom", so I chose "other". I'm not a "Home-maker" because I'm not here to make a "home" but because it's pointless to pay strangers my entire income to ignore my children for 8 hours. My youngest heads off to school in September, so I'll be heading back to work, at least part time. Since graduating from college almost 20 years ago, I've worked retail (mostly), in a bank (trust department), as an admin assistant, and as an office manager. I'm hoping to get a job at the local liberal arts college (as a Classics major, anthropology minor, I have no discernible "job skills" other than work-ethic and thinking), so I may be able to have my summers semi-free. Otherwise, I'd have to quit to look after my kids again, because there's no way I'd dump them in the city's "camp" or at the Y because neither has any real supervision of the kids, and I love my kids more than any job I'm likely to get. I don't want to work at the public schools, because, frankly, after spending the last 8+ years around kids, I'm ready for some adult interaction.

I'd rather not go the retail route again, but I know that the job market doesn't look favorably on women who raise their own children at home, and who don't Facebook or Twitter. :rolleyes: Luckily, I'm not too proud to take a job below my skill level. Personally, I'd prefer an office job to being on my feet all day, trying to convince people to buy stuff they really don't want or need.

My dream job: getting paid for my writing, but I'd have to finish writing my LnC stories and get back to writing original stories. I'd be able to work from home and set my own hours. Sigh.

If I had to live my life over again, I'd probably have taken a "trade" skill in college, like "script writing" or "culinary arts". While I learned a lot at college, and I do well at Trivial Pursuit (the old version, don't ask me anything that's happened in the last 10 years, because, frankly, I don't care). College wasn't worth the price-tag, especially since I don't ever plan on going to graduate school or get a teaching degree. Being a librarian would be the only degree worth holding my interest, but since books are sadly becoming a thing of the past on a more daily basis (and I live in a small town with more librarians than the ever shrinking library budget), I might as well just throw my money into an endless pit than purse it.

At least I'm not bitter.

You don't necessarily need a degree in library science to work in a library. I don't have one (my degrees are in Humanities, Sociology, Theater Arts, and Social and Behavioral Sciences). I am classified as a library clerk (but because I run my own library, sans assistance except for the students I am assigned each semester, I do the work of a librarian).

Virginia, it is challenging (and frustrating) to coordinate family needs and work opportunities. I have a PhD in Chemistry. I did research for a few years, found I really didn't like it so I got certified to teach high school chemistry. I taught high school chemistry until my children were born then stayed home with them. I've been fortunate in the past years to have the opportunity to teach chemistry part time at the university. I never know if I have a job but at least it's nice when it happens.


Joan

Cool thread to find! It's fascinating to see what other folcs are up to.

Technically I am a full-time student (make that a 110% time student...) at an art school in Sacramento. I'm majoring in Media Arts/Animation (I'm getting my BS degree, which always makes me giggle a bit ), though I'm considering focusing more on editing or motion graphics since I'm gonna have to decide that soon.... But I chose "artist" because that's pretty much all I do and I do some freelance work on the side as well. I was working part time as a tutor in a local high school, but that job ends with the school year's end, so there's that. Plus it was conflicting with my class schedule, which is a bear right now. College is tough but at least it's fun and I'm learning what I want to learn. (It'd better be worth the price tag, anyway....)

Currently though I'm looking for work. School is $$$ and gas is even more $$$$, and if I can get a job in the industry while still in school I'd take it, even if it meant changing my schedule around a bit.

Isn't Industrial Lights and Magic (or whatever Lucas's company called) somewhere around there? Or was that part of the package deal sold to Disney? Good luck, Mouse!

Sort of... all of Lucasfilm's companies (including ILM and Skywalker Ranch) are located in the San Francisco area or Marin county, which is about 2 1/2 hours away from where I live (1 and 1/2 hours from the heart of Sacramento) depending on traffic, which isn't altogether that bad of drive time (I used to make it a few days every week until I transferred). I actually knew several people who worked there and/or had connections-- which was awesome!-- until Disney bought Lucasfilm. Now they technically own all of their subsidiaries (along with about 50% of the movie industry entirely :rolleyes: ) and are currently in the process of laying off about, oh, 300-or-so employees who spent their lives working at Lucas, and giving their jobs to Disney employees. I'm not quite sure what they're doing with ILM specifically, since it is more of a visual effects company, but I'm sure they'll find a way to stick their fingers in that too. Whether or not any of the businesses will stay based out of SF, I don't know yet.

I mean, I love Disney, but they're just about two steps away from controlling the entire universe as we know it. I'm always surprised when people don't realize how much they actually own the rights to.

Oh, and thanks!