tell us about your job

[Patrick del Poker Grande]

What do you do? Aerospace Engineer

Do you like it? Yes

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I'm good at math and physics type stuff. I'm generally pretty good at learning new things and applying my knowledge to a variety of problems.

What kind of people do best in your work? Smart, anal, damn near autistic freaks not scared of actually using all the stuff they learned in school in real-life applications. Weed it down further by requiring good communications skills - we're not english majors by any stretch, but effective presentation and report writing skills are a must.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? Generically, an engineering degree, usually in aerospace or mechanical engineering, but there are also some civils and a few other random majors. My job specifically pretty much requires at least a masters in aerospace or mechanical engineering. It should be from a pretty good school, too, if you want to get a second look with us.

What is a typical day like? I work for an engineering consulting company, which means I see a much larger variety of projects than someone who just works for, say, Lockheed Martin or Orbital Sciences. I currently have a home office that I work out of, but some customers want me to work on-site. The basic day-to-day operation is pretty boring on the surface, but in the grand scheme of things, the job is pretty cool. Whether I'm working from home or on-site at the customer's office, I generally sit in front of the computer all day, building models of various structures for a pretty decent variety of analyses. Right now, I'm working on a couple dynamics problems. One is a separation event for the next manned space vehicle, CEV/Orion. The other is the deployment of a solar array for a small research satellite. I also do a lot of standard structural stress and dynamics/response analysis work on everything from satellite buses to various launch vehicle components to more down-to-earth things like Harley Davidson fuel tanks or even xerox machines and Disney rides.

The not-typical-but-not-uncommon day involves various meetings and design reviews, travel to customer sites, and structural tests (shaking and breaking stuff).

What kind of problems do you encounter? One typical problem is in dealing with people who don't realize how much time and effort it takes to do what I do. The nature of my job is such that I'm also usually under a pretty tight schedule trying to get information from people who are also on tight schedules, so their stuff gets to me late and that pushes me even closer to my deadlines. Right now, I'm on two big projects that both have big reviews this week and next week. It's not fun when deadlines land on top of each other.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? I guess my previous answer pretty much takes care of the frustration part. I'm not sure that "elation" is the right word, but it's pretty cool when I get through a big review and I can see the looks on all the (non-rocket-scientist) faces. It's usually a mix of "wow I barely understood what the hell he was doing or how he figured it out, but it was pretty cool" to "great job, kid."

How much can one expect to make in your position? Engineers make good, but not eye-popping salaries. I started at around $60k. I've been full-time for about 4 years now, which is kind of a 'tweener position where you can probably expect anywhere between about $65k to $80k a year plus bonuses and maybe stock options, depending on the company and your qualifications. $100k is probably not too far down the road. If you've got enough experience and/or guts, you can probably make upwards of $200k-$300k going out on your own, but it's very risky and you better be pretty damned good and willing to move to where the work is when it dries up in one place. I'm not sure how much exactly the more senior people make at my company, but I do know they've got some ridiculous houses in some pretty expensive San Diego neighborhoods.

[ua1176]

What do you do? Freelance audio engineering/music production, along with 6 hours/week of teaching recording to college students, and the occasional recording session as a guitarist.

Do you like it? 90% of the time i love it. 10% of the time im exhausted/jaded/wishing i was making real money doing something else.

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I'm a good musician with a significant intellect and a strong work ethic. im not a people person but i can convincingly pretend. i learn new things very quickly and i have no problem working long/strange hours.

What kind of people do best in your work? the really talented + hard working + lucky ones.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? none. but intelligence, people skills, and a strong work ethic are pretty much mandatory. i graduated Summa Cum Laude with a B.M. in music composition. one of my gigs is assisting a producer who dropped out of college after 1 semester but has about half a dozen platinum records on the wall. his business partner got rejected from the colleges he applied to but has 3 grammy awards on his desk.

What is a typical day like? depends. usually up around 9 or 10. breakfast, browse web/check emails. most of my recording sessions start around noon and go until 8 or 10. i occasionally do late night recording but i try to minimize that. i occasionally do very early recording (8am or 9am) for corporate voiceover clients.

What kind of problems do you encounter? bad studios. stereotypical music industry liars/cheats. musicians with no capacity for critical self-evaluation. musicians who "know a little bit about recording" and want to have opinions about what im doing on their record.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? frustration: sometimes going for 2 or 3 weeks without a day off. clients being cheap and trying to hire my services for cheap/free because their project will be "good" for me. general music industry nonsense.

elation: the players are good, the songs are good, the studio is good...and i get to sit back and watch the record practically create itself.

How much do you make? about $55k in 2006 (my first year as a full-time professional). on track to do significantly better in 2007.

How much can one expect to make in your position? varies widely. most can't make a living at all but on the upper end...the sky is the limit.

[pokerspite]

[ QUOTE ]
What do you do? pipefitter/steamfitter/welder

Do you like it? Absolutely love my job.
What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? good at visualizing things three-dimensionally. Good working with my hands. Meticulous but not to the point that it impedes my efficency.

What kind of people do best in your work? People who try their best and take pride in their work. I can train any indivdual to do what I do as long as he or she is willing to put forth an effort.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? Highschool diploma. You take an apprenticeship test to qualify. The apprenticeship consists of 8000 hours of actual work under the guidance of at least one journeyman at all times plus schooling the equivalent of an associates degree. The classes are real easy and 95% of what you learn you never use on the job. But they pay you your hourly wage for every hour you sit in class so that's not a bad deal. Completing the apprenticeship was one of the easiest things I ever did.

What is a typical day like?
7:30 - Get to the shop. Drink coffee, b.s., and read the paper.
8:00 - go on the job
11:00 - go to lunch, which contractually is twenty minutes, but we're pretty good at stretching it to an hour and a half (you know us damn union slugs).
12:30 - back on the job
3:00 - back to the shop
3:30 - on my way home
Actual hands on work for a day averages around 4.5 hours
What kind of problems do you encounter? Typical of a construction type job; someone measured wrong, poor workmanship, something doesn't fit the way it should, etc. Nothing that can't be easily remedied .
What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? They don't pay me enough to get frustrated. I leave that for the guys above me.
As for elation, that's too extreme but I do get a real sense of satisfaction from building something with my own two hands and knowing I did a damn good job.
How much can one expect to make in your position? I make 28.50 an hour.
Without hitting a lick of overtime that works out to around 60k a year.
The most I've made as a journeyman pipefitter is 98k in a year, the least was 74k. I work with guys who have made upwards of 150k in a year with all the O.T. they've worked.

[/ QUOTE ]

[hobbes9324]

Chief of a group of 44 ER MD's in Reno Nv.

4 yrs. college
4 yrs. Med School
1 yr. research (optional)
4 yrs. residency.

Well suited - make complex decisions based on partial information about potentially life/death problems. Good at adjusting to unexpected changes in a situation. Calm in tight spots.

Eight or nine hours shifts, maybe 20 patients a shift.

Rough average for someone in my job would be about 250K or so - we do a bit better.

I'm a half time MD, half time administrator (someone has to do it) - The admin part of the job is like living in a Dilbert cartoon.....

MM MD

[firstyearclay]

[ QUOTE ]
Chief of a group of 44 ER MD's in Reno Nv.

4 yrs. college
4 yrs. Med School
1 yr. research (optional)
4 yrs. residency.

Well suited - make complex decisions based on partial information about potentially life/death problems. Good at adjusting to unexpected changes in a situation. Calm in tight spots.

Eight or nine hours shifts, maybe 20 patients a shift.

Rough average for someone in my job would be about 250K or so - we do a bit better.

I'm a half time MD, half time administrator (someone has to do it) - The admin part of the job is like living in a Dilbert cartoon.....

MM MD

[/ QUOTE ]

Where does "Chief" put you in rank with the on-staff doctors on your shift?

fyc

[hobbes9324]

That's not how it works - we're an independent group, not employed by the hospital. I am the administative point guy for any procedural matters. Additionally, if there are problems between someone in my group and another MD, I'll generally get involved - which happens VERY seldom. It's a real good job, so we can be highly selective - we pretty much only hire good guys who happen to be ER docs.

MM MD

[Golden_Rhino]

What do you do? Work at the beer store b/c I needed a job that I could do while going to school full time.

Do you like it? Nope.

What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work? I am over 19 and can count past 20.

What kind of people do best in your work? Those who are dead inside.

What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you? be over 19

What is a typical day like? Unload truck, fill rollers, help some customers, go home.

What kind of problems do you encounter? Dumb customers.

What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation? No elation. Broken glass can ruin a good day.

How much do you make? Less than I should be.

How much can one expect to make in your position? Managers make about 80k I think. I won't be around long enough to find out though.

[El Diablo]

limon,

"would you bet everything (THAT ISNT YOUR WIFES) on a coin flip getting 60/40?"

What if your wife didn't have any of her own assets, limon? Would you still be willing to take this wager now that you are relatively established in life?

[El Diablo]

Ja,

"What do you do?" Tech entrepreneur, advisor, investor

"Do you like it?" Yes

"What makes you in particular well-suited or poorly-suited for your work?" Good problem solver, willing to take risks, smart, good at negotiating, good at dealing with people

"What kind of people do best in your work?" People willing to take risks, people who work really hard

"What qualifications are necessary for people considering work in the same field as you?" Some sort of technical background is good, but a good understanding of business and technology is sufficient.

"What is a typical day like?" Start work around 9. Do a couple of phone calls. Do email for an hour. Surf 2+2. Read CNN. Write up a sales/partnership contract. Eat some lunch. Do a couple of sales calls. Review product plans/progress. Surf 2+2. Make a Powerpoint presentation. Play flash game. Do more email. Review some deals. Read some blogs. Finish up around 6:30. Do some more email at night.

"What kind of problems do you encounter?" Just always takes more time than you anticipate or want to close sales, partnership, distribution, whatever deals.

"What are the biggest (most common) sources of frustration and elation?" Frustration - sales that don't come through and product delays. Elation - closed sales and successful product releases.

"How much do you make?" Whatever I decide to pay myself. Made more this year because a company I advised got sold. I don't make much all that much unless a company I'm involved with gets sold.

"How much can one expect to make in your position?" Between 0 and billions depending on how much you sell your company for.

[renodoc]

[ QUOTE ]
Chief of a group of 44 ER MD's in Reno Nv.

4 yrs. college
4 yrs. Med School
1 yr. research (optional)
4 yrs. residency.

Well suited - make complex decisions based on partial information about potentially life/death problems. Good at adjusting to unexpected changes in a situation. Calm in tight spots.

Eight or nine hours shifts, maybe 20 patients a shift.

Rough average for someone in my job would be about 250K or so - we do a bit better.

I'm a half time MD, half time administrator (someone has to do it) - The admin part of the job is like living in a Dilbert cartoon.....

MM MD

[/ QUOTE ]

Sub-specialist in Reno trying to avoid being called in by Hobbes. Or, if I must be called in, attempting to convince the ginormous corporate unicycle riders to pay me for my time, skill and liability.