What do you do for a living?

[denzil]

Thought it would be interesting to see what people here do for a living (besides web development - unless that is all you do).

I'm a student in Stellenbosch (south africa). Currently studying for a bachelors degree in Electrical and Electronic Engineering - 3rd year out of 4. Also working on a website that will hopefully bring me some income one day!

[essellar]

OK, I'll bite.

I have led what can only be described as an improbable life; at least it is improbable in the modern era. You could call me a bit of a Renaissance man, I suppose, or perhaps a polymath. Or, rather, you could have, while my brain was still functioning properly. At the moment (and very likely for all of my remaining moments) I am not doing anything for a living. I have little control over my body, the memory of the proverbial goldfish, and (though it's sometimes difficult to tell in the online world) I have a great deal of difficulty with understanding language or making myself understood. Technology hides a lot of that, but it can't hide my inability to synthesize new ideas (or, on the odd occasion when I can, to later comprehend those ideas). I have moments when I am very nearly as lucid as I once was (if you can ignore the chorea and the drooling, spitting, stammering and slurring), but they are few, unpredictable and short-lived. I get by on a small government allowance (and when I say small, I mean small -- my total income last year was less than two thousand dollars Canadian) plus the odd gift from friends (like the computer I am using at the moment).

That being said, I started as a mathematician and fine artist (painting in oils). In the rebelliousness of youth, I rejected mathematics (mostly due to the interest being shown in me by the Society of Actuaries -- who actually wants to do statistics for a living?), threw away several large scholarships (that would have allowed me to pursue an education at a considerable profit) and went on to do "honest work". Two years as a general labourer, digging ditches and so forth, convinced me that I might not be quite as "honest" as I imagined myself to be.

I became an electronics engineering technologist in the military, and eventually took that into the civilian world working as a college instructor in electrical engineering and mathematics while pursuing research. (I was first introduced to SGML, and later HTML, during this period -- long before there was a publicly accessible Worldwide Web.) I sort of lost interest, though, as VLSI replaced discrete circuits and digital supplanted analog (it was a while ago, yes). Designing ASICs didn't hold quite the magic for me that wielding a soldering iron did, and while dedicated digital circuitry has its advantages, I found software for general-purpose computers much more fascinating.

My fine art and photography hobbies combined with my computing addiction to make me a very early entrant into the digital design arena. It was difficult to get clients, and even more difficult to make a living, when you consider that the machine you bought today would be little more than a doorstop tomorrow and very few people outside of the industry understood what computers could do. I remember paying something in excess of $40K for a proofing printer that wouldn't begin to measure up to somethng you could buy at Wall*Mart for $40 today and having to explain to clients that their ad would actually look better in the newspaper than it did in my proof -- and you know what newspaper pictures look like. That business eventually died in the recession of the early '90s.

I worked for a while again as a teacher, this time at the high school level, teaching English and Mathematics. The lack of enthusiasm from the majority of my students was disheartening, so I left that arena after a year. I spent the majority of the '90s working as a craftsman, first building fine furniture, then restoring and conserving antiques, specializing in leather goods. I couldn't help noticing, though, that I was doing a lot of unofficial (and unpayed) computer consulting on the side.

Greed got the better of me, so I went into the computer consulting field full-time. I made a pretty good name for myself (and am still world-famous, albeit in a relatively small niche world). About five or six years ago, though, I noticed I was becoming clumsier than my usual clumsy, and that I was making a lot of mistakes of the sort I simply never made before. (Interestingly, I was on my way to Cape Town to take up a consulting/teaching position with a local IBM affiliate when my first major dissociative episode occurred.) I initially suspected incipient burn-out, so I took a bit of time off to recharge my batteries. Turns out those batteries were NiCd, and would no longer take a charge.

So here I am, an oracle of ancient wisdom (I still have an encyclopaedic knowledge, I just can't use it for much except answering other people's questions). I still have good friends and memories -- nothing recent, mind you, but memories nonetheless -- but apart from the occasional photograph (tethered cameras and tripod heads make up for a lot of physical problems) or the occasional bit of obscure technical knowledge, I have little new or useful to contribute to the wider world.

[Brandon]

What do I do for a living?

I provide all the customers of x10Premium and x10VPS services quality support at a great value ... and I also get to annoy Corey a lot...perks of the job.

[Corey]

OK, I'll bite.

I have led what can only be described as an improbable life; at least it is improbable in the modern era. You could call me a bit of a Renaissance man, I suppose, or perhaps a polymath. Or, rather, you could have, while my brain was still functioning properly. At the moment (and very likely for all of my remaining moments) I am not doing anything for a living. I have little control over my body, the memory of the proverbial goldfish, and (though it's sometimes difficult to tell in the online world) I have a great deal of difficulty with understanding language or making myself understood. Technology hides a lot of that, but it can't hide my inability to synthesize new ideas (or, on the odd occasion when I can, to later comprehend those ideas). I have moments when I am very nearly as lucid as I once was (if you can ignore the chorea and the drooling, spitting, stammering and slurring), but they are few, unpredictable and short-lived. I get by on a small government allowance (and when I say small, I mean small -- my total income last year was less than two thousand dollars Canadian) plus the odd gift from friends (like the computer I am using at the moment).

That being said, I started as a mathematician and fine artist (painting in oils). In the rebelliousness of youth, I rejected mathematics (mostly due to the interest being shown in me by the Society of Actuaries -- who actually wants to do statistics for a living?), threw away several large scholarships (that would have allowed me to pursue an education at a considerable profit) and went on to do "honest work". Two years as a general labourer, digging ditches and so forth, convinced me that I might not be quite as "honest" as I imagined myself to be.

I became an electronics engineering technologist in the military, and eventually took that into the civilian world working as a college instructor in electrical engineering and mathematics while pursuing research. (I was first introduced to SGML, and later HTML, during this period -- long before there was a publicly accessible Worldwide Web.) I sort of lost interest, though, as VLSI replaced discrete circuits and digital supplanted analog (it was a while ago, yes). Designing ASICs didn't hold quite the magic for me that wielding a soldering iron did, and while dedicated digital circuitry has its advantages, I found software for general-purpose computers much more fascinating.

My fine art and photography hobbies combined with my computing addiction to make me a very early entrant into the digital design arena. It was difficult to get clients, and even more difficult to make a living, when you consider that the machine you bought today would be little more than a doorstop tomorrow and very few people outside of the industry understood what computers could do. I remember paying something in excess of $40K for a proofing printer that wouldn't begin to measure up to somethng you could buy at Wall*Mart for $40 today and having to explain to clients that their ad would actually look better in the newspaper than it did in my proof -- and you know what newspaper pictures look like. That business eventually died in the recession of the early '90s.

I worked for a while again as a teacher, this time at the high school level, teaching English and Mathematics. The lack of enthusiasm from the majority of my students was disheartening, so I left that arena after a year. I spent the majority of the '90s working as a craftsman, first building fine furniture, then restoring and conserving antiques, specializing in leather goods. I couldn't help noticing, though, that I was doing a lot of unofficial (and unpayed) computer consulting on the side.

Greed got the better of me, so I went into the computer consulting field full-time. I made a pretty good name for myself (and am still world-famous, albeit in a relatively small niche world). About five or six years ago, though, I noticed I was becoming clumsier than my usual clumsy, and that I was making a lot of mistakes of the sort I simply never made before. (Interestingly, I was on my way to Cape Town to take up a consulting/teaching position with a local IBM affiliate when my first major dissociative episode occurred.) I initially suspected incipient burn-out, so I took a bit of time off to recharge my batteries. Turns out those batteries were NiCd, and would no longer take a charge.

So here I am, an oracle of ancient wisdom (I still have an encyclopaedic knowledge, I just can't use it for much except answering other people's questions). I still have good friends and memories -- nothing recent, mind you, but memories nonetheless -- but apart from the occasional photograph (tethered cameras and tripod heads make up for a lot of physical problems) or the occasional bit of obscure technical knowledge, I have little new or useful to contribute to the wider world.

It sounds like you have plenty left to contribute. I read through your website and was a little disappointed that the stories section was not up yet. I have book marked it and will check back at a later time. It also surprises me that you have any disability, especially one affecting your language skills. I would say your posts are some of the most informative and well written on the forums. We appreciate the help you give around here and look forward to seeing more of your posts. Thanks for sharing.

And on topic, I do x10 for a living

[denzil]

It sounds like you have plenty left to contribute. I read through your website and was a little disappointed that the stories section was not up yet. I have book marked it and will check back at a later time. It also surprises me that you have any disability, especially one affecting your language skills. I would say your posts are some of the most informative and well written on the forums. We appreciate the help you give around here and look forward to seeing more of your posts. Thanks for sharing.

And on topic, I do x10 for a living

I completely agree. You're writing skills are great. Just keep up doing what you do and have some faith in yourself ;)

You too Corey, keep up your x10 magic (at least that will make me happy!) xD

[krofunk]

By day I am a IT Technician and I do mobile phone repairs/sales for o2 (Telefonica) by night I am a crappy web designer that finds work for other (good) designers nothing special.

[jugoslav97]

Hi to all, i work a lot of things in my life, marketing, real estate agent, leather industry and forex and stock market trader, i have 48 years and in my 45 i retire, and now i just trade on markets i prefer Forex and for 2 years i have ups and downs but mostly ups and doing real good, monthly income from forex is about 2000$ in my country Serbia thats is good money.

[Sharky]

OK, I'll bite.

I have led what can only be described as an improbable life; at least it is improbable in the modern era...

It's been said already, but yours are some of the few longer posts I actually read in their entirety. Looking back I suspect that I'm the opposite - some of my posts here are completely nonsensical; haven't figured out why yet. Maybe I should proof read them more often!

Get that 'stories' section up!

On-topic, I work for a multinational technical consultancy, as part of a team that provides electrical engineering consultancy services within the civil engineering sector. I'm working on two major London projects, one from the Authority's side, and one on the bidding team; this offers a unique insight into the way the process works from both sides of the table.

[John Klyne]

I guess I'll go and leak some information about myself as well...

I have never had my own boss before...I honestly didn't like having my father telling me what to do when I was younger so I vowed to never have a boss, or job.

I am self-employed and only 19 years old...as old as I may not be, I think I am doing rather well for myself. I go to sleep every night with an idea in mind. Something that's going to change my financial situation and life for ever, as well as the life of all people around me.

I own 2 membership sites, that I have just begun working on for a month or so...hoping at least one of them, whenever I finish with it would yield an amount of 10k a month.

I do run a construction company and service the states of NJ, CT, NY, and PA...construction yields massive profits. On my spare time...basically all the time, I either work on my sites, or talk about business to a number of people.

I made my first cent online, and I made many more when that started, 4 1/2 years ago. A guy, was 16 years old and said "He's going to do x" to become a millionaire. He did x, and he did make millions...he still does make millions a year...There is no reason a person above the age of 16 could not make money with the internet, there is no reason a person with money to invest could not make a million.

What do I do for a living? ...invest in real-estate, tax deed and tax liens, foreclosures...I buy real-estate and hand over for rent, apartment buildings of all sizes. I invest in stocks, I even wanted to become a financial advisor or manager, I even wanted to be an investment banker...What happened was...Organizations out there hiring in those positions, that pay handsomely enough for me, wanted someone with a degree from Harvard or some other Ivy League school...this was made evident to me just this year while in college...unfortunately I had no chance of attending a Ivy League school...my SAT scores were just average, my high school grades were more A's and B's maybe 1 or 2 C's on occasion...

What is my goal...what drives what I do for a living????

I wanted to make money, the amount of money investment bankers made...hundreds of thousands a year...they basically told me -I'm not smart enough to be an investment banker. They told me I needed good grades in school and to attend a great college...a college that costs well...TOO much money for my family to afford...

My goal that drives what I do for a living is...to make more money than anyone with a college degree can make, whether or not that college degree costs 200k for 4 years or anything else like that....

You know what? I didn't need college...I don't need any of these grand companies looking for a Ivy League degree staff member...because I learned, with what I know...that is 100% not tested ON ANYTHING these colleges want...I learned things that could make money more money then any thing the world current offers to teach people...

I do what I want when I want, anywhere I want. On a train, on a plane, in a beach house located in the country I was born in....I run businesses, and invest...all on my computer...

What do I do for a living: The short and simple answer...I click a bunch of buttons on my computer...and read some things...and click more buttons...and read things, and reply to things...I then click more buttons and read/reply/critique some things...I FINALLY read some things, reply to things...tell people what to do online, and GET Paid.

Anyone think they can't make $$$ right from their computer...I have to tell you a secret...you can't, because you think you can't. Anyone think they are too old, or too young, to make $$$ your dead wrong, I'm proof of making money, and living on my own all from the internet yea I started freshman year high school...but that should only help.

What do I do for a living...I think about money, and make money. It's simple.

[kinley3]

I'm a student majoring in Political Science. What I'd like to do regarding that concentration is quite an expansive topic. I'm flirting with the idea of law school or graduate school. Working with Congress in some capacity interests me, as does actually running for office some day. Foreign affairs/international relations are fascinating as well. Long story short, I'm keeping my options as open as possible.