What Do We All Do?
My apologies if I'm repeating someone else's post, but I'd like to ask the question that we busybody Americans never seem to avoid: what do you do? I don't get to post much because of what I do: I'm a management-side labor and employment lawyer. Translated, I spend most of my days defending clients against federal (mostly) and state (occasionally) employment discrimination claims, counseling on day-to-day personnel issues, litigating employment-related contract claims, and fighting unions when I get the chance. I have an enjoyable, interesting career and I'm blessed with great partners. (Today being Father's Day, I should also mention that I'm blessed with a family that's very supportive of long hours at the office.)
So, if you're comfortable sharing, what do you do? I revel in the conversation here when I get time to throw my two cents in (we're on vacation this week), and I often wonder what many of you do for a living as I read your posts.
- Comment (112)
- · Quote
- · UnfollowFollow (13)
Comments:
Aug '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I'm an industrial/organizational psychologist -- spent years in the corporate world, now on my own.
May '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
I used to play a lot of golf, so fell into running a golf shop after moving to Portugal. When I could see the handwriting on the wall of that shop, started my own. Not profitable, really, the last four years, but keeps me off the street.
Edited on June 20, 2011 at 1:14pmApr '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
I am a veterinarian. I left clinical practice about three years ago and now own a small house call practice which gives me the flexibility I need to care for my young family.
I knew Ricochet members were a smart group. The professions listed here are varied, interesting and impressive.
May '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
No kidding. I'm really glad I asked this question. All of a sudden I feel incredibly boring.
May '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
No doubt.
Aug '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
Matthew Gilley
No kidding. I'm really glad I asked this question. All of a sudden I feel incredibly boring. · Jun 20 at 5:11am
Wait a minute. I'm confused. I thought conservatives are supposed to be stooopid and uninformed. You guys are all really messing with the Conventional Wisdom of our betters on the Left. This leads me to realize that by process of elimination, I must be the inevitable knuckle-dragging cave dweller that brings the average intelligence of this group down to the subpar expectations of John Stewart. Bummer.
Oct '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
Asking people what they "do" is perfectly normal in a society devoted to productive accomplishment. It opens the mind to see possible bridges to understanding and communicating with the other person - AND can blow one away with the discovery of new niches.
I am a deal junkie: started by arranging institutional trades on the floor of the NYSE (long before it morphed into today's Potemkin Village), moved to real estate brokerage at 9,000' in Colorado, then real estate development in Denver. And for over 20 years, I have provided investment banking services to companies in Southern California.
What I truly love (in order): my wife and family, flying, exercise and helping companies achieve their objectives, whether growth or sale. Everything after family is episodic, which keeps me challenged and always learning. (Not that my wife and family don't do the same things, but in a continuous v. short-term context.)
May '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I am a suburban housewife. Until two years ago I spent a lot of time in the car moving my daughter between school, the barn and the ballet studio. Somehow I managed to volunteer in the community, mainly at Connecticut Audubon and the local libraries. When she chose to go to boarding school I thought life would change, but I was wrong. I still spend a lot of time in the car moving her between school and the barn (school is 61 miles away) several times a week so she can continue to ride her horses. Like Del Mar Dave I love my family first and foremost. I'm also a passionate birdwatcher and get away annually to look at birds in exotic locations. if I'm in town you can find me either at CT Audubon or the library (or maybe Starbucks).
May '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
When I'm hitting on women at the bar I tell them I'm a marine biologist who works with abused and mentally challenged dolphins. It's the perfect fake profession because it shows your educated with a sensative side. Some women question my fake profession because I live in a land locked area. In reality I'm a baker.
Mar '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
I am a lawyer, worknig for DoD. I do a lot of contract/acquisition work, trade regulation, fiscal law, and related issues. As a retired Navy judge advocate, I also have the opportunity on occasion to do some international and operational law. The pay, at GS15, is a lot less than what my contemporaries are making, but the work is interesting; I am grateful for my job. I would rather be generating wealth, but I console myself by giving the taxpayer his money's worth, or trying to.
Feb '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
I'm a graduate student studying geophysics. I basically try to guess what parts of the Earth look like underground.
This is basically my day except I have to go out in the field every once in a while and gather my own data.
Nov '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I get the joke, but I bet no one else does. Residents aren't perfectly malleable, but there is some hope.
Dec '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I'm a philosopher warrior homemaker. Which means, having taken on the responsibility "for one small baby, as a whole," I find myself "wrestling with gigantic angels and demons". -- G.K. Chesterton
I know. It sounds very impressive. I just try to get the first principles right, hoping the good outcomes I intend will follow for my two girls. The problem-solving skills I developed in my electrical engineering studies and brief career come in handy. But, nothing surpasses the time I'm allowed to study the Bible (Jeff Cavins Bible Adventure series). Only listening to Dennis Prager and conversing on Ricochet come in as close seconds.
The guy who makes my occupation possible has had the best 30 year career a boy -- I mean, electrical engineer could imagine. He designs instrumentation to measure effects from, um, large scale explosions. When we married he was testing nuclear effects in the Underground Testing (UGT) program at the Nevada Test Site. He moved on to missile interceptor testing when the UGT moratorium went into effect. He's a great guy and a natural born engineer who's about to be unemployed in a country where ATMs are suddenly too high tech.
Aug '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I'm a gal who's had to put a career on hold because of health and family reasons -- multiple times. If you didn't know my specific story (which I won't go into for privacy reasons), you might mistake me for one of those shiftless young things conservatives are always complaining about.
Truth is, I'm lucky to still be here at all and to be capable of anything productive. Looks like I'll be teaching math this fall.
Edited on June 20, 2011 at 9:40pmDec '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
Matthew - awesome stuff here. It also brought to mind another possible question, and I figured since you are the "founder" of this stream of questions you might like to start another post on it...
What is/was your dream career? Most people I know had a profession in mind as they left high school, but very few of them actually ended up in that field. My dream actually came about several years out of college - I want to retire from the consulting world and teach history. I want to be Victor Davis Hanson!
Jun '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
I'm an engineer for a DoD contractor. I got my degree in electrical engineering, with a specialty in digital circuit design, so naturally my first job was writing software for 9.6kbps modems. I learned just enough software development to move into project and quality management (the ISO 9000 and SEI/CMMI world). Now I spend most of my time in PowerPoint engineering, studying existing processes and coming up with concepts to improve those processes, mostly through the development of web-based, database solutions. I manage projects and developers, and do most of the technical writing for the documentation that accompanies those projects.
I'd like to explore options for a second career someday, or even further education (of the non-engineering variety, maybe an undergraduate degree in history), but the economics aren't conducive for such a move right now. I'm employed, and that's a good thing. But my eyes are open for something new.
Feb '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
Wow. What a great bunch of people! What a fun thread.
I'm a physician, internal medicine (primary care for grown ups). It's nice to see a couple of other doctors here. I have an unusual practice. I don't get a dollar from any insurance company; I work for my patients. I also volunteer a couple of afternoons per month at a clinic for indigent patients.
When I can, I try to convince other doctors to get out of the insurance trap and work for their clients / patients, just like your accountant, your lawyer and your plumber. Most of my colleagues have no desire to do that.
I'm very sad about what's happening to American medicine, but it's been happening for 60 years now, and I'm not sure anyone can reverse it.
Mar '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
I've spent the last twenty years screening pap smears for assorted pathology labs in Canada and Australia. It does something to a feller. My one claim to Ricochet fame was being quoted by Peter Robinson to John and Richard about how their podcast keeps me sane. By the way I love the Avett's quote Samwise.
Feb '11
Re: What Do We All Do?
Applied mathematician who used knowledge in GIS and oil industry surface modeling and cartography. College class work emphasized optimization methods and statistics.
Completed no serious physics classes, which was a handicap in writing software for the oil industry. Still the applied math background allowed me to find solutions to problems nobody else thought of.
Two things of possible interest:
Hired out of work astronomers, mathematicians, and physicists because they could learn programming much faster than computer scientists can learn useful mathematics.
Also, my best work was using mathematical optimization to do things academics wanted to do using expert systems. One nasty go-around with a paper proving that we could using mathematical optimazation to label maps while expert systems could not. Paper was rejected several times at a prestige academic journal by reviews with up to 10 years invested in AI. Paper finally published by a secondary journal.
The small company I started with eventually was swallowed by Halliburton. The bigger the company the meaner the management.
I have had my own company for 6 years, but am mostly retired.
Nov '10
Re: What Do We All Do?
Albert Fuchs: Wow. What a great bunch of people! What a fun thread.
I'm a physician, internal medicine (primary care for grown ups). It's nice to see a couple of other doctors here. I have an unusual practice. I don't get a dollar from any insurance company; I work for my patients. I also volunteer a couple of afternoons per month at a clinic for indigent patients.
When I can, I try to convince other doctors to get out of the insurance trap and work for their clients / patients, just like your accountant, your lawyer and your plumber.
In just the last two years, I and both of my parents have started seeing doctors outside of the insurance system. My parents are both in practices where they pay a set fee for all their care; I go to an integrative medicine practice that is fee for service, no insurance. But I don't see any near-future way to practice radiology like this, barring the founding of off-shore medical centers in the Caribbean.