# What's the best job you ever had, and why?



## strantor (Dec 23, 2022)

Unless the pay was so outrageously high that it alone was enough to greet each morning with a smile, I'm *not* asking what's the _highest paying_ job you ever had. I'm asking what job you woke up looking forward to going to (or at least didn't dread going to) more than any other. And why was it the best?


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## lordbeezer (Dec 23, 2022)

Army 4 years. That wasn’t going to be it. Service tech 20 years at ford dealers up and down the east coast. Last 7 parts and service director. Made good money and had a ball. Got the wild hair up my a::  went to police academy. Worked long hours for lower pay. Helped people when I could. Locked up the ones that needed it. Made assistant chief. After many years. Didn’t like desk duty. Back to patrol. Loved going to work. So my favorite. Had to retire when had stage 4 cancer after 20.


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## twhite (Dec 23, 2022)

That is easy. It was from the time I was 14 to 18. I washed Post Office trucks every Sunday morning. Started at 3:00 am and finished up by 8:00am. We then went to Breakfast. Made decent cash. Especially for a kid in High School. I live in SOCAL so only a couple of cold months. 30s. I know that is not cold. 

I did it with a few of my friends. I have not thought about this for 30 plus years. 


Cutting oil is my blood.


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## benmychree (Dec 23, 2022)

I think that would have to be when I opened my own machine shop in 1973, I did look forward to going to work (most of the time), I also enjoyed my monthly trips to Heinz Machinery in Berkley, bought a good number of machines from them and nice lunches nearby.  I got an equal amount of pleasure when I sold out and retired!


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## Cadillac (Dec 23, 2022)

I’ll update you when I find one.


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## Ulma Doctor (Dec 23, 2022)

I worked at a Equipment Rental Yard for a couple years after i got back from diesel school in my early 20's
the pay sucked, the owners were jerks, but the other mechanic and i had a blast fixing fubar stuff everyday.
the owners were coin counters and had zero knowledge of equipment or how to keep them running
they had a well equipped shop, and no shortage of broken things to keep me interested.
i worked on everything you might be able to imagine in a rental yard.
everything form log splitters, to air compressors, to dump trucks to construction equipment, from welders to backhoes
2 stroke engines, 4 stroke engines , hydraulics, pneumatics, welding, electric motors, and on and on
it was fun to take really fubar stuff and breathe new life into it.

the owners sold out to a new company.
the owners had a meeting with the crew to inform us that in 2 weeks we were going to get new management.
the  employee hours were going from 8 to 6 hours a day- but 6 days a week instead - mandatory.
we were going to take a pay cut to do it by loosing 4 hrs a week and not getting overtime for Saturday work.
enough was enough, i was not willing to accept the BS and quit right in front of everyone as soon as i heard the terms.
i loaded my toolbox, and moved on....
i was looking for a job when i applied to the rental yard, i knew things would be OK


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## Boswell (Dec 23, 2022)

for a few years, I provided phone technical support for high end Server and Storage systems (think what runs Google and Amazon) I was the top dog and got the hardest problems, got flown around the US and many other parts of the world (usually with little or no notice) to fix things that could not be fixed over the phone or to train field techs. Every day I would talk to customers from small business to fortune 500. They would be on their last straw and got to "make their day" by solving their problems.  I eventually moved into management which I also liked but not as much as when I was on the phones.


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## Winegrower (Dec 23, 2022)

They were all good, and at one time I was VP Engineering for a robotics company, where we designed custom Automatic Guided Vehicles that ran around factories carrying up to 4000 pound loads, all under computer controlled dispatching and traffic control.   Every engineering discipline was needed and generally critical, along with some philosophical and psychological skills.   In the evenings, for testing and fun, we’d run the vehicles around the test track, programming them to pick us up and drop at various locations.   It was like having a giant train set.


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## Aaron David (Dec 23, 2022)

When the economy crashed in '09, I had been in logistics at pretty much every level from loading trailers to account manager for an international firm. But I had been laid off, and no one in that world was hiring. And so I was unemployed for around a year, until a friend of mine got me a part time job delivering auto parts for an auto electrician that mainly built police and emergency vehicles. I was great working in a shop that was pretty low key, as most of the workers were former car stereo guys, and the actual mechanics were some of the best in Sacramento. I learned about rebuilding starters and alternators, making CableCraft products, and, best of all, I got to drive a lot of cop cars! Which is pretty cool, even for a guy in his 40's. 

Nothing like delivering a sheriffs Dodge Charger, fully loaded with everything but the shotgun and laptop, across the Sierras to Wausau Co. You do 90mph, and cops just wave to you.


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## matthewsx (Dec 23, 2022)

Might have been when I was 14, working at Cal Kart in San Jose fixing mini bikes and karts for half the $17/hr service charge.

Or, maybe running my kart company back in the mid 2000's when my driver beat Buddy Rice (Indy 500 champ).

Or, maybe now. I get to run a small department keeping a factory running, and I get to commute on a company vehicle   




John


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## C-Bag (Dec 23, 2022)

Pay, what’s that? Because I’ve done everything from vaccinating chickens, bucking 110lb hay bales in 100+deg heat to swamping peaches as summer jobs I got what DIDN’T want to do. Menial repetitive making toothpick outta logs kinda stuff. Straight out of high school I fell into apprenticing to a guy rebuilding VW air cooled engines and the combo of learning new stuff and the guy I learned from were just about my dream job. But his crazy wife thought I was taking work from his lazy worthless sons which he knew wasn’t true. After working on a rice ranch where I was working on every kind of equipment new to antique and doing fabrication I realized I’d rather build than repair.

 But not for another 20yrs would I get out of auto repair and go to fruit/veg packing equipment. I got a temp job working for the biggest independent orange house in the US installing a sizer. Great boss(hands off, smart and supportive) and after another guy and I did the impossible in 1/4 the time they kept us just going from one project to another for two years. The guy I was working with basically wanted the job to himself and ran me off. i went from there to a big manufacturer of fruit and veg equipment and worked my way into being the R&D mechanic working directly engineering developing machines for production, then making the special jigs and tools and training a crew to make them. Then on to the next big project. Having come close I know what makes me happy but management always finds a way to make it into ash in my mouth. Theirs was incessant cuts to  benny’s, non existent wage increase only the offer of longer hours instead of actual raises. When they finally broke me my side hustle went live and I walked.

 I’m working 1/3 as much and making 3x as much doing what I want when I want. Best job ever, better late than never.


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## Jim F (Dec 23, 2022)

My current job.
9 yrs USN then almost 20yrs turning wrenches in Ford garages.
Did some heavy equipment operators stuff, some factory stuff, then landed in a Toolmaking and Machine shop.


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## MrWhoopee (Dec 23, 2022)

I've loved just about all my jobs, research lab technician, apprentice, then machinist and shop foreman. Didn't love being a shop owner that much, too much stress, not enough fun. The last 20+ years I've been repairing computers for small business and people in their homes. It's the best! People are always glad to see me and sometimes I can please three women in one day.


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## twhite (Dec 23, 2022)

MrWhoopee said:


> I've loved just about all my jobs, research lab technician, apprentice, then machinist and shop foreman. Didn't love being a shop owner that much, too much stress, not enough fun. The last 20+ years I've been repairing computers for small business and people in their homes. It's the best! People are always glad to see me and sometimes I can please three women in one day.



You my man are a STUD! 


Cutting oil is my blood.


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## Janderso (Dec 23, 2022)

lordbeezer said:


> Army 4 years. That wasn’t going to be it. Service tech 20 years at ford dealers up and down the east coast. Last 7 parts and service director. Made good money and had a ball. Got the wild hair up my a::  went to police academy. Worked long hours for lower pay. Helped people when I could. Locked up the ones that needed it. Made assistant chief. After many years. Didn’t like desk duty. Back to patrol. Loved going to work. So my favorite. Had to retire when had stage 4 cancer after 20.


Interesting,
I went into the parts dept. of my dad’s Ford dealership in 1975. Spent five years, went into sales for one year then left.
Worked corporate Hertz fir a couple years as a regional parts mgr, left that to be a parts manager for a Ford dealer, p&s director, GM and spent 35 years there, then retired.
It was a pay check.

My favorite job was in between peddling parts I was a plant manager for a baseball mfg. company in Haiti. Worked on machines and production equipment. Couldn’t wait to get to work!!


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## Janderso (Dec 23, 2022)

twhite said:


> You my man are a STUD!
> 
> 
> Cutting oil is my blood.


Oh yeah, he’s the real deal.


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## Janderso (Dec 23, 2022)

MrWhoopee said:


> I've loved just about all my jobs, research lab technician, apprentice, then machinist and shop foreman. Didn't love being a shop owner that much, too much stress, not enough fun. The last 20+ years I've been repairing computers for small business and people in their homes. It's the best! People are always glad to see me and sometimes I can please three women in one day.


You want to expand on your way with women?


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## CJ5Dave (Dec 23, 2022)

Retirement. No, really, I  worked for a university giving farmers classes and free advice for 36 years.Farmers are great. Honest, hard working, direct. Managing the staff and money was no fun. No one has more senseless regulations anywhere.


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## EricB (Dec 23, 2022)

Avionics tech, US Air Force, 27+ years. I joined when I was 17 to learn electronics. The best parts were early on when I was at the top of my craft turning a wrench, and later as a manager when I could pass on what I had learned. Lots of highs and lows along the way.


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## cross thread (Dec 23, 2022)

Well on the machine end of it , I had my own shop (started 84'-2010) I scored a customer that was selling high end hunting rifles . I made a lot of stuff for them (tooling and parts) , the part that was fun was what they called a recoil arrester . It was a tube that screwed onto the business end of the barrel it had holes in the side of of the tube drilled radially all around . I made thousands of them and paid off the CNC mill .
Right the most fun job I ever had . That would be racing my Speedway bike 6 nights a week (76') in Socal . I didn't make much money but it was fun .


005 by mark westi, on Flickr


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## Watching paint dry (Dec 23, 2022)

To make a living, I enjoy my current job as a mechanic working with a great bunch of guys.  The best Job I have is working for and supporting my wife and two sons.


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## Jubil (Dec 23, 2022)

Came up through the ranks in the oil patch. There were times I hated my job and other times not so much. Until I made toolpusher (now titled rig manager). Had a really good superintendent who gave me considerable leeway on making the rig safer, faster, easier or more dependable. And made good wages. From there I moved into the consulting side of drilling for oil and gas. When there were good crews on the rig it was the second best job of my life. RETIREMENT is the job to have. It was really cold today (for this area) and I told myself how nice it was to look out the window and see the cold and wind without having to be in it! 
I know, OP didn’t ask for history but got it anyway.


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## savarin (Dec 23, 2022)

my best job was the worst paid. In the early 70's 4 of us had a business in Spain for British holiday makers.
We ran sailing, water skiing, scuba diving and horse riding parties for 2 years.
I was a cook "A" along with another friend "B". The other two organised the punters, bookings and driving.
The day started with "A" cruising the market getting the days food, "B" taking a group water skiing, "A" then cooked breakfast, and after would take a party scuba diving whilst "B" prepped lunch.
In the afternoon "A" and "B" each took a party out diving and water skiing and sailing, then both of us prepped and cooked dinner.
After dinner we would both take them club cruising. Twice a week we would let them cruise on their own and around 9pm would round them up then off to the stables and ride up into the mountains for a midnight BBQ. (it was riding back down from one of these where I fell off and broke my back but that was at the end of two years)
A few hours sleep then rinse and repeat.
In the winter months we cruised round spain before getting back to London.
Then from November to March we wandered round London dressed in scuba gear handing out leaflets for our holidays and running scuba lessons for those who wanted them.
It was a great time but I finished up with $400 after 2 years fun  work.
My next best job was when I retired, I love retirement


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## twhite (Dec 23, 2022)

cross thread said:


> Well on the machine end of it , I had my own shop (started 84'-2010) I scored a customer that was selling high end hunting rifles . I made a lot of stuff for them (tooling and parts) , the part that was fun was what they called a recoil arrester . It was a tube that screwed onto the business end of the barrel it had holes in the side of of the tube drilled radially all around . I made thousands of them and paid off the CNC mill .
> Right the most fun job I ever had . That would be racing my Speedway bike 6 nights a week (76') in Socal . I didn't make much money but it was fun .
> 
> 
> 005 by mark westi, on Flickr



Used to go to Indian Dunes and Ascot to watch flat track in the 70’s with my dad. Great times. 


Cutting oil is my blood.


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## savarin (Dec 23, 2022)

cross thread said:


> Right the most fun job I ever had . That would be racing my Speedway bike 6 nights a week (76') in Socal . I didn't make much money but it was fun .


Ooohh yeah, I was a Dons fan in the late 70's, never rode myself but loved the track


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## Bi11Hudson (Dec 23, 2022)

All in all, a "Pipe Shop" electrician was probably the most enjoyable. The mill was old (~1889) and had been updated as needed, but *only as needed*. We night shift tended the DeLavaud spin casting machines. When I went to day shift, I had gotten the attention of a systems engineer after developing an electronic gizmo for him. That led to the Instrument Shop and many more "designed to fit" gizmos. It was dirty (foundry) and hot in the summer and almost as hot in the winter. But the chief electrician was an old man that knew how to change line fuses (2300 volt) in the rain and old school DC motors. And looked the other way when someone bypassed a tagout and paid the consequences.

The pay wasn't all that good. It was better than the job before, but only half or so of the bigger steel mills. I stayed there for 5 or so years. The union ran me off. 26 men in the shop, 25 signitures on the grievance over a 25 cent increase over my "Instrument Shop" job. The company was going to back me but I didn't like the bad feelings, so left.

.


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## matthewsx (Dec 23, 2022)

Oh wait, I almost forgot one.

When I was 16 years old I started playing bass guitar in rock bands. By 18 I figured out there wasn't much future in it but I really loved live music. I went up to a long haired sound engineer and offered to work for him, first gig free. That started my night job that found me in live sound on stage as monitor engineer in the SF bay area. We did sound for many, many touring bands as well as local favorites like Tower of Power and Santana. When the live music scene died in 1991 I started doing psycedelic light shows for rave parties. What a way to mis-spend my youth, working corporate A/V during the day and working shows for cash under the table at night. 

That ultimately turned into my last freelance gig before going legit, doing networking for conferences all around the world, staying in 5 star hotels and eating really well. Maybe I'll go back to that one after i retire, I love to travel and getting paid to do it is even better.

 John

I really haven't worked any bad jobs except that one Valentines day I sold flowers right after my girlfriend broke up with me....


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## tq60 (Dec 23, 2022)

Building communications networks.

Builtand maintained many dispatch centers as well as SMR systems, later cellular where we built a couple.

Very high stress for many, we thrived in it.

Cellular is no longer a good industry for the service folks, just boxes and wires, no skill needed.

Engineers do the hard work.

Back to land mobile radio, very rewarding to keep the systems running well.

Sent from my SM-G781V using Tapatalk


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## Dhal22 (Dec 23, 2022)

Lifelong plumber here,  my own business for the last 25, I'm mostly just the owner now at 55 years old but a lot of hard work/ long hours and stress getting here.   My favorite days were big complex commercials jobs,  hospitals,  factories,  etc.   Miles of pipe plumbing heaven,  cast iron,  copper, everything.   Even as a helper my plumber would tell me to slow down.   I miss those days.


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## RJSakowski (Dec 24, 2022)

It's a tough question.  For 22 years, I had my own small company but in 1997, I decided that I was too isolated and needed to get back into the mainstream.  I was hired by a medical device manufacturer as a manufacturing engineer.  After a month and a half, I was promoted to manufacturing engineering manager which also included design engineering.  I used to come in early and was very often the last person to leave.  I would think about a coffee break at lunch time and have a bagel for lunch around three or four in the afternoon.  Time flew by each day.

It was there that I first started using AutoCAD.  It was easier than trying to explain to my draftsman what I wanted with a crude sketch.  We were using a CAD product called Vellum at the time and it was really outdated. I really wanted to purchase SolidWorks but the COO overuled me saying, "the rest of the world uses AutoCAD, we will use AutoCAD".  A few years later, we bought two seats of SolidWorks, one for our draftsman and one for general use.

The highlight of my six years there was the accreditation phantom  which is used by every CT facility in the US to accredit their operation prior to use.  We were asked by the American College of Radiology (ACR) to build a prototype and subsequently manufacture a phantom to be used for the above stated purpose.  








						Phantom Overview: CT (Revised 11-9-2022)
					

Revision History     The intent of the CT Accreditation Program (CTAP) is to use the information obtained from the review of both clinical and phantom images to assess overall image quality. Your facility will need to submit up to four specified ...




					accreditationsupport.acr.org
				




Being a very small department, I headed up the development of the phantom and the manufacturing processes to be used.  We made an initial batch of three prototypes which were exhibited at a trade show and then sent to the ACR for their approval.  Were were significant challenges in manufacturing.  Here are some picture of the product.  The last photo is of my draftsman (l.), myself, and our head machinist (r.).  It was three in the morning and we were just putting the finishing touches to the first three prototypes heading off to the trade show the next day.  The next morning, I came in late at 9 o'clock and was geetting the third degree from the owner until someone mentioned our late night activities. 




 Oh yes; I met my future wife working there.


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## mmcmdl (Dec 24, 2022)

Back in the early eighties I answered an ad for a position working with the dancers down on the " Block " in Baltimore City at the Hustler Club . The position required applying make up and making sure the girls were clothed accordingly . The guy said the position paid 125K a year with tons of benefits . Hm .................I told him I was definately interested .  He told me to get out to Chicago ASAP . I had to ask him why Chicago ? He told me that's where the application line started . 

Actually , I've enjoyed all my past jobs or I wouldn't have worked them .


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## jcp (Dec 24, 2022)

Never took a job I didn't enjoy....including the military (Navy, aviation machinist mate jet, helicopter engines and power trains, ashore and at sea). Spent 31 years in a job shop machine shop. I've repaired or constructed a lot of equipment for items from, oil field, mining, restaurant equipment, aircraft parts, artificial limbs (while the owner of the prothesis waited in the office), construction equipment, food manufacturing machinery, farming/ranching, etc. Most every day was a hoot. Had good guys to work with and a great owner/boss. I've been retired from that job for 10 years and I still miss it.


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## Boswell (Dec 24, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> Actually , I've enjoyed all my past jobs or I wouldn't have worked them .


Could not agree more. My personal motto is "If your not having fun, change something"


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## RJSakowski (Dec 24, 2022)

You know you have a good job when you wake up each morning  looking forward to going in to work, the time flies by so quickly  that before you realize it, it is quitting time, and you have a good feeling about your accomplishments.  Having good colleagues is a bonus and have miserable colleagues can be a real downer.  I was fortunate enough that in my last sixteen years of employment, I was virtually unsupervised.  I had superiors and broad goals were set but the actual execution of those those objectives was left to me.

I continued working for years after reaching retirement age because I enjoyed the work and felt that I was personally making a contribution to something that would benefit the greater society.  I decided to retire mostly because with all the work hours and hours spent on home projects, I was beginning to resent anyone or anything putting additional demands on my time.  I was needing more personal time and to only way to get it was to quit work.  I had requests from former employers to do consulting work but I purposely set extraordinarily high rates for my services.  At least if you were going t impact my free time, there would be a lucrative reward for it.


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## RandyWilson (Dec 24, 2022)

The first twenty five years of my automotive career had a simple design. If the test drive wasn't going to be fun, I wasn't working on it. I ended up in shops near the local college and medical complex. One job, doing mostly BMW and Jaguar, I relented and worked on a Chrysler minivan "for a good customer". Then they took in a second one, so I quit. Moved from there to a racing shop; mostly VHRA, but some SCCA. Eventually I moved to a more lucrative specialty. Gone was the fun test drives. In it's place was a steep learning curve and mucho more money. I hated it. Not the learning or the subject, but the actual shop environment and the F'n politics. Two years ago I up and quit. Didn't know what I was going to do; didn't care. Just gave my notice. Didn't tell anyone at all.

Two days later I got a phone call from a strange area code I almost didn't answer.  It was the prez of an automotive specialty company. They were looking for someone and my name came up through a friend of a friend deal. I took it. I now work from home doing tech support with a side of engineering, a bit of R&D and even a touch of web design. And I"m lovin' it! I work directly with a dozen people. Some of them I've known from years of online forums, but I've never met a single one of them in real life. Never been to the home office. Never even been to that state. And I like it that way.


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## Provincial (Dec 24, 2022)

My first job after getting out of school was sweeping floors in a job shop that mostly repaired logging and sawmill equipment, but took in any job that walked in the door.  They put me on machines and I progressed up to machinist, running every machine in the shop.  I stayed there while I learned to fly, and they always wanted me to help out there even after I got paying flying jobs.  My lifetime interest in machining comes from that job.

In 1979 a friend and I bought a Cessna 180 and I got a job for it flying Sockeye Salmon off a beach in Bristol Bay, Alaska that summer.  This lead to the fisherman buying a C-47 (Douglas DC-3) cargo plane to haul the fish to Anchorage for the frozen market.  This was a seasonal job, lasting a couple of months a year, and since I was a licensed A&P aircraft mechanic, a few extra months a year keeping the airplane in shape.  

After several years of this, a fellow I knew contacted me looking for a way to move crews, equipment, and supplies to native villages all over Alaska.  Alascom was expanding service, and each village had only one telephone.  They were going to offer service to each house!  We were able to schedule the job so the airplane could finish the Salmon season first.  We flew all over Alaska, moving rubber-tired cable plows and supplies with the DC-3, and used Cessnas for moving people and small items.  The DC-3 was the lowboy and the Cessnas were like pickups.  The company laid out what and who had to go where and what the construction schedule was.  We used our judgement on how to meet those needs, but were never second-guessed about safety or practicality.  

The construction job continued the next summer, but over the winter the fisherman  had to sell the DC-3 because of other financial issues.  My partner and I found another DC-3 that we could lease, and we took over the telephone project.  We completed 21 projects from North of the Arctic Circle to Glacier Bay (near Juneau) that year, which completed the planned expansion. 

Those two years, when I wasn't flying, I was expected to work on the projects.  We got paid Davis-Bacon wages, and had full room and board.  One of my jobs was to fly to the villages ahead of the crew and negotiate a place to stay and sometimes even catered food.  I got to spend enough time in each village to get to know the locals, and that was wonderful.  They are cautious with strangers, but opened up after you had been there a while, and they got to know you.  I enjoyed seeing Alaska from the viewpoint of the locals, who were overwhelmingly Native.  

Between the wages and the aircraft contracts, I was able to get on sound financial ground.  I stuffed both regular and SEP IRA's, paid off all debt, and invested in land.  It gave me the resources to start my own business later in life that allowed me an early, secure retirement.  Best of all, it was fun!  There was a real sense of purpose, bringing a service to remote areas, meeting the challenge of bad weather and small runways (we even landed the Cessnas on roads and beaches), and I was even given the unofficial status of site "boss" to the construction crews.  I also enjoyed learning all about telephone technology, since part of the process was building a prefab "central office" for the switchgear and connection to the satellite repeaters.

I got to provide a useful service to remote people, see a lot of beautiful country, meet a lot of great people, fly great airplanes, and make some money.  Good times!


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## jbobb1 (Dec 24, 2022)

Working at a Shell station in the early 70's pumping gas and fixing flats. $2.00 an hour and free rack time to work on my car. The next 39 years at the same job that really started getting hard to go to during the last few years. Self-employed now, which I have been mostly happy.


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## gjmontll (Dec 24, 2022)

An interesting question... Now retired, I had four significant jobs. Each had its pros and cons, so I can't pick a "best job."

From a young age, I'd been heavily into 1) electronics and 2) geography/maps. Throughout my life, these were factors in many of my pastimes and my career. (Maps are obviously not a really big career field.)

Job 1. In my junior year of college, I dropped out and "ran away to sea," to serve on nuclear attack submarines.  I was a Fire Control Technician, working on the electromechanical analog/digital computer systems for targeting and weapons control.) So there was plenty of electronics involved, as well as the geospatial aspects of navigation, tracking, and tactics. I suppose an epitome of being immersed in one's job is deploying to spent 60 days at a time submerged on "special operations." Challenging and engrossing, these were the most interesting times of my career.
On the other hand, there were many months with our boat torn apart for overhaul, or routine training operations. All essential, but not like being on patrol. 

Job 2. After 6 years, I returned to civilian life, where I installed and repaired mainframe computers for one of the big computer companies. Most of this was East Texas. I serviced a few customers. For the most part, I worked on my own, rarely seeing coworkers. My job title was "Field Engineer" but this was really a technician-level job. Challenging computer problems were very rare, most tasks were mechanical rather than electronic. My main tool was a vacuum cleaner! (Servicing the machines that read and sort checks was a mainstay of  daily tasks.)  When I had began in the industry, hardware costs were 90% of a system, software was 10%. By mid-80s, the ratio had reversed. I followed the money, getting my Computer Science degree in 1990.  I'd prepared to work in business data processing, if I had to. But hoped for, and prepared to work in scientific computing of some sort. In this, I succeeded...

Job 3. Hired as a System Engineer for computerized mapping and geospatial information systems (GIS,) I became the implementation expert for one of our software products, working with a variety of customers (corporate, municipal, national, and international entities) in a variety of industries, as I assisted them in converting their data for use with our software. Given this mix of computers and mapping, I considered this my ideal job. I particularly liked the variety of customers, industries, locations and the custom processes needed for each project.  Interesting trips to interesting places, doing interesting work. This was my "best job" until the company lost momentum, customers, and money. Time to move on...

Job 4. My final engineering position was again as a geospatial systems engineer, this time at an aerospace contractor, supporting projects for the U.S. Intelligence Community (IC). The government's contracting process is onerous, but classified work does have its perks. I retired from there in 2013. 

So where did actual metalworking and machining ever interact with my life?  

I did take a metal shop class around 9th grade.
My father managed an electronic components factory where I had a high school summer job. They had a small machine shop and some complex custom pieces of production machinery.  I might have inventoried them.
Another summer job was at a tool and die shop that also made cosmetic brushes! I operated a semi-automatic lathe that turned dowels into brush handles and a swaging machine that turned tubing in ferrules. This was in very uncomfortable conditions. After one week, I found a better job a block further down the road...
.... where there was an electronics instrument plant. Given that I'd just come from the tool and die shop, they put me into their machine shop. My main job was trying to sharpen small drill bits faster than the women on the assembly lines could dull them drill circuit board holes. But I did used a mill for various custom tasks. 
So the next summer, got a job at an HP plant that made power supplies and other gear. They looked at my experience and sent me to the sheet metal shop. Mainly, I'd be shearing sheet sheet and stamping out panels. But let me tell a story...
First morning on the job: sheet metal shop boss says, "We'll start you over here with Al, spot welding these chassis together. Here's how you do it..." He demonstrated the procedure then said, "Time for coffee break. When you return, start cranking them out."  
Back from break, I put on apron and safety glasses, turned on the cooling water and turned on the spot welder. Then grabbed two parts and the alignment fixture, stuck the work into the welder and stepped on the pedal. Immediately, every light in the factory went out. And stayed out. (Maybe I had the current set too high?) We found out the lights were out all over town, all over northern NJ. And still the lights stayed off. After an hour or two, we all were sent home, but told to come back if the power returned before mid afternoon.

While our submarine was in the shipyard for 15 months, watched tons of steel being cut out, then later replaced, welded, and ground. They gave us dark glasses for eye protection. But nothing for hearing protection. I asked, but our corpsman told me, "You're not a sonarman, you don't need that." Well, he was wrong. My ears ring 24x7, and I get a check from the VA.
On the sub, we all learn about all the systems on board. That's a lot of motors, pumps, valves, pipes, hydraulics, electrics, electronics, etc. 
The sub had a drill press and a lathe in the engine room. I never used them. I was impressed when my buddy, a Machinist's Mate, fabricated a replacement part for the Fairbanks-Morse diesel using hacksaw and file.
I recall taking some parts from a check sorting machine to a local machine shop for repair, likewise two different parts from my sailboat.
Then what provoked me to set up my home machine shop? It was around 2009, a local newspaper here in San Diego North County did a story about the Miniature Engineering Museum of Craftsmanship sponsored by local firm Sherline Products. I visited the museum in San Marcos, CA (now in Carlsbad, CA.) Seeing their displays reminded of my history of machinery stuff and I began building my shop and my skills.


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## strantor (Dec 24, 2022)

gjmontll said:


> In my junior year of college, I dropped out and "ran away to sea," to serve on nuclear attack submarines.  I was a Fire Control Technician, working on the electromechanical analog/digital computer systems for targeting and weapons control.) So there was plenty of electronics involved, as well as the geospatial aspects of navigation, tracking, and tactics. I suppose an epitome of being immersed in one's job is deploying to spent 60 days at a time submerged on "special operations." Challenging and engrossing, these were the most interesting times of my career.


What?! No way! Me too. Minus the dropping out of college part (I did that later, after the Navy). I was a FT too, served on the USS Oklahoma City (SSN723). Was it FT*G* back in your day? I can't really place when "your day" was, but based on the amount of stuff that came after the Navy I'm assuming you were out long before I joined.

I was in from '04-'08; only did a 4 year enlistment because I was Nuke Waste and they took my big bonus and 2 yr extension away and sent me to Groton where the instructors wanted me to sign a 1 yr extension with no bonus while everyone else in my class was getting between $5k and $15k. I said I would sign that when they put some dollars in the bonus box. They told me to take it up with legal so I went to legal where I watched 3 pregnant girls eat doritos all day. Told me to come back tomorrow. 3 days in a row. So on the 4th day I just went back to class and the subject never came up again. I got no bonus, and no extension paper was in my file.

My experience in the Submarine Force was not so great. That's where I learned one of my most deeply ingrained lessons that I am still struggling to unlearn: if you want something done right, do it yourself. My first class was only interested one thing: getting letters of recommendation and getting his CWO paperwork pushed through; he didn't lead, instruct, stand watch, anything. He was too busy rubbing elbows with department heads and qualifying officer watches. My chief was a short timer and didn't care about _anything_. We had (3) "2nd chance" 2nd classes that were all kicked off other boats and only one was qualified FTOW. As a 3rd class I was doing half the work of the entire division. Another 3rd class who was qualified LAN admin did the other half. I had to babysit a NUB as well as a 2nd class who wasn't qualified FTOW. I was the Work Center Supervisor and assigning PMs to sh**bag 2nd classes that just took them to the rack and returned them completed. When I would go check their work and find it undone, I didn't have the power to do anything about it except actually do the PM myself. A lot of the other divisions were in similar situations. The rank:responsibility ratio was all over place across the whole boat.

We had a weak XO and a bitter little-man captain who seemed to do whatever he could to undermine crew morale. Everyone was miserable, all the time. So much negativity everywhere. It was a toxic environment. We had 4 suicide attempts from 3 people during one 9-month deployment and one guy went AWOL during a port call in France, tried to fly home because his daughter was in the hospital with a life threatening illness and the captain wouldn't approve leave. He was a cook, and our worst one. The screw wouldn't have stopped turning without him. I probably would have reenlisted if I had a different first command.

One cool thing about that job though, after I qualified everything a FT is supposed to qualify, I qualified Periscope Operator. That meant I got racked out every time a JO was simply too tired to be roused when coming to PD (which was always), but it also meant I got to be the only person on the boat apart from the captain to make a periscope observation of an "enemy" submarine. The captain barged in the second I called out the Submarine observation and shoved me off the scope, took one look, and ordered 300ft. They hung the picture I took in the ML passageway and it had everyone amped for a few days, temporarily convinced that we were actually doing something cool. There was a round of stern talkings-to though; cool as it was, we were never supposed to get close enough to actually see the thing. I would have had a bigger share in the spankings had it not been for my higher-ranked understudy who's fire control solution had it several miles away. I mean, I can't be on the periscope _and_ generating accurate solutions simultaneously.

The math I Iearned in the Navy, and the practical way I was made to apply it (Target Motion Analysis) on a daily basis made the learning of higher math much more intuitive. I think that close relationship with math served me most personally. Professionally though, the electronics experience that the position allowed me to list on my resume was my biggest takeaway. Truthfully I didn't learn the first thing about electronics in the Navy. I learned how to follow step-by-step procedures and swap out circuit boards. Big whoop. But future employers didn't know that, and those resume bullets got me in the door where "fake it til you make it" took over and I did eventually gather the electronics knowledge that someone in my position was expected to have, by studying on my own time.



gjmontll said:


> The sub had a drill press and a lathe in the engine room. I never used them. I was impressed when my buddy, a Machinist's Mate, fabricated a replacement part for the Fairbanks-Morse diesel using hacksaw and file.



Yeah that lathe in the engine room was pretty cool, especially the way it folded up into the wall. I've thought about doing something similar in my shop to free up room. I didn't know what I was looking at back then, never got to touch it. I wish I could go back now and see what kind of lathe it was. One of our Nuke MMs used it to make some points for poseidon's trident for certain ceremony we're not supposed to talk about. But I never saw or heard of it being used other than that.


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## Barncat (Dec 25, 2022)

The most fun job I ever had was working for the US Forest Service through americorps. It was an internship for almost no pay. But myself and one other person were in charge of a 13,000 acre island. Drove the boat over in the morning, greeted sightseers as they arrived and then had many hours a day to hike, fish, explore, swim (in Lake Superior, brrrr) view wildlife, etc. came back on the boat at night. Did a little maintenance here and there, cleaned campsites, etc. Then went to the bar many nights or just enjoyed the Upper Peninsula outdoors.


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## Arielht500 (Dec 25, 2022)

Did my apprenticeship in a bus overhaul shop then worked in various heavy vehicle shops. Enjoyed most of it even though some shops were a bit unionised. Went self employed in the early nineties and soon had my own shop repairing, servicing and modifying heavies which was very enjoyable but much more stressful. My best career move came when I retired two years ago, now I get to run my machines and make or modify whatever I like. Still do a few cash jobs for some of my old customers.


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## aliva (Dec 25, 2022)

Retirement


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## Just for fun (Dec 25, 2022)

I spent almost 40 years working in the telephone industry except for a few tasks I loved the job.  The last 8 years I spent as a Transmission and Protection technician, I supported all groups and covered a lot of North Central Washinton, from the Yakama Valley to the Canadian border.  I met a lot of people and seen a lot of beautiful area.  That was all great, but I don't miss it.  I love being retired!


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## gjmontll (Dec 25, 2022)

strantor said:


> What?! No way! Me too. Minus the dropping out of college part (I did that later, after the Navy). I was a FT too, served on the USS Oklahoma City (SSN723). Was it FT*G* back in your day? I can't really place when "your day" was, but based on the amount of stuff that came after the Navy I'm assuming you were out long before I joined.
> 
> I was in from '04-'08; only did a 4 year enlistment because I was Nuke Waste and they took my big bonus and 2 yr extension away and sent me to Groton where the instructors wanted me to sign a 1 yr extension with no bonus while everyone else in my class was getting between $5k and $15k. I said I would sign that when they put some dollars in the bonus box. They told me to take it up with legal so I went to legal where I watched 3 pregnant girls eat doritos all day. Told me to come back tomorrow. 3 days in a row. So on the 4th day I just went back to class and the subject never came up again. I got no bonus, and no extension paper was in my file.
> 
> ...


Hi  Strantor, Merry Christmas and thanks for your interesting comments. Indeed, I was an FTG1(SS). Served on the Haddock (SSN-621) for four years, based at Pearl Harbor. Also went TAD for three months to the Permit (SSN-594) for a very interesting patrol shortly before getting out in '74. So I served aboard both the first and last boats of the Permit class. Four years ago, at a Haddock reunion here in San Diego, I toured a LA-class, the USS Alexandria, somewhat familiar yet so very different. 

Yes, being a "periscope operator" is cool, but no special qualifications involved. Back then, that was an intrinsic part of being FTOW. Four of us would take turns, the OOD, JOOD, FTOW(me), and the QMOW, going 'round and 'round until our eyes gave out. You mentioned spotting subs, that reminds me of my reporting, "Bearing - mark. Hotel on the surface...." Yeah, the OOD quickly grabbed the scope from me and I moved to the FC plot.

With our "old" analog electromechanical gear, we would usually do component level troubleshooting and repair. Very different from working on digital electronics. The fire control for the SUBROC missiles was unique, requiring special test gear and precision adjustments of analog amplifiers. I suppose the modern missiles are all digital.


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## strantor (Dec 25, 2022)

gjmontll said:


> Hi  Strantor, Merry Christmas


Merry Christmas! 


gjmontll said:


> So I served aboard both the first and last boats of the Permit class.


very cool!


gjmontll said:


> Yes, being a "periscope operator" is cool, but no special qualifications involved. Back then, that was an intrinsic part of being FTOW. Four of us would take turns, the OOD, JOOD, FTOW(me), and the QMOW, going 'round and 'round until our eyes gave out.


There were several Submarine collisions between your time and mine and I suspect the Navy responded with policy changes. But it could have just been the policy on my boat, I don't know; only ever served on the one. On my boat, Periscope Operator was JO gig. There was absolutely a qual card for it and to my recollection no enlisted rates were required to qualify it. I stayed awake for every surface transit for a whole deployment taking turns manning the 2nd scope to qualify it. It seems wild to me that there was no qual for it back then. The guy on the periscope is the only person who can _actually see_ what's going on. That comes with a lot of responsibility. Like a billion dollars and 150 lives worth of it. 


gjmontll said:


> With our "old" analog electromechanical gear, we would usually do component level troubleshooting and repair. Very different from working on digital electronics. The fire control for the SUBROC missiles was unique, requiring special test gear and precision adjustments of analog amplifiers. I suppose the modern missiles are all digital.


Well I guess they felt it necessary to take all the fun out of it by the time I came around. We had Tomahawks, and while I wouldn't call then "modern," yes, all digital as far as I can remember. Torpedoes were analog though. I'm not sure what they have for missiles now, but I wouldn't be surprised if they have Artificial Intelligence like a Tesla. There were analog components to my fire control system, as it had originally been all analog but was retrofitted piecemeal over the years.


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## westerner (Dec 25, 2022)

Retirement is surely the best paycheck I have ever pulled.

That said, I did have a real good time working with Grouchy Old Man as we built aluminum pontoon boats from scratch. Went to the big city and bought a truckload of sheet, square tube, angle and strap. All aluminum.
He had an interesting design for the 'toon, and it would actually plane. We built and sold 3 boats.  I learned about breaking sheet, mig and tig, furniture and upholstery, mechanical and electrical, etc. 
We went back and forth to the lake dozens of times for 'test drives'.


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## extropic (Dec 26, 2022)

I've enjoyed reading all the replies. Very interesting thread.

My 'career' lasted almost 29 years, essentially in the same major aerospace systems company. In the late '70s I was working on a program subcontracted to us by BAE for the British Ministry of Defense. We were to design a system and build some prototypes and preproduction units.
BAE would follow, performing the production program in the UK. In 1980 I was sent to England for 6 months as a member of a 'transition to production' team. Our function was to help convert our US based specifications to UK equivalents as required. BAE created their own data package based on ours.

I was an expert at my specialty. They asked question, I worked out responses. Zero responsibilities for schedule, budget, performance of anyone else. If BAE did as I recommended, fine. If not, It's their program.

The job was 40hrs a week and zero sweat.

I loved sight seeing on evenings and the weekends. I joined a gym and worked out religiously 3 evenings a week. I was single and that worked out just fine. I lived in a nice hotel with a sauna, pool, message center, safe and (most importantly) plenty of parking (under cover). The parking situation, in the real world, there was awful. There was a restaurant in the hotel, but I only used it once. The prices were CRAZY. LOL

Best six months of my career. No question. If I could have stayed there, with the same financial arrangements, I would have.


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## Bone Head (Dec 26, 2022)

Wow, what a group you guys are!
Worked in high school at a body shop.  Went into the Army afterwards.  Shipped to Viet Nam for 18 months.  Got out.  Should have stayed 20 years; I had made Sgt and ran the motor pool.  Think Sgt. Bilko.
Worked in new car dealerships for about 6 years.  Dealerships were changing at the time.  Didn't like the change, so I left.  Walked into a small gov't. plant and got hired.  They were giving me a choice between working production or quality control.  I'd watched out a window of how production operated.  Slick looking dude was wandering around yelling at high school kids.  Just an abusive little weenie.  I chose the job in quality control.  At that time the weenie would return rejections to to us and bully the other guys into accepting sub-standard stuff.  I refused to play his game and chased him out of the department.  The quality manager was impressed.  and decided I might be worth keeping.  He did for 12 years, and taught me a lot about Q.C.  I stayed in that field for 40 years or so, until I retired.  I loved it, still miss it.  Motorcycles had been a big part of my life since high school.  Still work on them some and ride whenever I can.


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## strantor (Dec 26, 2022)

Well we're on page 5 so I guess it's time I contribute my own best job.

I have enjoyed all the jobs I had except working the KFC drive-thru in high school and perhaps the Navy (conflicted about it).I did really dig my job in the Navy but as I mentioned my first and only boat was cesspit of negativity and I was ready for a change of scenery.

After the Navy I was a Controls Technician working overseas in shipyards, commissioning the drill floor equipment on new-build drill ships (Top drive, pipe racking system, Driller's cabin, Draw Works, etc.) and that was awesome. I learned a lot in a short time. The work was interesting, my coworkers... also _interesting_, and I Made six figures at $15/hr. Great gig for a single guy. So I got married.

Then I was a Maintenance Electrical Technician in a Wire & Cable plant. Pay was decent, atmosphere was relaxed, Employer was awesome, gave me more freedom than I could have reasonably expected. I asked, and they started letting me retrofit old machines on the night shift, replacing aged DC motors and drives with AC motors and VFDs, gutting old cabinets full of relays and installing/programming PLCs. After a while they stopped assigning me PMs and this became my whole purpose. I loved it. I did that for a year it occurred to me "this is technically Engineering" so I asked for an Engineering role. They said "not without a degree" so I gave two _months_ notice. I said "I'll be back in 4 years with a degree," left on good terms. 

Moved my wife and 2 kids into a spare bedroom at my mother's house and went to college full time on the Post-911 GI bill. To get the full benefit of the GI bill you have to go to school full time, hence why I quit my job. I had been led to believe that full time college would be so demanding of my time that I wouldn't be able to maintain a full time job. This piece of canned advice is something that I can only assume is meant for consumption by kids fresh out of high school who haven't experienced real life, because school only took 30-40hrs/week and I was used to putting in 60-80hrs/week (and no stranger to 100+ hour weeks). I got bored after a couple of months. So I started my first LLC so that I could go back and do work for my previous employer as a vendor while in school, since they wouldn't let me come back on a part-time basis; full time or no time. Ended up picking up other clients too. After 1 year in college my LLC was making me more money than an Engineering degree would have, so I quit the college I was attending for free, moved out of my mom's place, and went full time self employed. 

That lasted about a year (a glorious, empowering year) and then work dried up over night, so I took a job with a much larger competitor. They presented me with a non-compete agreement which I naively (stupidly) signed, which restricted me for a period of 2 years from time of separation, from working in the same state in the same role (Field Service & Field Engineering, Industrial Controls) and from speaking to any of their clients. I spent almost 2 years there and it was fun while it lasted but then they stole my personal property (long story) so I quit on the spot and was immediately hired as a Controls Engineer by a prior client who had left the company in which he had been my client, and was working for a subsea technology startup. My attorney said it was safe, not in conflict with the non-compete. Pay was excellent, I already knew some people there, atmosphere was relaxed, whe had good team, everything was cool except for the fact we all eventually realized that we were working for a vaporware company run by a Norwegian con man, and none of the awesome stuff we were designing would ever move past prototype. He would not allow any of the tools to actually go offshore and do work, finding reasons to squash every job that our sales guy found. He just wanted to dangle impressive-looking products in front of investors and get funding which he ferrerted away overseas. 

I stayed there long enough to ride out the non-compete and then started another LLC. I've maintained that LLC for the past 5 years. The first 3 years were amazing. I was working for my self, in control of my own destiny, making more money than I ever dreamed I would, and feeling like a king. I paid off all my debts (except the mortgage) and started saving up. Then once again business dried up over night and I went 6 months with no work, burned up every dollar I had saved, and started going back into debt.

I was once again getting desperate enough to take a "real job" so I reached out to one of my clients for whom I had started a large project but that they had paused. I told them "now would be a good time to un-pause this project because if you wait any longer I'll be working for someone else and I won't be able to finish this for you." They said "well why don't you just come to work for us?" I said "ok." They hired me with the same Controls Engineer title that my last employer bestowed.

I only intended to work there temporarily. The operation was not at all interesting to me (logistics company, packaging and shipping plastic pellets) and I expected to be depressingly bored within the first month. But that never happened. I'm still with that company 3 years later and I have to say _*this*_ is my favorite job. I am left to my own devices, free to exercise my creativity. My office (usually vacant) is at a different facility from my boss and I only see him 2 to 4 times per month. I work from home most days unless maintenance has a troubleshooting endeavor that's over their heads and calls me in to fulfill my collateral duty, or if I'm onsite to commission a new project. I am given exciting challenges and allowed to solve them by whatever means I desire. Nobody asks questions about my purchases. Nobody asks what I'm spending my time on. Nobody asks me why I did a thing this way and not that way. The results I deliver are sufficient evidence for those who matter, that my paycheck is justified. People ask for my input and (usually) act on my suggestions. I feel like a respected and valued member of a very efficient team. The salary isn't the highest I've ever had, but it's more than sufficient considering the above and the following:

When I hired on I made it clear that I would not sign any non-compete or any other document by another name which restricts my ability to maintain my LLC and/or continue working on the side. They didn't have a problem with that as long as I didn't give any of their trade secrets or IP to their competitors, and I never had any other clients in this industry, so I had no qualms about signing an NDA related to that. Other than that I've had total freedom.

I have been working on the side this whole time, after hours and on weekends. I have gained new clients, more work, and at times enough work that juggling the two endeavors borders on unmanageable. Funny thing, it seems to come in waves; I will go for days with no calls and then the phone starts ringing off the hook just around the time I start a big project at the day job. One week I'll put in 40 hours and the next I'll put in a combined 120hrs. 

A lot of my work is emergency call-outs. Clients might be losing thousands of dollars per hour with a production line down. They want someone onsite ASAP and when I have to tell them "sorry, I won't be able to get out there until after 5PM" (because I'm at my "real job") they will naturally call a competitor, and next time they need service, they will probably call whoever came out last time. I'm losing out on a lot more than my my hourly rate by turning down these calls, and every time I have to do it, it's very stressful. 

After the last big wave of work, I approached my boss about returning to our previous client-vendor relationship. I explained the problem juast as I did above and expressed how much I _*do*_ love my job here, but that a little piece of me dies every time I can't respond to these emergency call-outs. I said explained that from my perspective, returning to our previous relationship was the only way I could set priorities and still deliver what he is paying for. He declined my proposal. His response was that as long as I continue to deliver the level of work that he has come to expect from me, and that emergency situations at my day job take precedence over anything else, he doesn't care how I spend my time. I'm salary so there is no real "on the clock." I can do my "day job" at night if that's what it takes. He assured me that there is no conflict in me being somewhere else during normal business hours as long as there is no decline in my performance. He even doesn't care if I leave the state for a week to commission new equipment for one of my European OEM clients (as long as I'm available to offer tech support to our maintenance team, and fly back immediately if it can't be resolved over the phone).

This is more freedom than I feel I have any right to expect. I even feel a little guilty availing myself of it. But, the man said I can, so... this is just awesome. I couldn't ask for more. I've never asked for a raise and probably never will as long as this arrangement is maintained. The freedom is worth so much more than money to me.

And that's my story about my best job. I do love money, but I value the freedom even more.


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## Firstram (Dec 26, 2022)

strantor said:


> I even feel a little guilty availing myself of it. But, the man said I can, so...


Sounds like you've earned it, good for you!


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## snoopdog (Dec 26, 2022)

Either building chickenhouses, or selling welding supplies, very close race between the two. Loved the guys and being outdoors (most of the time) doing construction. And loved the people in the welding shops, but the office politics/ got in the way. Later, I found the road, and enjoyed about as much of that I could stand, even though when traffic's good and I'm feeling good, I'll take it, and the solitude.


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## Dhal22 (Dec 26, 2022)

mmcmdl said:


> Back in the early eighties I answered an ad for a position working with the dancers down on the " Block " in Baltimore City at the Hustler Club . The position required applying make up and making sure the girls were clothed accordingly . The guy said the position paid 125K a year with tons of benefits . Hm .................I told him I was definately interested .  He told me to get out to Chicago ASAP . I had to ask him why Chicago ? He told me that's where the application line started .
> 
> Actually , I've enjoyed all my past jobs or I wouldn't have worked them .




 Gentleman's clubs here in Atlanta don't need a proper clothing watcher as the dancers don't wear any.   At all.   We have world class strip clubs.


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## Dabbler (Dec 26, 2022)

When I was in University, I was hired to build the operating system and an application for a Z80 processor - yes THAT long ago -

They expected me to do this with no training or experience, but faith that I could do it.  I was tutoring the 4th year Engineering students in digital logic and assembly programming, and one of my students recommended me for the position.

In 4 months I built what they needed and the next year they asked me back.  

----  what was great for me was what happened next ----

I had to rework the application to include many more features, for making the first automated credit card verification system ever attempted.  They made a special phone that could call my system, and I'd have to construct and send a database request faking a 3270 terminal asking for a credit check, and parse the results and determining 'yes' or 'no'

When I started work I discovered I was a TERRIBLE programmer.  I could hardly read the code, even if it worked fine.  So the first thing I had to do was to completely rewrite the original OS to make it useful in the new role.

It taught me that I have to code for an idiot to read, because sometimes I am that idiot.

I got to do a landmark thing in the history of computing.  And I got paid enough to get back to school.


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## strantor (Dec 26, 2022)

Dabbler said:


> When I was in University, I was hired to build the operating system and an application for a Z80 processor - yes THAT long ago -
> 
> They expected me to do this with no training or experience, but faith that I could do it.  I was tutoring the 4th year Engineering students in digital logic and assembly programming, and one of my students recommended me for the position.
> 
> ...


That's awesome! Did you spend the rest of your career programming?


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## Dabbler (Dec 26, 2022)

strantor said:


> That's awesome! Did you spend the rest of your career programming?


One of the aspects was to communicate via the X.25 protocol, which I then spent 5 more years developing X.25 for more employers. I then moved to commercial programming, then became an analyst.  I finished as a 'last word' trouble shooter, rescuing projects that had failed.


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## erikmannie (Dec 27, 2022)

The job I have now as a UPS driver in a very remote, mountainous area which includes about 20 miles of coastline. I see a lot of game (including whales sometimes).

The customers are super friendly, but bringing dog biscuits to the same sweet dogs everyday is truly magical. The dogs sure are excited to see the guy with the dog biscuits!


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## epanzella (Dec 27, 2022)

The best job I ever had was when I opened my own business as a building contractor. Not only did I love the work, but as the business grew both my sons quit their jobs and came to work with me. We worked together for 15 years cashing checks and laughing the days away. My sons are awesome! I show them how to do something on Monday (coping trim, hanging doors, ect) and by Wednesday they can do it better than me! My only disappointment was that when I retired they were both offered 6 figure salaries by other companies so the company I built from nothing returned to nothing.


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## strantor (Dec 27, 2022)

epanzella said:


> The best job I ever had was when I opened my own business as a building contractor. Not only did I love the work, but as the business grew both my sons quit their jobs and came to work with me. We worked together for 15 years cashing checks and laughing the days away.


I hope one day to turn my business into a family business too. Back when I was full time self employed, when things were slow, I would bring my little ones (8,10 y/o) into the shop and we would play around with 24VDC circuits. Connect buttons to relays, solenoids to cylinders, make things move around and do stuff. I'm not sure they actually learned anything but they thought it was cool and hopefully it generated a little seed of interest that can bloom into understanding later. I need to start doing that again.


epanzella said:


> My sons are awesome! I show them how to do something on Monday (coping trim, hanging doors, ect) and by Wednesday they can do it better than me!


I think someone with no kids couldn't understand how good it feels to see someone be better at something than you are, when that person is your kid.


epanzella said:


> My only disappointment was that when I retired they were both offered 6 figure salaries by other companies so the company I built from nothing returned to nothing.


Well that's... bittersweet.


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## great white (Dec 27, 2022)

Double edged sword though.

Nothing more gratifying and fulfilling than (literally) pulling someone from the jaws of death and at the same time; nothing more crushing than recovering a body or returning from a search empty handed. The ones where kids were involved were the worst, whether they were the casualty or the bystander.

Still, wouldn't trade my life in SAR for a million bucks.....even if after 30 years it "broke me" mentally and physically.....no regrets, the juice was worth the squeeze.

At least I'll have a few good stories for the old age home.....

"These Things I Shall Do...That Others May Live"


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## JimDawson (Dec 27, 2022)

That is a tough question to answer.  But I think 20 years of traveling the world repairing computerized sawmill machinery would be in top place.  For about half of that time I was employed by a German company, but was based at my home.  I had full freedom to operate independently and take care of customers as needed.  Then I continued on as a self employed contractor.  I have to admit that 20 years of living on airplanes and living in hotels did get a bit old.  But much better than punching a time clock and looking at the same 4 walls everyday.


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## extropic (Dec 27, 2022)

great white said:


> "These Things I Shall Do...That Others May Live"



I don't remember wishing we had a salute emoji before.

This will have to do.


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## wayback machine (Dec 29, 2022)

I never had any kind of "career", just various jobs, for most of my life.
Thinking back, I guess the most interesting jobs I've had were working for a couple different auto restoration shops, in the nw. corner of CT.
The area around the Lime Rock race track was home to a few of these places, and had a lot of clientele able to pay for the work.

One shop specialized in British sports car restoration - A lot of Morgans came through, and we rebuilt a couple into national show winners.
We restored the Dodge panel truck that was on the cover of the old Hemmings Motor News magazine for many years.
The second place was basically an exotic car shop - Many nice vintage cars, Ferrari's, Jags, Porsche's, etc, etc.
It's not every day you get to tune, balance the 4 Weber carbs on an Aston Martin DB8, and then take it for a 1/2 hr "test drive" :~)

Neither of these jobs paid an awful lot, so I left them to work as a carpenter for a couple different contractors - It paid a LOT better, and I did that for some years.

Like I said - No career, but I did learn some things .........


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## matthewsx (Dec 29, 2022)

wayback machine said:


> I never had any kind of "career", just various jobs, for most of my life.
> Thinking back, I guess the most interesting jobs I've had were working for a couple different auto restoration shops, in the nw. corner of CT.
> The area around the Lime Rock race track was home to a few of these places, and had a lot of clientele able to pay for the work.
> 
> ...


I worked on Morgans a bit. Curious cars half built from wood.

John


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## Winegrower (Dec 29, 2022)

strantor said:


> I think someone with no kids couldn't understand how good it feels to see someone be better at something than you are, when that person is your kid.



This is a huge truth.   I remember vividly the first times I realized that each child could do something better than me or that I couldn’t do at all.   And they weren’t all that old.


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## savarin (Dec 29, 2022)

I always wanted a Morgan with the V twin JAP motor on the front, searched for years but never found one for sale.


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## imagineer (Dec 29, 2022)

My favorite job ever...running a bicycle store.    While still a HS junior, I got a job at a local bicycle shop (they also sponsored my road race team).    The owners realized I was probably the only literate, non-thief, non-stoner employee and quickly made me the assistant manager, and in the year between HS and college, was bumped to store manager.    I loved working with the customers, especially the kids, and making sure they purchased the best products for their needs.   I worked there PT though college and eventually moved on in '87, but I often think back on my time in that shop, and smile.     My old store didn't survive the 90's.   Too much competition from the big box retailers

Whereas I've built a solid, satisfying and well paying career where I'm at now; if I could match even 70% salary, I'd drop my current gig in a heartbeat to return to running a bicycle shop.


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## matthewsx (Dec 30, 2022)

savarin said:


> I always wanted a Morgan with the V twin JAP motor on the front, searched for years but never found one for sale.


Just build one, you do have tools right?


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## wayback machine (Dec 30, 2022)

matthewsx said:


> Just build one, you do have tools right?


You could always build a kit :~)  http://www.spitfireart.com/braprices.html


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## T Bredehoft (Dec 30, 2022)

During the first half of the 1970's,  working for Kelsey/Hayse Disc Brake plant in Ohio. I had completed my Tool And Die apprenticeship. Second shift, (afternoons, my choice). The previous forman had quit, none of the four other Journemen would take the job. I offered to be Group Leader (hourly, not salary). I ran the tool room (machine repair) for 6 months while they found a (salaried) forman. I assigned jobs to the other four toolmakers. (go out and fix _that_ machine) and worked on what I wanted to that had come into the shop. Also built three hand-sized steam engines, and received the highest hourly pay in the factory of 350 workers. This was before CNC equipment was available, all lathe, mill, grinding, etc was by hand.* Best Job  Ever*.


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## Truckmannorth (Dec 30, 2022)

So I'm late to this thread but I have to say my best job to date is the one I have now. I'm the Warranty Coordinator for a large truck upfit company. I'm in charge of the warranty for 3 of our locations. It's a challenging job, but I am surrounded by great people and have the authority to do what needs to be done to take care of our customers.


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## extropic (Dec 30, 2022)

Truckmannorth said:


> So I'm late to this thread but I have to say my best job to date is the one I have now. I'm the Warranty Coordinator for a large truck *unfit* company. I'm in charge of the warranty for 3 of our locations. It's a challenging job, but I am surrounded by grat people and have the authority to do what needs to be done to take care of our customers.


Is that supposed to be "upfit" or ???


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## Truckmannorth (Dec 30, 2022)

Yes upfit typing off of my phone and autocorrect got me lol


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## strantor (Dec 30, 2022)

Truckmannorth said:


> So I'm late to this thread but I have to say my best job to date is the one I have now. I'm the Warranty Coordinator for a large truck unfit company. I'm in charge of the warranty for 3 of our locations. It's a challenging job, but


Managing the warranty for a "truck unfit company" (I'm not even sure what that is/means) sounds about as interesting as my job, but these two points I've found to be perhaps the most critical ingredients in the recipe for a "good job":


Truckmannorth said:


> *I am surrounded by great people* and *have the authority to do what needs to be done* to take care of our customers.


Conversely, being surrounded by idiots and being micromanaged are two ingredients in the recipe for misery. Put them together (being micromanaged by idiots) and the pay better be pretty damned good for anyone to stick around.

EDIT: just saw clarification posted while I was typing: truck *upfit* company. Is that like fitting service beds, liftgates, PTO, etc? Or installing lift kits and subwoofers?


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## Truckmannorth (Dec 30, 2022)

As an upfit company we take new chassis and instal dump bodies, service bodies, snow plows, mostly custom stuff. We build our own dump bodies. It's a really enjoyable job. I am able to take the irritated and upset customer and solve the issue they have. I have the freedom to do almost anything to solve the issue. We have customers in all 50 US states and most of Canada.  I have a great teem backing me and good leadership. What more could you ask for.


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## 682bear (Jan 1, 2023)

My current job...

I'm a machinist in a jet engine overhaul facility, practically all of my work is on the engine cases.

Any given night, I may find myself cutting chips off of half million dollar parts...

Very good pay, good benefits, great co-workers, all the overtime I care to work... what's not to like about that?

I consider it to be more of a 'paid hobby'... I really enjoy my job!

-Bear


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## davidpbest (Jan 2, 2023)

Being a Pimp in Chicago on the 1960's was a blast.  I miss those days.


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## ACHiPo (Jan 2, 2023)

Truckmannorth said:


> As an upfit company we take new chassis and instal dump bodies, service bodies, snow plows, mostly custom stuff. We build our own dump bodies. It's a really enjoyable job. I am able to take the irritated and upset customer and solve the issue they have. I have the freedom to do almost anything to solve the issue. We have customers in all 50 US states and most of Canada.  I have a great teem backing me and good leadership. What more could you ask for.


Learned something new today


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## ACHiPo (Jan 2, 2023)

davidpbest said:


> Being a Pimp in Chicago on the 1960's was a blast.  I miss those days.


Dr Detroit?


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