Jack of all trades....

[Indydirtfarmer]

I was just discussing (with an employee of mine) all the "jobs" we've had over the years. Some were intersesting, some were enjoyable.... and some were not.

What all have you done, and what was/is your favorite?

I'll go first!

1. Farmer/son of farmer. Grew up on a dairy farm. (I HATE milk to this day) I still farm. (Corn/soybeans/wheat/hay) This is my "calling"... I LOVE THIS JOB!

2. My first job (summer during high school) was as a hod carrier on a masonary crew. I don't recommend this line of work..... I'm STILL sore and tired, 33 years later.

3. U.S. Army, Forward Observer, (artillery spotter) BOOOM!

4. Carpenter. Like this job too. Did interior trim in upscale new homes.

5. Plant supt. for a company that built industrial robots. ( I won't mention the name...) I LOVED the job, detested the people I worked for.

6. Sold truck parts. (2nd job... Son in college)

7. Maint. Supt. at a large country club. (Still there...16-1/2 years. Like the job, love the people, great pay, great benifits, I'm a happy camper!)

8. Buy/sell/restore used farm equipment. As much a hooby as a job.... I keep what I like, sell what I don't need, and turn enough $$$$$$$$ to pay for my (tractor) habits.

9. Own/part-time operate a business where we do commercial bush hogging/new lawn installs. (My future) Plan is to retire from current job in about 3 years.

Dairy farming made working for a living easier for me.... Nothing SINCE has ever seemed as bad.

OK... Whatta you do?

 

[Bob_Skurka]

<font color="blue">
OK... Whatta you do? </font>


The lovely Mrs_Bob announced to our dinner companions last Saturday evening that I am semi-retired.

My rank and file employees have no clue what I do, but they know I am here early every day and often leave late.

My middle managers wish I was retired.

My senior managers are just happy when I am not here, but they know I work.

 

[buckle97]

<font color="blue"> OK... Whatta you do? </font>

1. 16 years old working at Sears. It was a good first job. Lasted for 1 year.

2. Dry cleaners. Great job with no stress. Everybody knows the dry cleaners always lie to them anyway about why their shirt shrunk /forums/images/graemlins/smirk.gif! Lasted 2 years until I left for college.

3. Accounting assistant / computer guy at a small family owned convenience store business and fuel distributorship. First job out of college. Lasted 2 years, glad I'm not there anymore.

4. Network Administrator for the Mississippi Supreme Court. Been here almost one year. No plans to leave. Good pay, great benefits, not a lot of stress.

Lawrence

 

[getut]

I have been fortunate to have the chance to work in quite a few fields and get to be somewhat well rounded.

1) Cook (High School)
2) Carpenter for small upscale construction company, few employees so we did it all from rough all the way to finish work. Did this while working through college.
3) Electrical.. mainly control wiring for manufacturing environment with side work in residential (Side work for college)
4) Plumbing (Side work for college)
5) Maintenance work and punch press die maker / Had to manage/draw own CAD drawings for die designs
6) CAD (Computer Aided Drafting - House Plans and then later Walk in Cooler and Freezer designs) Side work for college and full time out of college. Then later inherited the drafting network from admin that left.
7) Network Security Administrator for global company

 

[bczoom]

Although I've had several jobs over the years, I would have to say my "Jack of all trades" occurs more outside of my 9-5 job.

With rare exception (normally requiring specialized equipment not worth buying myself), I tackle everything that myself or family/friends needs done. What it is varies greatly but with a little thought, insight and advise from places like TBN, I just go at it.

BTW, for myself when I say, "Jack of all trades" I always append on "Master of none". /forums/images/graemlins/crazy.gif

 

[Hondo]

I was fifteen when I got my first real job. It was summer, and I was enjoying the freedom away from school, but wanted to work. So I got a job painting. The school!

At sixteen I worked at a Navy boat pool. Talk about lowest of the low! Even the Seaman Apprentice gave me a hard time. Scraped barnacles, bailed out voids, mostly by myself. The voids were no fun. I smelled like a curious blend of fish and diesel all summer.

At seventeen I worked on a road gang, shoveling dirt and chopping weeds. My supervisor asked me why I never complained like the other guys in the crew. Shoot, I was just happy to be outdoors among people.

At eighteen I worked in a warehouse. Did things like stack Lazy Boys and move refrigerators.

Went on to retail sales, worked in a deli, put a few years in the Navy, then worked as a secretary, an apartment manager (while completing my degree), an assistant editor (worst job of my life), a mid-level administrator, opened up my own business, and now I work for a library. It's curious how things work out. I love what I do now, but if I'd taken a slightly different fork in the road somewhere along the way, who knows what I'd be doing?

 

[alan40]

Well,
1.) Pumped gas,washed floors what ever Dad said to do. That was when we still washed windows, checked oil and said Can I help you ?and Thank you have a nice day. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif It was O.K then but better now that you know your Dad was just teaching you about the world we live in. /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif
2.) Worked as maintenance crew at a church camp 2 years. First summer job away from home. It was great.
3.) Hoods milk plant one summer. Working in the cottage cheese line. Good pay boring.
4.) U.S. Navy 20 years. Mostly chasing submarines from a P-3C aircraft and other related jobs. Great job!
5.) Domestic Engineer. The toughest job yet. We're in the last and toughest stage of potty training as we type. We do gardens, maintain a woodlot and make that great Vt. maple syrup. Just to maintain my sanity! /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif /forums/images/graemlins/grin.gif Great job most days! Kids are great but hard to carry on a conversation about Barney for an hour.

 

[RayH]

Get the NoDoze out. Here it goes.
My high school job was working in a supermarket. The job wasnt great but my boss was (very hot).

Then I spent 4 years in the Marine corps as a field radio operator/Recon Marine in 1st Recon Batt.

I delivered/licensed/titled new trucks for CSX Transportation for a year while I worked part time as a deputy sheriff.

I decided that I wanted to be an aircraft mechanic so the next 4 years I spent in the Army National Guard as a helicopter mechanic/crew chief. In the summers I worked for the Guard full time finding and cutting down marijuana for the state of KY. In the off season I worked a few quick jobs like detailing cars, I was a warranty manager for a car dealership for a time. All of this while going to school to get my A & P aircraft mechanics license.

I gave up looking for a decent aircraft mechanics job (at that time the aviation industry sucked) and took a good paying job working for a company that makes vinyl siding and windows. Ive had a few different jobs with them including machine operator, shift lead man, and now I drive a truck for them. How do ya like that, 17 years later and Im back to driving trucks again.

A few years ago I got my real estate license and sold real estate for a couple years part time. I didnt like kissing everyones *** for a commission.

Finding and cutting the pot was my coolest job with being a Recon Marine a close second. Everything else is a very distant third, fourth, fifth, etc.

 

[Taylortractornut]

Well I grew up up with my dad and brothers as equipment operators and spent many hours riding on the battery box of a D8 Cat with dad when I was little.
My first real job when I was 14 was running an elevating scraper for the landfill dad started for Belmont Homes. the same year I learned to weld at Votech and bought a new welder and torch set with dirt moving money. I worked out of a small home shop during the week and then on weekends Id operate the scraper for dad.
a year laer I had started running a 250 Komatsu wheel Loader for my brothers boss on the weekends for 5 dollars an hour and experience also on the weekends. That summer brother got me a job doing carpentry for a freind, most of it was just get me hand me jobs. Still running the scraper and loader on the weekends and welding a bit. The next year at 15 my brother knew I liked welding alot and machining as well got me a Job welding for Kingmanufacturing a company that had been around a long time in the area. I got lots of experience with older stick welding doing production jobs. I mostly ran a mig on most things there. I bounced around alot cause the supervisors found out I was interested in all the different processes in the plant. I learned alot from a Polish Tool and Die Maker there. I was ususally his aprentice in punch sharpening soaking up all this information. The head amchinist put me towork threading on a 1911 year lathe and a 1932 model Monarch toolrrom lathe in mint condition. That summer I made about 5.50 an hour with a 45 hour week. But the scraper job paid 8.50 an hour.
THe next year King couldnt hire me because some do gooder thought that putting a teenager in charge of a 200 ton press and a large metal shear and all kinds of other machines was too dangerous. I got a bad case of strep throat and on the day I was about to go insane from boredom my brother called me. He had started his own backhoe service a few months earlier and had gotten a job digging up 250 oak stumps about 50 inches in diameter. He'd broken the side out of his backhoe bucket and had me weld it up. I instantly became his side kick and maintenance man lol. I was in tall cotton 16 years old makin 10 bucks an hour driving a dumptruck and running his backhoe when he was on the dozer. We went through alot together. In the fall I had school but during the weekends stauck with moving dirt. When I graduatd highschool I the next day I was in Oxford MS runninga Terex scraper and our paddle wheel scraper building a display lot for Belmont homes Dealers. We went all over the south building them that summer. I went to college and most of my money there came from doiing machinist work on my lathe or on the schools lathe lol. The weekends still moved dirt till the next year my brother retired. I spent most of that last year he had his company on the Grader dozer and excavator he had as well as illegally driving a 10 wheeler dump truck. My last year of machinsit college was kinda rough almost quit mid year to get back to construction but went to work after I graduated to Hydraulic Analysis (key word ****) They rebuild hydraulic pums and custom made cylinders. They also manufactured Geartek hydraulic pumps and motors. I found out what a sorry bunch that company was and quit one morning after telling the managment they could all kiss my redneck tail.
I went to work for myself fulltime welding and trading implements and doing some backhoe and dumptruck work.
I was going past and outfit unloading some equipment and setting up an office trailer one day and found myself employed with Huffman Inc. of Poplar Bluff MO. I made and operators position plus mechaniced on their machinery. I had an auto accident and for several weeks I was off work with them and my dad had to have a surgery and I ended up running the landfill till released back to work with Huffman. I worked a little over a Year for them till dad had to have open heart surgery and I took over the landfill for several months then worked under hi when he came back. After a year of that the plant got shut down so I went to work for myself again and dad was helping with the clean up of the plant and warehouse that made our rubbish. I hared back on to close the landfill that took 6 months to put 2 feet of dirt and six inches of topsoil on the fills and grass it. Then Tiffin Motor homes bought the plant and Landfill and we now run it for them. Im taking over it while dad is taking it easy and teaching me all the tricks. I now also Legally drive trucks and own my own small excavation service and help dad with custom mowing and brushhogging jobs. Thats alot of boring jobs in a short 25 year life lol.

 

[Birdhunter1]

Well I'm ony 24 but I have worked since I was, well walking I guess:
1) Various Farmwork
2) First job was when I was 16 at a locallumberyard: delivery, loading etc. For fun when we wre bored teh owner told us we could throw a bag of quickrete on our shoulder and go walking, I was a football player then so it was alright with me.
3). County highway dept summer labor, mowing roadsides, patching roads, bruch cleanup etc, truck driver. There aren't very many hills I am scared of since that job when I was mowing. You want serious pucer factor mow for the county just one summer in a very hilly county. I'll just say newer tractors are not near as stable as the old Ford I was on that summer.
4). (first semester of college)auto detailer at the Ford dealership my dad is a salesman at Worked there for four years.
5). While also in college and the year off I was a sheetmetal worker for three and one half years.
6). Power plant operatorfor the last two years, also farm work, quail hunting guide and the occasional remodel light contruction project.