What do you all do for a living?

NewOrder · **on:** August 28, 2006, 06:37:18 PM

I've just finished high school, if you can call it that, and I'm going to university, I've just applied and I'm waiting for the 18th to know what I'll be up against over the next 4 to 5 years. My options where meds (dought I'll get into that one, the average is too high, still It's not my thing just did it so my mom would get off my back), journalism (this one I'll probably get in) and geology (since I'm going to get in journalism this is just a back up option). So I guess by September/October I'll be enjoying the pleasures of being a coledge student..

:

What about you guys?

action9000 · **Reply #1 on:** August 28, 2006, 08:06:13 PM

Well let's see:
I eat, drink, sleep....wait a minute...

I am currently a student, and unemployed. I just started my second (and final) year of college today, and I'm studying Industrial Instrumentation. I live in Alberta, Canada, home of one of the top oil/gas fields in the world, and careers in the field are in very high demand, with excellent wages. I plan to be an instrument technician somewhere in the oil/gas industry. Basically, I'll be maintaining, installing, and calibrating monitoring equipment.

I am also being trained in my college program, as an Instrumentation Engineer, if I wish to pursue that. I don't know if I will though, as math has never been something that I"m extremely good at.

I'm also doing some volunteer work around the Gang of Five with music projects, both for the love of the LBT series and the LBT community, as well as for the experience. I will be going to my old high school to talk to my old music director there, soon. I hope to take on some music-based assignments through her, and get some more experience and completed works. With any luck, I'll have the opportunity to arrange a piece of music for the high school band to play! B)
but we'll see about that.

Petrie. · **Reply #2 on:** August 28, 2006, 08:43:41 PM

I will graduate in December with my BS in secondary education and continue on into graduate school while substitute teaching on the side for a bit of income.

I can see that plaque and diploma right now to place alongside the one I got for my AS degree.

Cyberlizard · **Reply #3 on:** August 28, 2006, 08:50:47 PM

I am just starting my second year in high school, I am unemployed but I'm gerring a part time job next summer. This semester I am taking:

Period 1: Intro to computers
Period 2: Biology 1
Period 3: Study Hall
Period 4: World Geography
Period 5: English 2
Period 6: Geometry
Period 7: Advanced Health Enhancment

I am currently trying to write a LBT fic I've been working on for nine months now, it started on November 11, 2005, it now has 27 chapters. I hate Homework to its core, I hate school and general to its core! I mean, seriously, there's got to be a better way to learn stuff than sitting in a cramped desk in a stuffy room full of kids all day and brining all of the bagage home with you. :angry: But at least I have two and a half years left. After I graduate from High School I'm going to buy an Airstream and travel across the country for the summer and come back to Montana to get my MD in Astronomy at Montana State University Bozeman and minor in Astronautical Engineering and Paleontology. After my MD I'm going to University of Hawaii Hilo to get my PhD in Astronomy. After I graduate from ther I'm planning to work for NASA and hopefully become an astronaut. If I do make it to become an astornaut I hope to go on one of the moon landings scheduled for 2015-2020. Or maybe, (though I don't know if I will because it's far too risky) the Mars missions scheduled for 2025-2035.

pokeplayer984 · **Reply #4 on:** August 28, 2006, 09:57:57 PM

Let's just say that my life hasn't gone the way I hoped it would.

I am currently working a job at Wal*Mart as a Sales Associate for the Furniture Department. However, I know this will only be temporary for another few years. What I am currently learning is how to take care of myself in the outside world.

I am currently living at home, but I have to pay for rent. I also have to pay for my own groceries. In fact, just about everything in my room was paid for with the money I had earned.

During this time, I have found that I have quite the knack for making stories. I could definately make a carrer out of it. I am just missing one little skill at the moment... creating original charcters. The problem I have is making up names. I want the names to suit the charcter and sound perfect whenever said.

Once I get around this little problem, I'm sure you guys would love a copy of my book. Just a little warning to those that don't like romance. I have found it is the one thing I LOVE to write about. So if you get a future copy, just expect it to be there.

NewOrder · **Reply #5 on:** August 29, 2006, 06:35:40 AM

Woah, I have the same problem too pokeplayer =p I hope that my experience in journalism will help me mature as a writer, although I wonder if that's what I really wanna do, so I hope I'll get down to take that geology course and a paleontology PhD, at least I'll have a back up if journalism doesn't work out.
As for romances, I love writing and reading about romances, but still I think my best area would be fiction, but eventhough I'll always try to fit in some romantic interess in the story. I'm currently working on a novel, a bit too fantastic for my liking so I'm trying to make it more realistic and in a way that people don't think they've already seen it or read about it, it's pretty hard. My last story was too short, I did it in an entire afternoon and after a while I got tired of it, I decided to put it down, maybe I'll go back to it some day, that one is purely romantic (with a bit of fiction envolving paralel worlds and visions) Do you have any story/novel that you'd like to discuss with us?

Malte279 · **Reply #6 on:** August 30, 2006, 11:14:29 AM

I'm studying Anglism (English) and history at the university. I hope to get a teaching job for history at the university myself. I'm giving private English lessons to students to earn some money, but as my last student graduated I'm now looking for new students to earn some money. Regretably there seems to be little demand this early in the school year. Next spring I'll most likely get a real job at the university. Professor Walla (professor for North American history) promissed that I may succeed his current assistant who will leave next spring

NewOrder · **Reply #7 on:** August 30, 2006, 07:17:21 PM

That's very cool. How did you start giving private english lessons? I thought about the idea but just never really believed anyone would turn up =x

Petrie. · **Reply #8 on:** August 30, 2006, 09:27:04 PM

Fliers, professors, etc. They all can help to spread the word if you're up to offering a service someone needs.

WeirdRaptor · **Reply #9 on:** August 30, 2006, 09:57:54 PM

I work at a Wal-Mart as a stock inspector, although I'm not actually called that. I go through every bit of stock shoved in front of me and make sure it arrived in pristine order. It pays decently.

Right now I'm trying to get a job somewhere else. Somewhere I stand a chance of getting paid better than 'decently'.

Good luck on your endeavers, Malte, by the way.

Malte279 · **Reply #10 on:** August 31, 2006, 04:06:38 AM

Thank you WR! Good luck on yours too!

As for the private lessons, I knew my first student who had some trouble with her English grade in the final years. Learning about my studying English, and knowing about my exchange her mother asked me when I mentioned I was going to give private lessons. Now I'm hanging out flyers with my telephone number in our supermarket. Though there seems to be some interest (all the tiny pieces of paper with the telephone number at the bottom of the paper are regularly torn of) nobody called me yet. Maybe I just have to wait till mid September when students will mess up their first exams of the year.

NewOrder · **Reply #11 on:** August 31, 2006, 09:52:27 AM

Hmm.. the problem with me is that I'm going to an arts school (arts as in history, languages, etc), a part from the college courses, there are individual language courses opened to everyone, it's 150 euros per year, I'm thinking of taking up Russian, I should brush up on my French, but I really don't care about that language =p
It would be a bit silly to offer english private lessons, but I'll think about it, maybe if I practise some low prices people will want to come, do you charge byt the hour? Month?

On another subject, how high is the minimum wage in your countries? Here it's 389,4 euros per month (it's one of the lowest in europe, unfortunately \: ) I know in Germany there is no minimum wage, I've heard you negotiate your wage with your employer, is that right Malte?

Nick22 · **Reply #12 on:** August 31, 2006, 09:58:57 AM

I Work at a Law firm in brookfield, which is about an hour from where I live. basically I summarize documents for them... can't say much more than that as I am bound by confidentiality...

action9000 · **Reply #13 on:** August 31, 2006, 06:37:35 PM

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On another subject, how high is the minimum wage in your countries?

The minimum wage in Canada varies from province to province. I believe the average minimum wage is around CDN$7.50/hr (or roughly $1000 a month, full time). Alberta's (My province) is only $7.10. It's rather sad, as Alberta is the wealthiest province in Canada... <_< However, nearly all employers in Calgary, Alberta are offering $9.50 and up for entry-level jobs. No company paying $7.10/hr gets any employees these days. In the newspaper a couple of days ago, a restaraunt downtown (not a fancy one, just a regular, ol' restaraunt) was offering $15.00/hr for new Dish Washing employees. That's what the job market is like around here right now.

All that comes at a price, though. The gap between the upper and lower economic classes is very wide here. The wealthy are very wealthy. The lower class have a hard time getting anywhere, and young adults have a hard time starting life on their own, with the high cost of housing, and unavailability of homes on the market right now. The city is growing in population faster than it can provide homes for everyone, and costs are skyrocketing. It's far from perfect.

Malte279 · **Reply #14 on:** September 01, 2006, 03:44:59 AM

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I know in Germany there is no minimum wage, I've heard you negotiate your wage with your employer, is that right Malte?

There is no minimum wage over here, while there are some guide-lines about wages (so it is not like every single worker would negotiate about the wage). This year has seen the longest strikes in German history and one of the union's demands was the introduction of a minimum wage (7.50 Euro). Regretably this goal wasn't achieved. Looking at the circumstances for many people over here (and the circumstances of a very few others <_< and the actions of many of these few) I'm afraid we'll see more strikes over here.
There are also the so called 1 Euro jobs. People who are unemployed and receive social security are given jobs in social facilities (kindergartens, nursing homes, hospitals etc.) where they are paid only 1 Euro per hour. Yet if they refuse to do that job there will be serious cuts in the social security help they receife.
While the basic idea to keep unemployed people from falling into an unhealthy state of bumming around there are huge disadvantages of this. For example through these 1 Euro jobs (which are of course very cheap for the employers) REAL fulltime jobs are destroyed. The employers don't have any interest in their 1 Euro job workers finding a better job to make a better living. Highly qualified workers are sometimes replaced by 1 Euro job workers! As the 1 Euro job workers are not listed as "unemployed" in the statistics it is also a measure to make it look like there were less unemployed people.

NewOrder · **Reply #15 on:** September 01, 2006, 08:35:56 AM

Hmm... I see how a big headacke that 1 euro job can be. Over here unempliyed people usually stay this way untill someone gives them a job, and most of the time they don't stay long in that job, as long as the state is paying them for sitting around that's what they do. Still your minimum wage's are way higher than around here.
action9000 you're from canada? There was a problem about the portuguese emigrants a couple of months back, most of them come from the azores and go there in search of a better wage and better lifestyle, believe me 1000 dollars of minumum wage is very good, my mother used to work in a clothes shop and she only got payed around 500 euros per month, that's just 110,4 euros more than our minimum wage =x I know the cost of life is probably higher in Canada, still it's a big difference.