How'd you get into your line of work?

[megoscott]

The semi-annual what do you do for a living thread has come up. My question is always how'd you end up doing that? Is that what you set out to do? Who does that anyway?

I'm a photoshop painter and color artist at an animation company. After high school (where I was mainly into theater) I moved to San Francisco and went to art school to be a fine artist (where I mainly learned how to BS and where to buy pot). Then I dropped out and worked as a bill collector for a bank (more fun than you'd think--people will tell you everything when they owe you money) for a few years until I went back to school to study illustration and do graphic novels, which is also harder than it looks. After I graduated and found out how tough it is being a freelance illustrator I learned learned enough computer to make money in the multimedia CD Rom world which then led me to do some work for a friend at an animation studio. I've been there ever since, though employment is always unsteady due to the nature of the industry.

So while I like animation I never set out to do it and still always feel like a bit of an imposter, but they keep hiring me and tell me I'm pretty good. Several of my theater friends in high school are still acting for a living and I always wonder if I zigged when I should have zagged, but actors are hard to live with.

[toys2cool]

when I was in High school I was always the most athletic,so I knew I wanted to do something to help others get in shape,I always wanted to be a trainer or something like that

[Bill]

I was laid off after an 11 year run in video games, so I found a new job. I'm easy to please; HVAC just happened to be available at the time.

[Raydeen1]

I've always been into art. I've always been artistic. Most of my jobs have been graphics related. It's what I was born to do. Or a musician. I've done that too. I love my job most of the time.

[fallensaviour]

I started out after high school in the logging industry(chopping down trees) made some good money and then always wanted to be a paramedic.So I trained went to school and became a paramedic(18 years ago)worked ambulance for five years married then divorced a few years later.Lost the desire to help people after the divorce and then moved to a larger city.Began working as a lab technician.Money was okay but I was promised more than I was making so after ten years being stuck behind a desk I wanted more.
Now I work for the city as a maintenance repairman,I love it.I drive a service truck all over the city fixing broken trucks and spray equipment.Money is good,fresh air is awesome and I work four day weeks 10 hours a day so I get a long weekend every week.
More time with my family.So the career changes were totally worth it in the end.
I've been doing this for three years now and I plan to retire doing this some twenty years from now... LOL

[AUSSIE-Rebooted-AMM]

Sorry Bill, but I saw the HVAC in the other thread as well. I have NO IDEA what that is or means. . . can you explain.

For my Part. . . .I started a Cross degree, that incorporated a Science Degree and a Teaching degree similtaneously. . . .within a year I got offered a govt job. . . .nohing much, but job security and money in my pocket. . . .I took it and never finished the degree.

Then one of my sisters was a nurse, and I hung out with her and her friends. . . and one of her boyfriends who was a nurse, became a best bud of mine. He and my sis later got married. Anyway. . . .nurse training was also a government job, and my male nurse friends said it was a great way to get a job you could travel anywhere in the world with and you were also outnumbered 10 to 1 by the 17 to 20 year old girls (hey you asked and this was a PRIME motivator)! There was provisions where I worked to leave and start the nurse training and yet have my job held for 6 months . . . .so I gave it a shot. . . . .and made very close friends with A LOT of those 17 to 20 year old girls . . . .why else do guys go nursing.

Anyway, some of my mates were psychiatric nurses, doing there General Nurse training with me. I never ceased to be amazed at their depth of knowledge and understanding. . . .of many things far and above, just changing bed pans. So when I finished I went and did my Psychiatric nursing training. . . .it was far less exhausting, flat out running task orientated stuff, and far more intellectually stimulating. . .and yes exciting at times, as it is sometimes dangerous, getting the adrenaline flowing. . . .15 years later I am still doing it. . . .met my wife because of it. . . got to go and live in the UK/Scotland because of my qualifications. I left for a while and went corporate doing the Pharmaceutical Sales things. . . .but not enough time for family doing that. Nursing also allows me to work as much or a little as I like. . . .it is very flexible. It has gotten more dangerous in recent years, and I get stressed quite a bit. . . .but I am still there.

And that is my story in a nutshell.

[JPkempo]

It was either take a crap job or give up eating

[mitchedwards]

I used to be a mainframe operator. I also dabbled in PCs (Early 90s)

One day the server admin had a family emergency and had to leave. The thought the server looked like a PC and told me I was in charge of the network during the admins leave.

Of course the network fell to pieces and I had no clue how to fix it. So he had to hire a guy in to fix it. His rate was $50.00/hr with a 3 hr minimum.

He walked in looked at the server typed in 1 command and left with $150.00 in his pocket.

At that point I decided I was going to become a network engineer.

[Megospidey]

I knew I wanted to be a minister when I was 16.

I wasn't very religious as a child, but when I became a teen, I went through some experiences that made me realize that I could spend my life helping other people "find the way" so to speak.

I enrolled in theology school after graduation from high school, got my 4 year degree, got married, received my Master of Divinity, and started pastoring churches.

I've been doing it for 25 years now and love it as much as I did the very first day.

[megocrazy]

Distribution Manager for a small tea company. Got into distribution at 19 when my then girlfriend, (now wife) got pregnant. Kids came, money was good. Company got destroyed by Home Depot and Walmart and after 13 years I was unemployed. Took the job with this company after turning them down 3 times. Huge pay cut from my previous job but 6 months after starting I replaced the guy that hired me and been the boss ever since. 6 more years and my daughter graduates high school. Then I can go do whatever I want to. Just don't know what that is yet. This feels like deja vu. Feel like I've done this before.

[theantiquetiger]

Sorry Bill, but I saw the HVAC in the other thread as well. I have NO IDEA what that is or means. . . can you explain.

HVAC - Heating, Venting, Air Conditioning (basically an A/C repair/installation man). It is also refrigeration

[UnderdogDJLSW]

I had always drawn and sketched since I was barely walking. In high school I used to make animated cartoons drawing 24 frames per second for a 3 minute super 8 reel. I couldn't afford animation cells, so I would re draw the backgrounds over and over again. I wanted to be the next Walt Disney. After high school, I actually got a few theatre jobs in College and forgot about the animation and then got a job making fliers and stuff (before there were computers). Once the computer graphics field came along I migrated there.

[luey]

A guy I grew up with asked if I could help him in New Construction sales selling flooring about 4 years ago... I was tired of selling toys full time and my part time gig as an entertainer (singing/acoustic guitar @ bars/restaurants) ... I am about to come out of retirement for the singing gig again, really miss it, especially after just getting back from the beach seeing all those guys going it...

so much for my college degree in Ornamental Horticulture and Landscape Design (OHLD)

[jimbutsu]

I was toiling in the trenches as an IT engineer and a recruiter called. I said "sure I'll hear you out"...

A few weeks, a half day of interviews, and a battery of psych and aptitude tests later, and I'm in Vendor Management (still IT vendors though) for a Fortune 50 company.

[Dave Mc]

I took a broadcasting class in H.S. so I could be a D.J. on the HS radio station. Liked it and decided to major in broadcasting. When I took my first required TV class I realized there were pictures as well as sound, and that I was much better at TV than radio, so shifted my focus.

Got my first job at a TV station after school, and found I enjoyed making the videos more than broadcasting them, so left the station and started working at Video Production houses. That's what I still do. Nothing too exciting, Industrial video's (how-to's and sales stuff for the most part) but I still enjoy it, although I wish I would have picked a career that would have made me rich.