What do you do?

[mbrossar]

Since joining this forum, I've found myself reading some pretty esoteric threads including how soap is made and the relative properties of said soap as a result of it's base ingredients (e.g. tallow versus palm oil versus coconut oil etc.) or the relative volume of water a scuttle can hold and/or the thickness of its materials and their impact on its ability to keep your lather warm or, of course my personal favorite, the level of detail that Kyle reveals in his famous 'Kyle's Prep'. I find it fascinating that so many are driven to such detail on a topic which much of the world, sadly, sees as simply a daily chore. But what kind of personality is drawn to wet shaving in the first place? Someone who is not only nostalgic for performing this 'chore' as our grandfathers did, but someone who is driven to a perfect shave. And not only that, someone who seeks to know the finer details of how and why it all works the way it does. The only thing I can think of is, we're all secretly a bunch of engineers or have a fascination with the sciences. It's the only explanation I can think of for such a group of cool nerds.

Okay, I for one am an IT guy. I grew up programming. Back in the days of Pascal, Fortran, COBOL and a little HP 1000 Assembly Language. I moved into infrastructure work just as programming went object oriented. I later moved into IT operations and finally evolved (devolved?) into a pointy haired IT manager. And yes, I've always had a fascination for why things work. I think that's why I like this forum and this 'past time' so much.

So, what's your story?

 

[nikkuchan]

I translate and interpret between Japanese and English. It started as just a fascination with languages. I was always so interested with word etymology, language structure, colloquialisms, how languages change, how language influences thought, etc... I wanted to learn about a language that was very different from English, and Japanese was it. Studying language differences was intriguing. What is even more intriguing is finding words, phrases, etc… that are exactly the same in both languages (i.e. words with the same etymology) regardless of the fact that they were created independently of one another. I love it.

Is that nerdy enough for you? Also, I buy my computer parts separately and build my own computers. That's a fun passtime.

 

[joshmpdx]

I help folks buy houses.

 

[Anocer]

For the past 7+ years I've done contract video game Quality Assurance with Microsoft (twice) and Nintendo, publishers EA & EA Mobile (three times), Activision (three times), Vivendi Universal, and developers Raven Software, Super Villain Studios, Radical Entertainment, Riot Games, and Pandemic Studios.

Most recently I took a full-time position as Senior QA Lead managing four test teams (one on-site, three off-site) of around one hundred or so testers, leads and compliance specialists.

However, I've since shifted to designing iPhone apps in a start-up company with a programmer and an artist (both of whom are good friends of mine).

...and I was a double major in Psychology and Philosophy

 

[Stubblefield]

I teach English.

 

[hypo_style]

After ten years of practice, I just received my Architectural license.
Yeah, it took me a while to get through all of those exams...

 

[cfriend]

I'm a pawnbroker. Small thirty day loans on collateral on nearly anything of value. It's a family business, I'm looking to take over from the parents in a few years, and little brother can help out in another ten or so

 

[joshmpdx]

I teach English.

What age range? it's something i would love to do with undergrads!

 

[Yushiro]

I work for an Innovation Consultancy. We teach people a method that helps them bring innovation to their Products/Services/Processes. Lots of Patents involved in this line of work.

 

[mdunn]

business student

 

[Azza]

Law/exercise science student.

This sounds like a great job.

... contract video game Quality Assurance with Microsoft (twice) and Nintendo, publishers EA & EA Mobile (three times), Activision (three times), Vivendi Universal, and developers Raven Software, Super Villain Studios, Radical Entertainment, Riot Games, and Pandemic Studios. ...

- Aaron

 

[mkevenson]

For the past 25yrs or so, Cardiology tech. Specializing in Cardiac ultrasound and pacemaker /implantable defibrillator clinic tech. It pays the bills and I enjoy my work.

 

[blackdog1101]

I'm a logistics analyst for a major food distributor. I work with the major food manufacturers to determine the best way to move products through the supply chain to the shelf in your local supermarket.

 

[thatguy1807]

I work in a meat market.

 

[philipfromga]

System Engineer, work with content distribution and back office apps for cable, satellite and IPTV systems.

 

[Chimensch]

I translate and interpret between Japanese and English. It started as just a fascination with languages. I was always so interested with word etymology, language structure, colloquialisms, how languages change, how language influences thought, etc... I wanted to learn about a language that was very different from English, and Japanese was it. Studying language differences was intriguing. What is even more intriguing is finding words, phrases, etc… that are exactly the same in both languages (i.e. words with the same etymology) regardless of the fact that they were created independently of one another. I love it.

Is that nerdy enough for you? Also, I buy my computer parts separately and build my own computers. That's a fun passtime.

I'm also a translator (Italian > English) but I don't do interpreting, just technical documents. I was an English major in college and did a term paper on Hubert Selby, Jr.'s "Last Exit to Brooklyn", a novel that borrows heavily from Dante's Inferno. I became intrigued with the fact that there were so many translations of this poem that were all accurate and all different, like 2D photographs of a 3D object. I decided that I needed to learn Italian to read Dante in the original, which is like learning English to read Shakespeare. I did but it took me almost 30 years.

 

[Duke of the Deck]

I started my career as a high school teacher (Earth Science/Geography), experienced burnout and got into sales. I've been involved in the printing and transportation industry for over 25 years. I work with printers and lettershops to transport their direct mail to destination postal facilities across the country. Bottom line is that I get all that junk mail into your mail box faster and cheaper. No thanks necessary.

 

[erudolph]

I work in a video/film postproduction house. Formerly I was a do-everything type of editor, now I'm what they call a colorist.

 

[xgunterx]

I was an airline pilot till some fanatics decided to fly in some buildings and the global market collapsed shortly afterwards.
I could have gone abroad and actually had an offer to fly in Spain, but I just became a father.
Right now I'm still a fulltime dad while the wife makes a career (and is blocking me from flying again) but when the kids gets a bit older I'll do something else but it probably won't be in the airline business anymore.

 

[blackfoot]

I am a Security Officer at a Hospital. It's not what most people think of. Everyone is always shocked to hear what kind of things I actually do. For security, pay is decent. The thing is, I enjoy my job, especially since being promoted a few times.