What is your profession?

[JohnnyCougar]

What do y'all do for a living?
Edit: Also, how long have you been doing it?

If you are a student, what's your major or area of specialty?


JohnnyCougar is getting his Masters' Degree in Personnel and Human Resource Development (part of an Industrial/Organizational Psychology program). I am in my first year, and hope to be done in 3 more semesters. I may go on to get my PhD in I/O Psychology (very likely). Either way, I will probably be working as a consultant in the area of personnel selection ($$$$$). I can't wait to start my career!

[Abelman]

1. Unappreciated

That's my job.

I'm a RA at a boarding school for natives in the middle of nowhere Alaska. I went to college for four years so I could be a babysitter and get a job that only requires a high school diploma. There's a longer story behind it, but I'm pretty pissed off about the whole thing.

[Seabiscuit]

42. Don't get angry. Get even. Just leave.

[Historic NY]

2. you'd never believe it............ but I'm in LE .....

retiring in the next few months after 30 yrs. Also a local government historian as a second job. Don't tell anyone thou. I have my masters and need a change, its time to move on.

[NamVetsWeeLass]

37. Sorry, My brain isn't in Gear. What is an LE?

[RagingInMiami]

44. I think it's law enforcement

but i may be wrong

[Historic NY]

80. no your right....... n/t

[nytemare]

63. the daily grind gets to you in law enforcement

When I was in the Army, I thought it would be the only thing I would ever want to do with my life. I was an MP. Now I work for my local Sheriff's Office in a civilian capacity, and I don't want to go sworn any more. I can see myself being a crime analyst or a victim advocate, but not much else any more. People in LE get more conservative, but I feel I am getting more liberal.

I think what gets me is that EVERYTHING becomes so cliched after a while. Everyone wants to watch Cops and they always talk about law enforcement, it is their entire life. I like to leave my work at work. I am a human cornucopia, I like so many different things, and I don't like to fit into any one category.

I can surely see where you are coming from.

[BamaGirl]

95. I did the same in the Army, and can't imagine doing it

now. My husband does, and loves it, but I just don't like people nearly well enough. I think I would like to work the lab/scene, but not well enough to go thru all the crap necessary to get sworn. We don't spend a lot of time with ppl from work. They're too consumed. I don't work. I still can't decide what to be when I grow up lol. ;)

[Seldona]

3. Until the 18th of December,

I am a small business owner.

After that, I suppose I will be a failure. (we are finally closing up shop) :cry:

As to what is next?

Who knows?

But I need to get going on it now.

I suppose something in the computer field.

[Hans Delbrook]

84. Anyone w/ the guts to start their own business is NOT a failure!

I'm sure you'll use the experience in some way in the future.

[WCGreen]

4. I'm a self employeed accoutant

who also writes. It's been a while since I've been published on a regular basis, but I haven't been trying all that hard, more writing for me...

As for the tax thing, I have over a hundred clients that keep me busy part for part of the year.

The rest of the time, noodling around with politics......

[Tom Kitten]

5. well I'm pretty happy with my job...

I do commercial art and engrave plates by hand for printing presses. Without knowing it you might have seen my work... I've been doing it for about twelve years...I have a BFA from college, not that people stand in awe about that but it helps me feel good...considering my job is not that creative, but i make a living...

[LARED]

6. Mechanical Engineer

working in the chemical industry. Don't hate me :)

[Rambis]

32. Your an Environmental Hitler!

;) that is what an acquaintance of mine screamed on his way out of a job like that. He was a chemist, most likely he sniffed one to many chemicals.

[Red State Rebel]

7. Business Owner - Heating & Air Conditioning

We've had it for over 10 years.

[GreenPartyVoter]

8. Trained as an elementary teacher, but an an at-home mom and occasional

writer instead.

[foreigncorrespondent]

9. I'm in the security industry!

I work in the loss prevention area for a major Hi-fi store in Melbourne.

[gottalickbush]

10. mechanic

been at this job for 20 years.

[funkybutt]

11. graphic designer

i'm pretty happy with everything about my job EXCEPT for the pay. Great job security...i hope.

[scarlet_owl]

12. Homemaker.

And I'm lousy at it.

[ScreamingMeemie]

13. The second oldest one.

;) :hi: and I'm a real estate appraiser as well.

[Coyote_Bandit]

14. Unemployed Schmuck for the Past Two Years

Worked as an investment portfolio manager for the two years prior to that. Am currently seeking a new and hopefully less traditional career.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

15. Former NFL Lineman

[RagingInMiami]

17. who did you play for?

[Beware the Beast Man]

16. Toilet Partition Engineer

I shit you not (pun intended).

[Historic NY]

78. that is a tough job..........I found out when desigining a park restroom.

What a PIA trying to figure out which way they should go especially before the fixtures were placed. Handicapped, partion walls and swing of doors. We got it wrong the first time ordering and the town had some extra walls from their ill-conceived venture too. In the end it worked out. Most people just use them and never think about the details.

[JohnnyCougar]

18. Wow...we have a diverse array of people here!

C'mon, y'all day people.....fess up!

[XNASA]

19. I play middle linebacker.....

For the Kleebland Browns.

[datasuspect]

20. shepherd

[huskerlaw]

21. Lawyer

but still a student, working on a Masters. 9 years of college, baby!

[Feathered Fish]

22. I am a student and a production manager

for a small film co. I am specializing in Arts Management with a focus on music.

[Reverend_Smitty]

23. I'm a student...

I'm currently studying athletic training, I plan on getting my masters in biomechanics possibly. I don't know about the PhD yet but I want to work on the collegiate level so it's more than likely that I will get it.

I want to work as an athletic trainer at the college level I also want to teach

on edit: Yeah I know just what the academic world needs, another liberal elitist professor :P

[dolo amber]

24. Landshark

[JohnnyCougar]

33. Is that slang for real estate agent?

[dolo amber]

46. Yes...yes it is

:D

[Not_Giving_Up]

25. I'm an Administrative Assistant

Microsoft Certified in Word and Excel (and looking for a better paying job)!

[nini]

26. software developer

for 13 years

[Debbi801]

27. Technical Writer for a computer company.

[CO Liberal]

28. Technical Writer for a Defense Contractor

I've been writing for over 21 years now, for the electronics, health care, computer software, and defense industries.

When I started, all our writing was done by pencil. I was so glad to get my first PC in 1985 - a two-floppy IBM with a green 12-inch monitor that cost more than $2,000 in 1985 dollars.

[J-Lo Biafra]

36. D-FENS!

I hope you get the joke...;)

[JohnnyCougar]

45. I just wanna go home and see my doughter.

[RagingInMiami]

49. From the movie "falling down"?

[J-Lo Biafra]

51. Yep!

"We are not the same...I'm an American; you're a sick asshole!"

[RagingInMiami]

54. I love that movie

I think we can all relate to it somehow

[slestak]

29. Another graphic designer...

...who is very concerned with his job security. We are absolutely dead right now -- hardly any work at all.

I am teaching myself web programming (CSS. Javascript, PHP, MySQL) to better my chances of finding a job when this one craps out, which looks like sooner rather than later.

[kittycat1164]

30. librarian

Well, kinda. I'm working on my MLS but work in an academic library as an Acquisitions Technician.....er, I buy books for the college library.

[huskerlaw]

59. ::waves::

I'm working on my MLS too. Graduating in May, then hopefully a professor in a law library.

[intheflow]

107. In school to be a minister and have 2 jobs.

I'm going to be a UU minister. Right now I work as a church intern and also as a student assistant in my seminary's Justice & Peace studies program.

I keep toying with the idea of going on to get my Ph.D. in political science. But why? To spend another $20-40K to graduate at 45 and get a job that pays $40K to start? And exctly what job would that be?

<sigh> Someday I'll figure out what I want to be when I grow up.

[Cadence]

31. Unix systems administrator

But I wanna be a screenwriter.

[PatriotGames]

75. I used to be a UNIX sys admin!

[Cadence]

77. $>cd /pub

$>more beer

:toast:

[RagingInMiami]

34. I'm a journalist currently working as a magazine writer

who is trying to break into the screenwriting business.

[HEyHEY]

101. ROdeo clown

[NamVetsWeeLass]

35. Licensed Practical Nurse

want to continue with my Education so I can get my Master's...Or go to be a PA (Physician's Assistant)

[GOPisEvil]

38. State Government Drone.

[Jessica]

70. Me too ...

:hi:

[GOPisEvil]

113. Drones of the world - UNITE!

:hi:

[Book Lover]

39. I make books

At my day job I am a production manager for a college textbook company (History and Poli Sci mostly); at night I make art books by hand, plus some book repair.

[JohnnyCougar]

43. Can you get me deals on textbooks?

:evilgrin:

I hate paying $120 for one book I will use for apporoximately 10 days out of the semester.

[Book Lover]

58. Do not buy from your campus bookstore

Buy the books directly from the publisher's website.

[skygazer]

40. Drone

I work in a grocery store. It is not a "profession" nor is it a "career". It's just a job, one in a long line of jobs. I like it okay and it pays well. Good benefits at least until January when we get a new contract that will no doubt take much of our benefits away. I've been there for almost six years. Pays the bills. Just.

[progressoid]

41. Photographer and Dad

[Aiptasia]

47. Realtor, Film-maker, Musician

I'm a jack of all trades.

[goodboy]

87. musician here too...what's your instrument(s)

[jmowreader]

123. And owner of a nuisance-anemone-infested marine aquarium?

[Left Is Write]

48. I am absolutely unprofessional.

I have been a stay-home mother since 1998.

Prior to that I worked in the insurance industry and the radio industry (the field for which I got my education).

Incidentally, my mother-in-law has a Masters in Human Resource Development.

[JohnnyCougar]

50. awesome! What does she do?

Does she like her job?

[Left Is Write]

53. She has her own consulting business.

She's had a contract for the past year with a particular corporation that is driving her nuts. They want to keep her on, but she's told me that will require a serious renegotiation of her contract when its up.

But yes - what she actually does, she loves. She designs training and development programs tailored to the clients' individual needs.

[JohnnyCougar]

71. Cool. That's exactly what I'm studying

I think I am going to focus more on leadership behavior in the workplace. I want to do my Master's thesis on imagegy and vocabulary used by transformatinal leaders. Obviously, research in that area will help develop leadership training programs for businesses.

[sangh0]

52. "Mop boy" at Show World

now retired

[Radical Activist]

55. Political Organizer

I have a little "time off" now that the election is over.

[DeposeTheBoyKing]

56. Third-year law student

Only one semester left - UNBELIEVABLE!!!! Then it's off to Texas to study for and take the Texas bar exam.

[midnight armadillo]

57. Physicist

Official title is "Senior Scientist". I do scientific software and hardware involving optics, lasers, and especially microscopy.

Fortunately my company is mostly gov-financed (yes, ballistic missile defense money goes good places sometimes ;-)) so we should be fairly recession proof, unless the defense budget gets slashed. Ha, not under bush!

[meisje]

60. French Whore

You got a problem with that?

[Milspec]

92. "French Whore"!! No problem with me

Post a Photo LOL!

[the Princess]

61. I am

A Professional Pain in the Ass.

I'm really good at what I do. :)

[Cyndee_Lou_Who]

62. I am a Business Analyst for a large national retailer. I am an "IT Geek"

Been here for about a year and a half, been in IT for about 8 years.

[motely36]

64. EDI Programmer/Analyst

and part-time graduate student in Computer Science.

[Catchawave]

65. Married with Children/grandchildren x 35 years

Can I retire yet?

[Mumble]

66. Speech therapist.

aha eeee eye oouh eewww

Now try again.....

[Mrs. Venation]

67. My Official Title Is "IT Specialist"

but Bertha says I'm a chip-head. I've been in desktop computing for almost 20 years. I love my job; I am very lucky.

[AlCzervik]

68. Realtor, i specialize in relocations

but i hope to have a coffee shop someday, lots of newspapers, lemon poppy seed bread and my itunes library playing all the time. Nothing fancy mind you.

[CarbonDate]

69. Network Administrator....

...for the U.S. Air Force.

[NoSunWithoutShadow]

72. Work for EPA

31 years at the National Vehicle and Fuel Emissions Laboratory, as an Environmental Protection Specialist. Eligible to retire, but I don't want to; I think the economy is not going to improve anytime soon.

[PatriotGames]

73. Engineer in the military-industrial complex.

[PatriotGames]

76. But I want to dance. j/k

[billyskank]

74. Computer programmer

professional nerd.

[Cuban_Liberal]

79. Book store/news agency co-owner and law student.

Keeps us both hoppin'...

:)

[name not needed]

81. High school student/unpaid intern/village idiot

:)

[shesemsmom]

82. Nursing Tech

28 years. Can never leave because my 401 k is in the sewer

[Dastard Stepchild]

83. Policy Researcher and also a grad student

I do social policy and drug policy research. Mostly drug policy.
In school, I study social service administration and public policy with a concentration in healthcare administration and policy.

I'm fun to have at dinner parties. :)

[Hans Delbrook]

85. Molecular Biologist

Or as my boss likes to call me, a gene jockey.

Officially known as Director, QC for a small biotech company working (mainly) on HIV therapeutics.

Yes, that's right. I'm curing AIDS. Big HA.

Well, we're trying.:)

[dazeconf]

105. bioinformatician

or at least that's what they call me. I'm basically just a programmer writing useful software for R&D types.

[Hans Delbrook]

114. Is that field still as hot as it used to be? nt

[dazeconf]

117. nope, not really

A bunch of poorly planned biotechs trying to sell biological information crashed. Some bioinformatics depts at larger companies have been outsourced as well. There are still some jobs out there though.

[goodboy]

86. Professional Musician (pianist)

Artist for YAMAHA pianos, and Sales Manager for a YAMAHA piano dealer.

[greymattermom]

88. I'm a

Neuroscientist.

[JohnnyCougar]

99. That's awesome! What's your specialty?

Neuroscience was my second option (well actually Physiological psychology, which is almost the same thing), but I chose I/O Psychology instead. I took two advanced labs in Physio. Psych. I love learning how the brain works.

The worst part was experimenting on rats. Transcardial perfusions..ugh!

[blockhead]

89. union bricklayer

[Wapsie B]

90. Polysomnographic Technologist.

Working in Sleep Disorders Labs for quite awhile now. Not much heavy lifting but the hours can suck. I get this feeling of needing to move in a different direction like a business of my own.

[sphincter]

91. Stockbroker

Trading Japanese cash equities. Went from network engineer to dealer some years back and have not looked back.

[Milspec]

93. Quality Engineer

And as my user name might suggest, with a lot of time in defence, but more time in medical devices (implantables) than killing people & breaking things.

[Mr. McD]

94. Electron Microscopist

Biological and Material Science.:)

[2sheds]

102. Awesome!

Wow, that's so cool!!

A winding path led me to become a sysadmin, but my degree is in biology, and I'm a TOTAL biology nerd.

What kind of microscopy do you do? TEM, SEM, both, other? What biological fields? Any cool pictures online? :)

[Mr. McD]

112. TEM and SEM

We do a little of everything. My background is mostly biology but currently do mostly materials. A lot of Geology and Carbon nanotubes.
This is a centered facility. We work with a lot of grad students, no specific research but assist in many areas. My job before this one was involved in Alzheimer's research.

[no name no slogan]

96. Webmaster/WebDev for state government

Been involved in web stuff for seven years, and started working for the state four months back. Previous to the state, I worked for a couple of small businesses and also as a freelance web developer.

I actually like doing the web stuff; however, I liked me previous employer better than this one. There's a lot of bureaucracy involved in any decision in government (suprise!), and it's a little harder to get things done. But still, it's good work when you can get it.

[BamaGirl]

97. I've been a

stay at home mom is since 1996 when I got out of the Army, where I was an MP. I do a little freelance photography and writing now, and volunteer at the kid's school. I'm also the secretary for the local Dem. club.

[norml]

98. "Living's my profession" said a man who could not earn his bread.

Actually I deliver pizzas almost full time. I would like to be employed as a photographer, or as a videographer.

[rhino47]

100. Antiques Dealer

aka professional slacker.

[WindRavenX]

103. student

Working on getting my BA in Biology and English, and then hopefully move on to teaching :)

[NurseLefty]

104. Nursing Technician - Registered, Senior BSN Student

I am at the University of Washington. I have 1 quarter left of didactic and clinical, then a quarter of practicum. In June, I graduate with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing, with a minor in Medical History and Ethics. Shortly thereafter, I will take the NCLEX (board certification exam to become a registered nurse). Keeping fingers crossed, I should have my RN license by the end of July.
My former career before deciding what I want to be when I grow up was in property and casualty insurance.

[Dorian Gray]

106. My area of work:

Currently I run a non-profit that gives grants to charities. Before this, I was a teacher, and I spent time (a year) volunteering in a charity... the fund-raising division.

I was an English major, and I taught English at the High School level. Not that you could tell by some of my posts, especially those filled with typos.

[Az]

108. Until the day before the election

I was a System Administrator. My company used the election as cover for a massive layoff.

[Gemini Cat]

109. Bookie.

Plus, an all around pain in the ass sociologist and researcher.

[Bat Boy]

110. What do I do for a living, or what do I do for money?

For a living I'm a writer...

[Cats Against Frist]

111. Here's a conversation that took place today in my kitchen:

Me: We have to drop off the rent check or they'll put us out.

Boyfriend: What day is it?

Me: I don't know.

Boyfriend: I think it's the seventh.

Me: How the hell did it get to be the seventh, already? I guess time flies when you're a poet and you don't give a fuck what day it is.

************

I stare at the wall, for a living, post on message boards, stumble out once a week to teach an undergrad poetry class and otherwise have insomnia and write about tree-shaped dicks and salmon asses.

[mike_c]

115. biologist....

eom

[meganmonkey]

116. Non-profit Food Rescue organization

We save food that would otherwise be thrown out and distribute it to about 150 programs in our county that serve low-income folks (from emergency pantries at shelters to day care to AFC homes to Detox programs...). We rescued over 2 million lbs of food last year and our goal this year is 3 million. My job title there is office monkey.

[achtung_circus]

118. I work in Animal Welfare Enforcement

SPCA or Humane Society. Most of the time I'm the livestock specialist. Currently that means cockfights in addition to cows and pigs.

[TexasLady]

119. Hmm, well..

it pays a dollar a minute, and Im really dominant, and I have a phone line..................................................................................................................................................................................:wow:

and yes, I love my job.:D

[sadinred]

120. I'm retired at 35.

Really. Sad huh? I'm a little ashamed. I'm married, trying to become a mom. I went to school for Sociology, and have done every job under the sun (I've had 36 jobs in my life...true!). I last worked for United Rentals Inc and miss it very much. I guess I'm not retired, but I don't work right now. My husband's retired so we just say I'm retired too.

[enigmatic]

121. Internet Radio Station Owner/Broadcaster

Though I've been a musician, writer, and bartender as well...

Radio Enigma- Genre-less, Independant, Internet Radio:

http://www.radioenigma.com

[Nikia]

122. Quality Assurance-Food Industry

Making sure that my company produces safe wholesome food. Yes, I have to taste the product too.