How Do You Make Your Living?

[JiveBlues]

We have topics for what welook like (on the main board), topics for our hobbies, topics for fun stuff we've found...but I haven't seen a thread for how we make our living, so I thought I'd start one. There's a lot of jobs out there...what's yours?

I am a professor by trade. I teach at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU) in Daytona Beach, Florida. The Dayona campus is one of two on-site campuses that belong to ERAU (the other is in Prescott, Arizona), with online satellite campuses all over the world. The school is known primarily for trianing pilots and aerospace engineers.

I am neither. I teach a discipline called Human Factors. It all has to do with the interface between people and equipment. You know that cell phone that has been driving you nuts because you can't figure out how to make it work? I teach courses on how to make that design better. The discipline is sort of the intersection between psychology and engineering.

I guess the other line of inquiry for this thread would be: How did you get into that field? I fell into human factors because my undergraduate work was in psychology and computer science, I was accepted to a graduate program that did a lot of aviation research, and the combination of aviation research, psychology and some human factors training landed me the professor position here.

So how do you make your living?

JB

[Burger Nerf]

Huckin' bags and mail at a major international airport for one of them big perpetually-bankrupt airlines.

...Pray for me, my back, and my job.

_____________________
Does this look infected to you?

[kinako mochi]

I've made my living doing many things. Currently, it's setting up surveillance cameras and control equipment for a big security firm here in Arizona.

Since living here (since '97) I've been a barista, an internal customer service guy for telephony at the big AMEX Service Center (AESC-P), a motorcycle mechanic, a document librarian, an espresso machine technician, a typesetter, a freelance graphic designer and now camera guy. Knowing what happened prior to coming here to AZ would explain the disparate jobs landed, but that's another four paragraphs.

I like doing cam stuff, but I LOVE wrenching on my bike, then going for a good 300-mile sport-tour of the beautiful parts of AZ (anywhere but Tucson and Phoenix, basically). It's my life hobby now.

[NorphTehDwarf]

Hoo, boy. I'm rather jealous of you all. By trade, I'm an unemployable teenage lout, although I'm rather good at stringing words together and hitting things. My most recent windfall was 200 bucks from helping my neighbor landscape his back yard.

[azalea2]

Oh, dear. At work i pretend to be a biologist. Sometimes people call me "Dr.", mistakenly thinking that i have a PhD. I play with genetic sequences in silico; the final product is devices that can be used to, for example, detect gene expression levels or scan for mutations in a genome.

[Ryalyn]

Woh. There's a bunch of smart people in here.

I'm an administrative assistant in a small private Bible college. I work two parts for Institutional Research and one part for Student Affairs, basically because the two gentlemen both needed an AA but the college can't afford to get them each one. And really, I'm doing the work of at least three people. With the IR side, it's a lot of surveys, both in-house (evaluating our teaching and administration and how the students say we're doing) and out-of-house (surveys sent from publications like Petersons and surveys sent from the government like IPEDS), and stuff like that. Basically, it's making sure that the college is trying to be the best we can make it.

With the SA side there's a lot of petitions and memos and all. And then there's the International Student Advising, making sure that the students are registered with the government and doing all the paperwork that they need to do and helping them where ever possible. That's a new part of my job and I'm still learning all about that. It's very, very complicated.

My degree is in Liberal Arts, with minors in intercultural studies and English. But I don't think I can do this job for longer than another year or so. It's the only job I've had after graduating from college, but what I want to do is work overseas as a missionary.

[kinako mochi]

Oh, dear. At work i pretend to be a biologist. Sometimes people call me "Dr.", mistakenly thinking that i have a PhD. I play with genetic sequences in silico

My brother does something similar, except in a less research-oriented capacity; he does DNA lab work for a law firm in SF. Grad with a degree in biology from Rochester U in '96. Kinako wish Kinako was smart peoples. *scratches armpits and asks for banana*

[TheTeague]

I look at funny looking people and draw even funnier looking pictures of them at the Mall of America.

Envy Me! Bwa ha ha ha ha

[Preypacer]

Hi!

Quite a bit of history here...
After school I was trained (in Germany we have mandratory Job-Training) to be a Computer and Officeelectronics Salesman.
After that I was conscripted and lost my Job because of the Army.
Following a brief period as a freelance Life-Artist (aka unemployed) I was a Computer-Salesman/Hotliner/Customer-Serviceman.
Sensing that my nerves wouldn't take any more DUIs (Dumbest User Imaginable) I gladly accepted an offer to be Project-Manager at a Internet Communications Company.
There I doubled as the Sysadmin till the Investor went broke right before were self-sufficient... sigh...
Not wanting to be Salesman again I elected to use my time as social-help-leech to take another training, this time as an IT-Systemstechnican.
Right now I am a Moderator at a German Internet-Auctions-Radio-Site
(think e-bay with moderators to comment the auctions live on air with musik inbetween...) where I double as the Sysadmin.

Carpe Noctem!
Thomas "Preypacer" Gottlieb

[Llewellian]

I seem to be the exact clone of Preypacer.

School, Training-on-the-job, lost the job due to my military time (i chose to do the civillian way), afterwards unemployed, worked as sysadmin and operator for a big chat of a radiostation, back to school, university, then ended up in an internet firm (the Big A) as CS Worker for technical probs with the site, then fortunately got an upgrade for the IT Security and now work in another bureau there.

By the way: @Preypacer: If you are searching for a job sometimes, have a look here. Maybe something will fit you. The salary is ok, the ppl nice, and we dont work in a garage anymore...

Something for you?

[mpschuster]

I look at funny looking people and draw even funnier looking pictures of them at the Mall of America.

I've probably seen you working...I know there are a few of you doing that gig. And yeah... you seem to get some... interesting looking customers.

I work as a designer for an apparel company that specializes in headwear. I'm currently designing the spring 2006 line for Superman, Batman, Star Wars, Mickey Mouse, and Adult Swim licensed products.

We sell to large (Walmart) and smaller (Hot Topic) retail outlets and to the companies we work with (Cartoon Network).

[luchog]

Oh, dear. At work i pretend to be a biologist. Sometimes people call me "Dr.", mistakenly thinking that i have a PhD. I play with genetic sequences in silico

My brother does something similar, except in a less research-oriented capacity; he does DNA lab work for a law firm in SF. Grad with a degree in biology from Rochester U in '96. Kinako wish Kinako was smart peoples. *scratches armpits and asks for banana*

I have a friend who is a microbiologist in a research position (iirc, she's currently working on one of her advanced degrees, either Masters or Doctorate). She explained what she does, but I can't seem to recall (a bit too technical for my limited knowledge).

I've done a few things, including a stint doing internal hardware support at Microsoft. Right now, I'm doing fraud investigation for the world's largest Internet retailer. Boring as hell, really. Studying on my own to get into a more IT-related position.

[The_Stalker]

I'm all over the place.
In the past year I have been all of the following.
*Summer Camp Counselor
*Night shift at a gas sration
*unemployed
*and currently Tech Support for my Alma Mater, USF.

All while looking for a use for my mechanical engineering degree. Apparently no one wants to hire an engineer that graduated after six years. Barely. Who has no experiance in his feild of study. And it aint getting easier, every passing day without a position just says to employers that I'm not serious enough, which I am.

[Tanukitsune]

I work at my parent's butcher shop, which is in a market under out apartment...

I wake up at 5:30 every day excpet Sunday get payed less than a burger flipper and I'm not even in contract! YAY! Did I mention I haven't had a real vacation in at least 5 years? WIIGII!

My first job was working at a comic webpage, that one was horrid, 120

[ajax]

I'm an electrical engineer, designing camera systems for endoscopic surgery. It's been a fairly straight path for me from school (UC class of '71) to here: short stint as a tech in a TV station; several years at RCA designing TV cameras; short time designing weather display systems for cable TV; then with Philips working on laser disk players, monitors and projection TVs; a long run in Polaroid's video research group; and a series of gigs designing comm and nav stuff for soldiers, physiologic monitors for runners, and cell phone accessories. Whew!

Circuits are my art. Analog is my pencil.

Ajax

[Sionide]

Technically, my parents still make my living... Heheh.

I don't sponge off them as much as I used to though, so I've also got a part time job to make me feel rich (even when I'm not!)

I work in an Opticians, taking peoples details, fixing/selling glasses etc.
Get paid

[Meganeguard]

I am currently a graduate student studying Japanese Language and Literature. I also have a BA in Eastern History from the University of Georgia. I make money by teaching three Eastern Civ classes at the university in now attend.

[The1Paladin]

Me, I'm a SMB computer consultant. (SMB = Small/Medium Buisness). In other words I'm Nick Price, your company's computer guy...

[Elliot]

Hopefully I will be editing video for some kind of TV or Movie making co. of somekind. Look at all the pros laughing at me cause I don't know the proper wordage.

L