I’m a librarian at a medium-sized public university.
Nearly five decades in IT (before it was called ‘IT’) in the utility industry.
That’s definitely a skill worthy of admiration! 
The travel time must be brutal! 
I’m an accountant by trade or at least that’s what I got my degree in.
Now I teach piano and I gig in local bands. I’m also medically retired from the military so I get automatic checks to my account every month.
I decided to focus on music because it’s what I like and all the pressure of just surviving is off my shoulders.
Username works.
I get paid for breathing.
In other words, I’m retired. Last job was in loss prevention for a nationwide department-store chain. Before that I was a submarine radioman for 21 years, and before that I was a baker.
Addendum-
I see other people are also describing the jobs they have held in the past. So-
My cousin owned a small biofeedback company. I got the job due to nepotism. I went on to prove that I was a capable employee. This was in the early 90’s. Besides selling software and medical sensors for PC’s. we also sold software and medical sensors for the Commodore 64. At the time, as we stated in our catalog, a basic PC system cost thousands of dollars. A Commodore 64, monitor, external floppy drive, printer and all the power supplies and cables cost only a few hundred. Plus, the Commodore was safe from viruses and your employees would have to have specialized knowledge to play games on it. I eventually worked my way up to shipping manager. Then, the company had to move to a new office. Instead of being visible from the train station, the new office was not accessible by public transportation.
Through meeting somebody at a party, I got an interview to be an assistant editor at Weird Tales as a summer job. It was a lot of fun. I forgot to return the boss’s house keys at the end of the summer. Then, I got very nervous and embarassed about it. This lead to a very negative cycle. By the time I got around to mailing the keys back, I had thoroughly shot myself in the foot and screwed myself out of any chance of returning to the position.
My Mom got back in touch with a high school friend when we moved to Pennsylvania. That friend asked if I wanted to accompany her husband on a trip to an antique market. I love antiques and discussing them with friends so I jumped at the chance. He had Parkinson’s. When it advanced to the point that he needed a home health aid, I was hired. I had no training. I feel I did at least a better than average job. I worked as his aid for several years. Eventually, the Parkinson’s progressed to the point that he needed more assistance than I was able to give. I moved on, though I kept in touch with him until he died. I am still in touch with his wife.
I was looking for a real job- regular hours, W2’s, taxes deducted from my pay check, etc. The head of the day program I attended stopped me in the hall one day. She asked if I was looking for a job. I said absolutely. She gave me details and contact information for my curent employer. After a brief phone interview, I was hired.
Mostly solving crossword puzzles. I get overtime for Saturday’s.
I’ve been a photographer most my life. Started in editorial. Worked that for five years, with clients like Car and Driver and Business Week magazine. Been published in the New York Times, USA Today, Boston Globe, Miami Herald, Chicago Trib and Sun-Times, etc. Then I decided I wanted to make some money, so moved to wedding photography once digital became a thing. (I didn’t want to deal with film, prints, and all that – I shot three weddings on film, and that was enough to dissuade me.)
So I’ve been doing that and event photography, including corporate, since then. Most my personal clients are South Asian these days. When I was restarting my business here in the states (I was living in Budapest during most of my editorial days), I worked as basically a legal jack-of-all trades for a small law office of defense lawyers. Definitely an interesting job, and I did everything from man the desk, deposit the checks, summarize overhears and surveillance video, serve subpoenas, assist in court (including one front-page case involving a local patronage scandal), proofread, type, research, deliver papers to judges, pick up prisoners from jail, etc. That I did for about a year and a half the first year of my wedding business.
I signed up for that as soon as it was offered in my area – 2014, I think? I figured maybe it could be handy for proving that something had/hadn’t been delivered. But yeah, I also love getting the daily previews for no apparent reason!
Not deliberately…heh. Whenever I start a new job I have no plan to leave, but I’ve also never been a long-term planner or had specific career aspirations. Winging it has worked out so far (
) !
Tech writer > proposal writer > proposal manager > project manager isn’t actually an unnatural progression: switching from contract support to business development and back to contract support isn’t typical, but the work is related. That said, my current contract is up for recompete this year…who knows what the next ~15 years will bring!
Gardener.
I tell everyone if I live to my 100’s (currently 60) and can still do what I’m currently doing, then that’s what I’ll be doing.
Things couldn’t more chill and on auto-pilot if they tried.
Retired now but started out as an electronic hardware designer, then morphed into a software engineer. Spent most of my working years in Silicon Valley as a systems software engineer, mostly for smaller companies, none of which ever exploded into billion dollar success stories, alas.
Still, the salary kept the wolf from the door.
Also I’ve always been a weekend warrier musician. Never made much money from this, apart from a few wedding or corporate function gigs, but it’s fun and at least covers gas and beer money…
My daughter taught for 15 years, and what she hated the most was the bureaucratic crap coming down from above that interfered with teaching. While she didn’t love dealing with certain kinds of parents and students, she considered that part of the job. But the School Board nonsense drove her to become a Project Analyst for a defense contractor. She loves it - especially since she’s not grading papers every night.
Economist/statistician for the U.S. government, specializing in the production and analysis of international investment statistics.
Occasionally, tutor math and SAT prep on the side, although not right now.
You’re absolutely correct about it not being my area. I’ve never deliberately signed up for Informed Delivery, and I don’t know if I’ve accidentally signed up for it. I virtually never check my email, unless I’ve been told to expect one (When I find it, I immediately forward it to myself, so I can easily find it in my “SENT” mailbox). So, I couldn’t benefit from it.
Yes, but I imagine the per diem is astounding.
I teach English and math at a last-chance boarding school for troubled and at-risk youth.
Before this I was a hospice caregiver for 14 years.
I’m stealing this.
Ditto. Specifically with at-risk students that are over-age and under-credit.
I’m an engineer, primarily designing LED lighting and lighting systems for various applications. I’ll wear a lot of hats…requirements, tech documents, testing, labs, simulations, human factors, whichever way the winds of the project needs are blowing at the time.