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Another middle manager in IT.
No Audi
No logburner (did consider it but couldn't make the business case work)
Yes, a nice espresso machine
Yes, an Orange Five, (and a Patriot)
Do I enjoy the job? No, it's a means to an end.
Pay, reasonable for the location but not enough.
I teach English to Spanish kids/teenagers. I dont particulalry like it but I'm just left to get on with my job with virtually no "management". Pay is ok. I get to live in a great part of the world and have time to ride most days if I want to.
The sensible part of me increasingly thinks it's time to get a "proper" job again. I've got 13 years IT experience but no-one is interested in me due yo having a few years break from it. Anyone want a AS/400 RPG A/P ?
I'm a salesman or you can use the more grandiose title of Enterprise Business Development Manager if you like. Software and services for Marketing Automation. I do like it, in fact I love it, it's a fantastic job with interesting clients and colleagues and I'm out and about most of the time. Money is dependent on results, results are good.
IT System Manager/Developer/DB Admin for the NHS. Take care of a system that delivers electronic pathology messages out to GP surgeries and hospitals.
Being in an office every day is extremely challenging as I've always worked outdoors prior to this job (in it 1 year now). I don't love it, but when you see things progress and projects succeed because of your input, it's satisfying.
I lived out in NZ for a year - my plan is to head back out there and find some work like this (or general IT), or buy a small business (hostel). If anyone needs an employee out there, HIT ME UP! 😀
Pay is good compared to my previous jobs, but I've lived happily on minimal income and think ... mo money, mo problems. Also feel guilty when I hear how much nurses and front line hospital staff get paid - they're in the thick of it, risking their health - they deserve way more.
I'm a receptionist, a bloody well paid receptionist, for a nice employer, dealing with mostly nice people. I stopped giving a toss about a career when I got made redundant a few years ago, and subsequently have landed on my feet big time with this job.
Sales/Tech support and training bloke for a vehicle diagnostic distributor.(last 8 years)
Sadly the arse is falling out of our industry having survived the recession it's gone very quiet recently and the importing of cheap Chinese copied tat is ruining it for everyone. Used to enjoy it but the commute due to being now completely office based and the lack of career prospects has spoilt it.
Already have an escape plan and retraining to go back onto the tools. 😉
Pay... it's going in the wrong direction lets put it that way.
Techie for a telecoms company specializing in contact centers. Today i'm sitting in a hotel sipping coffee looking at the sunshine. Tomorrow I'll be stuck in a data centre. Job is varied, love technology and you never know everything, always learning. Downside is regular travel and trying to maintain a decent diet. Definitely not cut out for management, so trying to get some goals in place for the next five years and improve work/life balance.
Pay is ok, industry average. I have it cushty compared to some of the folk who have already posted and have jobs that make a real difference.
[i]Talk to me.[/i]
Nope.
I was a service engineer travelling all over the UK for many years,just got sick of driving
60k a year,14 hour days, working away from home,took redundancy 3 years ago and
now work as a hospital porter for the theatres,despite being on a zero hours contract
and only earning less than the minimum wage I've never been happier,no stress, i get
to go out on rides when I'm not working,i get to commute to work by bike after the rush hour
What's not to like
I work as senior management within the Recruitment industry. Mainly the Aviation, Rail, Electronics and Defence industries.
I mostly enjoy it.
I do ok, I could earn more elsewhere, the company isn't one of the better payers within the industry, but by far not the worse.
The company makes a lot of money out of the efforts of me and my fellow managers, we don't see much of it. Nothing unusual.
I would really like to go back into the nonprofit sector. Job insecurity and lack of ££ and full time work drove me out of it, as well as a bit of "compassion fatigue" but I saw a part time job with the CAB this week that I'd really like, and was spending my insomniac time last night calculating if I could afford to do it!
My job today is a bunch of arse 😆 just sent people to stand about oooh and ahhhhing while they watch other people re-oxygenate a river Brer Farmer has spilt slurry into.
That and the phone hasn't stopped ringing and I am trying to sort out two oil problems one mahoosive and one small.
Dragon that runs facilities has just told me I cant leave my motorbike on site 😡 grrrrrrrrr and breathe.
I mostly measure gravity, enjoy it and get paid. So that's good.
consultant for a large energy consultancy
it has its moments, but would I be on here if it was flat out excitement?
nowhere near as much as my O&G colleagues 🙁
Forgot to add that as well as the decent IT job, I drive a VAG estate (has lots of Audi bits bolted to it), own an Orange Five (1x9'd with a Reverb and massive wide bars) and have two woodburners, a full log store thats neatly arranged and a nice coffee maker. Oh and I wear Oakley specs. And I live in Calderdale. And I have a beard/gypo stubble.
I'm possibly one of the most stereotypical STWers on here.
Rope Access - both on and offshore.
I enjoy it, been doing it for a long time so the shine has rubbed off a bit & the industry has changed. I have a small rope access contracting company, I enjoy that side of things.
The money is ok, offshore jobs always pay better, its mainly a lifestyle choice - choose when you work, what jobs to do,
Mattbee -I worked on the spinnaker tower when it was being built.
DBW - inspired by your post: 🙂
http://singletrackworld.com/forum/topic/who-is-the-most-stereotypical-stwer
Look after IT for a small, but perfectly formed, and very forward thinking holiday letting company.
Second job as a retained firefighter which I respond to from work.
Main job involves looking after pretty much everything with a plug in the building - and some things without as I also pick up a lot of general facilities stuff. I'm part of the management team and we're not in an IT bunker so get the opportunity to get involved in all the other parts of the business - for example I do a lot of data analysis, demographic profiling and SQL programming to assist our marketing team.
Pager can go off at any time then I'm off to get kitted up and jump on the fire engine - respond to anything from RTCs to building fires to animal and water rescue. It's quite a commitment in terms of time and training for not much money but it's a nice counterpoint to the day job and good to do something community focussed.
Used to do application support and development / business analysis for big corporate organisations. Was considerably more money but can't say I miss it much.
Cheers grum. What do I win 😉
I'm a Quantity Surveyor (chartered last year) for a fairly large private practice. I came to the industry a bit late having done a none construction degree and converted via a part time master’s degree whilst working (this was funded by the company that I work for).
I work in the retail team and generally enjoy my job. I work with a good bunch of people which makes the bad days more bearable because there is always some mick taking etc going on. I was pretty disappointed when I was first told that I was going into the retail team because it’s an area that most construction folk sneer at. As it turns out, I've been pretty lucky and have worked on some really big jobs. The company I work for are pretty laid back, so I can work from home, leave early if needed although I am also expected to put the hours in when needed.
Pay has been a bit of a rollercoaster since I joined in 2007; I took a pay cut to retrain because I hated construction recruitment and got a really good pay rise in my first salary review which was followed by a pay cut when the recession bit. I had pay rises after the cut, but they were pretty small and money was tight for a few years. Over the last couple it’s got much better, especially now that I am chartered. I guess I earn above the national average, but more would always be nice!
There are frustrations with stuff like cars because our company car scheme is rubbish being limited to Ford and Vauxhall but the allowance is weak too, so it doesn’t stack up financially. The fact that the company are laid back is great on one hand but annoying on others because they don’t manage people too well which is frustrating for someone like me who is keen to get on. My major frustration is that construction was never presented as a career opportunity when I was at school – it was all about banking, finance, law etc. Had I known more I would never had done my pointless marketing degree and done something more relevant. I love the building side of things – being on site and seeing something take shape is fascinating (especially on my last project which was a huge eco store).
Surprised there's not more construction people here as a lot of the guys a work (and ride) with are in the industry.
tenfoot - Member
EstimatorI enjoy it sometimes (been involved in some great projects), but generally it's a bit dull. It really depends on the team I'm working with at the time.
Pays fairly well........no one in the construction industry wants to do the job.
Similar here. Except they found I was
a) a bossy git so good at getting teams to do what they should
b) full of bs so good at 'selling' to clients/consultants
so now they call me 'preconstruction manager'. Still get to look at some interesting projects, and tell consultants how they could do it better whilst dressing it up as 'collaborative working'. Just moved from a major national to upcoming regional contractor and really enjoying it. Actively working back down the chain of command so I get home at a sensible time and don't have to make people redundant any more 😀 And yes the pays comparatively good because no-one else wants to do it!
engineering geek - measurement/reverse engineering.
actually yes, most of the time.
less than average.
would i recommend it? - no, anyone thinking of a career in engineering is a ****ing idiot.
I have 2 full time jobs.
I'm a Dog catcher, we also have a kennels and cattery.
The dog catching part is quite exciting sometimes but walking dogs for hours every day and cleaning up after dogs is pretty dull, I love the cat part of my work, cats are cool.
Neither job pays amazing but two wages means I'm comfortable.
Head of underwriting for Europe and the Middle East for a big American private health insurer. We do group healthcare plans for expats. So for example if a big bank wants to send thousands of employees to work overseas, they come to us and buy health, life, disabilty etc insurance for them. My job is to decide how much we charge for that, or more specifically my team decide how much then I approve it or say no. Insanely complex job, lots of stress, particularly right now, and despite being paid very well I reckon I'm underpaid by a fair amount. That being said I have a great team and some great colleagues and the company is very good to work for.
el Gato Negro - Member
Mattbee -I worked on the spinnaker tower when it was being built.
Chances are you worked for me then...........
What, no CFH to explain his paper clip international sales job?
Rope access people you may know a mate of mine, Richard Lyon.
He's the mane man...really takes pride in his work.Rope access people you may know a mate of mine, Richard Lyon.
Currently a tech op in a tv studio but in about a month I'll start a full time video editor job at the same place. Very excited as it's something I've wanted to do since uni! Great way to get Avid experience which is hard to come by. Very very good pay for how easy the job is (I'm on a £10k pay rise from my current role!), and the hours aren't too bad, working every other weekend.
Shifter... yes you're correct about the 90 day rule. I pay no tax as my company pays it for me. I got both a payrise in my actual wage and my employer taking on my tax liability when I left the North Sea behind...so on top of the payrise I get to keep (most of) what I used to pay in income tax. I still pay NI. The taxman still gets what I should pay in income tax, and so do I. Everyone's a winner! 🙂
Brand Manager and Buyer
It's fun.
I can pay my mortgage, have a couple of holidays a year and have a small cheap japanese car. I want for nothing and my health is generally sound.
I experiment on human beings.
It is a privilege.
It pays well enough to keep me in bikes.
IT business intelligence Consulting
(building databases, reports, a bit of project management and trying generally to get rid of the excel hell that runs most businesses!)
I enjoy it but have had a quiet couple of months that have been pretty dull
Paid pretty well tbh, although I could earn more by going contracting or moving firm im sure!
I inspect the bits that make up a gas turbine and make sure that when they are put back together they actually make a gas turbine.
The inspection part is very dull, the making sure it goes back together is less dull. Does the fact that I'm good at it make me dull 🙁
Money. I work in Aberdeen so get paid more than I should and could probably chase more if I really wanted to.
Marge - Member
Engineering Manager for a tyre manufacturer....Job is pretty interesting though travel & working hours requirements would better suit someone without a family.
So you're the one to ask next in a "what tyre for. ..." thread then. 😀
Senior Examinations Administrator / Centre Examinations Officer.
Nothing interesting to see here folks.
Smogmonster - that's a very good arrangement!