User Panel
Posted: 9/28/2004 4:59:02 PM EDT
What is the best job you’ve had in your lifetime?
For me, I was a general manager of a small (60,000 annual units) bicycle factory in Europe for couple years. I didn’t know much about bicycles when I got started since my background was in sales, administration and cost accounting with some dabbling in manufacturing. Later I got to do a lot of designing and prototyping. It was neat to design a bicycle on a piece of paper with a pencil and then have a working prototype few days later. My wife and I used to travel throughout Europe on bikes during off season and we would design a new bike for each trip depending on the country and road conditions. Learned a lot about what works and what doesn’t. It was great to see my ideas and concepts come to life in just few short days. |
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I'm doing it now.
Owner/operator of a grounds maintenance company. |
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Working at a gun/army surplus/police supply shop. I worked with a great bunch of guys for the most part, and it was obviously fun. Only problem was I sometimes wound up with no check at the end of the week. I'd love to buy the store where I worked and run it my way, but I don't think they'd sell.
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I worked in the Air Transportation Office onboard ship. I loaded and unloaded helicopters and C-2s with mail, cargo, and passengers. The cool part? In homeport, I worked 0730-0930. Off by lunch except for duty days.
Man, I miss those days.... |
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More than 30 years ago I was an 18-year-old proof-reader for a daily newspaper. Paid a whopping 10 bits/hour. I read the galley proofs all day correcting spelling and grammar errors. It's funny, I find it much easier to spot a misspelled word than to spell well myself.
Gas was 29 cents a gallon. For little more than 15 bucks, you could fill up the tank on the Vega, take a girl to the drive-in show and have mucho pizza afterwards. Man, that was the high life! |
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The job that allowed me to experience the most was as an infantry platoon leader.
The job at which I had the most fun was working construction during the summer while in college. |
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Ass't Operations Officer of an F-15 squadron in the Eifel region of Germany. As good as life gets.
Scott |
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Working in the back of a bike shop, as a mechanic. God, what fun.
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<---- Master Chief Petty Officer (E-9) in the worlds's most powerful Navy. 52 more hours .... |
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In the early '90's I spent a year writing/testing firmware for locomotives. It was for a difficult company (MK Rail), but the job was fun and I learned alot....including how to drive around our test locomotive (an SD-40-M2). I spent two weeks testing on the Utah Railroad during that time (between Helper, UT, and Soldier Summit) and it was really interesting and fun. Unfortunately, the company went TU along with its parent company, Morrison Knudsen. By that time I had bailed and returned to the "mother ship" (HP)...but dang, it was an interesting/fun job while it lasted.
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Real-Time Energy Trader in the midwest running a mid-to-large-size utilities' control area via managing a frequently big-for-britches position and generally slaughtering the competition in the process in a dedicated hack-n-slash manner for my employer. I took no prisoners, gave no quarter, and made a lot of money for my company in the process and made a lot of enemies in the industry.
The industry is restructuring, and I am looking for a shift in responsibilites. It has been one HELL of a run. I can only hope for further satisfaction. |
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USMC Shooting team. Best guys in the world, and the goverment actually paid me to shoot 6 days a week, all day... They even bought the guns and ammo.... Not too shabby.
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Undercover Narcotics Officer. ( Don Johnson eat your heart out )
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Maintenance man working with robots and waterjet cutting machines. Man those waterjet cutters were a blast to work with/on. You could turn out some awesome government projects if ya had a little imagination and time. I really miss it.....
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Pilot for TWA- life was simple and good. All came to an end because of muslim hatred, and our own governments policy of passive resistance in the face of terrorism.
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Dot com before the bubble burst.
Refrigerator full of free food, soda machine that dispensed free soda (and beer for after 5 needs), pinball, video games, all the newest tech stuff... we even got taken on a yacht cruise when we merged with another company. It was great while it lasted. "Work from home" is the biggest scam ever... |
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still looking but the best was a Master Control Operator till I got laid-off, that put a real foul taste in my mouth for that industry. I've been laid-off before but this one really fuggin hurt
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My best Job was being a Orddy..........Damn I still miss it 20 years later
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Getting paid to fly aircraft. Flying is the most exciting experience, and I get paid
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My dad got me a job with the goverment trapper in our area. I didnt get paid much but getting to hunt all day everyday and trap really was a reward by itself. The government paid for all the rounds we expended and we even got to use silenced weapons. It was fun. Sure sucks having a "REAL" job.
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Course developer and instructor for a post secondary vocational school. The program is still in operation 10 years later. I think I did have some positive effect, and it was the only job I quit over money. I still miss it. Ops
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Driving truck. I fucking love getting out on the Interstate and cruising, listening to some tunes and thinking about how stupid other drivers are.
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Security consultant for Enron. Lots of travel, including on the corporate Falcon 900's, expense accounts, per diem, corporate amex, parties, respect from my peers when they found out who I was working for. The getting laid off part sucked, but I survived. One of the best bosses I've ever had was there.
Remember the Alamo, and God Bless Texas... |
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How's that whole "war on drugs" going? *cough*ass*cough* Real Estate Developing. The best part is designing and building something the way it ought be. |
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Motorcycle mechanic. No money in it, but the hours were great (whenever I wanted to work) and the boss was fantastic (me).
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The one I have right now is pretty hard to beat (For me at least).
I'm "Piloting" for the family of the Lady I live with. They're a bunch of "Shack-Shakers" (Mobile-home movers) who haul for just about every factory in this part of Oregon. I'm the dork in the ""Wide/Oversize-Load" truck at the front or rear of a mobil-home section going down the road. You can take a load or turn it down as you need. It's $25 to show-up and then $1/mile. For driving behind a house for 100 miles listening to talk radio and calling traffic (Stuff coming-up from behind) to the driver it's $125 for about 4 hrs work (with the return trip). Best day so far has been $320 (Two long runs) with about $40 in gas and 10hrs invested. Probably not squat to some of the more accomplished guys but it beats the sh*t out of running CNC in a job-shop (What I used to do) all day |
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Electrical engineer for Westinghouse, doing reliability work on F16 and B1B fire control radar systems. It came to an end when, after the cold war ended, Klinton got elected. I got my layoff notice before he was even sworn in.
My current job is OK, but too many hours sometimes. The pay ain't too bad though.... |
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Security at a low income mental hospital.
It only paid $10/hr, but it couldn't be beat. We had old hospital rooms with nice beds...everyone had a main job, we'd come there to sleep and get paid for it. They only hired ex cops (or ex military cops), and anytime they had trouble, they called us, we got to wrestle around with schitzo's, then go back to sleep. Awesome That, or working on a helicopter loading crew at Thule Air Base, Greenland. It was a second job for military folks. Paid good, and was run by a french company that gave us all the free beer we could drink while the helicopters were out running supplies to the inuit's. |
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Software tester for a large German conglomerate.
But I got to work with some good friends, so that probably helped. |
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US Naval Station.
19 years old 11.00 an hour Navy exchange employee. I worked from 4 pm till midnight. I was in charge of a building that housed 3 Pool tables 6 video games 8 vending machines including 3 BEER machines A laundry mat. with 20 machines 2 change machines 1 juke box 8 tables for 4 people 2 benches that sat 4 people I worked alone NEVER saw a supervisor the two years I work there. All I had to do was keep the drunks in line and make change for the large bills, stock the change machine and hand out free beer to me and my friends. At the end of the night take the trash out and sweep up. Check in at 4:00 get my cash drawer and check the day shifts drawer, make safe drop. Play a few games of pool and have a beer 6:30 G/F would show up with dinner from moms house. Sex/Blow job in the office, then eat. Shoot more pool, make change, drink beer and fuck off with E1 thru E4 that were confined to pier area. Break up fight maybe on a good night. 11:30 count cash drawer make drop and sweep, lights out. Most fun job I ever had. |
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Did not pay shit, but I worked at a Comic Book Store, that had a Pin-Bot pinball game and a pooltable in it. Read comics all day and play pool and pin-bot. Best job ever.
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My best job was as a consultant to Goldman/Sachs. $250/hr to talk on the phone, from home, in my pajamas. Wish I was still doing it...
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The job I have now...armed nuclear security...I get to run and gun on a private range, use their bullets, and get paid all at the same time! Life is good.
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Working the pretzel wagon at walt disney world. Damn that was a fun job. New set of college program chicks every 3 months and hot brazillian tour groups wearing white tee shirts and the daily 3 pm thunder shower. God that was a fun 3 years.
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i cut timber for firewood when i was 18 and worked a landing when i was loggin , both fun jobs . work on submarines now , its alot easier and i also enjoy it.
688 |
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My best job is the one I've had for the last 16 years. My favorite was the Marine Corps.
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