I suppose this has been touched on before in other posts.....I am just curious.

I spent 15 years in the telephone industry as a cable splicer, cable maintenance tech and finally as an engineer. As an engineer I used Sun's Solaris on an Ultra Spark for a few years and started looking into Linux. In 2004, my heart stopped ticking as I was on a balcony. I tipped over the rail, landing on my head. I spent 10 months at home recovering and lost my job. Several friends brought older PC's to me they no longer used. I fixed any issues they had, installed Linux on them and then sold them to make money. I then inturn used part of that money to buy some old PCs, fix them, install Linux and sell them.

In the end, I have my own business. All PC Performance. I fix old PCs, install Linux and sell them. I also seem to fix a lot of Windows based PC trouble. Usually driver issues but all kinds of stuff.

I have nearly fully recovered from my accident, only some memories are gone. My eyesight is better than at first and most of my hearing has come back. I know this because I can hear my kids screaming at each other in the background now

SirShaggy

Wow.
I had bumps and downs but nothing compares to what you've been through.

(Scooby doo Yay!)

I work as a designer. No regular income, just odd jobs. Most templates I create are free of cost, anyway.

In a few years, I can start making good money.

Full time carer here for my wife (bad second pregnancy, two failed ops to repair, that was Georgina mentioned in the other kids post)

Was landscaper before that and doing freelance graphic work in spare time for a little extra dough. Now I wash up and hoover a lot

After exiting university early, due to financial problems and political problems (Lancaster University - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia) I got a job as the Network Manager at a nice school in Somerset. I get to pretty much dabble in any technology I want, implement any system I want (with the aim of improving teaching and learning) and am a valued member of the school.

However, as the BSF (google it) is moving in to take over ICT in secondary schools in the UK, my job doesn't look as secure now as it did 10 months ago. In fact, it looks like in a couple of years, when BSF eventually hits Somerset, my job may end up either transferred to a private company such as IBM, Capita or RM or I'll end up being a toner changer/cable wiggler. So, I'm not much looking forward to then...

My longer term goals are to run my own business providing consulancy and support to small businesses and home users.

I do cultural research and write. I also own a small business.

I'm a management consultant working with distributors and manufacturers.

I am Graduate Engineer of 1973, served at Thermal Power Stations for many years.

I promote Linux in India and inspired by your experience.

Thanks for sharing.

Thank you! Kind of ironic in a way. The Linux community is what originally inspired me. I mean, Linux is great, I have tried several variants of Linux before settling on Ubuntu. The community, that's where it's at! Lots of good people, most of which are willing to give a hand when it's needed. People from all over the world, places I have only dreamed of. I have chatted with several people who I will never be able to meet and they helped me like we have always been friends. Think about how good that is.........

I wish success to you all!
SirShaggy

I'm a full-time student in high school preparing for his final year there before studying to get a Bachelor's, and subsequent Master's and Doctorate, in Music Performance.

With which instrument? (I'm a guitarist.)

I currently play the Clarinet family, the Saxophone family, Piano, and Percussion.

I want to major in the first of those.

I am coming to the end of (for now) my training in Exercise Rehabilitation, also called Exercise Physiology or Exercise Prescription. I have 240 hours of clinical placements remaining to gain accreditation, which I can't wait to get! I am also a qualified Personal Trainer.

Currently, most of my paid work is in sports coaching, utilising what I know from my degree and the PT certificate.

Once I'm an accredited Exercise Physiologist I would like to work in the neurological side of rehab helping stroke of car accident victims, then complete my Master of EP soon. However, it's a broad industry and I'll take what I can get, as I find all the specialisations (cardio-respiratory & musculoskeletal are the others) really interesting.

Of particular concern to me is childhood obesity and Type II diabetes. If the neuro path doesn't work out, I would love to one day jointly run my own practice to help address the epidemic with other EPs, doctors, dieticians and psychologists. The idea is a multi-discipline practice that covers all areas of help these people need.

Excellent. I love a good clarinet (Benny Goodman or Artie Shaw, anyone?). I realize you probably specialize in a slightly different style, but I love the timbre of the instrument.

EDIT: Okay, I took this thread off topic long enough...back to careers.

After, 4 years studied genral computing, i work now for a little compagny. We're making websites, working on pay solutions. I'm dev and admin.
Nice to see all these various experiences.
@matthew: your write works sounds interesting

Wow! I was quite surprised when I read your posts and saw how openly you talk about your lives and experiences. I admire people who manage to overcome great difficulties in life and continue their lives with strength, like SirShaggy does.

Although I am only 20 years old I think I gained some experience in this theme (a "different" stepfather, violence, two war-blinded grandfathers). Of course, I don't think of myself as experienced but I think I know to value strong people.

I am currently reaching my A-Levels and hope to start studying political science in autumn. By doing this I will (finally) move away from my so called parents.

I used to program in html, php, pascal and java but I stopped because of time issues. I'm going to continue writing web pages and stuff like that when I will have finished school (just one month to go ).

I studied electrical and electronic engineering at university went into the semiconductor business.

I started on custom CMOS devices but got bored so picked up high speed BiCMOS and Bipolar. Worked on some interesting projects - mainframe CPU, HDTV (in 1989 the processing filled a room).

Found myself working on silicon solutions for mobile phones just at the transisiton from analogue to digital systems and never looked back.

After getting the basic technolgoy working it just grew and grew. Now you get your sticky little fingers on everything - camera solutions, multimedia, operating systems, bluetooth, WiFi, GPS, Java. It is never dull.

I get to travel quite a bit. Japan, China, Korea, US.

Actually, coincidentally enough, my focus is in Jazz. >_>

Well, i left school at 16 with no qualifications, and kind of flitted from job to job, temping for agencies a lot, and spent 3 years in the Security Industry working for a now- defunct company. It was fun though, we used to do show and events security, I got to meet quite a few famous faces (mostly UK Royal Family) at various landmark events on the UK National calendar.

At 25, I could finally start the career I always wanted to do - be a Truck driver. So, i got my licences, and have spent the last 9 years working for various firms doing everything from local Parcel Delivery (Very stressful) to Long Distance HGV work.

Currently, I deliver fresh bread to local shops here in Ireland in the early mornings, work from about 5am - lunchtime.

searching for a job