O/T Curious what all you hambers do for work?

I'm the Parts Manager at
Hotrod Chassis and Cycle
in scenic Addison, IL

 

I think that this guy wins:

Originally Posted by MoparJoel
F16 Fighter Jet mechanic For the USAF Thats me a few years ago With My Jet (395)doing a Burner run ops check to trouble shoot a engine problem. I was a diesel tech/ and fleet truck tech for 6 years prior to joining the service.




Lessee... When I got my degree and moved to VA back in the early 80's I worked as a Mechanical Designer on SSN688's for Newport News Shipbuilding.

Fortunately we started a sideline business selling muscle car restoration parts on the side and when I got laid off from the shipyard after 9 years I took the parts business full time. Had a 1200 SF store on one of the main roads through town for about 18 months.

Later, I met the owner of Mopar City in Oregon IL and he offered me a job as a "parts manager" (Mopar City is a Mopar-only salvage yard/engine & chassis shop) which meant digging through 5 buildings and 1,000 parts cars for things that our customers needed while he built engines and chassis. Got tired of the snow 6 or 7 months a year and working 60 hr weeks (AND as most people "in the business" on here said, I NEVER felt like working on my own stuff after hours or on the rare weekends where I got a Saturday off and we weren't at a car show talking about OTHER people's cars)

When we moved back to VA, my old parts store partner and I tried buying 3 different automotive repair shops. But we walked away from those purchases when we uncovered huge amounts of debts, lies, employee drama, etc. before we could sign the dotted line on the deals.
We gave up on owning our own business after all that and I got back into the "marine design" field doing piping & machinery AutoCAD drawings for a local contractor to the US Navy. I LOVED doing that because I got to travel to Florida, San Diego, Hawaii, and even Japan to do what we call "shipchecks". We go on board the ships before they come into the Navy Yards and determine what needs to happen with the pipes and machinery that is being repaired/replaced/upgraded and sketch the existing condition and then the new design and go back to the office and draw it all out in AutoCAD. Since we don't have kids, I used to buy my wife a plan ticket out to wherever I was near the end of the trip and we'd play tourist for a few days after our real work was complete. Got to see a lot of the world and even got a few rides on a few different aircraft carriers for a few weeks at a time, and even got a catapult shot in a COD off of one of them! (Living conditions SUCK for the enlisted guys, so HATS OFF and THANK YOU FOR YOUR SERVICE to you guys & gals who do it for 6 - 8 months at a clip!!! Most times we ended up on 3rd deck in the 3-high racks... )

At the moment, mainly due to some budget cuts by the Navy, I'm doing "Logistics" for the same company but am a bit "bored" sice I don't get to travel at all any more, don't get to do AutoCAD, and insted I am using Excel and Access to maintain a proprietary database that the Navy uses...


LESSONS LEARNED:
1) No matter how much that you LOVE your hobby and want to turn it into your full time job, doing it full time took a lot of the "fun" out of it (for me).
2) Start it in your garage and when it starts to take over and make you late for your everyday job, THEN quit the everyday job. I recently hired a gal to design my band's website and she stated that she was going to quit her job "soon" because she wanted to to graphics and website design in her own company. "Congratulations!" I said. "How many clients do you have now?" and she replied "You and one other guy". NOT the right answer in my book!
3) Every time that I got laid off or transferred to another project, what I thought was a BAD thing ended up being a very GOOD thing.

 

I'm working with diesel fuelpumps cav, stanadyne, bosch inline, ve, vp, commonrail systems

 

stay at home dad

 

Software Test Engineer

Dave

 

I work at a large Publishing company right in the middle of NYC... times square to be exact.
It's a dreadful hundred mile commute 4 days a week... but it's kinda interesting, for now. Responsible for the digital editions of magazines on the iPad, nook, kindle and all these new devices out there...

I ended up here because i had worked at another publishing company as a "digital imaging specialist" (photoshop whore!) for many years after coming out of school with a Graphic Design degree.

I'm also a Pharmacy Technician at a large Hospital -been there 22 years! that's how I put myself through school...

Was in my workshop yesterday -said to my GF: "i don't wanna go to work anymore. I wanna work here!"

I make hot rod inspired art in my workshop...

If I could go back in time, i'd wanna be a machinist.

 

Never saw this thread. Alright, so I am a data coordinator at Verizon Wireless and support all the smartphones and wireless internet, home fusion...blah blah blah.
It pays the bills. Barely.

 

Auto Trimmer, self employed for 17 yrs.
Never seem to get to my own projects...kinda like the shoemaker's kid running around barefoot.
Hey wait, I am a shoemaker's kid!!!
I did have shoes...Thanks Dad! (learned how to sew in his shop, as a kid)

 

Purchasing at an RV/Park Model Home Manufacturer. Not the Stunt Man/ Daredevil I had planned on being when I was 12.

 

Executive Director of a small regional history museum. Sounds schmancy--means I could do anything with a staff of just 5. Light bulb, toilets, exhibit design, grant writing, marketing/pr, board relations etc, etc, etc.

 

Run a little video production company but 95% of my work is post production on tv shows.
Get to occasionally point the camera at hot rods (www.hotrodrevue.co.nz is a hobby) but the other stuff keeps me more than 9 - 5 as is.

 

So, you must have the baby monitor in the garage?


Posted from the TJJ App for iPhone & iPad

 

Ditto

Working as a Quality Engineer for an aerospace manufacturer.

 

House Husband. I'm on permanent disability so now I consider my title to be a professional television watcher.

 

I'll be ready to finish my regular 8-5, M-F gig starting around August 1 - presently I work at a college and keep the books for the Anthropology Department. Before that I was in IT for 29 years ....

 

I work for Arnold Motor Supply and sell auto parts.

 

I work for Fedex as a vehicle maintenance tech. I also work part time at a performance shop/machine shop. Oh, and I work on other people's cars an never seem to have time to work on mine.

 

i am a fierfighter/medic on the south side of chicago

 

Pretty diverse group here!

 

Welded all over for 15 years, then for a lighting mfg. for 7, now I run my own little shop. I enjoy working on customer cars and do my own one or two days a week. I am loving it.

 

Man of adventure.

 

fool for the city,the fleet supervisor making sure the wheels of police,fire,refuse,sewer & public works go round & round,was hoping to be the mayor someday; but i have a few skeletons in the closet that might just have something to say about that!!

 

I sell drill pipe and and other tools in the oil field

 

I make so all the people there that get paid more than me can have a job

 

Automotive Engineering & Design.... I design and engineer these vehicles so the occupants inside are safe in the event of ... well... you can figure it out, I'm sure. Some vehicles are a little more obvious than others.

 

I'm a glazier by trade, I work with glass and metal not donuts. And I,m a landlord with rental properties. Thats why I have little time to work on my cars, which is all I really want to do...Some day!!

 

I'm a Car Designer for General Motors, so I get paid to draw up new cars and make models of them with clay and digital sculptors. I spend time in the wind tunnel, I visit factories from time to time. I've worked on exteriors and interiors, production and concept vehicles. Studied in Detroit, worked here 4.5 years then moved out to SoCal for 7 years. I love California but opportunity knocked and about 2 years ago I moved back to Metro Detroit ...haven't looked back since. My wife doesn't understand how I can spend all day around cars then come home and do the same thing all night.... but to me they are totally seperate things: loving traditional old hot rods is a nice counter balance to working on future stuff!

It's great to see the wide veriety of jobs/talent/experiences on here! Much respect!

 

I am the fabrication department supervisor at a conveyor company, if you all ever use corrugated cardboard, it probably traveled down our conveyor.

 

I'm a the lead patroliam fuel transfure technician expert at local Exxon

 

I sell paint and supples to body shops and anyone who wants to paint something.