# what's your job? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [July 7, 2001, 7:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616 "2001-07-07T19:05:38Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 6
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 12:40am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/101 "2001-07-10T00:40:50Z")
> [@](#): > > Quality Assurance / Configuration Management Specialist for an IT Services firm. Well if you’re in the state of Washington, anywhere between Seattle and Bellingham, are you hiring? I use JCL, TSO/ISPF, CICS, and Easytrieve Plus daily and I’m good at it! ---
**Author:** ![Booker57](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Booker57](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Booker57)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 1:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/102 "2001-07-10T01:02:21Z")
Retail Autoparts Counterman. It’s a job. Low pay, short hours, normal stress level. Once upon a time I wanted to be a Nurse, pediatric type. My Guidiance counseler at high school persuaded me away from that. Not a lot of male nurse’s to begin with. I like kids. Is it true it’s never to late? ---
**Author:** ![Opengrave](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/919ad9/32.png) [@Opengrave](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Opengrave)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/103 "2001-07-10T13:45:25Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Johnny L.A. \* > **Well if you’re in the state of Washington, anywhere between Seattle and Bellingham, are you hiring? I use JCL, TSO/ISPF, CICS, and Easytrieve Plus daily and I’m good at it!** South Central US and unfortunately … … we are downsizing. (shocker eh?) ---
**Author:** ![slackergirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b38774/32.png) [@slackergirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/slackergirl)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 4:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/104 "2001-07-10T16:02:36Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Booker57 \* > \*\* > Once upon a time I wanted to be a Nurse, pediatric type. My Guidiance counseler at high school persuaded me away from that. Not a lot of male nurse’s to begin with. I like kids. Is it true it’s never to late? \*\* That is very true. An old friend of my father’s had the exact same thing happen to him with the guidance counselors. After 25 years of working as a line repairman for the phone company, he want back to school and became a nurse in his late 40’s. He loved it. If you are serious about it, it would probably be fairly easy to find financial aid for school and jobs. I don’t know how bad it is elsewhere, but there is a serious shortage of nurses here in California. ---
**Author:** ![Superdude](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/superdude/32/13450_2.png) [@Superdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Superdude)\ **Post date:** [July 10, 2001, 4:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/105 "2001-07-10T16:21:33Z")
Boy, do I feel outgunned by just about everyone here. That said, I love my job. I’m a stand-up comedian. And I also do improv. Been doing both for over seven years now. ---
**Author:** ![Diane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/2acd7d/32.png) [@Diane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Diane)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 3:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/106 "2001-07-11T03:14:16Z")
Disabled Veterans Counselor. ---
**Author:** ![GingerOfTheNorth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/cdc98d/32.png) [@GingerOfTheNorth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GingerOfTheNorth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 3:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/107 "2001-07-11T03:25:53Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Superdude \* > \*\*Boy, do I feel outgunned by just about everyone here. That said, I love my job. I’m a stand-up comedian. And I also do improv. Been doing both for over seven years now. \*\* Me too, Superdude. But you get to make people laugh! I love you! ---
**Author:** ![Saint\_Zero](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c4cdca/32.png) [@Saint\_Zero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Saint_Zero)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 4:51am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/108 "2001-07-11T04:51:55Z")
I’m the Dad. That’s it. ---
**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/109 "2001-07-11T05:13:04Z")
Currently, I’m the shipping/receiving/tech guy at a satellite phone company, but I plan on changing that soon. ---
**Author:** ![frock75](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ad7895/32.png) [@frock75](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/frock75)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/110 "2001-07-11T05:28:01Z")
I make cheesesteaks all day long. I sort of feel like a limp noodle even admitting that to such an impressive group. I would like to be a porn star though. If Ron Jeremy can, then so can I. ---
**Author:** ![brachyrhynchos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/brachyrhynchos/32/376_2.png) [@brachyrhynchos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/brachyrhynchos)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/111 "2001-07-11T05:47:59Z")
Bird catcher. ---
**Author:** ![Zenster](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/z/cdc98d/32.png) [@Zenster](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Zenster)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/112 "2001-07-11T07:01:24Z")
> [@](#): > > _Originally posted by MikeG \* > **Zenster** , what is your opinion of GAAS chip MOCVD reactors and their future? I may have an in as a tech operating one. The pay would be low for the first 6 months as I learn but there are substantial promises thereafter. Do you think there is a good market for this newish technology?_\* Gallium Arsenide Metalorganic Chemical Vapor Deposition (GAAS MOCVD) is a leading edge technology that will have applications in many new fields. Gallium Arsenide based chemistries (known as III-IV processes, from their placement on the periodic table) are needed for high frequency microwave telecom devices, light emitting diodes (used in high speed fiber optic transmission systems) and super sensitive Hall effect and SQUID (Superconducting Quantum Interference Devices) detectors used in particle physics experiments. The basic knowledge you will pick up concerning the operation and maintainence of high vacuum equipment alone will be worth it. Exteraneous skills such as sample preparation and the operation of post process analytical instruments will only enhance your earning power. Make sure you learn to run the mass spectrometer helium leak detector. It’s used to locate vacuum system leaks so small it would take a year for a one quart vacuum bottle to return to room pressure. Learning the clean room proceedures alone will open the door to many other high tech jobs. Feel free to email me if you want any pointers about this new field. If you need some help tailoring your resume, just let me know. ---
**Author:** ![MsRobyn](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/90ced4/32.png) [@MsRobyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MsRobyn)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 1:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/113 "2001-07-11T13:15:14Z")
I am a medical coding and reimbursement specialist. It’s my mission in life to read medical reports, abstract them into one to four diagnosis codes, maybe a procedure code, and turn the result in so insurance claims can be filed. It’s a lot harder than it sounds, because I didn’t tell you about the fifty bazillion regulations that say what codes can be used for which procedures, and how much Medicare loves to change the rules, which they do with alarming frequency. Right now, in fact, I’m enjoying a nice view of the Astrodome and Astroworld from my 14th-floor cubicle. Robin ---
**Author:** ![Home\_of\_the\_Braves](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/85e7bf/32.png) [@Home\_of\_the\_Braves](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Home_of_the_Braves)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 2:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/114 "2001-07-11T14:48:31Z")
My mother is a retired RN, and she says she wishes there were more male nurses around. She worked ER and OR, and she said that the males were necessary when it came to moving or restraining patients, particularly combative ones. She also said that some male patients prefer to have male nurses perform certain procedures on them. In other words, male nurses are a rare but respected breed. I say go for it! ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/115 "2001-07-11T14:55:16Z")
wow! I love the diversity this board has! ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 4:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/116 "2001-07-11T16:39:55Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Bad News Baboon \* > \*\*wow! > > I love the diversity this board has! > \*\* Yeah, that’s one of the coolest features of this message board–you get to interact with people from all walks of life. Go SDMB! ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 5:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/117 "2001-07-11T17:21:58Z")
My job currently involves babysitting a too-slow plotter and looking for a flunkie so I can do what I was hired to do—drawing and babysitting my flunkie. I keep hiring ones who are too good and they keep getting promoted out of here. ---
**Author:** ![ShibbOleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/848f3c/32.png) [@ShibbOleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ShibbOleth)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 7:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/118 "2001-07-11T19:20:31Z")
I want to go back to school and enroll in Glee’s classes… > [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by glee \* > > For the next 2 months I remain the only full-time school chess teacher in the UK. (In September, a friend of mine will become the second). > > There’s no easy way to say this but … I also teach roleplaying and computer strategy games. > > \*\* …in the meantime, my official title is Senior Systems Analyst. This tells nothing except that I would have gray hair had I hair. My job involves SAP software implementations, of many varieties, in many lands around the world. The work is interesting, sort of project management meets software installation/business re-engineering. Requires a good deal of saavy in working across cultural and language boundaries. I am just back from a 3 years around the world expat gig. ---
**Author:** ![Ann\_Onimous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ea5d25/32.png) [@Ann\_Onimous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ann_Onimous)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 10:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/119 "2001-07-11T22:01:32Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Saint Zero \* > \*\*I’m the Dad. That’s it. \*\* I think he has the better job of both of us. Sure, he may not get paid in money, but he has the love and admiration of two precious toddlers and his adoring wife. I’m a pager programmer. What is cool about my job is I do reseller programming: I not only program pagers for my company, but when a pager needs coverage we can’t provide, and we outsource to other companies, I program their pagers as well. I don’t have to talk to customers anymore, and all I do are emails. Pretty awesome. ---
**Author:** ![Iguana\_Boy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/ed655f/32.png) [@Iguana\_Boy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Iguana_Boy)\ **Post date:** [July 11, 2001, 10:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616/120 "2001-07-11T22:26:04Z")
> [@](#): > > \*Originally posted by Hamlet \* > \*\*I throw people in jail. I am a prosecutor. \*\* Me too!! [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616.md?page=5) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/whats-your-job/71616.md?page=7)