ENWorld vs. Real World

[DungeonmasterCal]

I'm really digging the responses this thread has received. I had a plethora of past jobs, as well...from delivery driver to radio dj to working in a seed bagging factory to movie theater projectionist...and those are just a very tiny portion of my checkered employment past.

 

[Ramien Meltides]

Right now, I'm working in a dream job. I'm the promotions editor for Games Workshop US - that means I get to work on White Dwarf, web stuff, the works. This career is the best I've ever had.

Before this gig, I was a freelance writer and editor for a couple of years, and before that, a college student, and before that, I drove ambulances in the US Army.

 

[fett527]

I manage all technology for the corporate/sales headquarters for our company. That includes all server (Windows, Exchange- strictly MS shop) and end user support as well as network hardware and telecommunications. I rely heavily on another ENworlder that works for me (He can chime in if he wants). Before working in IT (for over five years now) I worked in retail/entertainment management for five years. The most fun I had in a job was working/managing at a QZAR, a laser tag establishment.

 

[mythusmage]

My heart goes out to you and Mythusmage...but I do have to ask: How exactly do you manage to post on the board?!

In my case, A lady I once knew years ago hit it big on the stock market. To celebrate she gave me a check for $1,000.00 U.S. With that I got an iMac.

She and her boyfriend moved out of state later. They went broke, he died of a heart attack, and she's now on disability herself. He turned out to be very bad for her.

BTW, if you have the money you can get online through an internet cafe, or you can use a library computer to get on The Net. A number of people do it. So having no permanent place of residence is no real obstacle.

As to the anxiety disorder and depression. Medication helps, a lot. So does having a stable residence and something to occupy your time. But it is a pain to stay focused and organized.

Keep your job, even after taxes it pays better.

 

[Desdichado]

Background: BS in Economics from Texas A&M University, although I also qualified for a BA with Russian courses and Spanish CLEPs (i.e.; I tested out of four semesters of Spanish after coming back from Argentina.) MBA also from Texas A&M University.

I used to work for the academic library on campus, in Interlibrary Loans. Now I just harry the poor reference librarians of our local public library, which is really quite good. I also worked as a consultant for a few years finding markets for tech that was developed during the boom years for defense and NASA contracts and was then left high and dry. That was kinda fun.

Currently: I work at Ford Motor Company in the Purchasing department. For a few years, I was the buyer for all of North America Production's mirrrors, door handles and luggage racks. Currently I'm "on loan" to the IT department to develop and implement purchasing systems, where I'm the guy in charge of all communications related to systems changes that go out.

Like my job reasonably well, and Ford's been nice to me. My wife is constantly bugging me about trying to get back to Texas, and frankly, she's got a good point. We miss living in Texas. I wouldn't mind moving out West either if I found a good job; Colorado, Utah, Arizona, etc. I've got a fair amount of family in Utah, so I'd like to live there too.

 

[Zappo]

Huh... everyone seems to be defining their life as their job. I think of my life as the stuff I like to do, and a job as something that is needed to sustain my life.

I'm finishing my 5-years degree in computer science at the university of venice. I'm planning on getting a job as a programmer, but I also have a few innovative ideas about low-cost videoconferencing which someone may find interesting. Like lots of young people in my country, I'll probably have to live with my parents for some more years, until I get a job that pays well. With the current economic situation, most entry jobs don't pay enough to rent a quasi-decent home and eat properly at the same time. Luckily, I get along with them very well.

In my spare time, besides RPGs, I'm working on an Italian Ultima Online server based on Planescape. I'm the main technical and setting admin. We're getting near to the open beta now. We hope to become the main roleplaying-oriented free online game in Italy, though getting to the point of self-sustaining the server through donations would already be a victory. I'd love to actually get paid to write videogames, but I see little chance of that.

I also play Warhammer 40k when I get a chance, and I'm getting pretty good at modding miniatures. Not so good at painting them, though.

 

[EricNoah]

Huh... everyone seems to be defining their life as their job.

Well, the question was "what do you do for a living." An English idiom meaning "what is your occupation/profession/job."

 

[Chun-tzu]

Huh... everyone seems to be defining their life as their job. I think of my life as the stuff I like to do, and a job as something that is needed to sustain my life.

I wanted a job that would be more than just a paycheck, i.e., something that would be personally fulfilling.

I'm a psychology graduate student, with a Master's in Clinical Psychology, working on my doctoral degree, and I've been ABD for about six months now. After I complete my dissertation (in about a jillion years), I'll seek employment as a psychologist. Last year, for my internship, I was a therapist at a college counseling center in Southern California.

Like others here, I'd like to write part-time and one of my life goals is to have a novel published. I have some ideas for a book of short stories with a common theme of geek culture. Look for it about a jillion years after I finish my dissertation.

 

[DungeonmasterCal]

Look for it about a jillion years after I finish my dissertation.

Y'mean I have to wait TWO jillion years? Dang....

 

[MrFilthyIke]

Huh... everyone seems to be defining their life as their job. I think of my life as the stuff I like to do, and a job as something that is needed to sustain my life.

I don't work because I like too, I work because I like being dry at night and cool during the day.