What jobs have you had?

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HPNFlyGirl

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iBrookieMonster
Just curious as to what jobs you guys have had to help pay for flying.

I was a mascot at the fair for my work. Didn't get extra money...I did however get comp time...that I used for flying later on. I am the one on the right...Connie Cone with my "friend" Buddy Barrel.
 

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Brook, I'd have recognized you blindfolded!:rofl::no::rofl:

Leslie is what I would term a "health care management consultant to educational medical institutions". [Leslie here: yeah, that's a pretty safe way to describe it :) ]

Me, I used to consider myself a software developer and development team lead, but have turned into a mere package implementor.
 
The cost of flying scared me off. I wanted to be a pilot for as long as I can remember. Too many things took precedence. I couldn't ignore the siren song forever, though. These days, I let my wife pay for my flying. She works, I fly; it's my compensation for staying home with the kids. Truth be told, I'd take care of them for free, but everyone needs a diversion of some sort. Mine just happens to be rather expensive.

Jobs: Lifeguard, bank teller, research analyst, litigation support consultant, finance -- analyst, manager, director. None of the jobs paid for flying. I helped to finance billions of dollars of projects; I'm more proud of my daughters.
 
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HPNFlyGirl said:
Just curious as to what jobs you guys have had to help pay for flying.

I was a mascot at the fair for my work. Didn't get extra money...I did however get comp time...that I used for flying later on. I am the one on the right...Connie Cone with my "friend" Buddy Barrel.
Click to expand...
Dishwasher, busboy, valet car parker, mowed lawns, photographer, dark room technician, designed multi media presentations (pre computers - slides and tape decks), porno star, engineer.

Did lots of things for money and to pay for flying.

Just kidding about the porno star thing.:rofl:
 
Main job previous to CFI was cooking and delivering Pizzas at Dads pizza place. Did that from about age 12 or 13. Also did some tutoring at the college and a few other odd side jobs.
 
I teach Law Enforcement classes for the Missouri Sheriff's Association, that is my play money and pays for my flying habit.
 
Dishwasher
Fastfood worker
Gas Pumper
Auto Mechanic
Engineer

Didn't start flying until I was an Engineer.
 
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Well to actually pay for my flying, took me 20 years to get a job that I could afford it. But on the way up??
Professional Gunfighter
Cooked Pizza's
Delivered Pizza's
US Marine
Security Guard
Packed books in boxes
Sorted mail
Mcdonalds on more than one occasion

Mark B
 
  • Heavy Equipment Operator
  • Lineman (power line, but not for the county)
  • Avionics Tech
  • Air Intercept Controller
  • Database Architect, Designer, Administrator
 
Pumped gas at my older brother's Phillips 66, bussed tables at Denny's in SGF, threw sides of beef over my shoulder at the local slaughterhouse, then hauled vanloads to the packing plant, worked at Major Cheese Factory, sold "sight & sound" stuff at Service Merchandise, washed dishes, rowed the boat, as it were for Uncle Sam (USN), and now calibrate measuring & test equipment at a midwestern utility's nuclear power plant. Still can't afford to learn to fly, but still taking lessons, catch as catch can.

Jim
 
Auto parts counterman, office boy for an engineering firm, flower delivery driver, field service technician for a manufacturer of microfilm systems (Bell & Howell), product support engineer for B&H, law clerk and now.. lawyer.
 
Oh, if we want to include "previous" jobs, I'd have to include:
construction worker (Youth Conservation Corp)
Morgue Assistant (anyone want to watch me hacksaw a dead body?)
Library Worker (Hmmm, you want a book from 1845. Let me think a sec. NO!)
Computer Salesman
Computer Consultant/Programmer
 
I have only done one job (but at a few places) since I got out of high school. 26years as a Biomedical Equipment Technician (certified for 22 yrs). I keep all of the equipment in the hospital that is used to treat people working to its best capacity and train users to use it without breaking it.
 
Between my first glider ride and starting lessons I delivered pizzas during an Iowa winter in my 66 VW Beetle. I heard about reforestation tree planting as a way to make big bucks. So I moved into my bug and drove south to make money for flying lessons by hand planting thousands of tiny pine trees (each day) in the slash and burned former forests of Liousiana, GA, AL, VA, FL. Much of those months were spent living in the woods in the shadow of active MOAs so was tortured daily by free airshows. It was cool but I sure envied those pilots. Reminds me of a great line spoken by Humphrey Bogarts character in I think The African Queen, "All of us are standing in the mud but some of us are looking at the stars", or something like that.

Anyway, the next summer while continuing glider training I worked as a line boy at the local FBO while full time as a conservation corps worker building trails at a state park. After moving into my car I never paid rent again, either house sitting or simply "car camping" to save money for flight lessons. A months rent could buy a LOT of flight time.

I started climbing trees as a tree trimmer "arborist" after completeing my commercial glider ticket and have been self employed doing that ever since along with occasional stints as professional CFI-glider. I've contracted and bartered to do construction, sociology research, music booking agent and promotor, auto mechanic...

Now that my family is mostly grown and the house is almost paid for I'm using my tree climbing money to complete my power ratings.

Matt Michael
 
More or less in order:

grounds keeper
firewood splitter
retail clerk
short order cook
farm hand
doughnut decorator
construction worker
pulp mill hand
surveyor
research assistant
mechanical engineer in oil industry
teaching assistant/research assistant/grad student
aircraft design/certification engineer
 
HPNFlyGirl said:
Just curious as to what jobs you guys have had to help pay for flying.

I was a mascot at the fair for my work. Didn't get extra money...I did however get comp time...that I used for flying later on. I am the one on the right...Connie Cone with my "friend" Buddy Barrel.
Click to expand...

:rofl: oh Brook, thanks for that, I hadn't thought about the term "cone job" innearly three decade. Gee, not sleeping is making me loopy.

Let's see, in order of first time, although I have returned to many depending on when and where I was, we start here at an age of 8 though I didn't really start flying until my 20s.

Auto mechanic/ race car wrench
Used Car Salesman (sold first car when I was 12)
Machinist/Fabricator/Welder
Rail Inspector/ NDT (Sperry Rail Service)
Photographer
Photo lab tech/ Custom Color Printer
Construction Worker/Supervisor
Deckhand sailor
Captain
Aircraft Mechanic
Crane Operator
Diver (although Mel Fisher didn't really pay, but you got a bit of booty at the end of the year)
Pilot
Project Manager
Boat Builder
 
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Over the years since High School which covers about 30 years
  • Clerk at a 7/11
  • Pizza cook
  • Pizza delivery person
  • Instrumentation Engineer
  • Special Signals Intercept Analyst
  • High Energy Laser Engineer
  • RF Engineer
  • Systems Engineer
  • Director of Wireless Broadband Standards
 
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paper boy
lawn cutting
land (brush) clearing
amusement park mx man
McD's burger flipper
house painter
computer programmer
telecom network documentation
Naval Officer
electronic packaging engineer/designer
product engineer
product manager
 
Church Organist
Professional Classical Musician
Lic. Funeral Director & Emblamer
Corp. Controller
Pilot wannabe.
 
  • Network Administrator
  • Computer Repair Technician
  • Printer Technician
  • Software Specialist
Pretty much covers my whole life. There were a few years of self employment when I was younger running a web community business that for awhile did pretty good.
 
Starting after graduation from college...
  • Zone Area Groundsman (pull weeds, water lawns, etc at WSU)
  • Engineering Aide (great co-op job while in college, contractor was building Lower Granite Lock and Dam on the Snake River in southeastern Washington state)
  • Nuclear Engineer (overhauling and refueling submarines at Mare Island Naval Shipyard)
  • TEMPEST Engineer (an arcane corner of EMC, NAVELEX Vallejo)
  • EMC/TEMPEST engineer (Martin Marietta Denver Aerospace)
  • EMC engineer (Tandem Computers)
  • EMC engineer (Intel Corporation)
Started flying lessons after joining Intel. Spent all my time and money before that raising kids. EMC has been my professional life for 30+ years now.
 
Extra jobs to help pay for flying?
None. This job pays for everything.

Jobs I've had growing up.

Worked on a construction site (illegally) at 13. Picked up trash to start, then actually started helping with exterior finish work. Man, you ever apply Dryvit onto an army green colored base coat when it's over 100 dergees out? Lotsa water. Then ended up working on the inside hanging drywall, and setting walls. Also did prep work on the flooring and did the exterior landscaping. Then someone union jackhole reported me to the state because I was stealing a union job, and the state came in and "removed" me from the premises, and then I was jobless. Thank you America. Land of the free my ass, I CHOSE to work there, and ASKED the owner for a job. I guess the liberals wanted to "protect me" from all the evil things going on. Yeah, dont teach the kid hard work and responsibility, just send him home to sit on his ass all day.

After that I couldn't get a job for over 2 years because of state laws to "protect" us.

Then I worked as a busboy/dishwasher/cook at Big Boy when I was 15-16.
Then worked in receiving at Office Max when I was 16.
Finished high school at 16.
Went to work as a steel detailer and print runner at 17.
Graduated college at 18.
Went back to Office Max for more hours when the construction industry went down the crapper after Clinton took office.
At 19 got a temp job doing CAD work for an age oven manufacturer, then went to another steel company doing design drawings for everything from 80Ton die presses to water filtration systems to campus emergency boxes.
At 20 went back to work at the first steel company as a full time detailer and designer, working on everything from school renovations to sports and concert arenas.
Just before I turned 23 I started doing what I do now.
 
Most interesting part time/summer job I had was delivering liquor for the loacl wholesaler. Got to see some pretty interesting places here in WI. I remember one day delivering to the American Club in Kohler (I had 2 cases of blue label and one case of 30 yo scotch on the handcart) and to a nasty strip club that stank of cat poop the same afternoon.

Although until that job I had no idea people in WI dran so much brandy :-)

Pete
 
smigaldi said:
It involved a lot of intercepting and analysis of signals that were special
Click to expand...

Oh, I would never have guessed that, but this explains it completely.:D

BTW, what was so special about them?
 
Hmmmm.

I did a bunch of stuff for my parents (mostly yard work, but I also sided their house) when I was young.

Then I got a job cleaning at a bakery. Ugh. Kinda pushed into that one by my mom. I lasted about 3 days.

I finally got into something I liked - Computers. I started out selling software and accessories at MacGalaxy, a local store. Eventually I got into being the admin for Another Planet Communications, which was attempting to run a kind of mini-AOL for the broadcast industry. Then, I went to college. I climbed the entire student-job ladder in the Information and Media Technologies Division (lab grunt at $6.50 up to in charge of keeping all of the public lab computers on the entire campus running at $11.00) in 11 months. I continued there for another year and a half.

Then, I started a business with a friend of mine. I was a Mac guy, he was a Windows guy. (I also had some experience with Unix and Novell.) I had learned a lot about network design while working at the university, while he knew a lot about premise wiring. Etc. I had also gotten into web development and had learned a lot about business while I was working at MacGalaxy. Anyway, we had very complimentary talents. We started in Feb. 1998 and incorporated in June 1998. I sold my share to him in August of 2002.

After that -
Lineman at MWC
Transportation Manager
Truck driver
Truck driver trainer.

The last two are the only ones that made me the $$$ to fly.

Sooner or later, probably right about the time I get to CP-ASMEL and CFII-MEI, it'll be back to school while working as a CFI; then after I finish my EE degree I'll probably try to get into the Cirrus Access program (or something similar, if any other mfr's jump on that bandwagon) while I work on starting my next business.

My life is :goofy:
 
neighborhood lawn boy
Putt-Putt (ran the go-carts & bumper boats)
commercial lawn boy (worst job ever, weed eat-ed 8hrs straight around big gas storage takes in an industrial park)
Bottled liquid Pool Chemicals (2nd worst job ever, seemed like every day the chemicals ate holes in my clothes)
Assistant A/V Director for a Church
A/V Director for a Church
Sound Man at an equestrian arena
Lead Technician for a Burglar alarm company
Part Owner of Custom Electronics Design Installation Company
 
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This was fun, lots of memories. 18 years, 12 employers, and lots of opportunity.

Lawnmower
Newspaper boy
Shag Boy at a driving range
Taco slinger at the local Taco Johns
Supervisor at said Taco Johns
DJ at a dance club
Egg plant sanitation crewmember
Bartender
Gopher for assembly technician building an egg dryer
Egg Grading plant packing crewmember
Gopher for Egg breaking plant maintenance foreman
Bird moving crew laborer
Sewer plant operator
Shag truck driver
Egg Dryer sanitation supervisor
Egg pasteurizer operator
Egg breaking machine operator
Loading dock laborer
Chicken House supervisor
General construction laborer
Construction supervisor
Construction project manager
Feed mill operations manager
Egg breaking plant operations manager
Egg Products Division Manager
General Manager and COO

Husband and Father

James Dean
 
While I thought it was mainly about jobs supporting that prestigious flying stuff, there are many posts that broaden the scope. So, here goes...

Clerk in Navy Recruiting Office (I took a few down with me :) )
Navy Avionics Tech (A-6 and S-3)
Peon in Navy Nuclear Weapons Cage (cleaning boy)
Ice Machine Maintenance
Ice Delivery
Copier Tech (Mostly lived at Stapleton Airport working on Continental's machines.)
Accounting (Several roles before I realized I was going nuts inside!)
Pizza Delivery
Dominoes Pizza MIT (I gave up and left when they wouldn't fire me. I got kicked out a couple stores because I did things per company policy. They couldn't fire me! :) )
Food Service Truck Driver (Man, I ate well for a few years!)
Courier on Demand
Drug Runner (Hospice Meds)

Next... struggling CFI
 
Lets see,
1. Line Hostess (waved at airplanes where to park and took bags, apparently girls can't fuel airplanes)
2. Small Aircraft detailer
3. Toyota Auto detailer
4. Now I'm going to college and practicing professional procrastination! LOL j/k I'm in the Professional pilot program
 
The weirdest job I have had yet was a female stripper clothing catcher.

Here in NY you can just pick up the phone & place an order for 1-3 girls to come to your house & do full strips & a short act.
If it was a birthday or bachelor party at a restaurant the girls might go alone, but they would never go alone to a private home.

My job was to drive them from 3-6 "parties" a night & keep the guys in line. Other aspects of the job included ....

catching all the girls clothes and or taking them away from anyone else that caught them...so the girls would have something to take off at the next show.

Taking the drinks away from the girls at each party before they finished them so that could still stand by the last show.

Collecting all the money up front for the boss so that it all didn't get stuffed into the girls g-strings.

Keeping time & pulling the girls away from the parties they liked so we could get to the next party and make more money.

Making sure the radio was cued & ready to play the music the girls wanted for the show.

Handing out Business cards to drum up next weeks shows.

After I did that for a while I took the job as the cake man.

I would show up 5 min before all kinds of shows (Male, female, green gorillas, midgets, fat man & fat lady shows) and set up the cake for the actor to pop out of. This job was great because as soon as the person pooped out I was out of there.

In all the shows, the guys almost always behaved.... at the shows where the guys popped out & danced for the woman....Lets just say that is that guys acted that way, they would have been arrested.... Woman are NUTS when there is a guy taking off his clothes.
 
Tractor driver, mechanic, farmer, USMC (and later USMCR) Infantry Officer, ag production research technician, pilot, quality assurance manager, sales person, sales manager, sales director/VP, Strategic Planning VP, Sr. VP Operations, CEO (all in agribusiness companies).

Jay
 
Tractor driver, mechanic, farmer, USMC (and later USMCR) Infantry Officer, production research specialist, pilot, sales person, sales manager, sales director/VP, Regional VP, VP Strategic Planning, Sr. VP Operations, CEO. All (except the USMC part) in agribusiness companies.

Jay
 
In no particular order...

Hired help for a lawn care company
The non-muscle side of a collections company (I was the guy on the phone...hated that job)
Database programming/maintainence for a dotcom
White water rafting guide

And after more education...

Electrical Engineer
 
Lifeguard, Wal-Mart Stocker, dead body driver for a funeral home (Just called me "The Transporter"), bartender, network engineer.
 
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