What were you before?

[RETIRED]

This weekend I reverted back to my old trade to save a lot of money.

I had to replace the fuel injector lines on my truck as they had corroded over the last 30 years and were starting to leak.

My original trade was an A grade mechanic and diesel fitter but gave it away about 30 years ago and took up my present occupation as a woodturner.

Fixing the truck reinforced part of the reason I gave it away.

This got me thinking as to how many here are still in the job they were trained for.

I know a lot of my friends are not.

How about you?

[Jim Carroll]

Electrical fitter by trade now a woodturner, most times.

[Optimark]

Finished my apprenticeship in gardening with a specialisation in landscape gardening in 1969. I didn't know what I was getting into when I started the apprenticeship, does anyone, and sort of decided after about 6 months this isn't for me.

I then had a special holiday courtesy of the federal government due to national service, anoher thing I didn't have a clue about; didn't like that either. Did my two years then escaped to normality.

I of course then went back to my previous job as suggested by the federal government, another mistake, the rose coloured glasses had slipped back on.

Did jobs all over the country as I travelled everywhere, loved it, but came back to Melbourne and fell into graphic arts, did that for 15 years, then got the sack due to the firm losing contracts,

Then I fell into rubber stamp manufacturing, did that for 21 years, finished up 12 days ago when I sold the business.

Now retired and hoping to fiddle in the shed, I am hearing the first rumblings of landscaping the back garden emanating from the boss.

Full circle it seems. :rolleyes:

Mick.

[tea lady]

Fixing the truck reinforced part of the reason I gave it away.


So how many knuckles are barked? :D

I was a potter before. Which isn't so differant I guess. And worked for add companies as well making glazes.

Before that I was an apprentice Telecom technician. Was good learning about the stuff, but nearly died of bordem doing the actual job. :doh:

Before that I sewed t-shirts. I can over-lock a t-shirt in 2 minutes and 10 seconds. Quickly went crazy.

Before that I made wet suits at Ripcurl in Torquay. Was gluing the custom suits together. Slowly ment crazy. But at least I could go to the beach after work and wind surf. :cool:

[Phil Spencer]

Electrical Fitter, then sales now retired, the latter is definitely the best job I have ever had. :D

[chambezio]

My history is some what boring.
Was always building things as a boy, got an apprenticeship in Carpentry on high rise stuff in Sydney. I worked for the principle contractor so I was usually doing overlap jobs between the other trades. Didn't really do alot of real carpentry but learned a lot about other trades and how they fitted into the overall scheme of things on big jobs. That crowd went out of business after me being there 2 years, I managed to finish off my apprenticeship with another big contractor doing commercial stuff on a smaller scale.Finished my time with them and worked for 2 years with my original supervisor who asked me to work with him on commercial stuff again.
I had a mate who was doing domestic stuff in Sydney and moved to Tamworth to have a go in his own operation. I took the invitation to work with him. We were together about 6 months when he suggested I find some one else to work for.(We clashed a bit)
Did a bit of self employment but ended up on wages building furniture for an industrial caravan builder in Tamworth.
That lasted about 2.5 years when I and about15 others were put off due to not enough contracts.
Started in the white board cabinet making business building kitchens. vanities and wardrobes etc. After 8 years ended up as foreman and was running the workshop with up12 blokes at one stage.
That ended with me getting chronic depression and the Pysyc suggesting I should live on the dole. Just couldn't face going to work in the end.
After 18 months of that I suggested to a new psyc that may be I could work for my self. She agreed but 3 years of it was enough and now I have the designation of being...retired.
I am not happy with the situation but from day to day I can take on the world or shrivel up in a ball(all in the same week)So even working on wages is not a proposition.
My hobby has always been my trade or vice versa. I have a well set up workshop with machinery, tools, materials, stacks of ideas, time.....but more often than not a huge lack of incentive.
This last week started with me rearranging the workshop so I can finalise connecting all the machines to the DE System. By Wednesday my incentive left me and I have spent everyday since in front of the fire, TV and computer. Its areal bastard. But I have all the time in the world to get going again.....But when? Did I say its a bastard!!

[Mulgabill]

Banking & Computers - Business System Development in the very early days of punch cards and tapes. A period of much change.:o
Ended full-time employment in Horticulture- Vineyard Production & Development (Qualified). That was the best job I had.:2tsup:
Last couple of years before retiring I worked part-time in Heavy Engineering making industrial and aircraft hangar doors.The worst job I had.:no:

[Kev Y.]

I started my working life as a Painter and Decorator, lasted 3 years after my apprenticeship, then got into the power industry, now 31 years later I am just wasting time until I can retire.

Never did I expect to be a shift worker for 30 odd years.

[Ironwood]

I started my Diesel Fitting Apprenticeship when I was 16. Worked as a Diesel Fitter for the next 25 or so years, a few breaks here and there in that time.
Now I own a retail business, which my wife and I run, with the help of our 5 staff members.

[issatree]

Started out in a Hardware Store, a bit of trouble, & didn't like handling money, to much Arithmetic, then to work in the biggest Milk Power Factory around, great job with real people. Went to work for a family who had a car dealership, got treated like a serf.
My Mate had just joined the S.E.C. & said he thought I could get a job as well, & I did.
Spent 11 yrs in my home town, decided to shift to Geelong, Vic. Climbed the wrong type of Ladders, but was quite Happy, & stayed 33 yrs. all told, but had to retire because of Migraines, & was only 53. tried a few different jobs, for a few yrs, but they didn't work out.
Our Family had a small Hut at the Bay of Islands, near Peterborough, Vic.
A certain premier decided that these Huts had to go & they did. Crown Land.
There was an Old Miners Couch there, took it home & decided to do it up. We had been Married a while at this stage. Made a Lathe by putting the B & D Drill in the Vice, nailed a Block of Wood to the Bench with a pointy bolt for a Tail Stock. Cleaned the legs up with a Screwdriver. Found what I thought was a Real Lathe in the " Popular Mechanics ". Tools to be made in the next Issue. & Away I went. 32 Years Later, could not be Happier with my Choice of Hobby, & the Best Part of it is The People You Meet, through WOODTURNING.

[tdrumnut]

20 yrs as a Professional Firefighter in NZ, took early retirement started an upholstery business (learnt the trade from my father in law on my days off, then immigrated to Australia and got into Pest Control and more recently Property Maintenance till I fell off a roof last year, still recovering and hoping to start back at work in a few months.

[Scott]

Bachelor Polymer Chemistry/Technology then had an early midlife crisis and then did a Bachelor of Nursing followed by Bachelor of Critical Care. If I wasn't as old and didn't have a family to provide for I'd probably convert to Medicine (by the time I'd become a consultant, I'd have to retire).

[BobR]

Did 6 years in the RAAF in electronics. Loved it - but was not the life for a married person. Back then you could be moved every 2 years.

After the Airforce I spent over 30 years in the computer industry working for 6 different companies. Two of these companies were second to IBM at different stages - not one of the 6 exists today. Such is the IT industry.

I started out maintaining mainframes that required a room the size of the average house and were not as powerful as today's PC. There was no such thing as display units, disk drives, multi tasking, or online access.

As a result of these companies disappearing I went through three redundancies. As one gets older it becomes harder to find work, no matter what your previous experience has been; and I had done maintenance, support management, pre sales support, sales, sales management, product management,and account management.

Fortunately I recognised what was happening in the industry and salary sacrificed just about all my salary into a self managed super fund for several years. This enabled me to take early retirement and head off around Australia in a caravan in 2008. This is when the GFC hit so life is good, but not what is could be.

Wood working has only ever been a hobby as well as home repairs. But it sure fills in a day during retirement.

[snowyskiesau]

My experience is pretty much like BobR's - except for putting enough money into super :(. Airforce (hated it!) and then IT (including IBM)
Woodworking/metalworking are just ways to enjoyably pass the time. I'd like to be working but age and the economy make that unlikely.

[underfoot]

Apprenticed as a sparky ...then began a cycle of work (at anything) to travel for many years...
I stumbled into a patternmaking apprenticeship and then industrial design..I have loved every day of work since then :)..
..now woodsculpture for the last 20+ years.

[Kidbee]

During my later days at high school I excelled in woodwork and metal work but joined the local bank in a small country town. Stayed with them for 17 years and then I went into the fast food business where I spent another 12 years. Then I became a full time beekeeper where I worked for another 5 years. When I ran the fast food businesses I opened at night only, giving me free daytime hours. I have also dabbled in whip making, woodturning, carving and bush furniture making. Currently on my 4th lathe. My present job is working at a state high school and a private college which I enjoy.

[artme]

Teacher for 42 years :oo: Think I'm still sane!

What kept me on track was doing a variety of different things as well as teaching. First wife was an Ag. Scientist so we had 30acres of orchard plus a 60acre lease where we ran a few cattle. Sold all that after her death from a brain tumor.

I had a wide range of friends from areas other than teaching. I am certain this was another sanity blessing.

Now retired and trying to find time to do what I WANT to do, not what I HAVE to do.

[swk]

Well, like at least two others I started as an electrical fitter. Only worked as a tradesman for less than a year. Then moved on through a number of different jobs but mostly related to electricity and power.
(Hey Kev Y, I know a few that did 30+ years shift work, I did about 8 and that was enough. It coincided with more health problems for me during that time than I have had since.)
Did a degree to get out of the shift work, and am in high voltage electrical design at the moment, but times are a changin' and maybe it is time to think of that one last and different run for the last few years before I can retire...

Happy to potter with woodwork, metal work and other different arts and crafts. Basically any creative hand work keeps me happy. Not said I was any good at any of it though!
(That first year of my apprenticeship was basically all workshop metal work and in retrospect it was a really great time. Maybe I am trying to relive it!)

SWK

[Chief Tiff]

Joined the Royal Navy at 17 as a Marine Engineer Artificer where just about every engineering trade known was savagely beaten into me. Specialised as a Metal Worker, which meant lots of welding, fabrication, blacksmithing, coppersmithing and tinsmithing; but also had to crosstrain in fitting/machining and electrical/electronics. Left after 16 years as a "Chief Tiff" (hence the moniker :rolleyes:) and served with the Aussie Navy for the next 7 years. In my naval career I was employed as a machinist, shipwright, diesel fitter, refrigeration tech, electrician, technical writer, teacher, vibration analyst, oh bloody hell if you can think of it I probably had to do it at some point!

After 23 years of feeling seasick I finally jacked it all in. Worked for a bit for an air-conditioning and refrigeration firm but was let go after I complained about having to fix all the mistakes & cock-ups the other "technicians" had left. Employment in Bundy being spectacularly rubbish I ended up working for Boats Galore playing with outboards for about 6 months. Started to feel queasy again at the sight of water :sick:.

Finally just under two years ago I started as a Field Service Technician working in the coal seam gas industry. I'm basically a spanner monkey again, but I only work for 6 months of the year now (two on/off roster!). Last november I was made a Lead Hand which means I also now have a supervisory and admin role but nothing like I used to have in the forces.

I loved the mateship and camaraderie I experienced in the couple of decades or so working in the defence force. It also taught me a few things like patience (hurry up and wait...) and that while there is no "I" in "Teamwork", there are several in "individual brilliance"! :hooray:

Also, the ability to order a beer in several languages comes in handy now and again.

[John T]

Dairy farmer 26 years welder 22years making farm machinery offset disc farm rollers etc etc, made redundant 5 years ago now woodturning and bandsaw box making and helping to start a mens shed at port sorell in tassi.
john.

[bsrlee]

Well, Dad showed me why I didn't want to become a house painter (thanks again Dad!) & after talking to an old school friend, I joined the Police Force as a 'cadet', eventually spending 29-and-a-bit years doing shift work, mainly in communications, until my rubber band broke. Medical retirement, chronic depression (tell your kids not to become shift workers). At least I had a decent Super plan.

Now I potter around at home, do the occasional day helping another old friend out with his film special effects & armoury business, or other friends with some home mainainance, but I find it very hard to put in more than a day or two on any project without a day of complete rest (predicted by my old psychiatrist).

[rod1949]

My trade background is a carpenter and joiner (5 year apprenticeship 1966 to 1971). I ventured up through the trade to Foreman, Works Supervisor to Contracts Manager. I'm now just a pleb as a contracts/procurement officer with no stress. On the weekends I can be found in the shed making something and enjoying it.

[les88]

My trade is carpenter and joiner 5 years apprenticeship from 1950 to 1955. Then subcontracted pitching roofs and interior fit outs including making cupboards. When the project builders stated up it stopped the small spec. builders. So I did additions and finally finished as the maintenance man for a project building firm. My job was to get the completed houses ready for occupation, the trades had the philosophy if it was too hard or all their materials hadn't arrived leave it for the maintenance man. A friend had a contract cleaning business and I worked for him for a short time while he had a holiday, I thought that it was a good business so I started my own and had it for 25 years. Then I bought a taxi cab it was full on then running the cab, the cleaning and alterations businesses.
I need a cup of coffee just thinking about it.
Les

[jimbur]

Life before woodwork? Not really in to theology.:D
Cheers,
Jim

[RETIRED]

Life before woodwork? Not really in to theology.:D
Cheers,
JimA priest then?:wink:

[jimbur]

A priest then?:wink:
cross maker:D

[Chrome]

I trained in computer programming in college after leaving school, but then I trained as a TV cameraman and director. But I didn't work for too long in TV (money was crap), so my first career involved working as a programmer. For a couple of years during this time I also had a retail shop and mail-order business of my own, all the above was before I was 20.

Back to university in the late 80s and worked mostly as a consultant when I finished that, through systems analyst, to project manager in various industries; often as a contractor for my own consultancy business. In the mid-90s I was responsible for the IT side of the implementation and roll out of the UK National Lottery. After the millennium I took a change of direction in role, as a lead games designer for a market leading start-up (I had always been involved in graphics and done quite a bit of games development work in the 80s). We created leisure gaming systems used all over the world, for such places like Las-Vegas, some Native American reservation casinos, Eastern Europe, Russia etc.I was responsible for the games software concepts, designs and graphics production. Our biggest winners were fixed-odds betting machines in bookies; quite a revolution. The Sunday Times described my version of 'Roulette', which was phenomenally successful, as "the crack cocaine of gambling!". It was turning over more money than the UK cosmetics industry at the end of the first year (about £5 billion!). For some of the bookies it made more than horse racing, dogs and football betting combined. Our company became massively profitable, however I was salaried and never saw any benefits myself; not even a decent bonus payout.

Disillusioned and a bit bitter, I left that to set up my own video production business and then over the last 8 or 9 years produced and directed lots of promotional films and advertising. I also did a few years as a late-night TV director too. :D I also made a few art films.

That brings me right up to my late forties and now staying at home with my 'poorly' wife as a carer and working on my turning... (I see this as my developing 'career').

[artme]

Life before woodwork? Not really in to theology.:D
Cheers,
Jim

How about treeology?

[jimbur]

How about treeology?
Well, I do talk to the trees, but can hardly call them prayers.:U
Cheers,
Jim

[Bushmiller]

Well, I do talk to the trees, but can hardly call them prayers.:U
Cheers,
Jim


Sounds a bit like shades of Dr Doolittle (or was that animals?:?) :D.

Regards
Paul

[Bushmiller]

I started out my working life with an absolutely paranoid fear, a phobia really, that I would be in the job for 40 years and leave with a gold watch and a handshake. I come from the era and an environment where that was common.

However I needn't have worried. The time for job loyalty and stable employment was fast disappearing and I set off on a series of differing careers.

I started at a re-insurance company which was with a good group of blokes but incredibly boring. So we spiced up the job by describing reinsurance as being like a bookie passing off bets:rolleyes:.

But after a couple of years that wasn't enough. I worked for an airline for one year and ws made redundant and then took a job in publishing selling advertising. By twenty four years of age I was in charge of two monthly magazines and two weekly newspapers. I continued in publishing, apart from a brief ,if rather ill-fated, stint in public relations until I emigrated to Oz in 1980 with the aussie wife.

That's right, I'm her souvenir from London

Once ensconced in Oz I decided a complete change was in order, although I had absolutely no idea what that might be. In fact the truth is that I am still looking. I did know that I wanted little more to do with the plastic world of advertising.

I signed up at the Newcastle BHP plant and worked there for two years before getting a power station job in the Hunter Valley. I worked in that area as a power station operator until 1997 when I became restless and left to form my own portable sawmilling business.

It was unsuccessful for many reasons so I won't go into them except to say that I had left my dash too late. I then, together with SWMBO, took on the running of a tea house/ coffee shop. Another venture that was less than successful.

So I went kicking and screaming back to the power industry where I still am, albeit interstate.

I had an amusing incident while I was in the coffee shop. The president of a local service club asked me to give a talk about how I had ended up where I was. A good question I said to myself, although I had no idea why anybody else would be interested.

Anyhow, I agreed to tell them my life history on the understanding they wouldn't laugh, until I had left. I entitled it,

"Insurance clerk to sawmiller; A logical progression."

By the way, to this day I don't wear a watch; Just in case.

Regards
Paul

[chambezio]

Gee this has turned out to be an interesting thread.
Its amazing how some blokes (unlike me) have been able to do 2 or more "trades/skills" in there working life. Fascinating
The other thing that has come to notice is the number (like myself) who have had to be put out to pasture before that 65 year, gold watch and hand shake.
I am feeling a little more comfortable with my situation. I can now answer that person when they ask "Oh, and what are you doing now?" unembarrassed.
Thanks to for the initial starter :2tsup:

[Handyjack]

After my last HSC exam I started 'vacation' employment in a confectionery factory. This lasted over 10 years during which time I qualified as a boiler attendant.
I left the confectionery factory to become a full time boiler attendant, for 2 years and 3 months at a carpet factory before moving to a hospital where I spent the next 14.5 years in the boiler house before it closed. I was redeployed in the hospital to be a trade assistant / handy person, a position which over six years latter despite department restructure and redundancies I still have.
I spent 16 years working as a boiler attendant, and over twenty three years doing some type of shift work. For the last five years I have worked part time for myself as a handyman.

[Ashore]

Painting houses when I was 12 ( sanding and brush cleaning while dad painted)
Laying concrete drive ways when I was 16 ( shoveling and working the mixer)
Nightwatchman at 18 ( assisted the old man who had had a major heart attack by then )
Laid rail tracks at 18-19 Till I started training as a Marine Engineer
Went to sea as an engineer and renovated a few places with the old man when I was on leave
Lecturer in marine engineering
Retired
Though the jobs changed one thing always stayed the same, the ruggerd good looks ( being tall and handsome always helps) and the sence of humor

[Chesand]

I am afraid that my story is rather boring compared to most of the above.
When I left High School at the end of 1956, I started in pharmacy and have been there ever since. In those days it was an apprenticeship where you worked part of the week in a pharmacy and attended the Pharmacy College the rest of the time.
Compared to today, we were not that well educated in theory, in fact, some of the sciences such as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics were not even known. We were very well equipped in a practical sense and most were able to run a pharmacy pretty much as soon as we graduated.
Looking back it has been an interesting time to have been part of history where we have progressed (??) from all the interesting concoctions of the 1950s to todays medicines
I managed several pharmacies before buying my own in 1978 and was then in partnership until 1996. Since then I have worked part-time until final retirement this year when I will not renew my registration in November.
My interest in wood-work started in High School and I did 2 years of one night a week at local tech school after finishing pharmacy course. I have since done several CAE courses and was helped in general woodwork by my late father-in-law who was a carpenter. The ultimate complement was that he asked me to make him a small bookshelf for his room when he had to go into care.
I once helped him nail down a floor and he happened to have a nail fly away after miss hitting it. My older daughter (about 4 at the time) said "you are not very good at that are you, Grandpa." It cracked us up.

[rod1949]

.... as pharmacodynamics and pharmacokinetics .....
I once helped him nail down a floor and he happened to have a nail fly away after miss hitting it. My older daughter ( about 4 at the time) said "you are not very good at that are you, Grandpa." It cracked us up.


Well Herbie you have used a couple of words that the rest of us have never heard of so we've had a bit of an education.
Love the last bit... out of the mouths of babs as they say, and I can relate to complety missing a nail and leaving a two bob mark in the timber:2tsup:

[Grumpy John]

I started my working life as an apprentice Fitter & Turner at GMH Fishermans Bend. Stayed at it until 2 weeks before I racked up 15 years service, when I took voluntary retrenchment. Walked out with 46 weeks pay, this gave me enough to buy a block of land and a deposit on a house. I then tried my hand at sales, selling hi-tech lubricants, I really sucked as a salesman (too honest :-). I'm not saying salesmen are liars, I just couldn't keep giving BS excuses as to why customers orders weren't being delivered, why we were out of stock of a particular hydraulic oil, blah, blah, blah. I then landed a job Allwood Machinery installing and servicing woodie machinery such as Altendorf panel saws, Weinig moulders and drying kilns. I stuck at this until I was approached by a friend to apply for a job at ANCA. (http://www.anca.com/Home)
This was probably the best and most interesting job I ever had. My initial employment involved retrofitting manual machines to accept CNC controls which were built in Australia by ANCA. I was also involved in building the prototype of their CNC tool & cutter grinder as well as being involved in the development of their (not so successful) machining centre. Unfortunately due to changes of management I felt my input and hard work in the development of their very successful grinder were not appreciated and left to work for Wickmans as a service engineer in their wood machinery division. After about 3 months I was approached by ANCA to return, which I did, in sales. Have I told you I suck as a salesman. This lasted about 6 months when I left after buying a video library in December 1990.
I ran the video library with my wife and the help of a couple of part timers. Life was pretty good for about 7 years and then pay tv and increasing piracy began to take it's toll, and the last year in the library we were living month to month on the credit card. Unable to sell the business we closed the doors in Jan 2000, sold our house before the bank did and started from scratch in an ex housing commision house in The Pines.
I worked for a couple of companies involved in building and servicing machinery till 2007 when I started getting stressed out with long work hours and constant travel.
I've been at Bunnies now for 5 years, the pay's crap, but the hours are good and most of the customers are OK. I still get in trouble for telling the truth, if a tool's no good I'll say so. Some customers don't like being told the $35 hammer drill will not drill 16mm holes in their garage floor, and the $15 10 piece holesaw set is not suitable for drilling the faucet hole in their stainless steel sink.

Thanks for starting this thread , it wasn't until I sat down and started typing that I realised I've done quite a lot since I started out a pasty faced 16 year old at GMH.

Sorry to anyone that damaged their keyboard when their head hit it after they went to sleep reading my saga :D.

[Acco]

Before I officially started work, I worked school holidays on my Uncle's farm near Benalla, used to catch the train from Melbourne or go with my folks when we visited Nan at Benalla.

First job at 16 was an Apprenticeship as a Coppersmith in the Hospital Industry manufacturing Sterilisers and Steam heated cooking pots from 20lt through to 320lt capacity. Got retrenched after 6 1/2yrs when we had the recession that the government said we had to have which would have been early nineties I think.

From there on I have been mostly self employed or contracting.

Started up and ran my own Steel Fabricating business for about 7 yrs and also helped my Uncle shift his farm after the government bought his land to build the Australian Defence Industries at Benalla, till I had 2 of my bigger clients go into bankruptcy and after having just recovered from from another clients bankruptcy, I decided to call it quits.

I then went and lived on my Uncle's farm for a few years helping him by putting up sheds from the old place, establish winery, etc. Also contracted part time to a Steel Lintels business welding and cutting steel.

This is about when my depression really started to get to a all new downtime low, so moved back to Melbourne for a few years, took about six months off work then worked with my brother installing kitchens for about a year, then another few months off then started doing timber deliveries for a couple of mills in the Yarra Valley with ute and trailer as it was easy work and only required a couple of days a week and also a few days a week to erect new 20mt x 48mt winery shed back at my Uncle's.

That takes me to about 35yrs old which is when I moved to East Warburton renting for nearly 3yrs and doing more work delivering for the timber mills and buying my first small truck. Liked it up here so much that I ended up buying a place where I am currently residing. Also bought a slightly bigger truck when I moved, then a year later bought my current truck which is my Acco1850E Crane Truck.

Since I've been up here in the valley I've only worked part time as I cannot handle too much due to my depression which had since been upgraded to clinical depression. At some stage in that period of time I was also put on a disability pension as well, so some weeks I earn a wage and other weeks I live on the pension depending on how much I've earned from working.

I also have a Lucas Sawmill which I bought about the time I took 3 months off work after working for my brother, which has partially earned me an income but was mainly used to cut my own stuff or for my Uncle or family.

At this stage I'm currently a couch potato, haven't worked for about 6 weeks or so.

[BobL]

In between when I was 13 and 21 I did the following
Potato picker
Gardener
Car washer
Stuffed toy stuffer
Menswear Retail
Supermarket Shelf stocker
Footwear retail
Footwear warehouse dogsbody/delivery boy
Builders labourer
Cement Mix plant operator in a concrete slab factory
Dogman
Crayfish processor
Night Watchman.

The rest of my working life is pretty boring after that.

[Terry B]

Mine is much more boring. Went to uni and have been a medico ever since. Now a country GP.
I did work as a projectionist in a cinema when at uni though. This was fun but long hours watching the same movie over and over and over and over etc.

[ozhunter]

Never went into a trade (regret that now)

All I ever wanted to be was a farmer. Left for the shearing sheds around Bouke 2 days after finishing Yr10.

DId some shearing
worked on a large cattle property and feedlot at Tamworth for a couple of years (nearly starved to death)
Made stock feed in a Goodman Fielder mill
Built Ambulances and demountable school buildings
Tassled corn
Came home to more shearing and farm work
Bricky labourer
Pet food factory pleb
Printing business pleb
Gold mine mill operator
Hay carter
then into Corrective Services for 18 years. Got injured and was wiped like a dirty back side. No payout, no nothing.

Went back to farming and now own part of our family farm as well as working for an engineer a couple of days a week and shooting a few kangaroos as time permits.

No regrets about any of it. Pity the politicians got to the Workers Comp laws a while before I got hurt, or things could be different.

Lucky to be alive, great wife and kids. The engineer I work for has been the best thing, learn stuff everyday. Using all the associated gear, and got an even bigger fetish for hand tools than ever before.:U

[Cliff Rogers]

Did 6 years in the RAAF in electronics. Loved it - but was not the life for a married person. Back then you could be moved every 2 years.

After the Airforce I spent over 30 years in the computer industry working for 6 different companies. Two of these companies were second to IBM at different stages - not one of the 6 exists today. Such is the IT industry......

Wood working has only ever been a hobby as well as home repairs. But it sure fills in a day during retirement.
Similar.

I was a ground based radio tech in the RAAF for a couple of years & then got computer training, have been working on computer for 33 years now.

Not retired yet, the woodworking & home renos fit in between computer calls.

[Sebastiaan56]

Well I started a career in the public service when I left school. Lasted six weeks :rolleyes:. I then did sundry factory work for a year until I started travelling around Australia and doing itinerant agricultural/mining work till my late twenties. I ended up doing Quality Control in a packaging factory and then another packaging factory and finally in a food factory. By the time I was made redundant from that I had my Certified Quality Engineer and a Masters in Environmental Management. I was then the corporate Quality & Environment Manager with lots of staff, 6 locations and basically non stop corporate travel. I was glad when it was over and I bought a printing franchise. Been there ever since. Loving it. I seriously doubt i could work for anyone else again.

Woodworking started as an antidote to corporate stress, now its my indulgence.

[FenceFurniture]

Jeez , this might take a while because I've had 3 working careers, two marriages, a defacto or two (I usually work on a having a new partner for each career), and a couple of reincarnations.

14 to 18: Car Washer & Polisher
18 to 18 +a bit: Factory process work after a 3 month stint at Uni
18 +a bit to 18 +a bit more: Builder's Labourer
19: Menswear retail
19: Cleaner at Uni (I went back for more of the same, stupidly)
20 to 30: IT (operating and then programming). Great days.
30 to 45: Photograher (Industrial, Hospitality, Natural History)
45 to 54: Investment Property sales and Mortgage broking
54 to present: Trying to wrap my head around that vast area of woodworking

Two of the three "proper" careers have left me with skills that I use on an almost daily basis. It was a real blast being formally trained in logic (IT), and i now use quite a bit of programming in Excel. The photography skills never seem to die, like bike riding, and they are pretty useful in preparing things for posting on here. It can get a bit ridiculous sometimes - I had to pull myself up yesterday (when preparing a thread) - I was getting too carried away with styling a photo of what was essentially a pile of dust!

[shedman]

My working life has been varied. Left school in UK went to train as teacher then needed money to get married (just for 15 months) so worked in real estate as sales person for several years. Came to Aus worked in vehicle spare parts and as pest controller. Got married for 2nd time (Still together now 37 years later). Moved back to UK for 8 years sold stationery and office equipment. I then became a commercial manager for a major it equipment manufacturer before starting my own business in commercial fitout and some small domestic building jobs. Came back to Aus lived on a yacht for 2 years but got bored so with wife went and studied law part-time whilst working as technical writer. Worked for 12 years as a Barrister in Brisbane then retired for 2 years. Now back working as a barrister but working with people to save them money in family law by showing them how they can do a lot of the work themselves.

During my life I have renovated two houses in UK and built my current house from scratch. I am also a qualified volunteer ambulance officer.

[BamBam53]

At school I really liked science and maths. This led me into a career in science. Three years in the rubber industry followed by twenty two years in paint laboratories.


I thought paint was what you bought in the hardware store, but over the years I worked on every kind of coating but that. Worked with some brilliant people and there was lots of travel visiting customers around Australia and New Zealand. One memorable thing was spending a week in Adelaide inspecting panels on the outside of a twelve story building, from a 6 x 4 box on the end of a crane.
Transferred to New Zealand and my job disappeared in 1998. Not much demand in New Zealand for chemists in the areas I specialised in, so it was time for a change of career.


I had always been interested in computers so off to the world of Information Technology. Initially I could not get a job, "You have no IT experience and no IT qualifications". I landed a job testing software for a company the made computer systems for petrol stations. With a bit of study I got a qualification but by then I did not need it because I had the experience. I left after three years as a Software Engineer. The company had gone through a number of restructures and owners, there were 150 staff when I started, 25 when I left. For the last nine years I have been working as a business analyst in health care.




As for wood working, it is my sanity break.

[pjt]

An amazing variety of "things we did before"
I had a paper round and I went to work with dad before I went to work which was at the end of grade nine, I wanted out of high school and to go to work, started as an apprentice sparky, no good at the school tho so after 2 1/2 yrs of the sparky thing was a bit of time on the dole, then worked with dad for 4 1/2 yrs laying floor coverings, a few Tafe courses and I started a short term (3 month) job at a textile factory putting up a suspended ceiling, stayed for 15 yrs, a few more Tafe courses, F/M trade, PLC programming, 1/2 baked Mech. Eng., travelled around Aus. during winter (born in Tas. and I hate the cold) the textile factory was heated :2tsup: which is one reason why I was there so long, went north to where there were no chimneys, some industry and not too many traffic lights, Gladstone Qld that'll do, having the F/M trade certainly helped getting a job but was also a bit of a shock compared to what I was used too, worked for a few of the local engineering places but got a bit annoyed with it all so time for another change and kinda fell into doing the woodwork thing, previous work lives have been very helpful with the woodwork and sometimes in unexpected ways, but might be back to a real job soon, no doubt something to do with mining:(

I at times reflect on decisions made, opportunities that arise, jobs that are available where you live, currently watching the series on "how to build" on SBS, for me Tafe was a godsend, everyone says it but if I knew what I know now .......

That's a quick look at my "what I did before"


Pete