Tell me about your job. How has it changed you? Made you who you are?

[Bucky]

I've been a teacher, all levels K through 12, for 26 of the last 32 years. It's made me both idealistic and dispassionate. My optimism is far more grounded than it was when I was young.

My job has shaped me to see all sides of a situation, to be more aware that I may not know everything that's going on. Being a teacher has made me more patient and forgiving. Everyone is still learning, until they get too comfortable and accept a calcified world view.

It's made me both more comfortable in my assessments, but also more flexible about admitting when I'm wrong.

Damn little gets me angry now unless I see innocent people being hurt or threatened. I don't know if I would be like this if I hadn't gone back to teaching in my thirties.

What is your worklife like, and what has it brought out in you?

[Auggie]

1. My job has given me an awareness and curiosity as to how and why people come to opinion

I am creative person in advertising—making the communication that sells stuff. Best advice I ever heard was to put myself in someone elses shoes ... identifying the group psyche of those to whom your are communicating.

[Bucky]

14. I worked about 6 years in market research. The way ads get into peoples' heads

It's fascinating to me. The jobs we did when I got to work with ad development, instead of just the numbers, or my favorite. Helping a company reach customers is quite satisfying and a powerful feeling

[Auggie]

19. Yes! I like this description: Establishing an emotional bond between brand and consumer.

One could argue it's underhanded in a way since emotion plays such a part of the sell. Brand strengths are imperative, however even weak products can succeed with the right positioning and strategy. I haven't any actual experience with MyPillow, for example, but I had heard their radio ads enough that at what point (several years ago) I almost considered trial. Wouldn't give them a second thought now.



Conservative think tanks and PR agencies have mastered the bonding effort between the GOP and its base -- branding conservative ideology one way and liberal ideology another. Their efforts are far more deceitful, of course.

[ret5hd]

2. Retired machinist...

regularly dealt with .0001” tolerances...for decades. It made me extremely “picky” in any little job I was doing...imperfections really bothered me.

I’m retired now, so slowly getting better!

[Retired Engineer Bob]

8. My dad was a tool and die maker

And often spoke of jobs coming in with 1/10,000 inch tolerances. One benefit, if I understand correctly, was the shop he worked at became air conditioned. Quality control required measurements to be at a specified temperature.

[brooklynite]

3. I've been working for 34 years in the field I wanted to since I was 5...

(Transportation planning)

One thing I’ve learned is how politics and policy relate, and that reality has little to do with idealistic vision.

I’ll retire this summer, and possibly volunteer for anon-profit in the same area.

[Lulu Latech]

4. Retired Mental Health Professional

Retired early when I realized I was beginning to hate people. Haven't been a treatment provider now for over 15 years and still not too fond of most people. I use to be so blissfully innocent....Now, not so much.

I've managed to find a way of living that gives me a modicum of calm and peace now.....But still have occasional flashbacks and some residual symptoms of PTSD.

[Bucky]

15. Ouch, jobs that drain you...

and jobs that give you a negative view of humans are the worst. Right after I left teaching I spent about a year working in a homeless shelter. We had successes, but you always think about the the failures and the losses and the people who fall between the cracks more.

I have huge respect for the people who are able to dedicate a significant chunk of their work life to just helping those in the most need. But I wouldn't have been able to sustain it for much longer. I'm glad you found a life that gives you more peace now

[Retired Engineer Bob]

5. For me, an interesting topic

I worked as a consulting engineer. My company (still own shares, but need to sell) is 95% wastewater and water treatment. Met a lot of great folks/clients over the years, most of them city or reclamation district types who sincerely cared about the environment. Since my job was cleaning water and preventing disease I am most satisfied.

[Aristus]

9. Welcome to DU.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

11. Thanks for the welcome

And a tip of the hat to you Aristus

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

6. I was for ten years an airline ticket agent.

It made me very cynical and I learned to dislike people a lot.

However, I took full advantage of the travel benefits, which made me appreciative of other countries and other cultures.

[Aristus]

7. I'm a Physician Assistant working in the field of Healthcare for the Homeless.

Before that, I was a Medical Assistant, studying to be a Physician Assistant, and working in the field of Healthcare for the Homeless.

Before that, my attitude toward the homeless community was sadly the same as that of many people: "Why don't they just get a job?"

Even then, I was a staunch liberal Democrat, but it's obvious now I had a long way to go, and much to learn. Having met and worked with homeless people close-up now for about sixteen years, I regret the person I once was, and am still trying to do better.

I will advocate for the rights of the homeless until my dying breath.

For the last couple of years, though, I've been getting pretty burned out. Not because of my homeless patients, but mostly because of my mainstream patients. The manager of our mainstream clinic makes me take their overflow on busy days, and having to deal with their patients and their sometimes unreasonable demands makes me realize how much grace and good nature my homeless patients show by comparison.

I've finally got a few weeks off to rest and recharge my clinical mojo. We'll see what happens when I go back to work.

[Retired Engineer Bob]

12. My nephew is a PA

Recent grad, now working in a private practice in Asheville NC. Seems like a sound profession.

[Leith]

10. Computer programmer and bank teller

were the jobs I worked at the longest.

They both forced me to focus on tiny details and to concentrate on the proper order of steps to complete a task. This has seeped over to pretty much everything little thing I do. I don't know if work caused my OCD tendencies or just nurtured them.

Don't worry - I don't talk about how I do things or expect others to do as I do. I just find it satisfying to know that if I am on a certain step of a chore that the previous ones have been done.

[Bucky]

17. Having an orderly life would be healing

I'm such a chaos monster, I'm sorely tempted to hire a life coach just to come in and force me to clean up my house

[Corgigal]

13. Air Traffic Controller,

the only female assigned in my unit. I fought all those assholes and won. Some even became friends, but their wives never accepted me.

Worked 911 for almost ten years. I feel good under pressure, and I’m not sure people are aware on how fast something can turn bad. I still have some bad calls in my brain. I hate domestic problems with a passion. Don’t touch each other, don’t make your kids ask us to come because daddy is hurting mommy. We have to think of a way to stabilize our lives, and our homes.

I’m happy to be here, where I am today.

[nuxvomica]

18. Database design and management

Though my degree is in English and I worked as a copy writer for years I eventually became clever enough with databases at the same company that I've spent most of my working life designing and managing databases. Database design taught me how to understand complex, real-life systems of information, to distinguish between what characteristics of an abstracted entity arise from its essential definition and not the accidents of current usage, to understand that no data repository can be trusted if it's not heavily used and subject to feedback, and that the real power of a database is not in what information it stores but whether the relationships it models are genuine. Also, always have a backup and a way to mitigate problems without trashing the whole system.