what was your career?

[midzo]

Actor.

 

Loved my job despite the constant rejection and  financial insecurity. 
 

Still working part-part time, although I’m directing a lot more and acting a lot less. 
 

I still love it. 

[smccolley]

First real job was washing dishes at a curling club in Calgary

Then a cowboy in southern Alberta

some Uni then 4 years at the Old Guard in Arlington Cemetery

Fixed cars in my carport in Phoenix to help pay for Uni.

Then building telcoms for landline, then the first CDMA cell phones, 2G, 2.5G 3G, 4G and just before covid helped deploy Tmobile's first 5G.

Now I am tired and ready to retire...

[Yewbzee]

International deepwater rig pig.

 

1 month on 1 month off, so ideal for Thailand. 

[Russell17au]

First job after leaving school was for 12 years in the Royal Australian Navy as a clearance diver with 2 stints in Vietnam during the war and after my discharge worked for Australian Immigration in the investigation section going and raiding farms for the illegal workers and after 10 years they decided I was too old for field work and were going to transfer me to a desk job at an airport but I told them to shove it and left and got a job as an armed cash delivery driver until they said I was too old for that and transferred me to another transport section where I stayed until I got a workplace injury at the age of 68 (retirement age was 65) and was forced into retirement and moved here 9 years ago as I can live a pain drug free life here because of the constant climate and not the up and down climate in Australia.  

Edited December 10, 2021 by Russell17au

[Burma Bill]

9 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

Who had a job they remained in past 30 years ?

Yes, me. 34 years with the UK Police Service. 24 years with the "Met" in London then 10 years with a County Constabulary but not as a police officer. I was first a civilian forensic expert and then an intelligence analyst. I also worked a further 9 years as a Volunteer with the Thai Tourist Police. Retired to live in Thailand at the age of 56 years on the first of 3 UK pensions. Now live in Cambodia.

Edited December 10, 2021 by Burma Bill
additional information

[allanos]

I had a very eclectic career until I stopped working full time around 8 years ago. Had some great jobs along the way and some not so good ones but always had wall to wall employment.

 

Became self-employed eventually, starting and/or running a few different businesses. None of them was a great success but they weren't failures either, and they all enabled me to raise two separate families, following first divorce, and put bread on the table. 

 

I also managed to have the wit, and cash flow, to own five properties at one stage. Owning a property portfolio is kind of satisfying and reassuring that one has achieved something in one's life which is tangible (as opposed to having created a strong cv, for example).

 

Having finally hung up my boots, I have been authoring a novel for the past 3+ years. It is a fresh challenge, particularly mentally, and helps to keep me sharp, and motivated. 

 

I do miss some of my previous employed positions, but the others, not so much. I have been fortunate over all. When I look around me and see some of the jobs or work which people have to do to ensure basic survival, I give thanks to a higher power that I am not one of them.

[Boomer6969]

Was one of those early IT wiz kids. At 38 I retired by joining the UN in Geneva. Stayed there 24 years on a monthly THB 500k "pension" until they threw me out at 62 and reduced my allowance to 250k. Settled here thinking it would compensated my loss, but no.

 

Miss the Alps, the Lake and the expensive lunchtime Eastern European hookers.

[seedy]

A bit off topic, but ...

If I had to do it all over again, would get a ticket as electrician or something.

A trade I could do world wide.

Work until had enuf in the bank. Stop working, and go Live

When the $$$ got low, go get another job.

Never invest in stupid things like houses, cars. Bikes maybe !

Then at the age I am now I would have a lot more memories than 'Going to Work' every day.

And would have slept with a LOT more girls

[dlclark97]

27 years 11 months USAF.   24 of those years I worked in a precision measurement equipment laboratory (PMEL).  Basically instrument repair and calibration of any measurement device used by any of the military services and a few contractors in our geographic area.   Equipment ranged from voltmeters, oscilloscopes, spectrum analyzers, pressure/vacuum gages, radiation measuring devices, optical measurement instruments from transits to theodolites, various instruments used in physical measurements and even calibration of night vision equipment.  Too much more to list.  Second career I worked for 19 years for the Forney Corp.  Building, installing and training customers on air pollution monitoring system (CEMS) used in power plants, refineries, wood pulping plants and just about anywhere else the EPA required monitoring of their emissions.  Started on a work bench with a box of parts that I would turn into a gas (SO2, CO2, NOx, CO or other) monitoring analyzer.  Ran the in-house calibration lab for a while then went into field service where I did many CEMS installations around the world.  Once in field service I worked from my home, going to the company one day a year for my annual review.  Our sampling system was installed sometimes 400-600 feet up on a smoke stack.  A 2-3 man Alimak elevator that ran on a track up the stack wall gave us the access to the work area.  For smaller stacks we did a manual climb but that climb was limited to 200 feet.  Unless I had a trainee along I was generally alone on the job.  It was rare that I spent more than a week on each job site unless multiple systems were to be installed on the same trip.  At home I did what I wanted when waiting for another job (usually did not have to wait long).  At home I was on salary, on the road I was paid hourly from when I left my house until my return.  Of course the actual pay was for travel time house to destination, typically 8 hours a day on site plus overtime when I or the customer felt it was needed and for then travel time back home.  For the most part, 2-3 weeks a month, Sunday afternoon or Monday morning I was at the airport going somewhere.  I retired at 67 but within 2 weeks I was asked to do some more field work as a contractor which I did for two more years.  I loved both careers.  The experience gained in the USAF made me a perfect fit in the second career.  And, yes even at 81 today I miss every bit of it.     

[simple1]

Finished school in London aged 15, left home and went to work as a farm labourer. Six months later moved to Oz as a ward of government, working mostly in the bush. Returned to UK few years later when I read about 'free sex', drugs and partying, became a hippy approx five years travelling around Europe. Ended up in IT sales for around 25 years; eventually ended back in Australia, good money, but didn't actually enjoy working. Happy to cease working at 62. Met my Thai wife in 1996 in Phuket. First moved to Thailand 2004, but back in Australia as have chronic illnesses. Have a house in Pattaya for wife to be next to her family when I die.

[khm2412]

I was an air traffic controller for 41 years in England, including 26 years at Heathrow. Retired as a Supervisor at London Terminal Control Centre. Best job in the world, every day is different. Challenging and well paid. Don’t miss the job, but miss (some of) the people.

[xylophone]

I left a prestigious grammar school when I was 15, because I didn't like it, although I was intelligent enough, but wanted to be out and about, so got a job as an electrical apprentice. During my apprenticeship I was lucky enough to play football for a senior amateur side, and actually got paid for doing so (as was often the case in those days).

 

Finished my apprenticeship and then went off to Libya, to work in the Sahara desert, in an oilfield run by BP, although it was short lived because the contracting company I was with, fell out with BP.

 

In 1971 I went to Nigeria to work for Mobil oil (offshore) on a four weeks on, two weeks off basis and thoroughly enjoyed that, travelling back to the UK on my two weeks holiday and partying hard.

 

Decided to give that a rest and started a job with the Douglas Kane group as a sales engineer, they were the agents for Loctite in the UK, and that was a very interesting job, especially working with the likes of Bowers and Wilkins to improve the structure of the speakers, which was a huge success.

 

Got tired of the low money and decided to head back out to the oilfields again, this time for the Libyan state oil company and working in a field called Nafoora, but the leave schedule was quite poor for this type of work, at 60 days on, 20 days off, however I stuck it for a year and gave that away, before working on the BP Forties field, on the platforms Alpha and Bravo.

 

Spend some time partying hard then it was over to Norway for contracting work on the Frigg field, which was an absolute health and safety nightmare.

 

Gave that away after about a year and got married which was the worst thing I ever did.

 

Joined Rank Xerox in the UK and made it to district manager before deciding that I needed a change, so I emigrated to New Zealand, and one of the best jobs I ever had was as Director of Sales and Establishment marketing, that was until the Americans bought it back from the New Zealand company and I decided it was time to go.

 

After that I retrained in financial planning and then was asked to join a new division in financial services for one of New Zealand's big four banks, and a bit later in that career (which was 13 years long) I, along with another employee, started the investment division for the bank, and I then became Chief Manager of that division, building it to just under $2 billion worth of investments before I had a burnout and decided that I didn't need the stress of corporate life any more, and I then moved to Thailand, where I have been ever since.

 

Did some consultancy work in Australia before heading to Thailand in 2006/2007 and I've been here ever since and intend to stay here until such time as I visit the great vineyard in the sky.

[xeniv23]

45 years as a utility helicopter pilot, logging, fighting fire, moving drills.  Grew skilled in saving my life daily.  Retired in 2013.  Missed work for all of 12 seconds.  Recently relocated to LOS, kayaking, hiking, fly fishing for Mahseer......I intend to never be cold again.  

[khunPer]

10 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

So the questions are What was your past jobs ?   are you happy you retired or do you still miss work? Did you lke going to work everyday or was you glad to get out 

Who had a job they remained in past 30 years ?

 

If you had that decision not to retire when you did would you have kept on working a few more years ? Do you regret retiring then?

What was your past jobs?

Rock musician

Operationel planning in a major airline

Stage manager in a theater

Partner in a recording studio

Music publishing

Partner in musical unit manufacture, i.e. cassette tapes and vinyl records

Distributor of professionel audio equipment

Director of a commercial radio station

Disc manufacture

Online publishing

 

Are you happy you retired or do you still miss work?

I couldn't see myself stop working, even when I passed 70, until a friend thought that I needed a rest, and without asking me booked a ticket for me to Bangkok, and took me down to an island in the south.

A few years later I retired early at age 56, and moved down to that island in the south. I don't miss my work at all, I however still have my publishing rights, so kind of work...

 

Did you like going to work everyday or was you glad to get out?

I liked my work - all of them - and I was glad to stop, and I'm still very happy 16 years after...????

 

Who had a job they remained in past 30 years?

Me, self-employed - or partner/owner - in music and sound business, very active from 1976 till 2006, and still active in music publishing, same company all the years, but today I'm the single owner of what little that remains.

 

If you had that decision not to retire when you did would you have kept on working a few more years ? Do you regret retiring then?

No, not at all.

Continue working would be hard work to pay tax, and just have a ltiny bit for myself - I originates from the country that is number one in the whole World when it comes to taxation of it's population - so what if I has a lot more money, but I was too old to enjoy them? No. enough was enough; even that it was just enough...????

 

Do you ever sit in Asia wherever you are and think, I really wish I stayed with my job...?

No, never. And I keep contact with my friends thanks to email, and later especially Facebook, and many of my friends wish to have a holiday in Paradise, so they come by and say hello; some of the I see more of now, than when we lived a few kilometers apart...????

 

[ivor bigun]

I started out as a trainee buyer for a dept store,then for some yrs managed stores ,got into property,then all of a sudden everything changed ,lets say i could not work at that any more ,for  the next 20 yrs you would not believe my life ,from looking after strippers to ,importing and exporting  i cant even begin to say how my life changed ,it was a blast even had business in BKK , then we came to live in Thailand permanantly  , from living in London in the 60s until now life has been great.hope there is some more still to come ,

[sanuk711]

.

[wwest5829]

I began my professional work in 1970, before that time from being a newspaper delivery boy at age 13, I would would quite a few jobs during attending college and during summer breaks. I began teaching at the Junior HS (Middle School level) I taught a total of 8 years while continuing my education and working part-time jobs to supplement my teaching income. I then switched to teach high school as the system was addicting a new high school for an additional 6 years. The area was adding a new community college and as an experienced, certified educator, I was hired to teach history and would remain there for an additional 27 years. During my college teaching years I additionally founded and directed our city’s Sister City program with a city in the Czech Republic and later another in Japan. Summers were often spent studying history/language/culture in Japan, China, the Czech Republic, Mexico, Costa Rica, Spain (do keep my story in mind if you are ever tempted to think educators are on vacation during the summer break). All in all I was able to experience much that the majority of my compatriots, raised as working middle class have not. By age 64 1/2 I had become aware of my inherited colesterol issues and had five by-passes so … a bit early, I retired as a full Professor Emeritus of History. Rich memories of meeting folks from six continents but retirement was the best option. Thought I might continue to work with a university here but found I was quite happy with my life without work demands. Very pleased to be retired in Thailand and with my Thai wife.

[Airalee]

Hunter/Gatherer 

[TigerandDog]

I could be classed as a jack of all trades. Back in my mid to late 20's I was a professional squash coach and squash court manager, after spending the previous 9 years, straight out of school, as a NSW Public Servant. When I seriously injured my lower back playing squash in 1978 I returned to office work doing payroll. On weekends during the 80's I became a soccer referee and refereed National Youth League in Oz. Around 1990 turned to my other interest which was golf, and also dabbled in caddying at professional tournaments. Went full time caddying in OZ in 1991 on both the men's and women's tours, and then proceeded to venture to the Ladies European Tour and the European Seniors tour. Retired from caddying in 2002 and returned to office work doing payroll until 2014. Retired at age 64, 1 year after being treated for cancer. Moved to Thailand in October 2014 and have never looked back. No regrets whatsoever, and have no intention of EVER returning to Oz.

[Hummin]

I have changed proffession every 4-5 years, and last I did was offshore. Was offshore 20 years ago, and then built a few businesses, and last I freelanced offshore, but because of covid, I laid it off for now. Will start a new company when everything normalize again. I do not believe I will retire completely, need something to do, or be creative somehow to feel alive. 

[stigar]

6 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

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

Its not so bad.In far east 6 weeks on/off.Anyway sometimes we waiting for towing a olirig and that can takes many weeks.Then we stay in the harbour.And i can tell that singapore or labuan in malaysia is great places to be in.Orchard tower in singapore.In Labuan in malaysia has alot of pubs and bars with alot of pinays.But thats another story.ha-ha

[ChrisKC]

I spent my first working years on the Railways, in the days of steam and using morse code between stations) in England starting at 15 as a Messenger boy, Passing various exams I went up 7 grades until I became a Senior Officer after 15 years. The Railways was the catalyst for me  to became a  traveller in both UK and near Europe. Free travel was good for me!! I worked all over England, variously in Birmingham, London, Liverpool, The Lake District, Stoke on Trent.

 

I left to better myself ( that didn't actually happen) before I decided to go to College and learn in the medical profession that opened up an opportunity to try something new. I really enjoyed my work, helping disabled people both mentally and physically, mostly in their own homes. I became a specialist in all forms of wheelchairs and in particular with a Company that had designed a wheelchair that would fit into an ordinary car in both driver and passenger seats which was possible by a hydraulic lifting mechanism that allowed the wheels to effectively be an undercarriage, a bit like those on an aeroplane. I did that for a number of years meeting some very famous people, such Frank Williams, yes the F1 owner who died only last week, Jacqueline Du Pres, and her husband Daniel Barenboim, Les Dawson, and even managed work in Buckingham Palace for the Queen's private Chauffeur and a few others!

 

In 1987 I decided I had made enough money to start a business that I researched and decided on Greetings cards. I did that until retiring early when I was 58 and came to live in Thailand as a retiree. My business was very successful and at one time I had 5 people working for me in Somerset, Devon and Cornwall. And for more than ten years I expanded the business in to Portugal where I had 9 people working for me in Lisbon and other cities and all around the Algarve, I rented a Villa there for me and one of my workers and her children for 8 years.

 

I regret some of my decisions that I won't bore you with, But my English wife and I retired to Thailand, not quite Burning our Bridges, but enough to commit to staying here.

 

I have had an incredibly interesting and adventurous life - so far. On balance, this life has greatly influenced me to what I hope others will perceive as a "rounded individual".

 

 

 

[sezze]

4 hours ago, seedy said:

A bit off topic, but ...

If I had to do it all over again, would get a ticket as electrician or something.

A trade I could do world wide.

Work until had enuf in the bank. Stop working, and go Live

When the $$$ got low, go get another job.

Never invest in stupid things like houses, cars. Bikes maybe !

Then at the age I am now I would have a lot more memories than 'Going to Work' every day.

And would have slept with a LOT more girls

Even though i love my job , it is what i always wanted to do , and got a degree in chemistry , you are right . I cannot do anything else unless highly illegal ( or maybe making soap in Thailand ... Thai's spend crazy amount on a soap which promises white skin ... still on my radar to do something like that as a hobby ) . Being electrician mean you can be your own boss , and they got plenty of work nowadays , making as much as they basically want .

[blackprince]

15 hours ago, georgegeorgia said:

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

Eh? Some of us gave up "job for life" a very very long time ago. People in high demand skills move around at will - a couple of times a year is not uncommon.

 

I'm not talking about the so-called "gig economy" which is highly exploitative.

[brianthainess]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:35 AM, georgegeorgia said:

On 12/10/2021 at 7:28 AM, HAPPYNUFF said:

and I did as little as possible for as much as possible

sounds like most of my work colleagues in the hospital i work at????

I have never understood why some people while at work, do as little as possible it just makes the day drag on, I always worked at a steady pace taking pride and satisfaction in what i did, the days flew past, when there were days of no work coming in it was soo boring and the day seemed to just drag on and on.

[sezze]

4 minutes ago, brianthainess said:

I have never understood why some people while at work, do as little as possible it just makes the day drag on, I always worked at a steady pace taking pride and satisfaction in what i did, the days flew past, when there were days of no work coming in it was soo boring and the day seemed to just drag on and on.

In my kind of work thats good . Like i said im a chemical process operator . This means our team , control the chemical plant . There are many days our PLC control can take care just about everything .Like the autopilot on a airplane . These days , i /team are working on autopilot also , company making money . Problem is , like in a airplane , autopilots do fail or things just break down and all hell can break lose in seconds . Compared to a aircraft , we control a few aircrafts at the same time , and we do crash a few times a year , but we do save many times the crashes also . In busy moments , theres a few 100 alarms to 1000s of alarms /h , trying to fix things , before a emergency shutdown ( thats a crash) .

So yes , my job is to try to do as little as possible,  check signs before something goes wrong , and adjust a few minor things before things turn really bad .

It looks weird but my job is like that , the less i got to do , the more my company is happy .

[brianthainess]

My first job/ apprenticeship I started at 15 yrs old only about 3 weeks after I left school, I started as a mechanic with the local council, before everything was contracted out, all equipment was owned by the council, from lawn mowers to dustcarts, tractors, compressors, JCBs, road rollers, cess pit trucks YUK, while at Brookland college day release 4yrs (the famous race track ) I used to get the pish taken out of me for working on dust carts, as the rest all worked on just cars, little did they know i was gaining so much more knowledge than they ever would, especially in hydraulics, at 18 i had passed my exams and was fully qualified, the council had to have a meeting to award me full pay as it was their policy not to until 21. I got my HGV licence at 18. After 9 yrs I left when my marriage failed. I had always been able to get work. then while in OZ at 52 one of these ran over me with the rear wheel braking lots of bones. i gave up work. and fulfilled my 20 yr in 18yrs plan to live in Thailand and no i did not get a big pay-out. I do miss work to a certain extent, but not HAVING to get up every morning 6-7 days a week. sometimes 12 hr days. However I would love to rebuild a large diesel engine again. Ouch !

[Tom89]

On 12/10/2021 at 7:17 AM, BritManToo said:

I much prefer not working, can't understand people who miss working.

Yeah, I retired at 53 and was glad to walk away. My father worked until his early 60's at the same place for over 30 years. He said he loved it. I just don't get it.

[sezze]

20 minutes ago, Tom89 said:

Yeah, I retired at 53 and was glad to walk away. My father worked until his early 60's at the same place for over 30 years. He said he loved it. I just don't get it.

loving the job vs not leaving the job is a different thing . I love my job , i would not like to do anything different ( well unless theres something i can do from Thailand which there isnt) , but i would not think about 1 second if i get the chance to leave . If i get pension age , i will leave and not think back 1 single second , same as i am home now for 2 months , love to stay longer like that , 2 months is nothing but at least it clears my head .

[NoshowJones]

I was a professional/semi professional musician playing Bass Guitar and Keyboards since a teenager, right up until I came to stay in Thailand for good. as a semi professional maybe only playing three nights a week, I took on other jobs as an HGV, and PSV driver so I could get a mortgage to buy my house. There was a government scheme in Scotland at the time, early to mid eighties that allowed people in rented property to buy their house provided they had a full time job.

I also worked for about 10 years as a part time Private Investigator being trained by an ex policeman who was already in the job.