Thread: What is your profession or real job?

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Ive spent the last 18 years in the vending industry, mostly on the equipment repair end of it. Ive worked for a couple vending operators & a couple vending distributers.
Ive been self employed for over 5 years. I drive all over the St.Louis metro area & beyond repairing vending machines on location in my Safari Van. Not a bad gig really. John

14 years at a hardware & plumbing store, not much money but a good education, repaired appliances on the side.
Then 16 years in appliance sales and repair.
The last 4 years selling, installing, & repairing wood, coal, pellet, & gas stoves, fireplaces and furnaces, not very exciting but it gets me out and about instead of working inside. Ken

I was in steel construction for 20 years, then I was a racecar mechanic for 10 years and now I am semi-retired and work for the local School District as a trade craftsman (Building repairman).

I drag raced from 1963-1972, Offroad raced 1972-1986, Road raced from 1986-1996 and roundy-rounded all the while. Mix in the occasional WW2 warbird and you get the picture of my area of usless knowledge...heh MIZ

Originally Posted by Don Lyon

Retired A&P mechanic,22 years in the Air Force and 24 years civilian. Worked on a "Gazillion" different aircraft.Refurbished 3 ElCaminos,(65,66,67) and sold them all.Did a 32 Ford p/u with a built flathead, sold it.Still have our 46 Ford with a sbc, Camaro clip, etc. Used to help out a lot of friends when I lived in 'Vegas, wired up a few cars,helped out with mechanical and body work. Still like to lend a hand, but not much interest in North Idaho. We did do a body off on a 37 Chevy for my daughter,(my son in law and myself did the majority, but the daughter did A LOT of sanding). Plus she always did a great cleanup at the end of the day. I'm always available to assist.

Welcome to the forum, Don... One question, your daughter that does the shop cleaning so well....Does she make house calls?????

Did some Air Force time myself. I was aircrew, first on Huey then CH-3's... Suppose your time was fixed wing??

Brian told me I can check out anytime but never leave the Forum, but I have been hibernating for a few months working on a book and getting pretty tired of it. I had a lot of odd jobs as a youngster, pumped gas at an Atlantic Station, was a Millwright helper for a while, occasional part time rigger, farm worker, worked on a refridgerator assembly line, worked in two different electroplating shops but my Dad was a Chemical Technician during the Depression and he was always talking about Chemistry so I did well in college studying Chemistry and then got suckered into thinking computers could get the answers without all the fumes. So although I was a Professor of Physical Chemistry until 2003, I was really a computer programmer for over 30 years writing programs to model elctronic structure of molecules and even now I spend most of the cold days debugging my own programs. During High School in the '50s I really got hooked on Hot Rod Magazine and "fixed up" a '31 Ford Fordor and a '47 Ford convertible (aztec red paint with grey leatherette interior, Zowie!) Unfortunately trying to get govt. funding for research is the name of the game in Academia and I was not very good at that but I could write up obscure calculations on atoms and molecules. Actually I spent a few years studying small clusters of Lithium atoms and DennyW set up my avatar as part Lithium atom and part roadster. Since the fifties I wanted a roadster and about ten years ago I restored a MG Midget but I always wanted a Model A roadster so I now have one about 70% finished but the book has to be done by Sept. 2007 so I am typing day and night now. I have always liked Math and was duly impressed by the atomic age so I am still fascinated by atomic stuff and the quantum mechanics math that explains it. I spent two summers at nearby NASA-Langley
but only got part of a patent on metal ions in high performance plastics like polyimides. The U.S. Govt. really got the patent and sent me a little acknowledgment but most of my work has been related to electro-optics and magneto-optics of molecules.

Don Shillady
Retired Scientist/teen rodder

15years of Body and Paint, 5years at home custom fab work and painting, 4 years of applying chopped fiberglass and gel coat to building substrates. Now in the sign industry as a plant manager for a 25 million dollar company.Next week will make 10 years doing signs. We Vacuform, steel fab, sheet metal fab, alum fab, as well as painting, vinyl and silk screening. If you have any questions about any of the above ask.

First real job - $2.00/hr - loading 90 lb bags of sand in a blasting hopper.
Then about 5 years commercial painter.
Then another 5 years fitting/welding offshore oil field platforms.

The oil field went bust in the early 1980s and I found myself repairing coal barges on the Mississippi River.

Completed a BS in Computer Science in 1990 and currently do database programming.

After 17 years, I still haven't figured out corporate politics or the spin game.
Shooting straight from the hip is not part of the culture.
Don't you dare call a spade a spade - its more like a black upside down heart with a stemmy thing protruding from the bottom.

Now I'm trying to figure out auto mechanics with the help of this forum.

Did a lot of mechanic helper/service station jobs as a kid.Did electrical work for a while,learned enough to be dangerous.Then started my own business doing cabinetwork and trim in new houses.After that I went to work for a home builder,as a superintendent.When he bought out an architechural millwork company in 1990 I became the general manager.Finally got sick of that rat race,so in 2006 I went to work with an old friend in a small construction company,doing mainly high quality remodeling and additions.I've been building custom Harley's for about 25 years as a hobby.Was into building Jeeps and Corvettes for a while,still have a 2 Corvettes,a 77 and 85.Just starting a 29 Tudor Sedan,still planning and collecting parts.Will post pics as I go along.

cnc machinist

Chief Building Engineer for a 21 story hi-rise office building in downtown St Louis, Mo.

worked 15 years in the mills,when i decided enough was enough,left as a supervisor,went to work on r.v,s 12 volts cabentry,jack of all trades master of none,worked in a body shop for 2 years,now i,m staying at home with my son,who is phyisically and mentally challenged sine his wreck 2 years ago.so if i can help anyone give me a holler.

worked my way through college night shift at the Caterpillar engine plant as machinist, then tool crib.
Degree in Chemisrty got me formulating paint- water based "chemical coatings for John Deere/Caterpillar plants locally at a paint factory for a year or so.
Moved to lab for an aluminum metling factory and took metallurgy class.
more money and overtime out on the production floor now rolling/annealing/painting/slittling

started out parking cars at the ford dealership. figured out why i dont like them. Moved on to quality control for construction sites for five years and serviced there trucks. Went to work for a major eletronics firm building boards for the u.s. postal service mail sorters. then got the call to come to work for the place, THAT BRINGS GOOD THINGS TO LIFE, now were the place of IMAGINATION AT WORK.for the last 24 years. which involes nights for the last 20 years running a 2 of a kind automated 300 ton press puting out about 90,000 lbs. of metal a night making skins for refrigerators. our plant puts out nearly 2,000,000 a year. i have woked temp in paint repair, plastic vacform & extrusion. the part i like is they let us pull our own maintance, air, hydraulic,electrical & die work.

well for the last 2 years ive been a complete nothing but a pain in the ass!

clerk typist moved on to get college credits from cdc on roto and retro viruses. became disabled. housewife. 2 boys.