What do you do for a living?

I work as test manager at a software development company, after travelling along a meandering life path.

I started studying engineering after school, when I wasn't mature enough to do so. I switched to physics later on - much easier! - continued to work in the field for some years after my master, unsuccessfully tried my hand at running a small RPG company, worked as call center agent after our daughter was burn, became a technical writer when our son was born and changed departments five years ago.

I'm quite happy with the job, but do have some problems with my boss, regarding the way our department is headed and how decisions are made. So I sporadically apply for other jobs, but my home town doesn't offer a lot in the technical field and my age doesn't make me a prime candidate for many companies.

Sports & Entertainment lawyer (with an MBA in marketing the same), hopefully transitioning into alternative dispute resolution- mediation and arbitration- in 2014. Same hourly rates, steadier flow of business, and still helping those who need my services.

Currently I'm a concierge at a small upscale hotel. It's not bad, but not something I planned for. I got the job through a friend. Been here since Easter and will probably stay for the next year or so as my wife finishes her degree.

Before that I worked at the National Library, mainly working at archiving and digital preservation but I lost half my position to budget cuts, so I quit. Before that I worked as a freelance web developer, layout artist and technical translator, and before that I worked in IT.

I'm a university professor in physics. I'm definitely happy doing it, and it is my dream job, though there is more of the less-fun administrative work than I had expected. As to how I got here, it's the logical extension of my education, but I didn't just land in the job after finishing school. I had eight years of post-doctoral apprenticeship, and sticking around long enough to get a faculty position took a combination of luck, hard work, and perseverance.

I work as a developer/manager of the software development department at my small company.

It's a good job, but I work harder than I ever did at the Fortune sub-50 company I spent over a decade at.

I taught myself how to program when I was a kid, and pretty much stuck with that through college. Worked in IT during college, and got found by tech company via the web (when that was new and nobody got jobs via the web).

It's worked out. I should have job hopped more, as spending 10+ years at one company kept my salary down. Loyalty to a company doesn't pay. Loyalty to bosses you respect and who respect you does.

My current bosses just sent me and my wife on a trip to see her family. A nice perk of a small business and of being at the top of the corporate ladder here (it's a step ladder).

For people with computer aptitude, I suggest:
get a degree in CIS or MIS, or take some classes for A+ cert or CCNA type stuff.
Get into QA or technical support
transfer out of that into more technical roles (dev, network admin, etc)

As a developer of business apps, my work is better because I've setup and installed servers, managed networks, tested software/hardware. It informs my development to know how to finish the job of deploying my solution, not just write code. So coming up the chain from QA or support gives that practical experience of having feet on the ground.

Now, if you asked me what I wanted to be doing, that would be here.

I rework out of spec boxes in a pork processing plant.