What Is/Was Your Occupation?

[edcmat-l1]

Well apparently I'm a professional underachiever LOL

[tbeltrans]

As a kid, I aspired to be like Maynard G. Krebs when I grew up, but failing that, I ended up as a Principal Engineer (software in embedded systems).

For those who don't remember Dobie Gillis and Maynard G. Krebs...



I went from the Army, to being an AFL-CIO machinist, to being a full time musician, to being an electronic technician, to being a software engineer, to being retired. In retirement, until COVID, I did contract embedded engineering for a medical device firm a couple of months a year for extra guitar money.

Since COVID, I have not been working and probably will remain in that mode, finally aspiring to live like Maynard G. Krebs!

Tony

[dirkronk]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

A
Since COVID, I have not been working and probably will remain in that mode, finally aspiring to live like Maynard G. Krebs!

Tony

Like, cool, good buddy.
Don't sweat the "w" word...just enjoy.


Dirk (whose father used to grumble w-a-a-y too loudly when he'd come home and Dobie Gillis was on)

[FrankHudson]

I sort-of considered myself a writer, even though I'm somewhat awkward at that. Wrote since my teenage years, but it was not officially my occupation/main source of income for most of my life.

Here's the rest, condensed.

Started working as a nursing assistant in my early 20s/1970. Ending up working in a busy urban Emergency room, and picked up a lot of skills over the years, helped train early EMTs. Low pay, lots of experiences, worthwhile work.

Late '80s, I worked with a guy who ran a small publishing operation based around Commodore-brand computers. Wrote for slick magazines, authored two books, other stuff including early work on online services.

After that folded around '91 I started working tech support for a company that did computerized license exams. From there I was poached by the guy who ran that small publishing company who had gone to work for a non-profit radio network. Worked there until 2016 in technology, when I retired as far as paychecks.

Now I describe what I do as "Non-Revenue" as opposed to non-profit project where I write about encountering various peoples' words and combining them with music I record. usually compose, and often try to play multiple instrument parts.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by dirkronk

Like, cool, good buddy.
Don't sweat the "w" word...just enjoy.


Dirk (whose father used to grumble w-a-a-y too loudly when he'd come home and Dobie Gillis was on)

Dig it, daddy-o.

Tony

[unimogbert]

..........

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by unimogbert

In inverse order-

Retired

Reliability Engineer for a DoD contractor on an Air Force system.

Manufacturing Engineer for a well known computer company.

Nuclear Trained Submarine Officer

BS Electrical Engineering

There was a well known computer storage company in Boulder, CO that I worked for back in the mid 90s. While there, I got a patent for something I developed while working alone alone.

Once a year that company held a technical excellence dinner that was attended by those who had received patents and gotten various awards over the course of that year. My wife couldn't go because she was in college (as an adult) at the time, so my manager went. He kept telling people I was his date - all in good humor, of course.

Tony

[Glennwillow]

I have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. I have done all kinds of work using that degree, including aerospace work for 3 years, then 5 years of work with the nuclear navy, mostly overseeing testing of refueled submarines. That work required some specialty training.

I then spent 38 years as chief engineer for a small manufacturing company designing, testing, and putting into production specialty centrifugal pumps. I retired from full-time work in 2016 but still worked an additional 5 years part time for the same company doing special projects to transfer my knowledge over to the company. Over the years I have done a great deal of technical writing.

I am no longer working part time, though I sometimes feel that I should be. I am still trying to get used to being fully retired. But I am enjoying working on whatever music project I feel inclined towards. And I get to spend a lot of time with my lovely wife.

- Glenn

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

I have a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering. I have done all kinds of work using that degree, including aerospace work for 3 years, then 5 years of work with the nuclear navy, mostly overseeing testing of refueled submarines. That work required some specialty training.

I then spent 38 years as chief engineer for a small manufacturing company designing, testing, and putting into production specialty centrifugal pumps. I retired from full-time work in 2016 but still worked an additional 5 years part time for the same company doing special projects to transfer my knowledge over to the company. Over the years I have done a great deal of technical writing.

I am no longer working part time, though I sometimes feel that I should be. I am still trying to get used to being fully retired. But I am enjoying working on whatever music project I feel inclined towards. And I get to spend a lot of time with my lovely wife.

- Glenn

It would be a really kickstart for our retirements if we could white our names on our college degrees and then sell them to prospective students for half the cost of what their college education would otherwise cost. All we need to solve is how to deal with the transcripts.

Tony

[ghostnote]

I'm retired now, but when I was working I was in the supply chain business, which was called "logistics" when I started doing it. I started at the bottom, loading and unloading trucks, and advanced step by step until by the end of my career I was the point man in the US for our factories in several foreign countries. I'm not embarassed to say I was good at my job, and I attribute that in part to having been in the trenches all along the process - I knew what the issues were at every step and that helped me immensely to know what people needed to do their jobs.
But you know what? Retirement is better than working.

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

It would be a really kickstart for our retirements if we could white our names on our college degrees and then sell them to prospective students for half the cost of what their college education would otherwise cost. All we need to solve is how to deal with the transcripts.

Tony

Yes, but would that person know what to do with the degree?

I feel very sorry for young people these days and the burden they are carrying with college education loans.

Speaking of kickstarting retirement, it really did help me to work part time for 5 years after retirement from full-time work. I bought a few musical instruments, we paid for some travel expenses for our kids/grandkids, and we had to fix our roof, but we still put a lot of money into a nest egg which has given both my wife and I a lot of peace of mind.

I hope you are doing well, Tony.

- Glenn

[Street Glider]

I retired from the Navy 20 years ago, worked in the music industry for about 12 years after that.

I then had an epiphany and decided I wanted to be a photographer. I'd always dabbled, bu I went neck-deep this time. It's my passion, with guitars running a ridiculously distant second.

I now shoot and write for several outlets, from Vintage Guitar and Guitar Player to Southern Living and Motor Trend.

It's a Helluva lot better than having a job!

[Xinzheng]

History Professor, retired in August 2020.

[tbeltrans]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

Yes, but would that person know what to do with the degree?

I feel very sorry for young people these days and the burden they are carrying with college education loans.

Speaking of kickstarting retirement, it really did help me to work part time for 5 years after retirement from full-time work. I bought a few musical instruments, we paid for some travel expenses for your kids/grandkids, and we had to fix our roof, but we still put a lot of money into a nest egg which has given both my wife and I a lot of peace of mind.

I hope you are doing well, Tony.

- Glenn

Thanks Glenn. Yes! I did exactly the same thing for my first 6 years of retirement (up until COVID lockdowns). I worked in embedded medical devices and did this for three months per year, three days per week. Contract engineering pays very well and I completely overhauled my guitar collection with some of that money, with the rest going into savings. We took a couple of road trips, covered some of my wife's medical expenses too.

To me, doing that part time work is a great way to transition into retirement, both in terms of getting used to having a lot of time to yourself instead of suddenly drowning in a sea of time, and also the financial transition.

There is a surprising amount of our own identity tied up in what we did for a living, that suddenly goes away when we retire and we are left to redefine ourselves with different value. Notice in this thread, then tendency for folks to say "I am a ..." instead of "I do ...". The phrase "I am ..." indicates that the person's identity is tied up in what s/he does for a living, while the phrase "I do ..." indicates that his or her identity is separate and completely intact away from what s/he does for a living.

On the financial side, even with a decent retirement financial plan, it is still a surprising shock to suddenly not have that regular paycheck, instead switching to Social Security and your own savings.

So being able to do part time contracting while transitioning from a full time career to full time retirement is such a good thing to do for those of us with a marketable skill set that lends itself to that kind of arrangement.

I am doing well, thank you for asking Glenn. Reading your posts, I gather that you are too.

Tony

[eyesore]

Originally Posted by tbeltrans

As a kid, I aspired to be like Maynard G. Krebs when I grew up, but failing that, I ended up as a Principal Engineer (software in embedded systems).

For those who don't remember Dobie Gillis and Maynard G. Krebs...



I went from the Army, to being an AFL-CIO machinist, to being a full time musician, to being an electronic technician, to being a software engineer, to being retired. In retirement, until COVID, I did contract embedded engineering for a medical device firm a couple of months a year for extra guitar money.

Since COVID, I have not been working and probably will remain in that mode, finally aspiring to live like Maynard G. Krebs!

Tony

Mna; Thats Great!!!