what was your career?

[OneMoreFarang]

Discovered computers

Used computers

Sold computers

Sold software

Learned programming

Created programs for other people and get paid for it.

Same same but different with different programming languages, hardware, networks, etc.

Repeat

Still doing it. And if I would be retired I would still play with computers.

[DaLa]

Metallurgist

Programmer Analyst

Insurance Agent

Insurance Co. Manager

Landlord

Owned a construction company

Owned a motor vehicle part reconditioning company

Owned a Franchise with Royal Mail 

Surveyor

Manager of a Social Housing department

Owned and ran an Export/Import company ( still in operation today)

[jaideedave]

Dropped out of high school to join the Navy. Served 6 years most of it on submarines.

Worked at a smelly pulp mill on the west coast of Canada for exactly 30 yrs. Stationary Engineer. Retired at 55 moved to LOS and started working O&G off/on for 6-7 yrs (Safety Officer) and now happily retired here.

The mill work provided a decent pension. No regrets but 30 yrs of <deleted> shift work takes its toll.

[cyril sneer]

1 hour ago, Pravda said:

Nothing. I always depend on my women to support me.

yep, this

[stigar]

U been working in factory first..after that i was a car electrician.And later as a fisherman..so on a cruiseship..The last 23 years i worked as a offshore seaman.All over the world.Worked in singapore..india..malaysia..indonesia and many other countries.In 2015 a get a bad accident at sea.Get 3,3 ton over my left foot.Stucked 17 minutes.Career was over.Anyway i get good taking care of incurance and my goverment,Get many million from incurance and i have a pension about 5000 pound a month.From 1st march nect year i will get about 1100 pound more a month.I really miss my work.I also work as a teacher for the thaipeople who cant speak english in my country.I speak thai wery well so i learning them to speak norwegian.

Edited December 10, 2021 by stigar

[tonray]

2 hours ago, KC 71 said:

The wildlife seen (usually in those early hrs) was another plus 

Better than Soi 6 ?

[OneMoreFarang]

55 minutes ago, stigar said:

I also work as a teacher for the thaipeople who cant speak english in my country.I speak thai wery well so i learning them to speak norwegian.

Better stick with Norwegian... 

[OneMoreFarang]

50 minutes ago, tonray said:

Better than Soi 6 ?

I am sure you will find lots of strange and interesting creatures in Soi 6 - especially in the early hours.

[CharlieH]

4 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

I guess going from one career to another is more common nowadays,i remember my parents generation stayed in their jobs 25 years or more back in those days.

I think 48 is too young to retire though

 

Didnt swy I retired, just I came here at 48, I will never "retire" in the conventional sense.

 

Talking of long careers in the same place, both my brothers, joined theirs at 16 and stayed there 50 yrs ! that would drive me insane  ! ????

[Stocky]

Geologist - exploration and mining; gold, diamonds and base metals. Worked for different companies, different countries. Now semi-retired and just do a few months consultancy work each year on projects that I like. It's been good fun, which is why I'll probably keep my hand in for as long as people need me.

[georgegeorgia]

1 hour ago, stigar said:

U been working in factory first..after that i was a car electrician.And later as a fisherman..so on a cruiseship..The last 23 years i worked as a offshore seaman.All over the world.Worked in singapore..india..malaysia..indonesia and many other countries.In 2015 a get a bad accident at sea.Get 3,3 ton over my left foot.Stucked 17 minutes.Career was over.Anyway i get good taking care of incurance and my goverment,Get many million from incurance and i have a pension about 5000 pound a month.From 1st march nect year i will get about 1100 pound more a month.I really miss my work.I also work as a teacher for the thaipeople who cant speak english in my country.I speak thai wery well so i learning them to speak norwegian.

23 years seaman ................would drive me crazy stuck on a boat all the time away for weeks at a time 

[Pedrogaz]

I stayed at school until I was 25, then did as little as possible for 29 years, then retired to Thailand. I have never missed work, I hated it, but I dream about it every night.

[Asquith Production]

Im surprise how many different occupations people have done. I am also surprise that their are no SAS, MI5 and airline pilots like many have told me.

[georgegeorgia]

would the majority of you be tradesman type jobs ?

 

We have no ex police,prison or paramedics ?

no Supreme court judges ? ......

[Liverpool Lou]

Interesting...not one real teacher!

[ColeBOzbourne]

I was a science teacher for 28 years.

[micmichd]

IT Professional (Bank IT) 

[lanng khao]

Artist in burnt clay  (bricklayer) for 44 yrs,  love it that much I'm going back UK in January to dig my rusty trowel out my tool bag and start earning a grand week ...

[georgegeorgia]

19 minutes ago, ColeBOzbourne said:

I was a science teacher for 28 years.

Funny you say that, i met 2 teachers separate occassions in a bar in jomtien back in july 2018,both coicidencelly were from Melbourne and Sydney Australia ,one was 57 and the other 60,both retired medically unfit due to stress,dont know why considering they only work 6 hours a day monday to friday 

 

[billsmart]

I first worked as a ticket-counter agent for United Airlines.

I was accepted in a intra-company program they had to learn how to program computers.

I then worked as a computer programmer for UAL.

I then worked as a computer programmer/manager for Bank of America.

I then worked as a CIO of Teradata in their services division.

I then worked for as CIO of a startup.

I then worked for BoA again Director of their data analysis division.

I then worked on my own as a private contractor doing data analysis for various companies, mostly banks, all over the world.

One of my last jobs was working for Krung Thai Bank in Bangkok. At that time I was planning on retiring to Brazil where I had worked also. But, in the end, I decided to try Thailand.
I've now been here over 20 years, live up in the mountains outside of Phetchabun, and will stay here forever.

I do not miss my former life in IT because when I retired, I started writing, which was something I'd wanted to do all my life. 

Since retirement, I've written and published 10 books. Here are a few links to them:

 

https://web.facebook.com/WDSmart.Author
https://www.amazon.com/W.-D.-Smart/e/B00MBK0BR4
https://books2read.com/ap/xXJPWG/W-D-Smart

And, no, I wouldn't want to go back to my former job or lifestyle. ????

[Expat68]

I worked in pre-press for two printing companies, total time 34 years. I retired just about the right time. Never miss work or my homeland

[4737 Carlin]

SAS (Super Army Soldier) but don't like to talk about it. Also, 'top boy' with the hardest football firm in Britain. Again, don't like to talk about it.

[hotchilli]

8 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

To those of us mature aged eg over 60,or expats,what was your past job and how long did you remain there?

Most people in our GEN remained in a job 30 plus years unlike nowadays

Aircraft engineer, apprenticed with British Aerospace [formerly British Aircraft Corporation] age 16-49 33 years total 1976-2009

Arrived Thailand 2009 to present date 

[4MyEgo]

8 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

The reason i say this is because earlier this year i had a workmate 67yo retire to the phillipines ,every time i spoke to him he mentioned how he missed work.

When he was at work he did nothing but complain.

1988-2015 property industry contractor, liked the job up till 2006 when I came to Thailand, then in 2007 the industry changed with technology, and with that turnaround times went from 3 days to 24 hours and no secretary to do my typing and no assistant to do my research, suffice to say the pressure was on and my stress levels were on the rise, was doing 14-16 hour days, however managed to keep going on a 6 figure salary and retiring at 55 in 2015. Even though it was a 6 figure salary, it wasn't worth it, trust me, but I had my plan to move here, so hung in there.

 

You needed a 6 figure salary just to survive as the cost of living was right up there and retiring at 55 came from some good real estate investments, not the salary, albeit the salary and the tax breaks helped service the mortgages, but the capital gains were where the money came from for me to retire early.

 

Never regretted leaving, in fact, I now make money from other investments and don't have to pay taxes on it, but the strangest thing is, if I lived in the country I would have to pay taxes on it, go figure.

 

The cost of living here is much cheaper than back home and I have never ever been so relaxed, which reminded me of something my old man once said to me when he saw the hours and days I was putting in for so long, along with my stress levels, he said, son I have been were you are coming from, don't get caught up in the gears because life is short, don't forget to live. He was retrenched at 55 with no pay out back in the days, so he didn't experience the lifestyle I am experiencing, but was content to live the remainder of his life not working for the man, till he reached 72.

 

Those working, work because they have mortgages to pay off or kids to pay for in university etc, if they are fortunate to not have to contribute to any of the above, they are either married or just don't know how to change, if they at all want to, a bit like a caged chicken, same thing day in, day out laying eggs, if they could find a way out, some would, but I know a few wealthy people who make a lot of money, they don't need to work, but continue to kill themselves and complain along the way, holidays are unheard of as they would lose money being away from their businesses, so to me, their lives are lived the way they only know how to live them.

 

Coming to Thailand in 2006 is when my life changed, I saw a way out, met the most beautiful and pleasant woman who I married and enjoy being with day in, day out, funny how things work out.

 

Do I miss the old country, NO.

 

Do I miss the 6 figure (4,400,000 baht salary) NO.

 

The not missing the salary part might make some of you say I am crazy, but that's ok, I make enough from my investments to live a good life here and I have my money from my real estate investments, so it's either work to make or sit back and make enough to survive a comfortable life, after all before we all know it, life will be over for us all and I have been enjoying every single day of it since 2015, no amount of money can replace that and I will continue to do that as long as I am breathing. 

[jaideedave]

40 minutes ago, lanng khao said:

Artist in burnt clay  (bricklayer) for 44 yrs,  love it that much I'm going back UK in January to dig my rusty trowel out my tool bag and start earning a grand week ...

My highest paying job was 6 months in Iraq for BP..900 GBP/day. Safety co-ordinator...where did the money go?

[Golden Triangle]

1 hour ago, Asquith Production said:

Im surprise how many different occupations people have done. I am also surprise that their are no SAS, MI5 and airline pilots like many have told me.

I did 12 years in the military then 20 odd years as a civvy working for the MoD, my time with the Army was interesting & varied, I was on on a mobile display team back in the 70's going from one summer fair to another, basically showcasing the military to the general public, spent about 5 years in Germany, and a similar amount of time as a No.2 with bomb disposal.

[roo860]

9 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

SAS (Super Army Soldier) but don't like to talk about it. Also, 'top boy' with the hardest football firm in Britain. Again, don't like to talk about it.

Spoken like a true 'Walter'.

[swm59nj]

Worked for a Federal Agency 32 years.  Last 11 of those 32 years in management for that agency.  
I retired at age 62 I’m 66 now.  I was going to wait to retire at age 66.  I would have gotten more money from Social Security per month.  But if you averaged it out.  It wasn’t worth it.  So I get Social Security and a separate pension  each month from the agency I worked for.  And was allowed to keep my health plan at a good cost per month.  The plan covers  me internationally. Also I had  a government type 401k plan which I  reinvested into a private retirement plan. 
I’m happy I retired.  I was tired of working many times  12 hours or more each day with heavy pressure from upper management.  Even though I was compensated monetarily for the extra time. 

[Horatio Poke]

After completing a challenging 3 month correspondence course I became a brain surgeon.  Not too many fatalities once I realized that imbibing copious amounts of Heineken cured a shaky hand.  I started to make good money as soon as I signed an agreement with Black and Decker for discount on heavy duty power tools.  I practiced surgery for as long as I was able on the basis of practice makes perfect but was eventually forced to stop due to ill health - the ill health of my patients.

I don't miss the work but my few surviving patients do seem to miss me.  They are constantly sending me summonses to meetings.  They seem to be courting me.

[lanng khao]

45 minutes ago, 4737 Carlin said:

SAS (Super Army Soldier) but don't like to talk about it. Also, 'top boy' with the hardest football firm in Britain. Again, don't like to talk about it.

ICF ICF, remember tham getting legged by Everton down Scotland road in the 80's, see Cass's book...