Washington Fly Fishing Forum banner

( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a living??

8K views 113 replies 97 participants last post by  riverdog 
#1 ·
If you need a senior partner, let me know...seriously, what do you like to do? Find a job doing just that...I've spent 30 some years chasing a paycheck. I think I would have rather done something creative instead.

Roper,

Good things come to those who wade...
 
#27 ·
U-Dub dropout that managed to return after over 10 years and earn two BA's by working as a Merchant Seaman. Sadly, though maybe not so sadly, I'm still working on the ships. After dropping out back in the early 80's, I started working for NOAA on their ships. After 5 years, I quit to join a maritime union. That allowed me to return to school, starting back at Seattle Central and then transferring to the U-Dub. I graduated with the Class of 2000 with degrees in Teaching English and Comparative History of Ideas. I've since switched to another maritime union, the Sailors' Union of the Pacific, and am very happy with that move. It's very comforting to be with an organization that isn't corrupt--especially in these times. I'm still hoping to score a job on one of those ships at Diego Garcia that my union is contracted to. That island has quite the bonefish population, and I've still to string my 8wt with the tropical flyline I got from Wildram007.

As far as recommendations about the job, I'd have to say that it isn't for everyone. The travelling by ship is pretty cool, though the airport scene sucks whenever I have to fly out to a job. The work can be quite dangerous, but people learn to look out for the other person's back. The work can also be rather strenuous, but one gets used to it. The pay is neither a lot nor a pittance. It always seems to be enough--thank God! Meanwhile, it does give me a lot of free time to fish when I'm at home, outside of the obligations of home and family. At the same time, there never seems to be enough time for everything (why is that?). If you are married, have children, or otherwise tied to a needy person, this is not the line of work for you. I consider myself extremely fortunate to be with a woman is independent when I am gone and very loving and understanding when I'm home.

In the end, if you were to ask me in person about my job and the pros and cons, I probably just say, "It's alright, but it ain't what it's all cracked up to be."
 
#28 ·
( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a livin...

I'm a grad student. No money in it, obviously, but the schedule can be flexible. It just depends on your personal priorities and how much your advisor is bugging you :+ Not exactly sure what opportunities I will have when the time comes, so I may be asking everyone this question again later!

What a great topic!! :beer2
 
#29 ·
Architect. It's not all about fancy designs and high pay. I spend my time writing memos, marketing, and putting out fires. Most of the day is spent in front of a computer which allows me to follow this site and wish I could take a day off to fish.

Lots of schooling and low initial pay. For me it is rewarding because we design affordable housing and it pays well enough to have my wife work part-time and stay home with the kids.

>John<

Mike Brady lived in a house designed for 9 people that had only three bedrooms, and Alice lived in the laundry room.
 
#30 ·
One of life's greatest questions....

Personally, I'm in outside sales for an enterprise software company out of San Jose. I too, wrestle with what the hell am I doing almost every three months. (must be quarter end!)

But, the pay is good, when I work hard I'm able to award myself with some time off to hit the rivers and most importantly I get to hang out with my daughter and wife.

Find something you enjoy, pour yourself into it, make a ton of dough................and then call me and I'll come work for you!

good luck man :thumb
 
#31 ·
Warehouse manager for a hardware whole sale company.Its 50 hour plus work weeks but 3 weeks a vacation a year & weekends free. Pay is ok but not no 6 figures, or even close, but the stress level is not high either. Able to fish after work weekdays when sun is out till at least 8:30 PM otherwise on weekends is when I put my time on the water.
Took me 15 years to get where I am in my company. Had to work for company for lots of years at $6-9 per hour first.
Before that worked Grocery for $12 so I have gone through a major pay cut so far once in my life. It really took some getting use to but you do get through it. Beside I got tired of never knowing what days I would be working from week to week. Now I can plan weekend trips months in advance.
 
#32 ·
I am a Vice President of a Technical College. Have you thought about teaching what you have been learning for the last 10 years? Also, as you consider a career change, do not overlook a two-year degree. I have all of the post graduate degrees - a couple of masters and a doctorate -- but would suggest looking at adding value to what you already have. Sometimes a shorter, career focused program is best.

What ever you do, find what you are passionate about and go for it! You are not alone.

My 2 cents worth.
 
G
#33 ·
Hey Patrick,

I am a semi-retired :rofl: federal agent, 7 years law enforcement, and 6 1/2 years working as an adjudicator for the Veterans Administration.

I am fortunate enough to have met a lady, whom I married, who agreed that I should leave law enforcement and fish! I think for peace of mind and as well as we are expecting our first child in April.

At first I missed the weapon :bawling:, the badge and the authority that came with all those things. Now, I don't even think about them. I think about fishies!!!!!!

I AM SPOILED ROTTEN! :dunno:

Should we ever hook up I'll fill you in on the details.

this is speycast, one lucky son of a gun! :beer1:
 
#35 ·
Ph.D. in Chemistry, which meant I went to school for a real long time to learn a lot about one subject until ultimately I learned everything about nothing.

But seriously, there is a book people often use in your situation called What Color Is Your Parachute. This book helps you better understand yourself and the types of things you like to do without calling out a specific career option. You can then find the fit regardless of the job title. This is a popular book that often comes as a new issue every few years. This book is really desgined to help folks who are looking to change career paths. I am sure a local library would have one. It wasn't necessarily for me. I know who I am. I'm a geek through and through, and I am OK with that.

Joe
 
#36 ·
( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a livin...

I am a salmon biologist. I don't manage harvest or hatcheries, but rather plant trees, throw fish carcasses and wood into rivers, and take out man-made dikes, levees and culverts.
As a kid I always loved playing in creeks, lakes, and puddles and now I get paid doing it. :thumb
The pay is ok, but mostly I love what I am doing and I learn something new about salmon every day.
 
#39 ·
Pat:

I started off college life back in 1977 as an 18 year old flyfishing obsessed undergrad, enrolled in the UW school of Fisheries. Fortunately, (or perhaps unfortunately) a counselor showed me the starting salary for BS and MS in Fisheries Biology, which convinced me to make fyfishing an avocation and not a vocation.

Fast forward through several years as a triathlon coach and then a commercial real estate broker, and now I am a financial advisor and shareholder in a wealth management firm on the Eastside.

I feel very fortunate because the job fits my personal and intellectual skills well, and the relationships I create with my clients are great, often to the point where they become good friends. Not a picnic, still put in lots of long days, and the initial start-up, as it is for any new business, was rather long and painful.

I have taken my flyfishing full circle from my college days as I frequently take clients and potential clients flyfishing in my drift boat, to the point where it is an integral part of my business.

TO echo some of the other thoughts - find what you love to do, and balance that with the financial needs of your family. Best wishes!


Coho


Hope you will have a fishing experience like the one in Luke Chapter 5:6-11 ! :)
 
#41 ·
( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a livin...

Very good question.

It seems I can't make heads or tails on where I want to do as of lately. Couple years back I ran (basically a NW Manager) a third party collection agency (yes I started in the industry being a brutal collector myself fits my personality to a T) that finally went out of business (no fault of how it was run but majority holders…hmmm General E****…. decided it was not as profitable as they would like and cut their ties). Still resenting this situation, especially the pay.

Anyways since I never finished school decided to go back for IT classes, but couldn't really see myself working my way from bottom to top again. So I went back on track to finish some kind of degree. I like numbers so I'm trying to complete an Accounting degree, but I still have time to change my mind.

Right now I'm a supervisor of the credit/collection division of a finance department for the world's largest digital imagery provider company that is based out of Seattle.

I never thought I had passion for pictures, but it does wear on you. Especially some of pictures that I see posted on this site. I always wanted to start my own gym or something along that line. You never know it still may happen. What ever you decide many people I talk to ask me the same thing. What is your passion?

A couple years back I was set on becoming a firefighter. Today I actually looked into when the next tests are set to begin. Good luck bro
 
#42 ·
Patrick, I did 44 years in the metal trades, machinist then plastic injection mold maker, tool and die maker and the last 18 years as a prototype model maker for an R&D lab. I fished everything I could reach during those years and often took a day off without pay if the hatch demanded. I lived on 80% of what I made, banked the rest, invested, scrimped and did with less to retire early. My three years of retirement have been the best three years of my life-no contest. The best advice I can give in retrospect is to avoid debt-it is a form of imprisonment that inhibits opportunity. Forego all the consumer crap that needs to be updated constantly, the mega-house, the expensive cars and all the keeping-up-with-the-Jones' mentality that we are all supposed to buy into. Look for a job that allows you to do things rather than just buy things. Time spent with friends and family in beautiful places will ultimatly be worth more than consumer goods that will be sold in a yard sale in a few years for pennies on the dollar.
You have the band width to pull this off successfully. Just take your time and keep your eyes open, eventually the right opportunity will come along and you will be ready for it. Take good care, Ive
 
#43 ·
( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a livin...

I am what almost all of you had been at my age, a college fly-fishing bum. I reside in Montana, go to school 3 days a week and fish 3 days a week. What a great life. Almost have a degree in bus. management. Not sure if I want to go on to graduate school.
There sure are a lot of computer oriented people that are members!
RMB
 
#45 ·
( NFR ) Just curious what everyone does for a livin...

New River Mike

Great question, and some really great and thought-provoking answers.

I started out after college as a teacher and baseball coach, and realized after three years that my idealism had been stripped away by the harsh realities of public education. Eventually stumbled my way into manufacturing, doing a variety of things over several years that resulted in my eventually "specializing" in procurement and materials management. There's still a part of me that likes that action! Decided to get to the other side of the desk, so to speak,and spent three years representing a manufacturer of environmentally specialized electrical products, working from home and enjoying the autonomy and travel.

When I came out west I acted on the fact that I still missed the younger folks and ended up working in a runaway shelter/crisis center dealing with at-risk adolescents and their parents/caregivers.

Now I've moved in support of the wife's career and I'm looking for more of the same over here. Or not. I'm pretty open to different or new or the same, as I don't think of myself as a worker first anymore. And, fortunately, in the shorter term, my wife's salary keeps us afloat.

As a backdrop, I leveraged somethig that started as a community service - mediation - to where I contract for a private firm providing this service in special education disputes. It draws from a lot of my experiences/stengths and I'm good at it, but it's sporadic at this time. I also umpire some baseball.

Next week, next month, I may have a different answer, but today the best I could offer is that if you're blessed with a wife who's financially and emotionally supportive, take some chances, try on some short-term or part-time things and try to turn the idea of work into play. Being a stay-at-home parent is a more than honorable choice for anyone; if we still had kids at home I could do that.

Don't discount volunteer opportunities that might give you a glimpse of some new things, especially if you have a bent towards human services. There's a need everywhere for Court-Appointed Special Advocates (CASA's) who represent state-dependent youth in dependency court. That's just ONE I'm familiar with. In fact, there's all kinds of needs out there once you start asking around.

Sorry to be long-winded, and it's obvious there's many, many takes on this subject.

Good for you for asking the question out loud!

:thumb
 
#47 ·
I did a major restart on my life after a two year vacation on Maui. I did not know what I wanted to do out of school, so I chilled :) Now I have a focus, and a plan. The road has been tough, but there is a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow...I'm going to get my share, and enjoy the road getting to it. I am in television advertising sales. Client memories will be built on the river ;)

~B:beer2
 
#48 ·
I guess I have the dream job. Live in the Okanogan about 20 miles out of Tonasket and build and design fly fishing, dog training and hunting prams that get shipped all over the world. We thought the location would make a difference and it did. We've had more people come to pick up their prams here this year alone than we ever had in Bremerton. After about 15 years in the banking industry and being "downsized" out of three banks a change was in order. So, we started small using ready cash as we went along. Now, over 10 years later Shauneen, myself and our 9 year old daughter live in paradise and absolutely love what we do and the people we meet.

Jim Wheeler
Spring Creek Prams
 
#49 ·
This is a very interesting thread! I spent over 20 years in home improvement store and corporate management. For the last 8 years or so have established a residential real estate business in the greater Seattle/Eastside area.

If I want to to fishing, I just tell my assistant that I'm going to go walk some land (little does she know I intend to walk the river!).

Greg Perry
 
#51 ·
I have owned my own residential remodeling buisness for 20 years now. I am a one man show cause I hated hearing employees bitching and whining and wanting a draw on the work they hadn't done.
To be self employed requires a certain amount of lunacy! You get to pay higher insurance premiums, higher taxes, like 15% social security, everyone you work for is your boss, the phone can ring at the strangest times and not ring at all for way too long of periods of time. Then there are the people you couldn't satisfy if you give the job to them, just did one of those, and there are the times when you wonder if your reserve accounts are going to last until the next check. Then there is the book keeping and accounting and going out and chasing jobs that makes no money and requires a lot of time. There is no unemployment nor state industrial to cover your butt. You get to learn a new type of humility and a new type of honesty and find out if you are really who you think you are!
For me I love to work my tools and create someone elses dream. It is a challenge to understand their wishes and rewarding to be able to decipher what they want and provide it. I will never be rich, I don't have people out there working and making me money, but I am satisfied. Of course I don't have great physical needs and I don't need to put on a show. I owe no money and only have to come up with monthly expenses to live. No debt is a real key to having your own show. If you don't owe any money it is really hard to go bankrupt.
The key is to find a nitch you can fill and be happy in! Don't owe anyone a dime. Be willing to live at a low key pace and buy only what you really can afford. Keep a good reserve in the bank. And foremost believe in self and be honest and treat everyone how you would want to be treated. This is how I do it and it works for me! I can also tell you how to go out and high roll it but that is a very disgusting concept in my opinion. If you have more questions or want to bounce something off me e-mail me and I will tell you what I know and or help you get pointed. I have helped some get started and they are still in buis. and in turn helped some decide they didn't want to accept the risks and went back to old jobs as employees. The only security you have being self employed is the confidence you have in self to provide what you must provide! I have had some mighty thin soup and have had some wonderful banguets.

Dave
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top